success stories / neville darke

Neville Darke

Enduring Friendships Borne From Business Advice

Unbeknownst to Neville Darke, what seemed to be a simple representative's job selling fishing and sporting gear back in the mid '70s was to become the launching pad to a long accumulation of fishing and sporting knowledge, contacts, good friends and "Darke Agencies".

After working for other people it was always Neville's intention to be a business owner so he could work for himself — an aspiration which he says came from his father, who always had his own business.

Darke Agencies started in 1984 and is now a thriving business within a very competitive market.

"I love my work. There's not a day that goes by that I don't wake up and want to go to work," Neville said. "I love my fishing and I love my sports and the best part about my job is talking about what I love."

"Through my various jobs prior to Darke Agencies, I established and developed a great rapport with all my clientele bases."

"It was important to me to always be honest and up front with my customers. It was about working with them to develop and grow their fishing and sporting business sections. It was not about pushing products that ultimately did not sell. What's the point in that — no one benefits long term," he said.

"I was lucky in business. I was passionate about the industry I worked in and I fell into an existing client base which I had already had more than 10 years of great working relations with and dealt with supply agents who I also had years of experience with."

However, it wasn't all roses as there was a time in the '90s when things got tighter and Neville's business methods had to adjust to the changing circumstances.

Thankfully a mutual friend introduced Neville to CKG Partners Aaron Clark and Jim Garnsworthy back when Darke Agencies started, their understanding of the business, together with their experience, matched Neville's circumstances.

"It was definitely a steep learning curve for me, but it was a time I really learnt a lot about business, particularly cash management. It was great to have Aaron and Jim around, as they really helped me," Neville said.

"Good accounting practice, similar work ethics and our common love for sports has endured the test of time with the partners at CKG. Aaron and Jim have become very good mates of mine and there is a trust there that you just don't get overnight."