If you’ve strolled through parklands, headed beachside, or picnicked in the park any time in the last 12 years, the chances are you’ve had a brush with one of our most brilliant client success stories without even knowing it.
Terry Dullaway is a client of many years. He’s the partner to Nicole; father to Will, Oliver, and Thomas; he’s a family man whose idea of a perfect day involves good weather, great company, and biting fish. Terry is also the founder, owner, and director of Willplay, one of Australia’s leading playground manufacturers.
Today, Willplay playgrounds and park fitness centres bring joy to the young, old, and everyone in between. Dotted all over the country, you don’t need to look hard to find them, just closer. All Willplay equipment bears the signature Willplay smiley, a symbol that has come to stand for not just the brand, but everything it represents—quality, trust, and family.
An engineer by trade, Terry started the business in Bundaberg in the mid-2000s. Originally named Rapid Industries, Terry rebranded the business in 2013 to Willplay. Just a few short years later, in 2017, he connected with Jamie Rach and became a client.
“At that time, Terry had been carrying on with the business for a few years, but he wasn’t all that happy with his existing accountant,” says Jamie.
Terry shared his concerns with a friend of his, who happened to be a client of Jamie’s. That friend referred Terry on, and the rest is history.
Reflecting on the importance of those early meetings, Jamie says: “When we met, it was about really getting him, understanding where he was at and what he wanted to achieve in life, and also what his top priorities were at that point in time.”
“One of those top priorities was creating good financial habits, and a greater understanding of his numbers” says Jamie.
Jamie notes that Terry was and continues to be a very good operator, but at that time he just needed help getting everything out of his head and down on paper, getting the right system in place, and understanding how it all worked.
Early in the piece, our team identified that the business had been established with the wrong structure. That original company structure had Terry listed as the sole shareholder, which meant we did not have the flexibility to be able to create wealth for him without paying tax at the highest marginal rate.
Jamie and his team guided Terry through the corporate restructure process, which involved establishing a new trust to own shares in the trading entity and redirecting dividends into a bucket company. This allowed income to be distributed more tax effectively and provided more flexibility to protect his assets as they grew in the company.
“It meant we could get the excess working capital out, into different entities. That allowed us to create other passive investments, which helped serve the path of separating his business risk assets from his passive assets,” says Jamie.
With the business’s financial health well and truly moving in the right direction, the time came for Jamie to introduce Terry to Jes Wilkinson, who would come to be one of Terry’s closest advisers, along with Jamie and Senior Accountant turned Team Manager, Cindy Herbert.
“When Jamie introduced me to Terry, it was about 2017. Terry was the key person of Willplay, and that came with significant risk. If something happened to him, the business wouldn’t be able to keep operating and may not have been saleable at that point.” Jes says.
Jamie agrees, saying that in those earlier days, Terry had fallen into the all-too-common trap of working for the business, not on the business.
Building out that strong internal network of key people within the Willplay business would take time. So to keep Terry’s family protected if the worst was to happen, Jes set Terry and Willplay up with insurance policies that offered some cover from a potential storm.
“This meant that if something was to happen, a capital injection would be paid into the business—enough to bring in a manager to keep things afloat until it could be sold,” says Jes.
Within the first few years of working together, the team also helped Terry establish an SMSF. At that time, Terry was looking to expand the business into Brisbane. With the support of Jes and the team, he was able to purchase a head office premises in the big smoke through his SMSF with reduced borrowing.
“The corporate restructure triggered a capital gains event, so we used the small business rollover to contribute to super and purchase the property in the SMSF” says Jes.
With the frameworks for good financial performance set up and rolling in those first few years of working together—within the business and within Terry’s personal life, the positive impacts of good systems, good advice, and good financial discipline just kept snowballing.
“He followed the recipe and now the cake is being made beautifully. Everything is coming together the way we want,” Jamie says.
When we first welcomed Terry into the Ulton fold, he was working tremendous hours—sometimes starting work at 2am. These days, that sacrifice is no longer required.
“Back then, Nicole barely saw him. [Since we started working together], they’ve bought a property in Winfield and had their first family holiday in over five years…They’re finally getting that time back,” Jes says.
One of Terry’s close advisers, Cindy, agrees: “He’s just in a better headspace now. He’s got trusted people around him and it’s made a huge difference to how he works and lives.”
There’s no doubt that what Terry’s achieved in the last eight years is nothing short of incredible. To give you a snapshot of what’s happened in that time:
“It’s a privilege to be associated with that success,” says Jamie.
“And it’s been a major team effort from everyone: Terry, the great Ulton team we have here, and also the people that have helped teach our team what they know. I credit a lot of my skills to Mark, Peter, and Daryl—that’s who I learned from,” he says.
If we needed any more evidence that teamwork makes the dream work, the Willplay story is case in point.
Over the years, various divisions and individuals have had a hand in the Willplay journey: Business Insights, Business Services, HR Advisory, and Wealth Management.
Together, all the expertise, hours, and energy have added up to something far greater than the sum of its parts.
“Really, it’s not about the tax returns, the financial statements, or anything else. What we’ve been able to provide to Terry, is peace of mind. And at the end of the day, that’s the greatest value of all,” Jamie says.