President's Update - June 2022

From the President

LEARNINGS

This is my final newsletter update and it has been an honour to serve as President. It will be 19 months since I stepped into the role, and it has been a truly amazing experience. Many members have asked me what it is like to take on the Presidency. I have been reflecting on this of late and outline my thoughts below.

Firstly, it was not easy leading during the pandemic, as there were many occasions the Board and I had to abort planned events after many hours of preparation. It was certainly frustrating, but I learned that I could be resilient and creative when required. We pivoted to virtual events, but I also learnt that as social creatures, virtual or hybrid events will never fully replace face to face events. The need to greet someone with a friendly hug and just spend time together in the same space is invaluable to creating a community. Having a coffee or a glass of wine with someone is about building a deeper rapport which is difficult to achieve virtually. 

I had to make many decisions around planned events during my term and I learned that having a good team around me to participate in brainstorming was invaluable. I learned to make decisions quicker and listen to my gut the longer the pandemic hovered. In turn, I found myself being able to make quicker decisions in my work and family life which has created surprising benefits. 

The President's role commitment meant that on occasions, I needed to let my leadership team within my own business make decisions without me. I realised that I was empowering my team to make more decisions, and they were thriving, as a result. There were times when my new role also meant having tough conversations, but I learned that by using compassion and being curious, an acceptable outcome could be achieved. 

The President role has also allowed me to travel globally and meet peers from across the globe. The connections I have made and the experiences I have shared with like-minded entrepreneurs will be with me for many years to come. Learnings such as fearless introspection, being adaptable, not needing to be the smartest person in the room and being transparent are behaviours I will continue to develop. Leading peers is a tough role because it is leadership by influence, and since all Board members are business owners, hence, we are all equals. It makes you appreciate the difference between leadership and management as no one on the Board wants to get told what to do as they are highly capable people. 

The Chapter is in a very healthy position and plans are well-developed to ensure that we continue to thrive as a community. I look forward to seeing many of you at our end-of-year gala dinner in a few weeks where I will hand over the Presidency to Damian Blumenkranc, who will take over and continue to deliver life-changing experiences. 

Warmest regards, 

Socrates Capouleas
President 2021/2022, EO Melbourne

President's Update - May 2022

From the President

YOUR THOUGHTS ARE YOUR GREATEST LIMITATION

The international borders are well and truly reopened, and I have just come back from the Global Leadership Conference in Spain where the focus was to help unleash your potential as an individual, an EO member and an entrepreneur. I encourage all of you to look out for opportunities to attend global events to experience personal and professional growth. The connections made with other Chapter members are priceless.

The speakers at GLC were all world-class and the quote that resonated most with me was “your thoughts are your greatest limitation.” Having spent some time pondering this concept, I am convinced that having a dedicated and focused mindset will power you all to achieve your goals. The speaker was presenting their story and the message I was hearing was that we are only limited by our imagination, perseverance, and dedication. I ask all of you to consider the following; how do your achievements to date compare with your potential? I enjoin everyone to attend as many learning events as they can because, after 10 years of attending EO events, I still get so much value out of them.

Our Chapter events team are busy finalising our End-of-Year Gala Dinner and it will be a great night to see out the financial year. I am also looking forward to the workshop being run by Dr Arne Rubenstein who focuses on guiding and inspiring people as they transition from one stage of life to the next. I hope to see you all at these events. Until next time…

Warmest regards, 

Socrates Capouleas
President 2021/2022, EO Melbourne

President's Update - April 2022

From the President

CONNECTIONS

I have just come back from EO Ignite and witnessed firsthand the power of connections. It was great to see our EO Melbourne Chapter members making connections with other Chapters and expanding their outreach. Spending time developing relationships with like-minded entrepreneurs felt like nourishment of the soul. I found myself sharing my darkest moments and walking away with a new perspective on the challenges ahead. As the EO Global community opens up and more event opportunities present themselves, I encourage all of you to build up your connections.

