From School Dropout To Building A 50-Person Company | Aron Little, A2Z Traffic
In Episode 13 of Behind the Facade, Jake from Proline Group and Daniel from Complex Facade Install sit down with Aron Little, Director of A2Z Traffic Management, for a conversation about building a business from scratch, learning through failure and what it really takes to scale quickly in the construction industry. Aron’s story starts in Melbourne’s west. He left school at around 14 years old, lost his first carpentry job after falling asleep on site, and eventually became a qualified bricklayer. From there, his career took him through earthmoving, trucks and even a smoothie bar in Moonee Ponds before an unexpected conversation overseas introduced him to the traffic management industry. Despite having no background in traffic management himself, Aron backed the opportunity and moved quickly. What followed was anything but straightforward. He had to learn the industry from the ground up, navigate a difficult business partnership, deal with accreditation problems, lose a major client and keep a growing team employed through some of the most difficult periods of the business. Today, A2Z Traffic Management has grown to around 50 staff and approximately 30 vehicles on the road, with Aron describing the business as having doubled in size each year since it began. The conversation gets into the realities of scaling that quickly, why relationships and reputation matter more than competing on price, how Aron uses systems and AI to improve accountability across the business, and why he believes business owners still need to spend time on the front line rather than disappearing completely into the office. The boys also talk about mentorship, building culture, developing young people, knowing your numbers, dealing with difficult employees and why talented people can still become a liability if they damage the culture around them. Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome Aron Little and the story behind Episode 13 02:35 Growing A2Z Traffic to around 50 staff and 30 vehicles in under four years 07:06 Becoming a bricklayer and growing up around old-school trades 16:31 From bricklaying to earthmoving, trucks and the opportunity that came during COVID 22:09 Starting A2Z Traffic and the business partnership that didn’t work out 32:24 Losing accreditation, losing a major client and wondering whether the business would survive 39:11 Getting through the hardest period of A2Z and learning to keep moving when everything goes wrong 45:54 Aron’s first major job goes completely wrong 46:55 Hundreds of cars are sent down the wrong detour 49:13 Owning the mistake and learning every detail of traffic management himself 51:12 Why the owner still needs to be on site 55:36 Working in the business versus working on the business 56:33 Backing young people and trusting a 24-year-old to help run the operation 58:17 Why business owners need to move between the office and the front line 01:01:50 What actually happens behind the scenes before a traffic management crew reaches site 01:04:33 Competing on price and why Aron refuses to be the cheapest 01:07:30 Using AI and systems to monitor performance, punctuality and accountability 01:09:47 Why good service is worth paying more for 01:12:27 Aron’s daily routine and why motivation no longer enters the equation 01:14:51 The next five years for A2Z Traffic and Aron’s ambition to keep expanding 01:23:07 How do you know your business is actually working rather than simply surviving through hard work? 01:27:01 What seemed important when you first started but ultimately didn’t matter? 01:32:21 Should you keep highly skilled employees who are bad for the culture? 01:41:09 Final thoughts and what comes next for A2Z Traffic
