Eleven Years and Counting

With Nathan currently volunteering in New Zealand with Scouts Australia, this month’s motoring column has been left to chance.

As someone who regularly says to customers, “I’m not technically trained, let me get a Mechanic for you,” I find it entertaining that you’re now left with the unqualified for this month’s motoring edition due to poor preplanning.

Looking back on the messages shared around this time in 2025, 2024 and 2023, I attempted to follow the theme.

But there isn’t one.

Having started this motoring column mid-2022 as an editor for Nathan and his musings, the array of lessons learned and insight gained for me personally has been immense, and I hope the value has been provided to you, too.

I do consider myself to know more than the average bear when it comes to cars, but that learning never stops, especially when you’re connected to a person who lives, breathes, speaks and moves like it’s the only industry in the world.

If you’re ever curious about a topic or want Nathan to expand on something in particular, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

For now, though, here goes…

As we edge closer to February, I’ve found myself reflecting on the business that has quietly, steadily and sometimes chaotically grown alongside the columns.

Eleven years in business. Nine as Johnson’s 4WD.

It feels surreal to write that number down, because in many ways it still feels like Nathan and I are those two people in a shed with a dream, a toolbox and a very loose understanding of what running a business actually meant.

Back in 2015, we didn’t have a brand. We didn’t have a solid plan. We certainly didn’t have a motoring column.

What we did have was a belief that if we showed up, did good work, treated people well, gave back to our community and kept learning, something meaningful would come of it. And it did.

Slowly at first, then all at once, in that way, small businesses tend to grow when community trust starts to compound.

When we rebranded to Johnson’s 4WD from The 4WD Repair Shop nine years ago, it was at that moment we stopped being “a mechanic who works on four-wheel drives” and became a business with a clear identity, a purpose and a commitment to doing things properly.

It was the moment we realised we were more than a mechanic shop, and that we were helping people adventure, work, travel, and live safely.

That shift changed everything.

Customised solutions for each person to cater exactly for the way they use their vehicle.

Since then, we’ve experienced global and local changes, supply chain chaos, staffing challenges and the usual rollercoaster that comes with owning a small business in regional Queensland. We’ve also celebrated milestones we never imagined in those early days: expanding our team, refining our systems, investing in training and building a workshop culture we’re genuinely proud of.

As of the 12th of January 2026, we can’t fit any more people into the workshop we have.

And now, as we approach our 11th birthday as small business owners and our ninth as Johnson’s 4WD, I’m reminded that longevity in small business isn’t an accident. It’s the result of thousands of decisions.

Some brilliant, some questionable, some made under pressure, some at 3am behind tears, and some made with a laugh because if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry even more.

It’s the result of customers who trust us, staff who believe in what we’re building and a community that continues to support local businesses even when it would be easier not to.

Nathan will be back next month with his usual technical and motorsport wisdom, but for now, consider this a moment of gratitude from the unqualified half of the operation.

Thank you for reading, for supporting, for asking questions and for being part of the story that has carried us to 11 years.

And if you’ve been with us since the beginning, well, you’ve seen the evolution firsthand.

From the ute to the workshop. From the dream to the brand.

From “we’ll give this a go” to “we’re still here, and we’re only getting better.”

Here’s to February. Here’s to 11 years. And here’s to the next chapter, whatever track it takes us down.