Local (Melbourne) leadership quotes for your entrepreneurial journey

Food for thoughts. They are often needed to keep us going, especially in the entrepreneurial journey. And so, we gathered some leadership quotes – either new nuggets of wisdom or familiar motivational pieces you have encountered before – which will help you move forward when things become rough.

Let’s start with some motivational lines that have inspired some of our EO members.

Aaron Smith, Founder of KX Pilates, finds entrepreneur Jim Rohn’s quote something helpful to his journey, which is “Care more about your customers than you do about the money you make from them, and you will be successful.”

On the other hand, Meirav Ambar, Partner at Trendtrade International, learned an important insight from her experience. “There is no such thing as a journey (especially a disruptive one) without failures – both professional and personal failures. As long as you learn from them, you are fine. (I am still working on accepting that.)”

“Be firm, but fair.” Many have probably said this line, but it is something that Lauren Staley, Managing Director of Infolio Property Advisors, has found useful and helpful to her leadership journey.

For Malcolm Bean, Director at Beanmkrgy, he holds on to two guiding statements, both of which pertains more to team composition: "It's all about the people - with the right people on board, you can go anywhere" and  "You get the staff you deserve."

“The secret of leadership is simple: Do what you believe in. Paint a picture of the future. Go there. People will follow.”

- Seth Godin

Rahul Kale, Director at Sunpower Renewables, shares three inspirational quotes. The first one is “The secret of leadership is simple: Do what you believe in. Paint a picture of the future. Go there. People will follow” by Seth Godin. According to Rahul, “leaders that are entrepreneurs must first dare to dream. Yes, this must be backed up with significant and focused action, but they must be willing to create alternate realities that do not currently exist or are relatively uncommon. And for that, they must be dreamers.”

Another quote that keeps him motivated is Barbara Corcoran’s “My best success came on the heels of failures.” Rahul explained why he finds this inspiring, “Invariably, most Leaders in this space are relentless with their focus, discipline, drive, energy and ultimately faith in what they set out to accomplish. I have never met an entrepreneur who has not faced disappointment or failure in his/her career, but they don’t quit. Many have endured those instances multiple times, but they never let it faze them. It is an opportunity to return to the drawing board to re-strategise, examine or change course. It is an area I am proud to be a part of because I witness regularly how we use failure for what it's good for – a teacher to guide you onto your next achievement.”

Lastly, he finds Lisa Haisa’s quote very encouraging: “Great leaders don’t set out to be a leader…. they set out to make a difference. It's never about the role – always about the goal.” Rahul shared, “Our entrepreneurial journey started by wanting to make a difference - to provide energy independence and replace traditional fossil fuel consuming energy generators with clean, green, technically advanced, and economically cheaper renewable energy alternatives.  Today, we have been recognized as one of Australia’s Most Innovative Companies. We wanted to create an alternative for a better future; being a leader just happened along the way.”

Other popular leadership quotes that you might find helpful in your growth as an entrepreneur are as follows:

"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” —Jack Welch

"To add value to others, one must first value others." - John Maxwell

“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a moulder of consensus.” - Martin Luther King Jr

"One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency." - Arnold Glasow

“A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be.” - Rosalynn Carter

"Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality." - Warren G. Bennis

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” - Steve Jobs

“A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.” - Douglas MacArthur

“Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.” - Peter F. Drucker

"The price of greatness is responsibility." - Winston Churchill

“Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out.” - Stephen Covey

The best way to make good use of these quotes is to place your favourite ones somewhere where you can always see them – to remind you every day of why you’re on this path in the first place and push you forward to achieving your goals.

Share with us some of the quotes that have helped you keep going on your entrepreneurial journey.

Dealing with unsavoury reviews of your products or services

Feedback is necessary for improvement, especially in one’s business. While positive reviews are always welcome, one cannot avoid getting unsavoury comments as it is not all the time that customers and clients have happy experiences with a service or product. When this happens, how do you deal with them?

Respond and acknowledge the remark

There may be various reasons behind every negative comment, but the best way to approach it is to face it head-on. Lauren Staley, Managing Director of Infolio Property Advisors, sometimes encounter situations where they receive feedback on issues beyond their scope.

“This is a tricky one and often frustrating as I operate a property advisory and property management firm, so we can get tenants frustrated with something and wanting to express frustrations on Google reviews and it's typically about the landlord or maintenance issues which are mostly out of our control.  My approach is to write back that we acknowledge their frustration, however, suggest that anyone reading the review contact me directly for a more informed and balanced view of the situation,” she stated.