I trust you have all seen our latest comms advising you of our new date and venue for Board Handover and End-of-financial-year Gala Dinner being Saturday, June 18. The W Hotel is effortlessly cool and so EO! The evening is all about celebrating with our members and guests. I recommend booking a hotel room and taking the opportunity to explore the hotel, especially the amazing bar on the lower ground and the pool, both of which are stunningly designed.

As we edge closer to the end of the financial year, it is membership renewals time and you will be receiving your request to renew. The Chapter is in a healthy position and continues to attract amazing new members. The new board is already planning some exciting new events and the new location of the Chapter retreat will delight everyone, so stay tuned for more details as the year unfolds. For those attending our Grand Prix event this weekend, I look forward to seeing you all.

Warmest regards, 

Socrates Capouleas
President 2021/2022, EO Melbourne

President's Update - March 2022

From the President

BE CURIOUS

Firstly, let me say that it is awesome to once again attend events in person. We have had a great start to the year with a great lineup of events, having attended the Australian Open, which was an amazing experience to connect with members whilst enjoying Melbourne at its finest. I have also enjoyed the presentation with Ecopsychologist Mark Mathieson as well as our member dine-around, which have become a new EO Melbourne tradition and a highly popular event of the chapter. I am also thrilled with the members' interest in this year’s Grand Prix. It will be a great day sharing stories and getting to know everyone on a deeper level. One thing EO does better than most organisations is “scale-up trust”. It always amazes me what a safe environment EO is for sharing and diving deep into any topic.

I am writing this newsletter having returned home from an EO presentation by Sarah Owen, who is a trend forecaster. It really got me thinking to be more curious about everything around us and always look into something new. As an entrepreneur, I have always been focused on trying to figure out what new product offering I can introduce, but having listened to Sarah’s presentation, I have adjusted my mindset. I would ask you all to consider spending time looking at future trends and trying to figure out what problems are emerging that you can solve. This, in turn, could result in significant new opportunities for your business. Adopting an open mind and being curious could help you see things in an entirely new way.

EO Melbourne is in robust good health and our member base is growing strongly. We have been listening to our members and will continue to provide you all with opportunities to continue to connect. We have some great events coming up as outlined in this newsletter. We are busy planning our end of financial year gala dinner and have chosen a fabulous venue for celebrating. Look out for this event in future announcements and I hope to see everyone there.

Warmest regards, 

Socrates Capouleas
President 2021/2022, EO Melbourne

President's Update - February 2022

From the President

GROWTH MINDSET

Happy 2022 and I hope you are all well and ready for a great year.

There is no doubt that 2021 helped us build resilience, and the first few weeks of 2022 have reminded us to expect the unexpected.

Building on that, I have decided that my personal theme for 2022 will be to nurture a growth mindset. By the conclusion of the year, I’m hoping that this will help me to develop a ‘sixth sense’ allowing me to identify opportunities where most would only discover obstacles.

I’m excited about developing new techniques and building out innovative processes that will allow me to quickly qualify the validity, of what I feel will be a tidal wave, of new opportunities as our economic recovery continues.

Avoiding the media “click-bait doubling down on learning and growing from past mistakes, gives me a high degree of confidence that great accomplishments will follow.
As we move into the next phase of this pandemic that with some strategic focus, I’m positive that we can all find opportunities to turn the COVID disruption to our advantage.

No matter what 2022 brings, EO Melbourne will continue to deliver support and value to its members.

We are committed to helping all members develop meaningful connections and harness the significant power of this diverse and unique entrepreneurial community of ours.

In 2022, we are excited to be hosting a variety of amazing events, including renowned ecopsychologist Mark Mathieson who’s focusing on execution, futurist Sarah Owen who will blow our minds with insights into emerging trends, and social entrepreneur, Daniel Flynn who will take us on a journey of how to overcome what appears to be insurmountable obstacles to become a success.

We also have some social events locked in including our popular member connect dine-around, as well as 0ur iFly indoor flying family event which is a truly unique experience for everyone to try.

Our Board made the decision in January to post-pone our Chapter Retreat as we were conscious that our members and speakers were concerned about the impact the pandemic was having on their personal and business lives.

The aim of the retreat was to ensure we could gather a significant percentage of our members to create memorable connections, fun and learnings. We will re-set and plan for an even bigger and better event with details to follow in due course.

