2.153 How to Build a Business That Does Not Depend on You with Don Hett

In this episode, Karen is joined by Don Hett, founder of CleanKings, EarthyTabs and Crittiks. 

Thirteen years ago, Don started CleanKings. Over time, the business grew successfully, but like many Founders, he found himself deeply embedded in the day to day operations. At one point he realised he had become a prisoner of his own company. That moment became a turning point. 

In this conversation, Don shares how he transitioned from being the hands on operator to becoming the visionary leader behind the business. He talks openly about the systems, operational clarity and leadership capability required to build a company that does not rely solely on the founder. 

We explore: 

• The emotional shift from doer to leader of leaders 
• Why hiring people smarter than you is essential for growth 
• How to build culture across multiple ventures 
• The importance of delegation with clarity and accountability 
• What founders should stop doing if they want to scale 
• How overthinking can stall business momentum 

We also discuss Don’s latest venture, EarthyTabs, a purpose driven startup tackling the environmental impact of cleaning chemicals. Born from frustration inside his own cleaning company, EarthyTabs combines product innovation with measurable sustainability data, helping businesses understand the real impact of their choices. 

If you are a founder, business owner or leader who wants to scale without being trapped in operations, this episode offers practical insights grounded in real experience. 

Make sure to subscribe to stay updated with new releases on Mondays!
 
Visit https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/ for more insights and resources.  

Also Mentioned in This Episode: 

Connect with Don Hett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donhettofficial/  

Earthy Tabs: https://www.earthytabs.com/ 

Transcript

Karen Kirton   

Welcome Don,. 

Don Hett   

thanks, Karen, thanks for having me.  

Karen Kirton   

Oh, you're more than welcome. I'd love to know from you, what's the moment that you realise that the business didn't need to rely on you as an individual owner anymore? 

Don Hett   

Well, at some point, like, I got to, like, become a prisoner of my own company. And that's the moment that I realised that I have to, at some point, get myself out of it. So the next, probably year, and so I put systems in place to basically run the business processes in place to sort of like, streamline the operations, then put the right peoples behind. And then that's the moment that I knew that, like, Okay, now it's time for me to get out of it. 

Karen Kirton   

And what kind of systems we're talking like, just systems like processes or computer systems as well, 

Don Hett   

well, technology systems plus operational systems, then SOPs, when it comes to processes, like, really, like, like, streamline, everyone knew, like, Okay, what's next? What should I do next? Instead of, like, asking from someone, or we know, like going, going and having a look at someone, or even, like, double checking with someone, so it's Yeah, so then, then only that, that clarity piece, yeah. 

Karen Kirton   

So I've spoken to a lot of business owners, and it's kind of seen as this utopia, that I can have this business running on its own, yes, but then there's this huge emotional connection, 100% yes, the way you just described it was pretty clinical, of putting systems and processes and the right people. But what was the emotional 

Don Hett   

it was really hard. Like, I mean, because this is your baby, right? Like, I mean, I mean, Clean Kings was my first baby, you know, and it's still to the day it is my first baby, right? So that emotional attachment is always there, and it will always be there, right until I exceed it. Even I exceed it, maybe even, I, still have that bit of emotional connection to it. But I think it's if you can find that right people to to run it, and people more smarter than you actually do run it, I think that's that's where that peace of mind come into you, and that's what I have it right now. I mean, I have a trusted board runs the show, so obviously I trust them, and I obviously sit on the board and I can see the progress. I can see, you know, where the company is heading, the direction. So I think that's that gives you bit of a emotional Yes, it's emotionally still attached, but that emotional peace of mind is also there as well. Then the ability to have that freedom to do, go and do other things, is definitely done, yes, 

Karen Kirton   

and I'd love to know as part of that. So you said, you know, you're to hire people that are smarter than yourself. And you know, I've had other podcast guests say the same thing, which, again, is something really difficult for people to do when they own businesses, because they're used to being the person that you know, knows everything, owns everything. So how did you know to do that? Like, what was the moment? Had you made mistakes before? Or did you get advice from someone? How did you know I actually need to get people that are better at this than me? 