Reach out to the customer

Getting complaints or unfavourable reviews are not uncommon in the hospitality industry where impeccable and quality service is of the utmost standard. Malcolm Bean, Director at Beanmkrgy, a company that is into hospitality consulting and investment, shared what they do whenever they get into this situation.

“We strive to recognise with a response from a senior manager as immediately as possible. The goal is for it to be a real response (not an obvious corporate robot type) addressing the specific issue/s and what the rectification/next steps are (sometimes to call out an untruth, too). I think being candid is appreciated by most. Often the response is a great marketing opportunity to let any reader know we are committed, will take action and also to lengthen the response to talk about our broader offering, too. In the hotel/hospitality industry, our goal is to then have the customer come back again and give them a normal experience. The most loyal customers are those who started as unsatisfied,” Malcolm explained.

Address the concern and resolve the issue

Similarly, Rahul Kale, Director at Sunpower Renewables, believed to tackle the issue as soon as possible by taking the first step in knowing the motive behind the feedback.

“Get in touch with the customer. Understand the reason for their unsavoury comments. Unsavoury feedback is not meant to hurt your ego and make you recoil - it is important feedback that benefits the company to get better, improve and grow. Ignoring the issue or defending your position does not help – instead, address the concern and work with them to resolve the issue. Nine out of ten times this has worked for us,” he remarked.

Learn and understand, then pivot if needed

Oftentimes, receiving feedback from a dissatisfied customer is an opportunity to step back, review your business and see if there’s anything that needs to be changed.

Meirav Ambar, Partner at Trendtrade International, take this as a learning exercise to know more about their customers and have a better look at their services. “It's very hard, especially when you are truly passionate about what you do. But by definition, a brand doesn't target everybody. I take the feedback, sometimes have a one-on-one discussion with that customer to understand more, learn from it and pivot if needed and move on,” Meirav shared.

Take as an opportunity to improve

Some feedback may affect a business positively or adversely. But even negative reviews can be turned into something positive by making improvements in the business.

Aaron Smith, Founder of KX Pilates understands this and makes it a motivation to better the offerings he extends to his target clients. “Productive feedback is the pathway to and necessary for continuous improvement, which is what KX is all about. Look at these reviews as a direct line from your customers on how you can improve, but make sure that this feedback is coming from a customer you want to retain. Remember, the customer is not always right, but the RIGHT customer is always right.”

In all these, discernment is key to taking whatever step you believe suits the negative feedback you receive. As shared by our members above, it is important to know where the comment is coming from and the details or reason behind them. If they are valid and justifiable, waste no time in taking action to lessen any adverse effect it may have on your business. Moreover, open communication can help in turning the situation around and resolving whatever issue was raised. Lastly, take it as a learning experience where you can further develop and improve your business.

If you have a similar experience, share with us below how you managed the situation.

How do you retain good employees?

This is a question that many business owners and managers often ask. It is because having good employees and retaining them are important to running a successful business. There are no easy ways to do it, so we sought the help of some members of EO Melbourne on their experiences and best practices that may also be helpful to other entrepreneurs.

Meirav Ambar, Partner at Trendtrade International, Malcolm Bean, Director at Beanmkrgy Pty Ltd., Rahul Kale, Director at Sunpower Renewables, Aaron Smith, Founder of KX Pilates, and Lauren Staley, Managing Director of Infolio Property Advisors shared some of the things they do on how to keep good employees within their team.

Build a healthy work environment

Looking after the well-being of your team members help in employee retention. For Lauren Staley, what she did is that “I created an office ‘Zen Den’ this is where staff can ‘zen out’, meditate, relax, etc. We also hold nutrition workshops for staff in this space, as well as yoga and mindfulness sessions. We have a masseuse come to the office once a month.” Apart from that they also provide clear feedback on staff performance and quality of work, regular training, and leadership paths.

Create a good corporate culture and path for growth

Culture is paramount in every organisation and it plays a significant role in the longevity of a business. It shapes the work landscape and the dynamics among team members. Aaron Smith shared that it is helpful to “create an amazing culture in an amazing environment through vulnerable and courageous leadership and be flexible with and care for each individual's circumstances. As the owner, it is your job to create a pathway for your employees to develop and grow. Give them ownership whilst providing accountability. And most importantly, have FUN! If people LOVE working for you and your company you'll retain them for the long run.”

