(Above: Larkin and Drought with Dr Bronwyn Evans, CEO Standards Australia, at the 2016 National Awards)

• Housing member since 2005
• Specialising in custom homes and renovations in the Geelong region
• Multiple award winners

Geelong-based home builders Drew Larkin and Craig Drought are a successful and increasingly powerful package. When the pair first teamed up in 2006 to form Larkin and Drought Homes they had a vision to build quality custom homes. In ten short years, not only have they garnered numerous awards including Young Master Builder of the Year in 2013 (Drew Larkin) and most recently National Master Builder of the Year (Best Custom Home $500-$1M) but they’ve also appeared on a season of television’s ‘The Block’ and worked on some of Geelong’s most beautiful homes and renovations.

Much of their success comes from staying true to the mantra ‘quality, reliability and passion’. These words appear on the homepage of their website along with the promise “whether it’s a new custom architecturally designed home, an extension or renovation, our promise is that we will bring your dream to life and make the whole process as easy and rewarding as it should be.”

Despite now employing four full-time staff and eight contractors, the duo is still ‘on tools’ and say that their Master Builders membership is an important part of their success. They credit winning the awards and the reputation of the Master Builders brand with the positive exposure and subsequent business they have received.

“Winning the awards is the best advertising that you can do because you’re recognised and you’ve put yourself out there to be scrutinised by a professional,” Mr Larkin said.

“We haven’t won everything that we’ve put in, but we’ve always received good feedback, even on the ones we haven’t won, and then been able to improve and better ourselves.”

The team first entered the awards in 2010 and have entered most years since. Besides Mr Larkin being named Young Builder of the Year in 2013 and winning this year’s Best Custom Home category ($500-$1M) at both the state and national level, they also won the Best Sustainable Home category in 2016 for their Fairhaven project. They agree this is the project they are most proud of.

Larkin and Drought make full use of the marketing opportunities that come along with winning awards and say it is a core part of their business strategy. Their website is adorned with Master Builders and Green Living branding and mentions of their awards, something that Mr Larkin’s wife Emily has contributed to designing and composing.

“One of the main things is the marketing that Master Builders does that comes back around for us,” Mr Larkin explained.

“Radio advertising, having the logo on our website and then having the awards that we’ve won, if it comes down to two or three builders quoting for a job and there’s not much in it at the end, that could be the difference for why we get it,” he said.

“We use the Master Builders logo on all of our clothing and signage. It’s a very powerful brand,” adds Mr Drought.

The business partners also try to make it to as many Master Builders Member Nights as possible saying that they always walk away having learned something.

“If we walk away with a couple of things that we didn’t know, whether it be OHS updates or legislation updates then that’s worth it. And to talk to other builders about how they’re going and to do a bit of networking,” Mr Larkin said.

Along with using Master Builders logos on their signage, website and clothing, the pair also use Master Builders contracts.

“We log on and buy whatever we need online and then we’ve got them there to use whenever we want,” Mr Larkin said.

“It’s good to use them because they are Master Builders contracts and clients feel comfortable seeing the name, it just comes with the reputation and the name.”

Outside of their busy work schedule, both men enjoy surfing to wind down and watching their beloved Geelong Cats.