The bat business in Don Bradman's hometown

When Will Clark was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, his parents worried about his future and whether he'd find meaningful work and independence. He's found both, thanks to a love of cricket, a supportive community, and an amazing mentor.

Will Clark doesn't let his disability stop him from running a business.

Will Clark doesn't let his disability stop him from running a business. Source: SBS

Will Clarke, and his family, send blank canvasses around the country for artists to paint on.

However, they're not conventional canvasses. They're bats which have been sourced, sanded down, and ready to be painted.

It was an ingenious business idea sparked by Will's love of cricket, which is quite fitting given he's from the home of one ofAustralia's most celebrated cricketers - Don Bradman.

Will was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at a young age.

Will's mother Ange Clark says, "When he left school we got him involved with the normal integration programs with the disability services, and got an understanding of how that all worked, and we realised Will did not want to be part of that, he wanted his independence."

"We were sitting around at cricket one day, with the boys and some of the mums and chatting about the opportunities for Will, and we all got talking about 'why don't you get him recycling cricket bats'. It was as simple as that.

So Ange and her husband James started creating a business for Will's bat restoration, and then the local art community got involved.

"Peter Brown who is a very well-known local artist here[in Bowral], did a lot of work in outback NSW and Pete said, "I'll paint a bat for you, I'll see how that goes," and then he opened up his network of Artists Without Borders and it went all around Australia," she says.

"We got a bat here that's a collaboration between Ben Quilty and Jimmy Barnes - that actually went for $5,200  at auction. We quickly realised that this was a legitimate business that could actually make money."

With supply and demand sorted, Ange and James began to focus on Will's business model.

"As a family, we have made the long term decision to not rely on government funding. What we are doing with this business is to allow him to be independent of all of that, and to make sure this is a legitimate, sustainable, profitable business. If we look long term we want this business to be an employer of people with disabilities," she says.

Along the way, they connected with local businessman Peter Kazacos, who had previously worked with other charities. He assisted them in building the business structure.

Peter has plenty of experience running a small business - having founded two very successful computer services and telco companies, and his advice has proved invaluable to will's business.Peter kozocos - different file

"So with any small business, it's a pretty big challenge for those with disabilities like Will. We're providing Will with accounting support, back office support and fulfilling orders, getting his bats in and out to the artists, and sending them to people who buy them," Peter says.

"We've got a red rattler on our site inBowrall and he'll have his operations out of there."

Now Will and his family are in the process of transforming this little piece of history into an office.

Will's father James Clarke says, "We're going to divide the middle with an access door inbetween, one part is going to be an office showroom for willow industries, and the back section is going to be more of a workshop with a work space for will to wrap his bats and work on them."

All going well, he'll need a second red rattler in the future, as his business expands.

Want to find out the secret to small business success? Tune into #BizSecretsSBS at Sundays 5pm on SBS, stream on SBS Demand, or follow us on FacebookTwitter or Instagram.


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