I would encourage you all to look out for our regular communications regarding upcoming events and make an effort to attend as many as possible.

True transformation comes from the effort you put into continuously improving yourself so please make the most of your involvement in EO. I hope to see you at an event in person soon.

Warmest regards, 

Socrates Capouleas
President 2021/2022, EO Melbourne

President's Update - November 2021

From the President

The festive season is suddenly upon us and it is in full swing. The lead up to the end of the year has kept our Board busy planning and executing events. November kicked off our first face-to-face gathering after a long while with a twilight event at the Prince, which included our AGM. Our guest speaker, Craig Harper, reminded us that high-performers are generally willing to get uncomfortable, so I challenge you all to reflect on whether you are getting out of your comfort zone. Craig also challenged us to reflect on why we do what we do if we haven’t defined what success means to us. It’s quite a philosophical question to grapple with, and for me, the answer typically changes from year to year. I will be attempting to answer this again at the start of the new year.  

For those of you who are not familiar with my namesake, the celebrated Greek philosopher Socrates, he had this famous quote, “know thyself”. His statement meant that we must choose a good life for ourselves through self-reflection and self-awareness. We must process and understand the knowledge we learn through life and from others and then reflect on it. We obtain this knowledge through experience and careful reflection. Hence, knowing one’s self is a lifelong mission.

The Board also organised for one of our past speakers, Joe Pane, to talk about getting back to business and life, in general, after this last lockdown and delved into our emotional fitness. If you did not catch this virtual event, I would encourage you to watch the recording. (Please check out our new Virtual Learning Event Library page.)

I hope you have already booked for our EO Christmas Lunch at the Carousel, which promises to be one of our best events for the year with some special surprises thrown in. It’s a great way to catch up with all our members and share some of your stories of 2021. I have always loved the energy in the room that only EO members can generate, and I am sure this event will not disappoint. I would also encourage you to be on the lookout for our Chapter retreat invitation, which is taking place from the 25th to the 27th of February 2022.

Our Board participated recently in a strategic planning retreat where we focussed on establishing what the next 3 years for our Chapter will look like. We have dived deeply into a number of topics, including sustainable growth, how we can better understand our members’ expectations and reasons for joining EO, and how we can genuinely assist in effecting transformational growth in the lives of our members. We will continue to keep you updated on the development of the 3-year plan. The Board also sought to provide some clarity on our position with respect to the COVID-19 vaccination, which is outlined in this newsletter. If you have any further queries, I encourage you all to either approach one of the Board members directly or raise it with your moderator who can discuss it with the forum Chair. On that note, I wish you all a great month in the lead up to the end of the year, and I look forward to speaking with many of you at our next function.

Warmest regards, 

Socrates Capouleas
President 2021/2022, EO Melbourne

President's Update - October 2021

From the President

What’s Coming Up

As we slowly emerge from lockdown, the Board and our Chapter staff are looking forward to hosting members in person again. 

One of the most significant realisations from my decade-long EO Journey is that the learnings I have acquired from the informal discussions with other members are invaluable. 

Before joining our ranks, I assumed that the majority of my learnings would be gleaned from external experts presenting at events. 

But, more than ten years down the road, I’ve come to realise that some of my most valuable learnings have been through discussions with fellow entrepreneurs. 

As a member of the EO Melbourne Chapter, we all have the privilege to connect with exceptionally talented individuals who share our passion for learning. Many have lots of lived experiences to share.

I would encourage you all to tap into the deep pool of knowledge, experiences, and life lessons that vary from each and every one of our 150+ members and make an effort to meet someone new at our next event.

We have a wide variety of amazing events locked away, and I am confident you’ll be shifting commitments in your calendars to make sure you don’t miss a single one.

One of our most popular events, the AGM, is fast approaching. Locked and loaded for the 11th of November at one of our favourite venues, the Prince in St Kilda, it’s the perfect start to get back into the swing of face-to-face events again.

In addition to catching up with some familiar faces and making new connections, our guest, world-class speaker, Craig Harper, will deliver inspirational guidance to help us take our lives from mediocre to extraordinary at the AGM.

