Point Cook’s Byron Dodds, along with his wife Carmen, owns five Ready Steady Go Kids franchises, which deliver sports and exercise programs for children aged up to six years old. He chats with Alesha Capone.
Tell me a little bit about yourself.
I was born and raised in South Africa. In 2006 my wife and I got married with a view of immigrating to Australia. We definitely didn’t want to raise a family in a climate which would be more and more challenging in the future. My brother had immigrated to Australia 10 to 15 years earlier and we loved visiting him, so we decided to come here. I think Australia is a country that offers a lot of opportunity if you are willing to work hard and roll your sleeves up. I find the community very, very accepting of other cultures. We started a family and now have a four-year-old, eight-year-old and 13-year-old. They are all first-generation Aussies, they were all born at Werribee Mercy Hospital.
Why did you decide to live in Point Cook?
My wife had got a position in Geelong and geographically we looked for something between Melbourne and Geelong. Point Cook was a relatively small area and just popping up. Back in those days, the Point Cook Town Centre was not even built, there was about five shops. It has just grown and grown over the years.
How did you start out with Ready Steady Go Kids?
We had my son’s second birthday and we were in the garden kicking a football. Another dad said: “You’ve got to sign him up.” I said to my wife: “What does he mean?” I looked up different sporting environments for young children and there was nothing to cater to his age. I then found Ready Steady Go Kids, and my wife is an occupational therapist, so it was like a button screaming out to us. Within a few years we built up to Hoppers Crossing Indoor Sportz. Out of that little franchise, we built and run Australia’s biggest indoor sports franchise. Australia’s largest pre-school sports program is run out of Hoppers Crossing.
How did you go at first?
We spent our nest egg on the franchise. On the day of our first class in Werribee, we had four kids. I thought, ‘Oh no, what a disaster’. We put in a lot of hard work and effort. In those early days, I coached six days a week. We now operate with 320 kids a week in Hoppers Crossing. We have 25 coaches, five franchises across the city and we reap what we have sown with hard work and effort. I have very, very little in creating superstars. We want kids to love, and develop a love, of physical activity. Confident kids will take things on.
How has the pandemic impacted you?
It has been horrible, where the challenge has been for us is that in lots of families, the husband and wife have different jobs and industries. With the nature of lockdown, we are in the same boat. With both of us not running classes, there is no revenue coming in, other than government hand-outs. But it’s not just us, there are so many families impacted.
How else are you involved in the community?
My son is a golfer, he discovered a love of sport through the program. I jumped on the Sanctuary Lakes golf club junior committee, I spent six years helping to grow the sport in the western suburbs. I’ve been a Point Cook Cricket Club coach for a number of years.
What do you like about Point Cook?
I am a big fan of the multicultural aspect of the community, it has changed a lot over the years. I’m interested in that because I came from a different culture and I was so accepted, I want to make others feel accepted too.
Where do you like to grab a coffee or eat locally?
The Coffeeologist in Point Cook, we love having a coffee there and they have great meals. With the family, if the kids have a birthday, they love Pizza Industri.
