Insights from Sam Canning: Where it all began, and where it is now...

Founded in 2010 by a 28 year old Sam Canning (me), Cannings Butchers was the only conceivable answer to an insatiable need to be the author of my destiny. The slow and steady pace of a trusty "9 to 5" with all the certainty and predictability it could have offered me was not enough. So, I threw everything I had into the creation of Cannings Hawthorn. I knuckled down and did whatever it took to push the business towards success.

In 2014 I stumbled across an opportunity that was too good to refuse—the amazing location of our Kew store. The expansion into Kew nearly broke me... physically and financially but I just managed to scrape through and from then on, year after year, Cannings continued to increase its retail locations until, at some point during the Great Awakening of 2020, my mindset of 'never-ending growth' had shifted. I sat with this for a couple of years before coming to the conclusion that a firm and decisive correction was needed to snap the business back inline with my truest nature—my one non-negotiable requirement. Freedom. Business ownership to me is about freedom and creation and fearlessness. Somewhere on the path to "scaling-up", Cannings lost its capacity to be free and fearless and to create freely and without limits.

It's true, I now inhabit the hinterland of Northern NSW, but I am just as connected to the business as I've ever been. Every day, Cannings receives an epic proportion of my life force energy and I'm in our stores all the time, spreading the good vibes, keeping a close eye on things and ensuring that we continue to adapt and thrive as an industry leading business—making waves of positive change that cannot be resisted.

If you'd like to reach out to ask a question or make a recommendation, email me (sam@canningsbutchers.com.au) or if you'd like to help spread the love, please leave us a review.

- Sam Canning