Don Hett   

100% like, I made tonnes of mistakes, you know, like, I didn't know a lot about, like, sometimes the tender writing to, you know, even, like, you know, sometimes, like, how to approach these large scale contracts to, you know, a lot of things right? And what I realised is that, like, I'm not supposed to know everything that was, that was the moment of truth. And obviously my mentors told me, like, you know, like, hey, you know, like, you really need to, like, look at, bring talent into the business so that you can actually grow in the way that you're supposed to grow. Your potential is there, but then you're not capitalising on it. So that's the that's, that's where I realised, like, okay, it's, it's, it's, unless I go and find it, unless go and I looking, I won't be able to find that yeah, then it's a, it's a process of like, like, you know, interviewing, meeting people, just to really see whether what, what they're saying is, what they what, what they really are, all of that, right? Yeah. Then, then again, come back to their values, their morals, what they stand for, all of that as well, right? Yes, not only the skill set. 

Karen Kirton   

So yeah, and that's a good point, because sometimes we look at the skills and think, well, that person must be amazing, but then they come in and behave really, it's, yep, they 

Don Hett   

destroy the culture, you know? And then then, then it affects back to the these high performing teams that we have. So the culture, and then maintaining the culture is super important as well. So bringing 

Karen Kirton   

How did you test for that? How did you work out that they were the rock. 

Don Hett   

Yeah, I hire slow, but then I fire fast. So that's, that's the policy. But then, you know, like, hard and slow can be sometimes, like, really challenging when we have a bit of a role to fill very, very quickly. So it's a bit of a, like, a gut feeling. Sometimes. Yeah, some, sometimes it works. Sometimes, yes, it might not work, but then, but when it comes to strategic hires, and especially my co founders and all that, I spend, like so much of time just to really understand whether they are the right people for the for this journey, because I consider entrepreneurship as a journey. So it's, it's, you know, if you go with the right people, it's a beautiful journey. If you go with the wrong people, right? You know the drill, absolutely, I 

Karen Kirton   

will say I've seen that a few times. So how did you do that mental shift from being a doer to a leader of leaders, 

Don Hett   

it's great question. You know, I think, I think, like when it comes to that mental shift, how I prepared myself, was that okay? I knew that if I wanted to grow, I can't just be doing the operational as be also become a visionary. So I had to pick which one I'm really, really good at, and then delegate everything else back into the right people with that right skill set, with the right attitude, and then obviously give them incentivize for their efforts, not only with salaries and all that, but then also with some equity, so that they actually feel that, you know, they can actually part of this whole family, part of this whole process, but that that that mental shift came from my growth mindset, 

Karen Kirton   

yeah, and I've heard people that have said, I don't want to give equity. They don't want to give a part of their business. But then, if you're giving, you know, no equity on a very small piece of pie, versus having a very large piece of pie, giving a bit of equity, then actually you're getting more at the pie. 

Don Hett   

Yes, yes. I mean, people need to feel valued. That's the most important thing, you know, whether and then identifying what they really value is also because for some people, the shares is nothing for them, like, I mean, some people, some people that we got it into, into early times, like, I mean, they join for the for the purpose and the impact that we are making. So for them, like, like, feeling that, like, okay, they actually contributing to that impact, and then constantly reminding them about this is their reward. Yes, of course, they get the benefits. Know that. But for them, that's so it's identifying those things as a leader is another key thing as well. Like really need to understand what motivates them, what drives them, and if you can find that, it's it's, it's handy, 

Karen Kirton   

yeah, and you mentioned delegation before. So have you seen people that have kind of sabotaged delegation without meaning to or where do you see delegation works? 

Don Hett   

Well, delegation works for for me personally, is when I made my mind loving the other person, to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes, because you're dealing with another human being, and if you accept that it's, it's, it's much, much better. And then obviously I spent a lot of time with my CEO who took over my role with Clean Kings and I sometimes didn't try to micromanage him, but I'd rather empowered him to sort of like, like, make mistakes and learn from his mistakes. But at the same time, I was there if you need help, if you need but, you know, sometimes I can make mistakes too. I'm a human being too, right? So allowing that, and then make like, peace with it, and then obviously, like allowing those mistakes to happen gave him, whoever my delegated person who's taking over my role to act confidently, you know, and then obviously build up his confidence level to the to the level. So I think, yeah, that's, that's what it is. 

Karen Kirton   

So having that autonomy, but then the safety net. But, like you said before, the clarity piece, 

Don Hett   

yes, yes. It all links, right. Like, I mean, I mean, I mean, progress with clarity is, is what we always after. 

