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Season 9 | Ep 6 Mick Donaghy: How he built $1.4M from $7K (after his partnership collapsed)
Season 10 Episode 6
Mick Donaghy: How he built $1.4M from $7K (after his partnership collapsed)
Mick Donaghy's mother died when he was in his twenties.
Life's too short became his operating system.
He left Ireland. Moved to New Zealand. Became a top-billing recruiter!
A few years later, he got his shot at ownership. A partnership to launch an Australian business for the agency he worked.
For many reasons, this partnership didn’t work, so Mick paid back his business partner and walked away with $7,000 in his bank account.
No business. No plan B.
This time, he was doing it alone.
GEDON was born - named after his Mum.
Ultra-niche: quantity surveying and cost management. One discipline. Total focus.
- 12 months later: $1.4M AUD in billings.
- 65 placements. One person every three days.
But here's what makes Mick different.
He's not building an empire.- he’s building freedom!
Currently has 9 people, 5 offshore making 40%+ profit margins.
Last week, he won 3 new clients from his personal brand. Zero cold calls.
He just bought a 100-year-old house in Belfast. Cash.
He drives an old Toyota Corolla, does 30 minutes in the sauna daily and is two and a half years into rebuilding his relationship with alcohol.
He’s now set a new and incredible target: 20-hour work week. $300-400K profit annually.
This week on The RAG Podcast, Mick tells the full story.
We cover:
- The partnership in Australia that COVID nearly destroyed
- How he started Gedon with $7K and built it to $1.4M in year one
- Why ultra-niche made his business borderless
- The personal brand strategy that replaced cold calling
- Why he refuses to scale headcount
- His sobriety journey and the 20-hour work week plan
This isn't about scaling fast.
It's about a man who lost his mom young, tried a partnership that collapsed, and rebuilt everything from $7,000 into a million-dollar business that gives him his life back.
No investor decks. No growth-at-all-costs.
Just freedom over headcount.
If you've ever wondered whether there's another way to build a business—one that doesn't trap you -this episode has the blueprint.
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Published on 11 hours ago