About James Hayes
Auto Cartel didn't start in a classroom. It started in a storage unit in regional Australia with a guy who decided to just have a crack. What follows is the actual sequence of moves James Hayes made to get from there to here — the leases that scared him, the moments he and Jemima nearly went under, and the shops he built along the way.
For two years before James ever started a business, he was working three jobs at once — managing a local tyre shop in Echuca, doing house boat maintenance, and pulling Friday and Saturday nights behind a bar. Saving up. Watching how shops ran. Picking the trade apart from the inside. The real journey began the day he decided to stop hedging.
“The real journey began September 2019.”
September 2019: James started ALPHA Tyres out of the back of his ute. Startup costs had already blown out — under $2K cash in the bank and weekly expenses sitting at about the same. They had to move fast. Early traction came from running epic local giveaways and saying yes to anything that came through the door.
“We didn't have enough cash. We didn't have a plan. We didn't have the best location. This was it.”
Outgrew the storage unit. The next move was a shed. First real overhead. First real commitment in writing.
“Shitting my pants taking on a $350-a-week lease.”
His now-wife Jemima came on board — boots on the ground, helping both on-site and across operations. From here on out, it stopped being just a job and started running like a real business.
Things were going well enough they pulled the trigger on a second location in Cohuna. Two shops. Two leases. Two times the moving parts.
Then they commissioned a third workshop in Melbourne — a 12m × 12m floor space rented inside a warehouse. They only made the move after landing a six-figure contract they’d been chasing for nearly two years.
“Another worker, another lease, shitting myself the whole way. We made it work.”
Then they upped the Moama workshop. Cash flow was so bad after the move they genuinely thought they were going to go under. James still remembers what he said to Jemima at the worst of it:
“It’ll be right. We just have to keep going.”
In 2025 the Moama store moved again — to a far bigger space on the Northern Highway in Echuca. Massive passing traffic. More room than they’ve ever had. The shop that almost killed them is now the most visible workshop on the strip. James is now documenting the next chapter publicly — the push from $400K months to $1M a month.
“Next target: $1M a month — documented publicly.”
I really just hope that me sharing this has inspired one or two of you to just have a f**king crack.
Because I'm telling you now — it has not been easy. It has not been an easy task at any stage. I didn't think it was going to be as hard as what it has been. It has been a f**king slog. We've had that many setbacks, that many times both Jemima and I have wanted to give up. I couldn't count on my fingers and toes how many things have gone wrong over the years where we just didn't think we were going to make it.
But we just keep going. We keep showing up regardless. And that is honestly the secret. That is the thing that separates the people who build f**king monsters from the people who don't achieve anything. The ones who win are just prepared to eat way more shit, and just keep going against all odds.
So if you are at a point where you want to give up, or you're scared about even starting — just know your break is coming. Your break will come if you just keep moving forward. It's one day in front of the other, one foot in front of the other. As long as you don't give up, there's always going to be a way.
We've tried to do the right thing. Tried to provide a good service. Tried to form good relationships. And without the support of the team and the suppliers we've got, we just wouldn't f**king be here.
Keep going.