From Tools to National Success: Two Blue Collar Workers Building Ecommerce Empires
Billy Joe McFarlan (Zero Ice) and Aaron Cicino (Aztec Off-Road) on building product businesses from scratch — the wins, the stock dramas, the cash flow stress, and backing yourself enough to walk away from the tools.
Most business advice comes from people who've never had dirt under their fingernails.
Billy Joe McFarlan spent most of his life swinging tools on construction sites. Aaron Cicino has been a mechanic his whole career. Neither of them followed a startup playbook. Neither of them needed one.
In this episode, we sat down with both of them to talk about what it actually looks like to build a product business from scratch — the wins, the stock dramas, the cash flow stress, and the moment you back yourself enough to walk away from a job.
Billy Joe launched Zero Ice — reusable ice cubes — just over a year ago. It's now selling in Australia, the US, the UK (launching end of May), and Japan, where it just cleared six figures on a crowdfunding platform in its first campaign. Three months ago he left construction for good to go full-time.
Aaron has run Aztec Automotive since 2016 and recently launched Aztec Off-Road — an e-commerce arm selling four-wheel drive and camping gear from brands like Wild Track and EFS. It's a natural extension of what he's been doing for decades: knowing exactly what goes on a vehicle and why.
Two different businesses. Two different paths. The same thread running through both — they built around what they know, what they love, and who they want to become.
In This Episode
- How Zero Ice went from lunch box ice packs to an international brand
- The real cost of being out of stock for four months in your biggest market
- Why Aaron's decades behind a spanner gave him an edge in the off-road accessories market
- What it takes to back yourself and leave a trade
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Adam James
Founder of Fireside Business Advice. Adam built Fireside to help men grow in business and in life — surrounding them with high-calibre operators, trusted advisors, and a community that holds a higher standard.
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