Our events team has been working tirelessly to ensure our annual end-of-year event raises the bar yet again. 

Block out Friday, the 17th of December now and join us at the Carousel for a chance to relax and enjoy each other’s company. We’ve got a few big surprises planned, and I am sure everyone will be blown away with the line-up of quality entertainment.

As the saying goes, there’s no rest for the wicked, and we’re also busy planning our EO Chapter retreat, scheduled for Friday, 25th through to Sunday, 27th of February. 

The Chapter retreat committee is very close to finalising the agenda. As you would expect, we have a once-in-a-lifetime experience planned that is guaranteed to be unforgettable. If I can give you some valuable advice, you won’t want to miss this one! 

Our Chapter is committed to inclusion across all our operations. As the situation evolves, we are aligning our COVID-safe policies and practices in line with Victorian Government public health advice. As a community organisation that is centred around gathering at public venues, we are guided by public health orders and the individual venue requirements. If you have any queries in this regard, please reach out to our Chapter staff for further guidance.

This month, your Board Members will be busier than ever as they develop the Chapter’s three-year strategic plan. Look out for updates as we start to create the focus for the next three years. 

Personally, I am excited to explore how the Chapter can contribute to the transformation growth of our members. The Board welcomes members' ideas as we commence this critical task.  

Warmest regards, 

Socrates Capouleas
President 2021/2022, EO Melbourne

President's Update - August 2021

From the President

As I write this update for our newsletter, Victoria clocks up 205 days of lockdown. “Lockdown” is apparently the word of the year for 2020, according to Collins Dictionary. It’s pretty crazy to think we are going through this again, however, I am supported by the fact that we all belong to a great community of like-minded people where we are ready to lend support to each other.

I think that if we can learn from some of the shortcomings of our current Government, it’s that we need to be transparent in our business dealings and take accountability when things go wrong. Maintaining the trust of those that are closest to you, including family, staff, customers, friends and forum will ensure you remain viable in the long term.

We are being tested as entrepreneurs, business owners and leaders like never before, and I continue to be amazed by the resilience that the EO community continues to show. I have no doubt that all of our companies will be more viable and have better systems and processes when we are on “the other side” of this. I know that when this crisis is over, I am aiming for my business to have transformed rather than default to our original way of operating.

Forums are the backbone of our EO experience and I continue to hear amazing stories around how forums provide a safe place where we can experience share and hear alternative views on business and personal matters that may be challenging us at the moment. Our Chapter has been exploring ways that forum experiences can be taken to the next level so that the value we all get from forum can continue to increase. Our Forum Chair Damian Blumenkranc will be providing you with further details.

Our Chapter is introducing specific leadership training to Board members and new moderators to give back to our volunteer members who contribute significantly to the Chapter by taking on leadership roles. We hope that the leadership training will benefit them both in their EO journey and their own entrepreneurial journey.

I hope everyone got to watch the video recording from our resident psychologist, Katerina. I have been using the “signs of burn-out” she identified to help determine if my staff or I am suffering. It has proven to be a great tool for me. I want to remind all our members are eligible to for to 3 consultations with Katerina, so if you are finding this period challenging, please make a booking. The feedback I have received from members has been great and they have all walked away with great tools to use for dealing with stress and anxiety and the pace with which change is required.

We recently rolled out the “GOAT Year” Survey, spearheaded by our Member Engagement Chair Costa Vasili. GOAT, meaning Greatest of All Time, is our way of knowing what we’re doing well as a Board and how we can still improve on as a chapter. I encourage you to complete the GOAT Year Survey to help us in delivering the type of events or speaker support that you’d like to see in the chapter.

Our Board has been working hard to re-establish our calendar of events. We are planning a number of great online events that blend fireside chats with entrepreneurs and also include masterclasses on things like how to appreciate whiskey possibly a deep dive into the world of cheese making. We propose to continue to look for opportunities to reschedule our flagship major events like our Gala Dinner and end-of-year celebrations, as well as roll out our great speaker line-up in two parts being virtually and then a follow-up face-to-face event.

