Michael Lattouf is the Managing Director of Mikado Group. Michael has over 15 years of experience in senior and executive roles in Infrastructure, Railway Signalling and Telecommunication project planning and delivery in both the public and private sectors. He is a Chartered Engineer, Fellow, and EngExec and also holds a business degree majoring in financial management encompassing both technical and commercial expertise.
We asked Michael a few questions to get to know him better.
Q: Can you give a brief background about you, your family and your business?
Mikado Group is an Engineering and Project Management consultancy specialising in Rail Systems. We support our clients with resources to deliver Victoria’s Big Build in programs, such as the Level Crossing Removal program and the Regional Rail Revival programs.
I’m an Engineer by trade, a Chartered Engineer, an Engineering Exec and a Fellow of Engineers Australia. I am Married to my wife Maisae, we have a dog Loki and expecting our first child in March. I am a big Chelsea fan (English premier league) and I enjoy spending time with family and friends.
Q: What inspired you to be an entrepreneur?
I worked in corporate in a senior position reporting to a CEO, and my life was consumed by work. The hours were long, there were a lot of after-hours events and weekend requirements.
There were two things that inspired me to become an entrepreneur:
The first was to have a bit more flexibility and to be present in other aspects of my life, to control when I work, who I work with, and have the flexibility to focus on other aspects of my life, travel, family and hobbies.
The second was with the investment in Rail projects – there is a niche in the skillsets and experience in delivering these projects in my area of expertise, and we help clients in the area of their project delivery due to the demand for the experienced people in delivering the rail systems component of the major projects.
Q: What do you enjoy most about being an entrepreneur?
I’m consistently learning more about myself. I’m learning things that I would have never been exposed to. I have full control over my life and can choose where I put the time and effort I give aspects into my life. I can pick the clients I work with, the people who I work with, and ensure we all share the same values.
Q: What are the biggest challenges you have faced as an entrepreneur?
It’s sometimes a lonely place, as not everyone understands the stresses and struggles you are going through. Sometimes your mind can be cluttered with stress and problems that need resolving, and you don’t really have an outlet as you can’t really discuss with those who haven’t experienced similar problems and stresses.
Also when you are first starting that leap into the unknown, it was very daunting, as someone who likes to plan to only see a 6-12 month pipeline was very stressful. And with COVID hitting in my first year, we had to adapt to non-conventional ways of business development as it was all previously done with face-to-face meetings where you can flesh out the details on the spot. We had to change the whole way we approached and looked for new works, especially since we operate in a recommendations-based industry.
Q: Why did you decide to join EO?
I was seeing a business coach who was more focused on changing the company structure to a more conventional consultancy model which would completely change the way we operate.
Just before lockdown, we caught up with friends and one was an EO member, we were on the way to pick up pizzas and I just had a brief chat with him about how I was doing things. He was the first person in two years to say that the model is great, who said that it’s wrong? I think it’s a great model. It was at that moment when I realised that I wanted to be part of EO because it’s a group of people who are being bold to do things differently and who are actually going through the same things as you are.
Q: Can you share a golden nugget that you learned from another entrepreneur or mentor in the past?
“You don’t know what you don’t know.” If you don’t know something or where to get support from, just ask. There is always someone who knows where you can get the right answer.