The Club Red Story
What Is the Club Red Brand All About Today?
The Club Red brand really began in 1996, when I, Tony Inman bought an ailing Perth Backpackers' Lodging House leasehold business with a business partner, whom I later bought out in 1998, but more about the early days further down the page. In the ensuing years I launched a series of business ventures in diverse, but associated industries, generating millions of dollars, servicing thousands of customers and employing hundreds of people. Let's start by explaining where we are now. Today, the Club Red Group has scaled back to focus on two main business structures, operating in the Greater Perth area of Western Australia.
See below: Club Red Inspiration and Club Red Strata Cleaning.
Keep scrolling down for the history and evolution of the Club Red brand.
Club Red Inspiration
This is my consulting practice, in which I provide coaching, consulting and mentoring services to aspiring entrepreneurs, executives and owners of small businesses. I also help people with mindset and self-confidence, managing change and dealing with overwhelm, as well as general life coaching. This practice draws upon my 45 plus years' experience in leadership and management, initially as a Retail Manager, but also in over twenty of my own diverse small business ventures. These various enterprises have generated millions of dollars in turnover and profits and have employed hundreds of staff. I am also a qualified NLP Master Practitioner and NLP Trainer, as well a VET qualified Trainer and Assessor.
I have personally coached, mentored and directed hundreds of business owners and thousands of employees. I have also trained with, and learned from, some of the world's leading executive coaches and consultants from around the globe and I have invested over a hundred thousand dollars in courses and personal development training to better serve my clients. In addition, I served as an approved Mentor at Curtin University's Centre for Entrepreneurship. This fascination with personal and professional development also led me to provide mindset coaching and life coaching for a diverse range of clients. I also facilitate team sessions with employees on various topics from specific training delivery to brainstorming sessions.
With the benefit of video calls and improved communications, I have been able to work with clients who are overseas or interstate as well as with locals in Perth.
At present, the Club Red website has been redirected to this site pending certain internal restructuring.
Club Red Strata Cleaning
In 2001, we launched a cleaning business, offering random cleaning services around Perth CBD, focusing mainly on tenancy vacations and mixed residential / commercial buildings for Property Managers. This was shelved in 2003 owing to delayed payments caused by bond disputes, which was an external problem that impacted on us.
In 2009, however, drawing on my experience of having been Chairman of three different Strata complexes, another opportunity to tender for one large strata complex led to a whole new relaunch, where we focused solely on the contract cleaning services to strata buildings. Despite my wish to keep it small, the business grew steadily from one property in our care, to over fifty strata's around the Perth CBD in Western Australia.
This is now a family-managed business, with the assistance of my daughter, and we have a small but enthusiastic team of cleaning staff.
More details via: www.clubredstratacleaning.com.au
The History of Club Red's Evolution
1996-2010 - Tourist accommodation
We took over a struggling 45-beds backpackers' lodging house, called Redbackpackers. With major renovations we expanded the capacity to 60 beds, added a tour desk and in 1999, a bar. We built the business up to an annual average of 87% occupancy in a highly competitive market, and in Summer people were sometimes sleeping on couches waiting for a bed to be available! In its heyday, we would cook barbeques for up to 100 people on Christmas Day. It was a 24/7 business for 14 years.
We also conducted events with guest bands and DJ's in our beer garden.
The Global Financial Crisis crippled the business in the summer of 2009/10, when tourist numbers plummeted at the same time as rent and utilities had massive increases. I sold the business in April 2010 and handed over in July 2010.
This was more than just a business - it became like a global family, and I'm still in contact with many of our repeat visitors today.
1997-2010 - Short-Stay Apartments
This was to cater for couples who wanted to party at the backpackers' lodge but also have their own private accommodation and facilities, we owned four two-bedroomed apartments and sub leased another two, a two-minute walk away from the hostel. We also became managers and caretakers of the building.
1999-2010 - Liquor Licence
We fought against the liquor stores in Court, which we won, and we added a liquor licence and bar to the premises - being the first hostel in Perth to do so.
2000-Present - Incorporation; 2000 to Present - Club Red Pty Ltd;
2000-2004 - Club Red Backpackers
We wanted to diversify into associated projects without losing the goodwill of the Redbackpackers name, so we incorporated Club Red Pty Ltd, prefixed the Backpackers with Club Red and began our strategic growth plan.
This was an exciting period of expansion, or horizontal and vertical integration.
2000 - 2010 - Club Red Events
We organised all sorts of functions and activities from karaoke nights, music gigs, dinner parties, themed dress up nights to mystery tours.
We ceased organising these events when we sold our licensed venue in 2010.
Today, our events are more along the lines of business and motivational workshops.