Value your good employees

Employees tend to stay longer in an organisation where they feel they are being valued. Rahul Kale stressed the importance of this. “First, you must respect your employees and understand the value they bring to your organization. If you judge a fish on its ability to climb a mountain it will always disappoint you. You must value the individual’s skill set that they bring to the table and empower them to function at their optimal level.”

He added, “I like to ensure that the worthy employees are compensated well, both in terms of monetary benefits and job satisfaction, and give them their space to work. By worthy, I mean those who take on responsibility and like to see things through. Our process starts right from the interview stage where we try and understand the employees’ strengths and weaknesses and then give them the required support, training, and opportunities to excel in their role. Investing in our employees to upskill, train and motivate them is another great employee retention strategy as it works well for both – the employee and the organisation.”

“The company’s culture and policies play an important role in defining the working parameters for your team – once defined, it is important to empower and allow someone the space to do what they do best. I am not a big micromanager and prefer employees who take on the responsibility and accountability to go above and beyond. Understanding each employee’s learning curve and giving them the time to settle in truly do wonders for their self-development and overall team morale,” he iterated. Rahul also quoted Sam Walton wherein, “Outstanding leaders go out of the way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish.”

Put clear action plans and customise strategies for different employees

Meirav Ambar also discussed some of the strategies she does within her business in keeping good employees. “I do a few things, and of course adapt the strategy according to the specific employee:

1.)    The people we work with are the people we play most time with. While we manage a highly professionally driven environment, we also have a lot of fun.

2.)    Every employee has clear KPIs and a clear action plan which we regularly review. Clear KPIs are important for our sense of accomplishment and value.

3.)    Most importantly, I trust them. I truly believe that micromanagement is the worst form of management and is the main reason ambitious employees leave their place of work.”

Maintain a strong relationship with your employees

On the other hand, what Malcolm Bean usually does is that he "strives to have independent direct relationships with my team members, especially with the A-players, and work on these weekly. Each person is different, and a deep relationship results in a customised or independent career and life plan. Often, people don't leave the job, they leave you because there wasn't true mutual understanding and connection.”

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How about you? What do you do to retain your good employees? Share with us your tips through the comments section below.

Looking to expand and take your business to new territories?

EO Melbourne members share their business expansion experiences and tips.

When treading on unfamiliar environments, you will need all the guides and pointers you can find to steer your business in the right direction. Entrepreneurs from EO Melbourne share their respective journeys along with a few tips on how to expand one’s business to new territories.

AARON SMITH, KX PILATES

Now with his brand present in Australia and Asia, Aaron Smith, Founder of KX Pilates, had to surpass the hardships of starting and growing a business. “I opened KX Pilates in Melbourne in February 2010. With 10 studios under our belt and a team in place to continue the growth in Melbourne, my wife Andi and I decided we would move to Sydney for two years to open and run the first flagship studio in Surry Hills,” Aaron recounted.

They researched on their competitors, studied the demographics of their market, and assessed their studio accessibility. Along with that, they matched as much as they could their Melbourne business. “It was an incredibly hard slog, but after 6-12 months, we saw huge success,” Aaron professed. It also helped that two of their best owners/trainers moved to Sydney with them to take on the other best locations available.

Aaron attributes the success of their expansion to PEOPLE. “The culture of the business also came with us. The brand has seen success in all other major Australian cities with the assistance of our Melbourne or Sydney-based trainers, moving to those places long-term.” On the international front, the same happened as they opened in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2018 with an incredible business partner, which they hope to replicate in China at the end of the year.

Aaron’s tips to those expanding to a new environtment are:

• Do your research and grow in one place properly first. So many businesses just 'assume' that because their business has worked in one city/state or even country, it will work everywhere. This couldn't be further from the truth. Test out the market first, do you research on similar competitors in your space and start lean and build from there. 

• Drop the ego. Yes, it's great to say you are now in multiple cities, states or countries. But if you can continue to focus and grow your business in one place first, then do it. Fewer businesses in more locations is a recipe for disaster if you are not prepared. Higher expenses with travel and being farther away to manage your team will make running your day-to-day business tougher. Business is hard enough, so why make it harder if you don't have to?

• Find the right people with the right brand fit and local cultural experience. You need to be able to trust them that they will do right by you and the brand. Our strategy is not just about putting dots on the map. It's about opening in a new country with the right person who will grow your brand in that place the way you want it to be done. 