We have also established a committee to roll out our Chapter retreat which normally occurs every two years in the EO calendar. This retreat will be fully funded by our Chapter and will be held over 3 days (likely to be in February 2022 over a Friday, Saturday and Sunday).  We are planning to introduce a variety of speakers to cover a range of topics focussed on entrepreneurs living and sustaining their best life. It is our hope that we can bring some powerful experiences to this retreat that provide our members with the type of value that they expect from our organisation.

I am grateful for the opportunity to continue to lead this Chapter and confirm the Boards commitment to continuing to contribute to everyone living their best entrepreneurial life.

Warmest regards, 

Socrates Capouleas
President 2021/2022, EO Melbourne

President's Update - July 2021

From the President

Welcome, EO family! I hope this Chapter Update finds you and your family well.

Throughout last year, we all had to shift our focus and adapt to the changes happening around us. Shifting gears, constantly making changes to our well-meaning to-do list, and not necessarily meeting our goals are no fault of our own. Yes, the pandemic has challenged us in many ways, so I encourage you all to embrace getting out of your comfort zone, as it will make you better leaders and entrepreneurs.

Likewise, our Board has had to keep on their toes and continue to pivot with re-scheduling events and new ideas. I am preparing this update directly after an awesome strategy day with the Board coming up with a great plan to bring transformational growth to your upcoming year with EO.

I am pleased to announce that our membership renewal rate was the highest our chapter has ever had and the highest in the APAC region at 94%. We are tracking towards 150 members over the next few months and will be onboarding some awesome new members shortly. We plan to continue to run small intimate events whereby you can all continue to build life-changing connections with fellow EOers.

I was hoping that at this stage of our calendar we would have had our End-of-Financial-Year Gala Dinner whereby we would have thanked our outgoing President Sherryl and I would have introduced our theme for this year. Our events team is re-scheduling the gala dinner, so stay tuned as it will be an amazing event.

Without delaying any further, our theme for the year is Thriving Through Life-Long Learning; Taking our business and personal lives from merely surviving to thriving. You have joined a Chapter where, as individuals and as members, we are invested in one another’s growth and success. It is our goal that you experience business and personal growth through peer-to-peer learning, support and global connections and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. The Board and I, as President, are the custodians of the Chapter and we are focused on executing our theme for the year.

I look forward to seeing you all at a face-to-face event shortly.

Warmest regards, 

Socrates Capouleas
President 2021/2022, EO Melbourne

President's Update - June 2021

From the President

Dear EO Melbourne,

Work-Life-Changing Your Habits

Hello, EO family. I hope you have survived this financial year and is focusing on thriving. I am using the end of the financial year to re-set my mindset and throw out some of my old habits to achieve my goals. The pandemic has provided me with an opportunity to transform my daily routines. I have cut back my actual working day by about 90 minutes, and I can tell you that I am reaching higher levels of performance and achievement due to being able to focus more, for shorter periods of time. I feel more energised with a shorter workday as I have more time to pursue other activities, such as exercise and family time. There are certain things I will never go back to post-pandemic like working a 12-hour day every day, travelling interstate for a 1-hour meeting, measuring the headcount in my office instead of profits, stop meeting with B and C grade clients, never be physically out of shape again (well hopefully not!), and skipping my mum's Sunday lunch feast.

New habits I am going to hold on to are checking in more regularly with my team, appreciating nature and a good walk with friends and family, riding my bike, practising kindness and gratitude, and connecting more with our community. I feel all of these changes are allowing me to think more positively about the future and what we all have to look forward to. I encourage you all to undertake a stocktake of your daily habits and take this opportunity to consciously modify your routines to succeed in 2021.

Before we enter the new FY, we are closing the current one with 35 events that garnered a 9.20 ​overall average rating. ​And as we move towards FY 2021/22, our Board continues to work hard behind the scenes to ensure we provide our members with rich learning experiences. We have an exciting range of speakers coming up and I invite all of you not to miss our upcoming speaker, Mark Mathieson, who is an organisational psychologist who will unlock the secrets to getting sh*t done. I know I am personally guilty of being addicted to tackling the urgent stuff rather than focusing on the high-impact activities that will help me achieve my strategic goals. But that is precisely why EO is here, which is to aid all of us in our entrepreneurial growth, so be sure to check our upcoming activities for the learning events lined up in the coming months and take the opportunity to use them as tools to your journey.