2000-2010 - Club Red Tours and Charters
We had begun providing our own day excursions to wineries and local tourism attractions. We launched it properly, gaining a Certificate in Transport Management, an Open Tours and Charters Licence and buying a 17-seater bus to be able to market tours and charters to different customer profiles.
We ran adventure tours (Pinnacles, Lancelin sandboarding, Swan Valley Wineries & Caversham Wildlife Park, Beach Volleyball & Cable waterskiing, Margaret River Wineries, Raunchy Tours) and Bus Charters tailored to our customers' needs.
2000-2010 Club Red Cars; Club Red Vehicle Servicing 2000-2009
Recognising a niche market where our customers were being exploited, we wanted to right that injustice by offering an ethical car dealership and service centre. We leased a premises a minute's walk away from the hostel and apartments. We then bought and sold vehicles to backpackers, students and the budget conscious, also servicing cars and local corporate fleets in our fully-equipped workshop.
We bought and sold over 600 cars and helped thousands of tourists to have happy holidays. We closed the dealership when our site owners wanted to redevelop the property, rather than extend the lease.
2000 - 2004 Club Red Employment
We set up a licenced Employment Agency to create work for our backpackers on WHM Visas, but soon realised that the profitable sector of this industry would be in long-term placements, so we established a cleaning business instead to provide short-term and casual work opportunities.
2001 -2010 Club Red Cars - Hire Division
Many customers didn't want the hassle of selling cars at the end of their holidays, so we launched a hire car business, building up to a fleet of twenty vehicles, including wagons and campervans. We were the first car dealership to focus on the expanding backpacker tourism market in Perth. We handled more than 3,500 hire contracts, the longest of which was a six-months rental, with many repeat customers, like the windsurfers who would return every year. Overall, we helped thousands of tourists to create happy holiday memories.
2001-2002 Club Red Cleaning
We set up a business providing cleaning services for real estate agents, tenancy vacations, offices, and contract cleaning, that would provide work for our guests on working holiday visas.
We decided to close the business owing to the constant drain of chasing payment from real estate agents.
2003 - 2004 Club Red Relocations
We set up a business offering 'Office furniture relocations' ostensibly to create work for our tourists on WHM visas. We decided that this division was not as profitable as it needed to be to cover the frequent instances of negative working capital, so we closed it down.
2004 -2010 Planet Inn Backpackers
Sensing a decline in the tourism market, owing to the impact of terrorism in nearby Bali and various health scares, like Ebola and Asian Bird Flu, we rebranded the Backpackers' Lodge to refresh it, but also with the strategy of potentially selling it without giving up the Club Red brand. The impact of the Global Financial Crisis in 2009 -2010, however, forced our hand to sell sooner than ideally planned. Nevertheless, we helped over 30,000 customers to enjoy memorable holiday experiences and many people returned several times.
This business continued trading under new management until it was forced to shut down because of the COVID 19 pandemic in 2010.
2006 - 2009 - Club Red Towing
After a couple of hire car breakdowns in distant locations (being thrashed by young drivers in the hot temperatures) we bought two tow trucks and launched Roadside Assistance and vehicle transportation services, eventually including taking police vehicles and ambulances to repair shops.
2009 - Present - Club Red Strata Cleaning
Learning the lessons from the previous cleaning business, we launched a contract cleaning business, specialising in Strata buildings, with regular work and stable cash flow. We hire a mix of locals and foreign students who can fit the work around their study obligations. You can check out this business here.
2010 - Present - Club Red Inspiration
Although I still trade through my company, Club Red Pty Ltd, I now promote myself simply by my own name. Check out the rest of this website to see how I may be of assistance to you or to someone you know.
I now offer business coaching, consulting and mentoring; mindset coaching, life coaching and I facilitate workshops.
I'm also an author of a fictional novel and a self-help book, with more in progress.
2010 to Present - Writing
Novel - 'The Parrot and the Lady'; 2011 - Co-authored 'How to Get a Bigger Bite out of Life with George Faddoul; 2014 - Contributed to 'The Inspiration Bible';
2014 - Self-help book - 'If Life's Worth Doing, It's Worth Doing Well'
2018 to 2019 ONE80degree Films
I co-founded a film company to produce a film documentary about men's mental and physical health, 'Conversations Beyond the Road'; Also made a documentary for the Aboriginal Health Corporation; we also made several short films and commercials.
My business partner in that project, Gerald Ashcroft relocated inter-state, so sadly we closed the project down.
Other Projects - Watch this Space!!!
What YOU Can Do Next
- Please feel free to check my reviews from former clients.
- Feel free to have a chat over the phone or over a coffee first before you decide.
- If the timing is not quite right for you yet, feel free to follow my blogs and social media or read my book.
- Find out more about the process of working with a coach like me.
- Coaching - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Please feel free to invest in YOU by working with me.
Leave a message for Tony on +61 419 860 382 or contact here.