DION CASTLE, STRUBER

Expanding in various states of Australia is doable, although it’s not a walk in the park as Struber CEO Dion Castle explains how they enter new territories. “We've gone into three states and then doing the fourth and the fifth state at the moment. Each state is on a different level of a journey.”

Working primarily with governments and large enterprises, Dion admits that there’s a lot of high barriers to entry. Recognising this reality, they use data to understand the market and time their entry effectively. Once they have looked into the data, they conduct in-depth stakeholder analysis and assess what is required of them, particularly in terms of skills and talent. At the same time, they think of the branding and marketing elements needed in their work, as well as do lead generation and build their databases. Also, they focus on providing value to the industry, looking after the long-term interests of their clients.

“That's the early stages,” Dion remarked. “Once you're able to move through that, the next phase is about maintaining relevancy to your customers in the new markets. It’s continuing the same level of energy when you entered the market and sustaining that over time, showing that you are an active participant in the geographic region and finding ways to continue to support the agenda of the enterprise or the government and the community at large. Also, you continue to expand the talent locally step-by-step, ensuring that you've got the right team members to be custodians of what your company stands for. These are people who can continue the founder-led philosophies that made your company great in the first instance and continue on that legacy further afield.” 

Going through all these activities in expanding his business, Dion shares some of the key learnings that he gathered from his journey. These are his guiding thoughts on expansion or entering into new markets, which requires people to do their homework, do their research upfront and make sure that they have the right pieces to support that:

• ‘Go slow to go fast’ and ‘ measure twice to cut once’. Doing data analysis and looking at your timing and your activity, try not to make rash decisions, particularly around talent that join your organization. Talent needs to join for the right reasons and at the right time and any rash decisions on talent will inevitably lead to churn and turnover. In our game, we need to make sure that the talent matches or is above and beyond the expectations of our customer base. Finding the right talent can take time, and you have to be okay with the fact that it takes time.

• Note that investing in your geography will cost you two to three times more than what you planned or anticipated for it to cost. Even with your best projections, it will cost two to three times more and will take two to three times longer to do it right. If you think you can get away with it at a cheap budgetary expenditure level, it will still cost you a lot more because you'll have to pay for the learnings through the journey. And there's a lot of learnings that you will undergo during an expansion.

• Make sure that you have an incredible supportive leadership and start to build that early. You need to try and identify as early as you can who will be the custodians in your new location to be able to carry the legacy forward. Leadership is something that takes the longest amount to build. However, you can purchase leadership but you can't purchase loyalty. You have to work to build loyalty over some time.

• While you're going through this journey, you need to measure to get better. You need to constantly measure your performance against your objectives of entering the new state or region. It includes tracking your performance in the short intervals using reports and data that you collect to be able to show patterns and behaviours on how you're performing in your expansion efforts.

• Don't be afraid to turn on and invest more or wind down a region based on the information that you get. Such information can be gathered not only from internal sources but also external sources in the economy, such as changes within the macroeconomic context. From there, you can adjust your strategy accordingly. At the very worst, have an exit plan. But in the markets that we operate in, it's a calculated investment, so an exit is only a very last resort, but would likely come back with a return mission in the future.

JOHN BEVITT, HONEYCOMB

Honeycomb, an innovative market research and customer insights agency, have consultants in Melbourne & Sydney, servicing clients Australia-wide. John Bevitt, Managing Director of Honeycomb, has a few tips for businesses that are considering to add a new product in their offer or to expand to new territory, whether it’s a geographical market or another industry:

• Get to know your potential customer and make sure you’re solving genuine problems. Many times, a client has come to us with a product or service they are developing on the hunt for a potential customer or market to buy it.  The most innovative products and services are those solving genuine problems. A lot of the research that we do helps businesses identify and develop these solutions by understanding the customer journey and their mindset, attitudes and pain points experienced throughout it. Start by talking to a few of your potential customers and identify patterns. From there, do a short survey with a larger group of prospects to validate these patterns and ensure they’re representative of the broader market.

• Communicate clearly and stop trying to sound fancier than you are. We have found that we get the strongest response and greatest uptake when we demystify what we do for clients. By focusing on the outcomes and benefits of the service we provide, clients are given certainty around what needs to be done and why, as well as confidence in their ability to explain this to stakeholders. The temptation that commonly occurs is to package up a solution and put a fancy name on it with limited context behind how it works or what value it provides. While this can generate intrigue, it also creates a lot of resistance as clients find it difficult to understand or explain to their stakeholders.