Warmest regards, 

Socrates Capouleas, Finance Chair and Forum Chair, 2020/2021
President 2021/2022

President's Update - May 2021

From the President

Dear EO Melbourne,

The end of the financial year is nearly upon us, and I can't help but be proud of all of the achievements of our EO Melbourne Chapter members. Every year at this time, I reflect on how the financial year has gone, what accomplishments I have achieved, what worked well and what I could have done better. I have also reflected on our EO Chapter.

Reading over some of the stories posted by our own in-house EO Communications team with guidance from our Comms Chair Damian Blumenkranc, I feel motivated and better prepared for the year ahead. After reading stories of how the EO Mentorship Program has impacted our members, I encourage you all to consider participating in the program as part of your EO journey. I have heard firsthand the powerful impact it has had. Also, I have enjoyed reading other EO member stories around topics, such as how our members have used cryptocurrency in innovative ways in their business, how members have motivated their employees through challenging times and how members started their business. Now is the best opportunity to take time out to reflect on the past financial year so you can move forward with the insights needed to achieve your future goals.

The EO Melbourne Board has just come back from a Regional leadership conference held over 3 days in Hobart, focused on preparing your Board for the next 12 months of delivering memorable experiences on your entrepreneurial journey. The event created opportunities to learn and grow on our path to leadership, and I highly encourage current members to consider a role on the board in future years. The value we all received will help prepare us for both our own company and EO Chapter leadership ship roles. The Board is busy preparing for our Annual Strategic Planning and look forward to presenting our way forward next month.

Finally, I look forward to seeing you all at our End of Financial Year Gala Dinner to introduce the theme for next year. We have an exciting calendar ahead, and we are busy filling up the calendar with a variety of events to help our members 10x the achievement of their goals.

Warmest regards, 

Socrates Capouleas, Finance Chair and Forum Chair, 2020/2021
President 2021/2022

President's Update - April 2021

From the President

Dear EO Melbourne,

I am writing this President Update having just chaired the bi-monthly Moderators meeting where I was listening to stories of how well forums are running and the amazing peer-to-peer support occurring to help each other move forward together. It is great to hear about forums planning their retreats in locations like Queenstown in New Zealand (yes the travel bubble has arrived!) and the Northern Territory, focused on meeting forum members' personal and business development goals. The general discussion was around how connected everyone was feeling within their forums.

Brené Brown is a research professor in the US who writes and speaks on courage, vulnerability shame and empathy. One of her quotes that really resonated with me is: “I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgement; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.” My hope is that you are all experiencing this level of connectedness within your forums, and as a Chapter, we will continue to champion this with events like the upcoming “Member Connect Night Out” which is all about fostering Chapter-wide connections.

I am looking forward to taking over officially as EO Melbourne Chapter President at the June hand-over Gala celebration. In the meantime, I will continue to see out the theme for our year being "Lead With Hope". I look forward to introducing our new theme at our Gala celebration. It gives me immense pleasure and a sense of pride to be leading this awesome chapter. I am excited about working with a talented board that are sacrificing their time to ensure we advance the chapter and grow together. We have so many exciting experiences being planned for the Chapter. On that note, I refer you to these links regarding renewal details (Membership Renewals | Accelerator Renewals) and encourage you all to continue this EO journey in what will be an exciting year you will not want to miss.

Warmest regards, 

Socrates Capouleas, Finance Chair and Forum Chair, 2020/2021
President 2021/2022

Zooming through Socrates Capouleas’ entrepreneurial lane

Socrates Capouleas loves three things: he reads business books that give him continuous learning; he bikes 4 to 6 times a week that pushes him through challenges and keeps him focused on his goals; and he collects timepieces that remind him of his wins, as well as inculcate a sense of urgency. Continuous learning, focus on goals, and sense of urgency are also some of the key takeaways he picked along his entrepreneurial path.

