Canberra Business Owner Spotlight Hub
Building a Compliance-Driven Business on Consistency, Systems, and Long-Term Relationships
Canberra business Ferst delivers fire and emergency response training to organisations needing compliance, safety systems, and evacuation planning.
Business Snapshot
Business Name: Ferst
Owner: Gary Cheeseman
Industry: Fire & Emergency Response Training
Location: Canberra
Who They Help: Government, businesses, community groups, and organisations requiring compliance training
Website: https://www.ferst.com.au/
Gary Cheeseman, founder of Ferst, has spent nearly two decades building a business focused on fire and emergency response training for organisations across Canberra and beyond. Working with everyone from government departments to community groups, Ferst helps businesses meet compliance requirements while ensuring their teams are prepared in real-world scenarios.
What makes the business worth paying attention to is how it has grown steadily through consistency, systems, and long-term client relationships in a space where visibility and marketing are often limited.
About The Business
Ferst was established in 2007 with a clear focus: delivering fire and emergency response training in a way that prioritised quality over price-driven decision-making. Starting from zero clients, the business was built through direct outreach and industry relationships, gradually growing into a stable operation with a large and diverse client base.
Today, Ferst supports around 1,800 clients, providing training, evacuation procedures, and compliance systems that organisations are required to maintain each year. In a market where services are often seen as a compliance necessity rather than a strategic investment, the business has relied heavily on word-of-mouth and repeat engagement rather than traditional marketing.
“We didn’t grow through big marketing . We grew by doing the job well enough that clients kept coming back.”
Over time, the business has evolved to strengthen its internal systems, particularly around delivery, financial management, and client retention. These systems have become a key part of maintaining consistency, especially as the business expands into new markets such as Sydney.
Despite opportunities to scale more aggressively, the focus has remained on steady, controlled growth — ensuring that service quality and client relationships remain at the centre of the business.
Q&A with Gary
What do you do and who do you help?
We provide fire and emergency response training, including fire wardens, evacuation procedures, and compliance requirements for businesses and organisations.
What are you most proud of?
Still being here after nearly 19 years and maintaining a strong team. A lot of people have stayed with us for a long time.
What has helped the business grow the most?
Consistency in delivery. It’s a service clients need every year, so if you do it well, they come back.
What are you working on now?
Expanding into Sydney and improving marketing to support that growth.
Why did you start the business?
It came from seeing an opportunity to deliver the service properly, rather than just focusing on price. We started from scratch and built it from there.
What was one of the biggest challenges early on?
Building a client base from zero and putting the right systems in place to support the business as it grew.
What’s been important in running the business?
Cash flow management and making sure systems are in place across all parts of the business.
What will make the biggest difference?
Improving marketing and increasing reach through new channels.
One thing that stood out
What stands out here is how much of the business relies on consistency in a space where clients are required to return each year. In these types of service models, growth is often less about acquisition and more about retention — maintaining trust so that clients continue choosing the same provider over time. This is a pattern that shows up across many Canberra businesses operating in compliance-driven industries.
Learn more about their training services and compliance support.
Canberra Business Accelerators helps growth-focused business owners build profitable, scalable and self-sustaining businesses. We work with established Canberra businesses turning over $1M+ and employing from small to large teams. Our clients are ambitious but often stretched too thin, juggling staff challenges, inconsistent systems, patchy marketing and thin margins. Through practical coaching, tailored strategy and hands-on tools, we help owners take control of their time, team and bottom line. Our programs include one-to-one coaching, business planning days, team development workshops and leadership support designed to get real-world results. We specialise in helping business owners to strengthen their leadership team, improve profitability and cash flow, systemise operations for consistent delivery and attract better clients with smarter marketing. Unlike generic business coaches, we’re based locally and work directly with owners and their teams to implement strategies that stick. Our goal is to help you build a business that works for you, not the other way around.
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