Australian farmer sold firewood door-to-door; now sells 1 million bags a year

Peter Chauncy was supposed to become a lawyerHe enrolled in law school, but then his father got sick. Young Chauncy took his textbooks and came home to help on the family sheep and cattle farm in Canyonleigh, NSW. His father didn’t survive, so the farm became his responsibility. When he thought the worst days were behind him, nature turned against him. A bushfire tore through the 670-hectare property. They struggled to rebuild. But the tragedy was far from over. Then came the drought, a four-year hammer blow that flattened eastern Australia in the 1980s. The financial crisis loomed over the family. A growing family needed feeding, and the farm alone couldn’t provide it. Chauncy, who was 30 at the time, wasn’t ready to give up. He started a side hustle: selling firewood door-to-door.