Anthony Iannarino’s book, “The Only Sales Guide You'll Ever Need”, was sitting on Socrates Capouleas’ desk, Director of PLP Building Surveyors and Consultants, at the time of the interview. It’s a book he has been reading recently, and he found in it some wonderful techniques that his sales team can use for the business.

“I only started reading business books about, I would say, 10 years ago, and that's been a gamechanger for me,” Socrates shares. But he doesn’t just flip through the pages of these tomes and park them afterwards. What he does is that he reads one book at a time and he doesn’t move on to his next book until he summarises the key issues in there and then organises a learning session with his team to talk them through everything that he learns from that book.

Reading books has also opened his mind to many ideas and discoveries, opening floodgates of potentials in him. For the longest time, he didn’t think of himself as the most innovative or creative person, something which held him back in the past. But when he uncovered that he could develop himself to be both creative and innovative through learning from these volumes, it presented a whole bunch of opportunities to him that helped him through his entrepreneurial journey.

This particular journey started in 1993, with Socrates merely straight out of university. At that time, he had a cadetship in a local government organisation, which he found uninspiring, as people were starting the day and leaving work looking grumpy. Thinking that it wasn’t for him, he looked for an opportunity to get into the private world.

That opportunity presented itself to him as he met an individual who later became his business partner. “He was working on a landmark Melbourne project, called the Southgate Complex, near the Yarra River. He needed some help and he was on his own. I said, ‘that sounds like the top of a landmark project and I want to be working on it,’ so I ended up quitting my job and effectively doing a startup with my business partner then just out of his garage,” he recounts.

Socrates had a building degree that could help them through their project, but he didn’t have any business or sales background with him that could support him in other aspects of the business. Not having run a business before and suddenly being exposed to the responsibility of running a profitable business, managing the numbers became the scariest thing for him. As he had to tend to tax office requirements, payroll, and all sorts of accounting issues without any previous training on the financial side, this unfamiliar territory became both a challenge and a scary thought for him. But that didn't stop him. To address that lack, he talked constantly with their accountant in order for him to absorb new learnings on that side of the business.

But he has his parents to thank for when it comes to his business savvy. They were extremely disciplined and had a high level of work ethic that had rubbed off on Socrates. By observing them, he had imbibed the habit of getting things done efficiently. Not only that, his dad ran his own business, and Socrates saw the rewards it extended to his father, particularly the flexibility to take the days off when he wanted to as well as the security that it provided him. But what looked like a wonderful prospect turned out to be an uphill battle when he finally found himself in the shoes of his dad as an entrepreneur.

“I certainly didn't think it was going to be as tough as what it was in those early years. There are so many learnings along the way that you have to pick up, and typically you learn from all the mistakes you made. I didn't realise that all of these are continuous challenges and mistakes you make along the way. I thought you will make a mistake in the first 6 to 12 months and then it will be like learning to ride a bike, that once you learn to ride, it will be all smooth sailing from there. While in the 20 years, it's never been smooth sailing. There are always bumps along the way,” the biking enthusiast professes.

The first bump was when they were starting out and there weren’t enough opportunities available. The marketplace was highly competitive and they didn’t have an established client base yet. They were not getting prospects to put forth proposals, and when they did, given the competitive nature and the lack of relationships, their strike rate was really low, at less than 20% only. It was frustrating for him not being able to convert any crucial win right.

Socrates also regards the whole people management thing as an extremely challenging part of running a business. According to him, “the challenge includes: managing people, first and foremost; learning to be a true leader rather than being a micromanager; and learning to recognise and understand the staff – who they are, what type of personality they are.” The latter has given him greater awareness as to how to adapt his management style to them. It has taken him years and years to do this as he continuously adapts the way he goes about it in order to keep up with the challenge.

He also counts not focusing on revenue growth as an oversight for them during the initial stages of the business. It was nearly a bit of a challenge for them in making sure that their cash flow and profit decisions were strong. In the early days, they were already content having a two-million-dollar business, then making it into a three-million-dollar business, and later becoming a four-million-dollar business. Now, they recognise that it’s not just about revenue, but it is also about having the profit position and the cash flow to support their growth.