Karen Kirton   

Yes, absolutely. Now you have a lot of team members that you've hired over the years. So how would you describe what good looks like on day one? And how do you make that consistent when you're hiring people? 

Don Hett   

So when I hire I don't really look at their resume. How I look at it is, I give them couple of scenarios, or maybe even I asked them, like, tell me about your life story. And then I really dig deep into and then obviously, I sort of, like, analyse, like, based on the role, okay, how did you solve X amount of like, I mean, x problem, you know? And then the way that they dealt with it, I looked at the. Attitudes and all of those things, right? But consistency about about hiring is like, really come down to values, morals, and then I simply ask them, like, Okay, what? I'm not asking them, what you bring to the table. I'm asking them, why, why we should hire you, and what, why? Like, I mean, how do you see yourself within us? And if they see themselves with us growing, and if they think that, like, okay, they can add value to us, that's, that's where we the consistency happens, because every hire, we ask those same repeatable questions, but then, when we they come on board. We treat them equally across the board, across all six silo ventures, it's the same culture that can do, culture that can do attitude, and then obviously, like welcoming the team, welcoming the people, the way that everyone is pretty much like we have a very supporting culture. And then our team is kind of like cross working across projects. So like, say, my social media team, they look after six likes, like, I mean, across all the six silo ventures, social media, not just one brand. So, so that's that that, again, supports, like intercompany cultures as well, to sort of like sync, really well, 

Karen Kirton   

yeah, and I think you mentioned before about supportive culture, because I think as much as you know, having those six different ventures could give them a lot of challenge. You can also add a lot of complexity as well. So how do you keep people in roles in those sort of high pressure, complex situations? 

Don Hett   

Good question. Again, like, I think, like, high pressure. When I hire, I kind of, like, get a bit of a sense whether, like these people, they have the ability to work under pressure. And I'm very upfront about it as well. When I'm hiring, like, I'm not saying that, like, Hey, this is not just a role. It's gonna be a challenging role, and most of the time it all tied back to like, how, like, I mean, how happy they're working in that role, what their enthusiasms look like, you know, how, how much dedication that they have for their role. Whether you're a target oriented person, or you're a goal oriented person, how pride you are with what you do, and, you know, like, and then look at like, what's their ultimate motive? Of like, say, most of our sales staff, they're really about, you know, hitting those targets. And so that's fine, and obviously we reward for them for that, and then at that brings us the results. But building that high performance culture for us is all about like, it's a combination of all of those things, not just one singular element, yeah, but high pressure people don't like really, let's say now you're under pressure if the other person can support you in some way, that sporting culture helps that that that high pressure, high performing high pressure as well. So, yeah, absolutely. 

Karen Kirton   

Now your latest venture is more of a purposed based business with earthy tabs, and it's all about that measurable impact. So how do you show the proof with those green claims? And why do you think it's important? 

Don Hett   

It's important because I, first and foremost, I experienced that. So when I wanted to find a solution for the plastic like container problem with the chemicals, I had to manually go and calculate what's the impact going to look like if I do this change within my business, there was no way I could measure the what's the switch gonna look like. So I had to ask all my 21 partners across national to go and count how many cans that we use on a monthly basis. I just had to look at my accounts to see how much we spent on chemicals, to really get a bit of a measurable impact. Then only I can compare apples with apples and see, hey, I switched from bulky chemical cans, plastic chemical cans, to these tablets. And now, because of that switch, this is the measurable impact. There was no way to do that. So that frustration, that your personal frustration, is what you know, led to to find a solution and and that's why we didn't stop at just like creating and formulating these tablets only. We created a solution, a tech solution, impact calculator at the back of it, so that businesses, when they switch from bulky chemical cans to us, they order through our platforms, through the ordering, through the consumption, we calculate seven different, you know, sustainability metrics. 

