A BUSINESS BUILT IN A LOUNGE ROOM
CBM Facilities Group didn't start with a business plan or a big team. It started with a simple observation: local communities needed local contractors they could trust.
Twenty-two years ago, Maree Richards and her husband John were sitting in their lounge room when they spotted the gap. John was a tradie, and he'd seen first-hand how the industry operated. Tradies were often treated as a commodity and not being paid on time. Long-term partnerships and good communication were rare. John and Maree decided to build the company they wished existed. One that supported clients, paid service partners on time, and kept the work local.
“The CBM journey started 22 years ago in our lounge room. We wanted to create a business that really supported clients and created stronger communities where the work stayed local."
From that kitchen-table idea, CBM grew into a national operation connecting organisations, trades and communities, and managing projects end-to-end for clients across every state of Australia. Today, CBM partners with over 8,000 trades in their own communities across Australia, New Zealand, and Hawaii.
THE YEARS THAT TESTED EVERYTHING
For much of CBM's history, Maree and John wore every hat. Marketing, sales, operations, service delivery, finance... They did it all. And then in 2014, John sadly passed away.
What followed was years of quietly keeping the business alive while grieving.
Ryan, John & Maree's son who first joined the business as "the IT guy in the lounge room" while still in high school, stepped in as COO in 2015. He brought structure and process thinking from other organisations he'd worked in. But even with Ryan on board, the complexity of managing hundreds of different businesses across Australia, each with their own standards and ways of doing things was a huge challenge.
The pandemic added another blow as clients scaled back, revenue stalled, and team numbers dwindled.
Maree and Ryan were trying to wear all the hats in the business...
“And that's why we're hitting that ceiling.”
Maree and Ryan knew something had to change. They just didn't know where to start.
THE MOMENT EVERYTHING CHANGED
The turning point came from an unexpected place: a Facebook post.
Jack Delosa appeared on Maree's feed talking about glass ceilings, founder dependency, and the patterns that keep business owners stuck. Every word landed.
“I'm thinking, yes yes yes, these are my people.”
Maree told Ryan. They reached out to The Entourage. And, as Maree puts it, the rest is history.
PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE THAT ACTUALLY STICKS
For Maree and Ryan, joining The Entourage wasn't like any learning experience they’d had before, including time studying at university.
“I've been to university and did a business degree, and I would even go ahead and say I've learned more doing this.”
The difference was implementation. Learning alongside a coach meant the knowledge didn't just sit in a notebook. It got put into action. But there was also a mindset shift that Ryan credits as equally important.
“Getting comfortable being uncomfortable, and understanding that failing is part of the process - and to not beat yourself up too much about it”
One phrase in particular became a mantra: never waste a crisis. It reframed every setback as a lesson, and gave the team a way to move forward rather than dwell
Seeing what they'd built
One of the most powerful moments of Maree's time with The Entourage wasn't a strategy session or a sales framework. It was being shown a mirror.
When The Entourage looked at CBM's operational data, they were struck by what they saw. CBM had facilitated over 140,000 jobs with zero reportable safety incidents. Quality recalls sat under 1%. KPI response times were above 95% consistently. Customer satisfaction scores sat between 9 and 10.
“The Entourage said, 'have you looked at your stats? These are awesome! Let's tell the world you are here.' And that was just so good for our confidence."
For a business that had spent years feeling behind, it was a revelation. They hadn't been failing. They'd been building something genuinely world-class. they just hadn't been telling anyone.
Maree also found perspective in the community. Being a business owner at their level, she learned, puts you in rare company.
“Being part of that 1% club is a very lonely journey. Your competitors don't want to share their tricks and their wins. Just coming to events and meeting other members, we are all sharing similar struggles, encouraging one another."
Through The Entourage's Elevate Program, CBM began aligning the entire business around a single, clear direction. Working closely with their coach Tatiana, Maree and Ryan made one shift that changed everything: moving from an "enable growth" mindset to a "drive focused" one.
STEPPING INTO LEADERSHIP
Perhaps the most significant shift for Maree was personal.
For the first time, she had a clear mandate, not just for the business, but for her role within it. Step up as a leader. Train the team. Delegate. Stop being the bottleneck, and start being the architect.
“My business and my team need me to step up and be a leader, a trainer and a delegator, and keep equipping them to keep growing and learning and stepping up.”
That shift in identity, from operator to leader, is what made everything else possible.
results that speak for themselves
With the right direction, structure and sales focus in place, CBM's growth accelerated quickly.
Since joining The Entourage, CBM Facilities Group has:
- More than doubled annual revenue: From $4 million in 2021 to between $9 and $10 million
- Expanded into New Zealand: Launched 18 months ago and already growing
- Entered the Hawaiian market: Opened in 2025
- Moving into mainland US: Expanding in 2026 with Rip Curl as an anchor client
A business that spent five years going nowhere is now operating across four markets on two continents.
“We also moved into New Zealand about 18 months ago, which is growing as well. And then we moved into Hawaii last year, and we're moving into mainland US this year with Rip Curl.”
LOOKING AHEAD
CBM Facilities Group isn't standing still. With a scalable systems foundation now in place, the business is set up to grow beyond Australia, guided by strategy, not guesswork.
A final word from Ryan:
“I would recommend The Entourage to any business owner that wants to create really good structure and processes in their business, wants to grow both professionally and personally, and is prepared to do the work.” - Ryan Richards, COO, CBM Facilities Group
A final word from Maree:
“I would recommend The Entourage to anybody that is feeling overwhelmed or stuck, like we were. The community, the team, is really the perfect recipe to get you kickstarted in the right direction.” - Maree Richards, CEO & Founder, CBM Facilities Group
