"I'm a plumber," Grant says simply. "I went to TAFE. I went to plumbing school. And fair to say, I was actually pretty good at putting pipes in the ground."
What Grant didn't realise at the time was that being a great plumber didn't make him a great business owner, and that gap was quietly costing him everything he was working toward.
The Challenge
By 2020, Grant's business had grown to around 30 people. On the surface, it looked like a success. He was off the tools, managing a team, and had built a strong reputation in northern Tasmania. But beneath that, the numbers told a different story.
"I had a business that wasn't making a lot of money," Grant admits. "I was looking at what was in the bank as my indicator of how we were tracking, and that indicator wasn't telling me what I wanted to hear."
He was working hard, keeping everything moving, and making decisions based on instinct rather than data. Without financial visibility or the right systems in place, Grant had no idea which levers to pull to make things change.
The Turning Point
In mid-2020, Grant connected with Business Benchmark Group and joined the program. His first major experience, a Flight Plan Workshop, reframed what building a business could look like.
"Before we joined up, I got to where I got to because I'm good with people," Grant reflects. "With customers and employees. But the business side, the numbers, the structure, the strategy, that just wasn't there."
What struck Grant most was realising he wasn't alone in that gap. That the road from great tradesperson to great business owner is one almost no one walks without guidance.
The Solution: Scoreboards, Structure, and Letting Go
Through Business Benchmark Group's coaching framework, accountability sessions, and one-on-one mentoring, Grant began to shift from working in the business to leading it.
The single biggest change? Introducing scoreboards.
"We introduced revenue targets for each one of our six divisions, and put them up for everyone to see," Grant explains. "That was a game-changer. A lot of people are reluctant to share their numbers, but the power of putting a scoreboard up so the team can see what they need to do, and then celebrating the achievement when you get there, is everything."
The Results
With Business Benchmark Group's guidance, Grant Chugg Plumbing has undergone a remarkable transformation:
- Team and structure: A 30-person business now operating across six specialist divisions, including commercial plumbing, maintenance, gas, hydronic heating, bathroom renovations, and solar
- Financial performance: Consistent, predictable weekly and monthly revenue targets tracked and hit autonomously by the team
- Client base: A graded, recession-proof portfolio anchored by high-value repeat clients in healthcare and education who don't shop on price. They shop on trust
- Leadership development: Four key leaders meeting weekly to review numbers, anticipate challenges, and drive the business forward without founder involvement
- Founder freedom: Grant can leave for a month, including travelling to Africa, and return to a business that has run itself in his absence
"I can give a week's notice and disappear for a month or two," Grant says. "I come back, I see the dashboard and the numbers, and the business is still running. I don't have to be there. That's time and financial freedom."
Perhaps most significantly, the business now funds something far greater than itself. Grant is Chair of the Board of Villages of Life, a Launceston-based charity that builds schools and transforms communities in Burundi and Rwanda. He travels to Africa every year and leads groups of Australians on life-changing trips, including those of the people who go.
The Bottom Line
Business Benchmark Group helped Grant Chugg transition from an instinct-driven tradesperson to a confident, strategic business leader whose company now runs on systems, not on him.
Today, Grant Chugg Plumbing is thriving: built on solid structure, a high-performance team culture, and a clear view of what's ahead.
And Grant himself? He's living proof that a well-built business can be more than a livelihood. It can be a legacy.
"Business Benchmark Group hasn't just helped me grow the business," Grant says. "They've helped me understand what the business was always meant to do."
In 2026, Grant was inducted into the Business Benchmark Group Hall of Fame, recognition not just of what his business has become, but of the leader, the community member, and the human being he has chosen to be.
Grant Chugg is the Managing Director of Grant Chugg Plumbing Services in Launceston, Tasmania, and Chair of the Board of Villages of Life. He is a proud member and Hall of Famer of Business Benchmark Group.