Coffee king extends helping hand

Brisbane coffee king Phil Di Bella is doing what he does best - helping other business people to thrive despite increasingly tough times across all sectors.

Taking the plunge.... Coffee king Phil Di Bella

Brisbane coffee king Phil Di Bella is doing what he does best - helping other business people. Di Bella this week launched a new business advisory board in the city that will form part of the national Coraggio network. The launch comes amid increasingly tough times for small businesses, particularly in the hospitality sector where rising costs and consumer belt-tightening has hit hard.

Coraggio, which bills itself as a unique community of private business owners, was established in 2010 by a group of 12 entrepreneurs who were battling the fallout of the Global Financial Crisis. Di Bella says Coraggio, which is Italian for courage, aligns with his life motto of helping people accelerate their potential.

“The Coraggio model provides the perfect environment for business owners to become a better version of themselves,” says Di Bella. “Every Coraggio board has an accountant and a lawyer on it, and the idea is to provide mentorship to younger and growing businesses.”

Phil Di Bella

Di Bella, who has previously been involved in Coraggio on the Gold Coast, says the proof is in the pudding with not a single business in the network going broke during the Covid-19 shutdown. Coraggio chief executive Richard Skarzynski says Coraggio is delighted to acquire Di Bella, noting its activities include monthly interactive keynote speakers, workshops, practical strategies and insightful perspectives.

Phil Di Bella, who sold his Di Bella Coffee business to Retail Food Group for $47m in 2014, now operates the Coffee Commune in Brisbane. Di Bella was a regular entrant in the Business Review Weekly Fast 100 during the early 2000s and has received numerous accolades including various entrepreneur of the year awards.

He also was the world’s youngest recipient of an Italian knighthood, bestowed with the ‘Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity’ for contribution to the Italian community.

Private affair

Queensland construction firms are punching above their weight, with three home-grown builders making it on the list of IBISWorld’s Top 500 private companies this year.

Hutchinson Builders came in at number 10 on the list with turnover of $3.4bn, an increase of 8.4 per cent over the past year despite increasingly tough times in the construction sector.

Mick Power’s BMD Group made it to number 30 after hiking turnover more than 32 per cent to $2.3bn while Toowoomba-based McNab was at 111 with turnover of $770m.

And in a sign king coal is far from dead, Chris Wallin’s QCoal was ranked 66th with turnover of $1.2bn. Other Queensland firms making the list included Teys Australia (13), RACQ (21), Bolton Clarke (46), and JJ Richards & Sons (54).

Mick Power, founder of BMD Group.

On yer bike

Ord Minnett Queensland state manager David Lane and branch assistant Laura Macdonald are among the business types gearing up for this Friday’s TRACTION CEO Build a Bike event. Lane, a basketball coach for many years, says he’s seen first hand the impact that positive role models can have on shaping lives and he’s looking forward to taking part in the experience. Macdonald, 26, started at Ord Minnett when she was only 20 and personally understands how important positive mentorship and leadership can be for a young person.

The exercise involves assembling a bike within a three-hour time frame as part of a youth mentorship program organised by TRACTION. TRACTION founder Sandy Murdoch is aiming to recruit 40 chief executives and business leaders to help achieve a goal of raising $200,000 for the organisation.

Sandy Murdoch, founder of Traction community program where at-risk teens fix bikes while learning life skills. Pic Peter Wallis