• For B2B Businesses, make sure you’re also delivering value to the human aspect, not just to the ‘client’ or business. When asked who my clients are, I usually respond, ‘Brand X’ and ‘Brand Y’, not Joe from Marketing or Monica from Product. As such, it can become a bad habit instead of adding value to the businesses you work with and the people in them. During COVID-19, a lot of our clients were fearful or uncertain. To help them, we brought them together and hosted virtual forums to share their experiences, strengthen their networks in the industry and validate what they were doing against each other. The sole agenda was to give the people we work with an ounce of certainty and confidence about the future and how to plan for it.  

Taking into account these entrepreneurs’ experience and learnings in their expansion journey, they can be your compass and guidebook for business growth as you embark on what you may consider as your uncharted territories. It is better to equip yourself as you take your first step on unfamiliar environments rather than take the plunge without much preparation.

If you have an expansion experience or story to share, send us a message at communications@eomelbourne.org or drop us a note at the comments section below.

Getting fit with Aaron Smith

All these years, Founder and CEO of KX Pilates, Aaron Smith, has been advocating for physical fitness. As he went about his entrepreneurial journey, he found that he can also help people become financially fit through his business. “Empowering people to make positive changes in their lives is fantastic. That's why I got into franchising as well. I always have a general nature of helping people. Whether it be in fitness or business, it's satisfying to me, that's for sure,” he stated.

Aaron was in his late teens when he got into fitness and personal training. In fact, he majored in exercise physiology during his university years. His passion for travelling, personal training and snowboarding led him to America where he stayed on and off for two years until he moved to London. While in London, he learned of Dynamic Pilates and immediately fell in love with it. “I always had the dream to bring the style back to Australia and create my brand. So, I left London in 2009 and started KX Pilates in February 2010,” Aaron narrated.

At a young age, he already has the entrepreneurial spirit within him. He affirmed, “I knew in my teenage years that I wanted to start my own business. I was pushed by my father, who had been in business for forty-five years, that business was the best way to get ahead in life, financially. So, I set that goal that I always wanted to have my own business.”

But when he got back from overseas, he incurred $20,000 of debt from his father, who had been paying off his travel credit card without Aaron knowing it. He went back working in bars and gaming to pay his father back. “After about 3 or 4 weeks, I was sick of it. I sat my father down, asked him and told him my dream of starting KX. He was like, 'Right, not a problem.' So, he was the guarantor on my first business loan. Six months later, we opened up KX Pilates in Malvern, Victoria. It was a really interesting time because boutique fitness was still non-existent then. It was hard in the beginning,” he explained.

His family, friends and now-wife lent their support when he was laying the foundation for his business. He recalled those times on how they helped him face the ordeals of starting an enterprise. “Looking back, it wasn't very fun. To an extent, I hated it. I was waking up at 4:30 every morning and wouldn't get home until 10:00 at night. I was working seven days, teaching 40 classes per week, on top of doing everything else the business required of me, paying myself only $200/week for the first 18 months. My parents supported me by allowing me to live back at home rent-free. My Father loaned me his car, and Mum would cook and prepare my meals. Even my now-wife Andi used to open the door to her apartment only to see me standing there with a bag of the whole day's dirty sweat towels that she would help me wash and fold, ready for the next day. So, everyone was helping me out.”

Aaron cited some of the stumbling blocks he had to face at the initial stage of his business. His studio was offering a new style of fitness, while people were still used to box gyms, not to mention the rise of 24/7 industry. He also had no idea on several aspects of running a business, namely accounting, finance, and marketing. “When I opened the doors, I didn't know pre-marketing campaign! So very few even came through the doors on the first day,” expressed Aaron.

While Aaron had to learn from the ground up how to get the word out, what he knew was that people would come back after they would experience his classes. He was confident in his ability as a trainer and could provide an amazing personalised experience. Still, he did the best he could to bring people to his studio. “I did everything possible: letter drops, flyers, network with local businesses, ads in local papers. Then digital marketing was on the rise so Google ads SEO were standard. I also joined a few entrepreneur and business groups to learn as much as I could,” he recounted.

