‘Do what you love, and you will never work a day in your life’, is a cliché as old as time. But Matthew Draper is doing what he loves every day, and for him, it is his only measure of success.
Matt Draper as he prefers to go by, is the owner of ‘Deliver It Group’, a specialised transport service started in 2002 with a lone florist delivery truck. Now in 2024, they are one of the largest specialised transport companies in South Australia with a fleet of more than 35 vehicles and 50 employees.
Matt recently spoke with the ThirtyNiners podcast to discuss how this growth was only possible because there isn’t a day he hasn’t genuinely loved what he does.
“I know it’s a cliché saying that if you do what you love, you never work a day in your life.
“But people ask me all the time, was it easy to get the business to where it is? Let me tell you, it wasn’t.
“It took 80-hour weeks for ten years; I am not an overnight success. My success now is 15 years in the making, and I was only able to get to where I am because I genuinely loved every single day of those 15 years”.
This mantra of ‘doing what you love’ extends far further than just a ‘philosophy’ for Matt, he believes whilst turning a profit is crucial to a successful business, his measure of success will always be determined by asking the simple question: am I doing what I love?
“I think measuring success is personal. I believe if you get up every morning and you love what you do, then you are successful.
“For me right now, it’s seeing the satisfaction in our clients and what a better job we do for them than what previous companies have done.
“Then the other thing is the awesome team around me, I mean at the moment we support 60 South Australian families, and that’s pretty cool to me and still blows my mind I can create jobs and support the South Australian community”.
This overwhelming genuine love for South Australia and the business community within, is a clear catalyst as to why Matt was approached to join the ThirtyNiners, a group of forward-thinking business leaders in South Australia under the age of 40, ensuring South Australia is the best place to do business.
“Sometimes being a business owner can be a bit lonely, so I have loved every second of joining this amazing group (ThirtyNiners).
“It has been so fun to learn from each other and support each other, and to be honest I have also really enjoyed giving advice on what I have learned in my 15 years – I just think this whole experience is just invaluable”.
To listen to the full conversation with Matt Draper on the importance of doing what you love, listen to the ThirtyNiners Podcast by the South Australian Business Chamber, search for it wherever you hear your podcasts.
