Breaking down the theory on money
Almost exactly halfway between Auckland and Hamilton, Hampton Downs Motorsport Park sits atop Waikato swampland, carved out of steel, concrete and asphalt. When it’s finished, it’ll host motorsport races from all over the world.
At least, that’s the dream of park owner Tony Quinn, who bought the track last year. He also built Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell, which opened in 2013, creating a world-class track and tourist destination. It’s there Quinn keeps one of Michael Schumacher’s Formula One cars and a , the only one in the southern hemisphere.
With motorsport being loud, exuberant and hedonistic, you’d expect the owner of a race track to be the same. But Quinn speaks quietly and has a calm demeanour. He’s got a cheeky twinkle in his eye and swear words roll off his tongue, an innate part of his vocabulary. Dressed in a red Kathmandu jacket, blue jeans and sneakers, there are no bells and whistles attached to this self-made millionaire.
Born in Aberdeen, Scotland, Quinn grew up in a wooden caravan built by his dad Jimmy. From the age of five he started helping his dad with his pet food business, weighing and bagging minced meat.
His first business was in rendering and, as he put it in his book, he was ‘‘up to my arms in blood and guts and shit every day’’. He went on to run a successful signwriting business before moving with his wife Christina and two young kids to Perth, Australia. There, he tried and failed at running two businesses: one in rustproofing and another in video arcade game machines.
Perth was full of ’’thieves, vagabonds, and pricks’’ and they robbed him of his money and confidence. Quinn wasn’t completely faultless, though.
‘‘I hadn’t heard of the term ‘due diligence’ until much later in life,’’ he admits, meaning he did very little, if any, research before jumping into business deals.
The Quinn family moved to New Zealand afterwards and settled in Dargaville. There, Quinn succeeded in building his own pet food business and returned to Australia some years later to set up VIP Petfood, the company that would make him his fortune.
He ran the business for more than two decades before selling it last year for $435m. In 2012, he bought flailing Australian confectionery icon Darrell Lea and has spent A$50m on turning the brand around. It’s now worth more than A$100m.
The Quinns were in this year’s BRW Rich 200 List, a list of Australia’s 200 richest people and families.
How much is he actually worth, though? The twinkle vanishes. So if not for the money, then why the hard slog?
‘‘I’ve always been competitive. I think when you’re competitive it’s the game that counts. And when you’ve tasted winning, it’s a pretty cool position to be in.’’
Quinn’s advice for winning in business is simple. If you can’t work out your business’ financial plan on the back of a cigarette pack, then it’s not going to work. Put more money into the bank than you take out. Work hard. Create a good brand. Deliver on promises. Make margin.
He’s also got his 2 + 2 = 7 theory, which he applies to making profit. If the cost of your product is 2 + 2, selling it for $4 will make you bankrupt. If you sell it for $8 and give the customer a $1 discount, everyone will be happy.