One of the groups he joined was Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) Melbourne. He was first a member of EO in Sydney, where he joined in 2014. He moved back to Melbourne when he and his wife had their first child, so he also transferred to the EO Melbourne chapter. He found great value in EO. “Just being around entrepreneurs and business owners is a great feeling, especially the positivity and the encouragement they give because they’ve been in the same position.”

Another thing he learned from EO was to focus on his strengths more than his weaknesses. As such, he devoted the majority of his time making his strengths stronger. As to his weaknesses, he hired those who are experts in those fields to do those things for him.

He admitted that finding the right people and managing those within the team was one of the hardest parts of running an enterprise. However, Aaron attributes positive attitude and vibrant personality over anything else in choosing those who join his company. Moreover, he allowed the trainers to put their personality into their classes.

It was also from people where he learned the most. Aaron imparted, “Protect and stay close to your first followers, especially the people who believe in your vision. Without them, nothing would ever have happened.” He learned the hard way that he needed to align his employee's goals with the company goals. One time, his training manager for about four years decided to have a studio of her own (outside of the KX network). While it was heartbreaking for Aaron, he acknowledged that it was important for her to go off on her own. Twelve months later, he let the past go and got her back as National Training Manager, as well as a franchisee by transforming her independent studio into a KX.

Aaron has come to adapt to the changing landscape around him, as they continue to innovate. But the compass that keeps them in accord with their goals and direction is the vision and values of the business. “I created this company with four value pillars. ‘Respectful relationships’ speaks for itself. ‘Vibrant positivity’ is about always being happy and upbeat. ‘Going above and beyond’ extends to clients, franchisees and staff. The last one is ‘evolution through innovation’ because the learning never stops.”

With a vision of becoming the most well-known boutique fitness brand in Australia for customer experience and profitability for his franchisees, Aaron and his team work together on a mission of achieving goals and reaching full potential. Still, they continue to better themselves every day.

As they are heavy on service, they provide a personalised experience for their clients to re-engage them to the brand. They keep up with the trends in the fitness industry and adapt those trends in their business. On the other hand, Aaron is now more careful with his decisions as he moves KX Pilates forward. “I was probably overly ambitious in the beginning. When I first sold my first three franchises, I had a bit of money,” he recalled. Instead of investing it back into KX Pilates, he tried opening fitness studios specialising in other things. He added, “I had all these grand plans, but I made the mistake of changing my focus even when I haven’t yet laid the foundation of KX Pilates properly. Those businesses have now dissolved or re-branded because I needed to focus on KX Pilates.”

To take this a step farther, Aaron hired his COO last year to take charge of all operations. It allowed Aaron to focus more on his new priorities. “I'm happy to take a pay cut to put the important things first, being my family. My wife and I have worked extremely hard over the past eight years on KX. It’s now time to enjoy life as a family. Previously, I wanted nothing more but only to grow KX and work in the company. Now, although I am still passionate to grow the business, I only want to be an amazing dad,” the father of two shared.

Since their first studio in 2010, KX Pilates has 47 studios in almost all states of Australia at present. Aaron has wonderful plans for his brand. He gives us a preview of what’s to come. “We're looking at international expansion. We’re all set to open in Jakarta, Indonesia in the next couple of months. We’re also looking at an education arm of the business as well as product development. It’s an exciting time!”

Through those years and experiences, Aaron has absorbed valuable lessons that made him even better as a business owner. He realised the importance of tenacity, being able to get up each day and face the challenges ahead. The first 12 to 24 months of his business was far from easy, but he kept his eyes on the prize, while he shut off voices that were telling him he was going to fail. Financial stress was also a huge burden he carried, but he kept pushing himself and never gave up because he subscribed to the adage that only people who fail are the ones that give up.

Applying the principles of fitness training to entrepreneurship, Aaron highlights the need for discipline and consistency to be able to reach one’s goals. Similarly, as he helps people to be physically healthy through exercise, his method of franchising has also provided a means of livelihood for trainers and clients.

“I'm still passionate about fitness. But when I became passionate about business, it turned into an avenue not only to grow my brand but also to get others reach their goal of owning their own business. With our brand, systems, expertise and advice, we can help people achieve their financial freedom. It’s an amazing feeling helping people grow, develop and reach their full potential, especially when even they didn’t think it possible.”

Aaron’s energy was overflowing as he shared his story with us. Indeed, he is truly passionate about helping others.

To know more about Aaron Smith, check his LinkedIn profile. Read more on KX Pilates at https://kxpilates.com.au/.