entrepreneurial journey

Igniting indelible encounters: EO Melbourne's First-ever Forum Mashup

In an exciting move to bring fresh perspectives and invigorate the EO Melbourne community, the first-ever Forum Mashup event took place recently, leaving participants buzzing with new insights and connections. This exclusive event, open to all EO Melbourne members, promised to be an extraordinary experience, and it certainly did not disappoint.

Member Focus Series: Mark Vanzo

It’s already a year since Mark Vanzo, Founder and Managing Director at SMART Business Insurance, joined EO Melbourne, and since then, he found the experience helpful to his entrepreneurial journey. “I help business owners cover their business risks and assets so they can sleep at night while working their businesses and enjoying life,” Mark describes his role.

Member Focus Series: Paris Thomson

Let’s get to know more about our EO Melbourne Member Paris Thomson, Founder and Creative Director of SIRAP, a content-led creative production studio specialising in film and motion content. Paris has a Bachelor of Communications in Journalism, Media and PR from RMIT and then worked extensively in television in Australia. She is proud to be an Ambassador for Future Women.

Mentorship: it’s a two-way learning

It was a first-time for both mentee Laiken Kerr Clarke, Director at Medisound, and mentor Catherine Duncan, COO at Matthews Steer Accountants & Advisers, to take part in EO Melbourne’s Mentorship Program and both found it enjoyable. Plus, they found the program nicely structured, which allowed them to go through their objectives for this mentorship journey.

Retrospection along the entrepreneurial journey

“Experience is the best teacher, and the worst experiences teach the best lessons.”

- Jordan Peterson

In a challenging world of entrepreneurship, you can learn a thing or two from experience, may it be from your own experience or from the experience of others. When you retrace the steps you’ve taken and look into your past actions, you can see what you could have done earlier, what you shouldn’t have done at all and what you should have done better. Even in driving, you have to glance at your rearview mirror once in a while to ensure you move forward safely. It helps to look back to the journey taken or observe what others have done and bring the lessons learned to help you go forward in achieving your goals.

Mentorship as a game-changer in the entrepreneurial journey

For most business owners, the entrepreneurial journey is full of challenges, but the experience is very rewarding. There are moments when they hit an obstacle or arrive at some crossroads along the way. Having someone to guide them can be a huge help in leading them where they want to go. And that’s what mentorship does.

“It's been the biggest game-changer for me,” said EO Member and Davidson Technology Consulting Director Gary Lorden regarding the EO Mentorship Program. He continued, “It has provided me with a lot of value around growth. It has added an even further challenge on how I approach things and look at things in terms of connecting the key rocks in my life.”

Do the universal laws play a part in business?

By Tui Cordemans

A few months ago, I overheard two entrepreneurs discussing holidays. One of them said to the other, “Didn’t you just have a holiday, you always seem to be on holiday. I can’t remember when I was last on holiday.” The other one responded by saying, “That is why you are more successful than me, mate.”

I couldn't help but intervene. I laughed and asked, 'Isn't having a life where you always feel as if you are on holiday a sign of great success?” They both stared at me and then laughed as if to say 'good point' .... made complete sense to me!

Mentorship Story: Reflecting from the rearview mirror to drive forward on the entrepreneurial highway

To be a better leader – this is the goal this year of James Murray, Founder and Managing Director of Work Healthy Australia. And for him to drive himself forward in achieving this goal, he recognises the value that the mentorship program is offering entrepreneurs like him, who aims for continuous personal and professional growth.

James is thankful to have Steve Sacks, Chairman of Sonnant, as his mentor because of the value that their relationship has brought to James’ professional development. “My journey for my self this year is to become a better leader, which means to become a better listener. Steve has been very helpful. Even if I've only changed 1% or 2%, I attribute a lot of that to some of my conversations with Steve because he's just such a good listener,” James professed.