Funds were definitely a big issue in running the business as they needed to reinvest some of it to generate more income, especially that their overhead also started to increase and their staff base was growing. At one point, they needed to relocate office which entailed a bigger expense on their part. The toughest part though was when they started a new business unit that caused an immense ordeal for them financially.

So much was invested in that business that it posed a huge risk to them. They recruited three senior consultants from a large global consulting firm to get on board, and significant wages had to be paid for these consultants. Plus, they had to build some brand-new software. Their investment ran to, more or less, around AUD 750,000 in total. They forecasted that within two years, they would be hitting certain targets. But as they were getting into the middle of year 2 and looking at their KPIs, things weren’t happening as they originally projected.

“We were four months coming into this mark of 24 months and we had to make a call whether this becomes a viable business moving forward or whether we had to cut it. It was really painful because we have already spent all of this money and we're thinking, how on earth can we just cut this business unit off,” Socrates expresses. If they would keep going, year 3 would even become more painful for them, so they had to terminate the contract before the 2-year mark.

As a biker who hits the trail regularly, he has learned to become more resilient as he pushes himself higher up his entrepreneurial path. He went ahead on his learning track by seeking out mentors, receiving an enormous amount of knowledge from them. And then, 7 years ago, a new opportunity to expand his horizons came upon him.

“I had lunch one day with a friend of mine who was in the tech industry and he was, at that stage, a member of EO Melbourne for 5 years. He explained it to me and what I liked about it was the idea of a more structured approach to the learning journey, because certainly, I’ve always been an advocate of trying to continuously upscale and learn new things,” Socrates enthusiastically remarks. He appreciates what EO offers to its members: the different avenues for causes; the ad hoc speaker events with an open forum; and the networking opportunities to speak with other business owners. This includes the occasions to chat with people who have similar issues – be it business, personal or family concerns – and be able to talk to them in confidence, which he regards as a fantastic support structure. One major thing he learned from the EO activities was on scaling up his business, particularly on parts and departments of the company that he wasn’t previously focusing on. Eventually, it became another profit stream for them.

Throughout his journey, finds great importance in establishing a solid relationship with clients. As a matter of fact, to this day, many of these clients have been with them for already 20 or more years. The key to this is that Socrates understands his own philosophies and he stays true to them: to act with integrity and honesty at all times; and to keep one’s promises. These philosophies have gone a long way in helping Socrates keep his clients. He found them as a proven recipe for continued loyalty and repeat business, as happy clients were open to refer them to more prospects.

His hard work, perseverance and values eventually bore fruit as one of his businesses landed some significant government contracts, muscling up some large competitors. Amidst all these wins, Socrates regards another success that is closer to his heart – his people. “The other great win is seeing a couple of our people really step up and run one of our business units. We have two team leaders that run that business unit, and it's been great watching their journey and seeing them able to grow the business unit, train all of our staff and keep an engaged group. It's been fantastic,” Socrates beams.

He and his team celebrate these wins by sharing plates and breaking bread or doing other activities that they all enjoy. In addition, Socrates, being a watch fanatic, rewards himself with a new watch every time they complete a project, as a token and reminder of their success. It is a very apt gift for his own self, given that he values time and puts a priority on executing strategies with a sense of urgency.

When he sums up his biggest learnings, he has this to say. “Executing fast has been a gamechanger for me. It’s just getting things done quickly, that’s been a real lesson. Then, the continuous learning through reading and mentoring. In my own perspective, I hope I’m still on this learning journey in my 80’s and 90’s. And then having precise goals and sharing them with the staff. I think they are powerful tools because when you share them and it’s out there, we all row to the same direction and we hit some of the precise goals that I have articulated to the team.”

For now, Socrates gets up early from bed almost every day to train for the Holden Giro Della Donna cycling event that is happening in two weeks from the time of interview. As he translates biking into his journey in the business world, he gets an indescribable feeling after a bike ride up the hills, beating his all-time high, driving him to continuously challenge himself.

More of Socrates Capouleas in his LinkedIn profile. Read about PLP Building Surveyors and Consultants at http://www.plpaust.com.