In case you missed this in our January/February 2025 edition.
Melbourne-based Southby felt he could make something of himself and saw an opportunity with accident replacement vehicles. He bought four cars and started his company Redline back in 2017 at the tender age of 22. “I had absolutely no work for them and only two or three contacts in the industry. By the time you see a dollar it’s at least three months later.” Southby then swapped a jet ski he had for a Toyota Corolla – now he had five cars. Step by step the fleet grew – as money came in more cars were bought.
“It was going along nicely but I don’t think I fully realised the potential it had. COVID arrived and gave me a lot of thinking time and I realised that I was the only one who could create my future and since COVID I’ve tripled the size of the fleet.”
The aim is to have 500 cars in Victoria by Christmas. Redline has just opened an office and positioned a fleet in Queensland. South Australia is next in Southby’s sites and then the rest of Australia.
Southby attributes his success to his ability to forge relationships with repairers. It does mean that he is flat out bringing on new customers as he creates the personal feel to working with repairers, therefore creating the network himself, not with staff doing it for him.
It’s a crowded space to play in with many large and established competitors. “Of course other companies come knocking on my customer’s doors but they say no, because Jackson is a friend, or the service is exceptional, why would we change provider? So I’m proud that I’ve managed to create those sort of relationships.”
Recovering money from insurance companies is no easy feat but it’s all managed in-house. “If the insurance company is willing to be reasonable then I’m happy to negotiate. We have a team of staff who are on the phone to insurers all day and they have forged good relationships with them.”
Southby has relied on word of mouth, although has a strong social media presence, pays for radio advertising and has now become a major sponsor of Carlton Football Club which will lead to plenty of TV exposure.
Southby is a proper rev head and has his own collection of cars, he just doesn’t get much time to play with them these days. He is planning to visit many collision repair businesses in 2025 backed by his friendly team of staff. “It’s all about working hard and trying to make it fun for the team and our customers.” ●