When Callum and Emily MacKenzie sold their Mildura car dealership and headed to Far North Queensland for a better family lifestyle, they had no idea they would end up as revenue-busting franchisees with Dream Doors Kitchens.

The couple bought their franchise in July 2025 and have already surpassed the million-dollar revenue target.

As former firefighter, carpenter and business owner Callum explains, he stumbled across the kitchen facelift franchise when chatting with a friend.

“I was working as a carpenter, as a sole trader, doing mostly maintenance work – and lots of it was kitchen repairs. The weather is hard up here, the humidity turns benchtops and doors yellow, they swell up, they can get mouldy. I could see there was a gap in the market for minor repairs but I had no supply chain for kitchen cabinets,” he says.

When a former firefighter friend in Adelaide who owns a Dream Doors business told him there was a territory for sale in Cairns, Callum decided to find out more.

The couple liked what they saw, and bought the first Far North Queensland territory, covering Cairns and Port Douglas – with the capacity to work across the region.

Training and support helped set the path to million-dollar success

Callum travelled to Sydney for the initial onboarding week at head office. He describes it as “intensive”, from learning operating systems, setting up accounts, to business building advice and meeting suppliers.

“So by the time your first enquiry comes in, you are almost ready to order and it’s easy with contacts you’ve met face to face,” he says.

The training and support continued when he returned to Cairns. Callum consulted and quoted on five jobs in the first week, all under the guidance of a head office team member.

“The franchise has kickstarted our career; it made it easy to transition into the kitchen market, it was seamless,” he says.

Dream Door’s head office team has been an invaluable support, from the initial onboarding process through to ongoing marketing and business advice.

“The franchisor has a partnership with The Marketing Lab and we chose to take advantage of that and outsource to the experts. As soon as our business was online and we started advertising, we were bombarded,” Callum says.

“Our marketing spend has given us excellent returns through social and Google, and we also get a lot of referrals.”

The bread and butter Dream Doors business is the kitchen facelift, replacing doors and panels. Callum has extended this to full kitchen cabinetry installation.

The business recently completed a hotel kitchen fitout in Cooktown but the focus is on the high demand in and around Cairns.

“We are doing many more new kitchens than the rest of the group because of the impact of the weather,” he says.

From a hands-on approach to a scaled business

In the beginning, Callum expected to be, and was, hands-on. 

“I have a branded ute and a box trailer, and it was just me and the ute doing consults, and installation. Then I found there was no way I could do it all. I wasn’t doing the business justice, letting good enquiries go because I was too busy installing to respond.”

He learned the lesson quickly and started sub-contracting the work, focusing on sales and client relationships, which matches the Dream Doors business model.

“People like the owner to come out and do the quotes,” he says.

By September he had taken on a project manager, and was sub-contracting installation to two reliable and passionate carpenters.

“Unlike other building jobs, you work in someone’s kitchen and they are often present, so the installers are talking with clients and showing them what they are doing; so you need good people on the ground.

“And that’s been a big part of our success,” Callum says. “Early this year we won a lot of work, and something we hang our hat on that makes us stand out in the market, is our quick turnaround.’

Good people and speedy service are part of the success equation

Typically, Callum can deliver an installation two months after a client pays the deposit.

“That’s been our ticket to success – we are quick to visit, quote, and install.  But we are at capacity now, so I will need to build the team to keep that promise,” he says.

“The distance can be a drama because all our suppliers are down south so it takes longer to get doors; we just have to be on top of it,” Callum says.

With significant housing development in the area, there’s a massive demand for new kitchen installation. 

In November he took the next big step and rented a warehouse, showroom and office.

“It had to happen. We were doing so many new kitchens and we had to build them to fit, which had to be done in a warehouse,” he explains.

“I was happy to take the risk; I felt I needed to do this to stay ahead,” he says.

“With all the Dream Doors processes, the people in the right places, that early stress has lifted. The business is doing really well, and we’ve just broken our million dollar revenue point,” he says.