From the Garage to Essendon Fields to Milan – an entrepreneur’s journey

“Our business journey has not always been plain sailing and, when I think back to the trials and tribulations my team and I have been through over the years, I kick myself that we did not make some hard calls earlier. But every challenge we’ve encountered has provided lessons, so I want to share my experiences with you here in the hope that you will find something you can take away and use in your own business or adapt to your particular situation,” shared Ken Matthews, Managing Director of Matthews Steer, Director of Family Business Australia and a member of EO Melbourne.

Bring out your inner warrior to confront an uncertain 2021

By Tui Cordemans

Instagram posts are full of inspiring optimism for 2021. We just couldn’t wait for 2020 to end and for 2021 to start. It is as if something magical happens when one year turns into another. Hence, we make New Year’s resolutions. But why do we have to wait for a New Year? I don’t know about you, but I have never had a New Year’s resolution come to fruition unless I have worked hard at making it happen. Things do not magically transpire just because one year turns into another.

Have you ever wanted to chat with a real-life hacker?

Due to restrictions on physical movements to contain the spread of COVID-19, more and more activities and transactions have moved from the physical space into the virtual space. As online transactions flourish and become more widespread, the threat to cybersecurity and privacy also becomes more prevalent.

Small and medium enterprises are not exempt from such risks and probable attacks. Concerns like these are what Adam Bennett and his team in Red Piranha are trying to address. They are white hat hackers, also known as ethical hackers, who are the good guys that break into computers and devices to test an organisation’s defence against the bad guys.

Three Qualities of a Successful Entrepreneur

Effective business leaders are those who can steer their companies and teams towards the road to success. As the path may often be filled with potholes and uphill climbs, it is advantageous if those who drive their organisations forward possess the right values and characteristics that can help them reach their goals successfully at the least possible time.

Jacob Spencer, Owner and Managing Director of Mobile Skips, cites the various virtues that he finds useful when leading a team. Among them, he names three qualities – persistence, patience and resilience – as the most significant in shaping him to become who he is today. He shared, “There are many, many traits and attributes that have helped me on my journey as a business leader. On reflection, I believe these three have been the most important and have had the biggest impact on me.”

Persistence and dedication to business: the difference between success and failure

“The more I practice, the luckier I get.” – Gary Player

This inspiring quote from golf legend Gary Player has taught Canopy Fitouts Managing Director Karl Simity about the need to work hard to be able to succeed in one’s endeavours. “Creating space that is perfectly fit for the user is what drives me. Sometimes there can be multiple roadblocks to creating a space that suits. However, finding the perfect solution is what I pride myself on,” he declared.

How to brainstorm effectively

Ideas are necessary for every business, whether it’s for product development, administrative matters, management or marketing. Having a safe environment and doing healthy exercises can cultivate concepts into creative outputs are significant to a business venture.

Brainstorming is one way to collect, bring together, sift through and improve on all the creative thoughts our team members may have. The question is: how do we do it efficiently? Premier Technology Solutions Pty Ltd CEO Matthew Beesley shares with us his experience and tips on how to conduct brainstorming effectively.

Applying a childhood lesson to the entrepreneurial journey

Entrepreneurial insights flourish from experiences, resources, education and learning events. Yet, some of the lessons that business owners now carry in their entrepreneurial journeys may often be traced from childhood. Some develop their skills and knack for business since their early years, whether it’s through their family or their self-learning.

Founder and Director of Graman Advisory and Executive Director of Clark Rubber Graeme Goldman looks back to his early years and realised the gem of lessons he got during those times.

The entrepreneurial journey of Datto’s Austin McChord

Reading about the life journey and insights of successful entrepreneurs is inspiring and educational. But there’s a different kind of learning experience that you get when you hear their stories firsthand and have the opportunity to ask them questions that have been lingering in your mind. Such was the opportunity that EO Melbourne has presented to its members and community when it held a virtual event with Austin McChord, the Founder of Datto.

Experimentation in business: the risks and rewards

Taking risks is a huge part of the entrepreneurial journey. You need to invest resources, time and effort to bring your venture to greater heights, and it is guaranteed that there will be many forks on the road and lots of trial and error before you can get there.

We’ll take a look at two circumstances where entrepreneurs had to experiment in their business and take the risks to reap the rewards.