Karen Kirton   

Yeah, it's amazing. And I think the your story, which I mention in the intro as well, you know that experience in running the Cleaning business to then going into this product design for earthy tabs. So can you tell us a bit more about that and why you decided to 

Don Hett   

well, so this is my second product design side of things. I founded Amos house of Amos and MS originals and MS merch, which is the house of ms, which is a fashion label, and then we expanded into merch services as well, which I exceeded back in August 2024 so that was the first, actually my first product design or product based business experience, but I had a lot of experience in that sense. I mean, so, but that was kind of like a bit of a direct to consumer model, but then we went into the corporate side of things through the merch, but that experience definitely helped me to formulate this. But what I really found out as as when I designing the earthy tabs is that I didn't stop at just being a product business. Actually bring the technology into into that space as well, and then I combine the product with technology so that it's becoming a much more strengthier product. I'm now following the same passion to to my wellness product. I'm doing the same thing there. I'm just bringing the product, but at the same time, I'm combining that with technology so it gives more value to the whoever the consumer with our target market is, yeah, awesome. 

Karen Kirton   

What's been the most difficult or challenging part of starting this new startup, and what's been easier than expected? 

Don Hett   

Definitely the easier than expected is my learning curve. So your my experience throughout the years. It's what I realised is that, like every business, if you really look at the fundamentals, it's the same, right? The hardest one is that like, sometimes like when you like, finding like, the right people to do it sometimes, like dealing with different people, you know, like aligning them for that common goal. It's, it's one of the hardest because it's a startup, so lot of people are not comfortable in that startup space. And I There's a saying, like, I always tell to my co founders like, treat a startup like a startup. And, you know, sometimes, like people like, try to spend a lot like, you know, without you even getting that first dollars into, into, back into as revenues like you have, like, your spending spree, right? So those things are the most I would have seen in in the starter space, but since I'm kind of, like driving the vision and the growth and all of that, so I kind of like try to keep that under control. But creating a startup as a startup is the hardest part for a lot of people. 

Karen Kirton   

Yeah, now going back to where we started, you know, if someone's listening is thinking, you know, geez, I want to be able to do that. I want to have my business running without me so I can, you know, do these other fun projects over here. What's one thing they should stop doing? 

Don Hett   

Stop doing? Oh, I think the one thing that they should stop doing is they should actually look at like, overthinking it, right? Because when I, when I look back, I had a plan. I had a had a plan as stages. So the first stage was to get to be an entrepreneur, learn the game. Second stage was to sort of like, create a bit of a cash cow, so it allows me to do what I really want to do. The third phase is actually where we are right now, where I'm building my my ventures that are really, really passionate about. So having a clarity is the important thing. But then overthinking is what you shouldn't do like have a plan, but then, but if you overthink it, overthink kills your momentum. It kills it kills sometimes your possibilities, you know. And then sometimes, like it can kills your dreams too. Yeah, just gotta go forward. Yes, yes. I mean, once you go forward, maybe my work might not work, but then at least you know that you went forward. 

Karen Kirton   

Yeah. And finally, is there one thing that you wish that you knew earlier about running a business or being a leader? 

Don Hett   

Being a leader? I think one of the things that I heard from one of my mentors, is that being a leader is all about. You are not supposed to lead from the front. You're supposed to lead at the back, so you basically are the the rock at the back, so that, like your stars can shine, be the moon. So that's that's. Is the leadership side of things. One thing I would tell to my younger self is take more risks, because back in the day, I was very risk averse. I was very comfortable, like I didn't I'm not where I am right now back in the day and when I was started, and the opportunities were so much there, I didn't took it back in the day, but now I'm all about I'll take the opportunities, but at the same time, don't really try to work on the fear of missing out, either. Because sometimes when you try to do too many things without really looking at your passions and whether, whether you can really do something about that. Your Fear Of Missing Out is what playing you? 

Karen Kirton   

Yeah, so maybe it's going back to that plan, like you were saying yes, making sure that you you're moving forward on it, and perhaps taking some more risks. Yes, yes, yes, excellent. Well, thanks to it's been great to chat with you. How can people best get in touch with you? 

Don Hett   

Well, so my group is like, www.6silo.com my email is don@6silo.com 

Karen Kirton   

Excellent, and we'll put all the links to those in the show notes as well. So thanks so much for joining. And for those that are listening, if you receive value from this episode, I'd love it if you could leave a rating or review over Apple podcasts or Spotify, so someone else can also find the episodes to help with their business. Episodes released on Monday, so click subscribe, and you'll be notified of when it's available. If you have any feedback, questions or ideas for future episodes, head on over to amplifyhr.com.au, or connect with me on LinkedIn, and we can start a conversation.