building a good reputation

1000 667 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Brett Harley

22 Marigold Drive, Fairy Hill
Visit Richmond Valley Northern Rivers-01
building a good reputation

When the only pub in town burns to the ground, it’s a big responsibility being the one chosen to rebuild it. The success of Uki’s new Mt Warning Hotel, which opened in 2015, is not only the toast of the town, but has helped Brett Harley see his work in a new light.

“It’s an iconic building that will be around for a long time,” Brett says. “It was an incredible opportunity for us to be recognised for what we could achieve in both construction and overall development.”

Brett has run his building business out of Kyogle since 2002, focused mainly on constructing new houses across the Northern Rivers region. Initially he did this with a business partner, and after his partner’s retirement in 2014, Brett renamed the business Brett Harley Building.

The Mt Warning Hotel job came about the same way that all of Brett’s jobs come along.

“I don’t do any advertising at all,” he says. “That job came through local recognition of my work – all of my business is word of mouth,”

The strength of word of mouth is something all new Northern Rivers businesses should be aware of, Brett says. “Remember it’s still a relatively small area, so be true to yourself, as both good and bad word spreads fast.”

The good word has spread far and wide across the region for Brett Harley Building, with home building and renovations from Coopers Shoot to Eureka, along with a concentration of projects closer to home in Kyogle and Casino.

The business is at full capacity with six carpenters, four apprentices and up to 50 subcontractors on the team. And Brett doesn’t plan on growing any larger.

“I can’t physically do any more work without a total restructure of the business, and if we did that the business would lose its strength. People like being able to speak to me directly about their projects – it’s small enough to know everything that’s going on.”

Since taking over the business on his own, Brett spends more time working from the desk.

“Building has always been my passion, and these days I’m enjoying the more creative aspects. For about 90 per cent of my projects I do the design right from conception,” he says, while he leads his team through to final construction.

“I enjoy that creative aspect, that you can look back on a building with that sense of achievement.”

brett_harley_building_003
brett_harley_building_004

Share this story

Read more stories
grafton_physio_business_story_001

let’s get physical

 2000 1165 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Grafton Physio + Sport
You know you’re in good hands when you visit your physiotherapist and she turns out to be a world-class athlete. That’s the case for those who…

Southern Cross University Lismore

partners with industry, partners with community

 2000 1048 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Southern Cross University
Celebrating a silver anniversary is a significant milestone, 25 years of developing your relationship, exploring and accepting your strengths…

Heart and Soul of a region

 1500 2250 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Norco Co-operative
Norco has an impressive origin story.

gateway finefoods kyogle

local, seasonal, transformative gem hits town

 960 639 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Gateway Fine Foods and Catering
Debbie McQueen has three words of advice for anyone starting a business in Kyogle: flexibility, perseverance and patience. They’re three traits Debbie…

Flexing the entrepreneurial muscle

 2560 1707 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Summit Sport & Fitness
Like many Northern Rivers businesses, Summit Sport & Fitness has undergone immense change in 2022 – except, rather than being buffeted by floods or pandemic, these changes are positive, and mark a new chapter for owner Matthew George.

OConnors carriers tweed 001

community keeps on carrying on

 1920 1288 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

O’Connors Carrying Service
Friday 30 March 2017 is a day Paul and Sue O’Connor won’t forget. The owners of O’Connors Carrying Service left their depot in Murwillumbah…

Position, people, poached eggs and a president

 2560 1920 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Caperberry and Flinders Rose
What makes an entire family move from three different cities to live together in a quiet coastal town? Great coffee.

A fighting spirit … and great networks

 768 1024 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Five Sixty Farms
Stranded on the roof of his house with his wife and their eight children, Pepe Fassos watched helplessly as his beloved greenhouses smashed and floated away in a tsunami of floodwater.

Cool to be kind and cans it

 957 1277 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

The Kind Coffee Co.
The KIND Coffee Co, reflects its name in everything it does.

The Natural Rice Co.

 940 627 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

The Natural Rice Co.
The Natural Rice Co. (NRC) is a unique enterprise not just in the Northern Rivers, but in a national context too.

Passion, patience and protein

 2400 1350 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Hemp Foods Australia
When Hemp Foods Australia founder, Paul Benhaim, discovered hemp as a food choice in the early 90s during his global travels, he had his own preconceived ideas.

nimbin valley dairy 003

love, peace and artisan cheese

 666 500 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Nimbin Valley Dairy
Not every goat in Australia has its own nutritionist and its own vet. But the goats at Nimbin Valley Dairy definitely do. Bill, the nutritionist…

Spirit of Byron in a bottle

 2560 1707 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Cawarra Cosmetics
Cawarra Cosmetics has been a leading manufacturer of Australian skincare, personal care and cleaning products in the region for more than 40 years.

mara_seeds_northern_rivers_business_feature_image_001

organic, sustainable and a local legend

 800 800 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Mara Seeds
The farmer and owner of Mara Seeds knows what can happen when you don’t – his 8000-acre station 50km to the west of Casino has seen worse…

simply clean lismore 001

simply better for you

 1600 533 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Simply Clean
It’s probably no surprise that it was a cleaning company that was the most well organised of all the businesses Huw and Becky Jones found for sale…

The dream team

 2560 1707 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Joel Jensen Constructions
Despite the pressures of running an award-winning construction company, there’s one thing Joel Jensen strives to do every day.

wrightway products 001

right place, right time, right way

 600 436 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Wrightway Products
The greatest challenge for Jennifer Joy and John Donnelly, the driving force behind Wrightway Products, was getting the world to see the value of…

putting the business into ‘show business’

 2560 1709 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Brainstorm Productions
You might think that COVID-19 would rattle a business that delivers educational theatre into schools. But the “show must go on” mentality runs deep for Brainstorm Productions’ founder and artistic director Jenny Johnson…

glass lab tweed heads 002

riding the wave of success

 1000 661 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

The Glass Lab
Adam Wessel may have worked in surfboard factories since the age of 16, but it was a stint in the luxury yachting industry that sowed the…

building a good reputation

 1000 667 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Brett Harley
When the only pub in town burns to the ground, it’s a big responsibility being the one chosen to rebuild it. The success of Uki’s new Mt Warning…

Start Typing

X