Getting into the mind of shoppers

When you own a retail business, you need to constantly feel the pulse of the market. Trends come and go, and people’s tastes and choices shift from time to time. How do you drive sales and profit in an industry where things are fickle and everchanging?

While consumer preferences and priorities vary every now and then, there are certain factors that can draw buyers and sway them in their decision-making process. 

Cost and budget

One of the major consideration of shoppers is the cost of items if they are within the budget and provide value-for-money. Products on discount sale or with promotional gimmicks are more likely to sell out faster than regular ones. Some consumers do not mind paying a little bit of extra if they see that the product is of better quality than others. Evaluate your cost and compare them with the industry price if it is something that will drive shoppers to choose your product. Moreover, ensure that you produce quality goods and attach the price corresponding to its value.

Appeal to senses

Packaging that is visually pleasing to the eyes, with the use of attractive colours and design, can attract shoppers at first glance. What the brain retains are the visuals, then the words read, the sound or music and the smell. How the products are presented, especially when they are neat, orderly and packed right, may encourage consumers to purchase them. Some brands put a lot of thought and resources on the design of their products, packaging and visual elements to attract potential buyers.

Novelty

People are always on the lookout for something new. Even if you have bestseller goods, always think of ways to reinvent them and introduce fresh items. Make consumers be curious about you to the point that they will line up just to have a taste of your new offerings or services. With the same products, you can come up with events or new marketing schemes that can bring more customers to your business.

Public perception

Shelves that seem to be getting empty, long queues, and customer reviews. These are a few things that may sway consumers even at the last minute. Others would choose a brand with ethical consideration. Some would weigh the opinion of other shoppers when they decide the business they will patronise. Public relations, media and social networks often play a role in shaping public perception.

Ambience

The interiors of the shop, the spacing of shelves and furniture, and the arrangement of the products also affect how consumers view a brand. Allow your customers the space to breathe and put consideration on their comfort as well. Have a friendly staff that is ready to serve and assist them. Make your building, office, store, stall or shop welcoming to your clients.

Shopping experience

Regardless of how you are able to attract your customer at first instance if you are not able to meet or exceed their expectations, they’re more likely not to return and do another purchase. Capture your shoppers with the quality of your products, good customer service and exceptional overall shopping experience. Establish rapport with them and leave a strong positive impression that will stay with them for long. If fully satisfied, they will even share their good experience with others and act as your brand ambassadors.

The key is to have constant and open communication with your customers. Friendly and informal chats with them can give you a glimpse of the psychology of shoppers. A good relationship with your clientele is a strong foundation that can keep your business longer and push it faster toward your goals.

Increasing sales through online shopping sites

If you are a startup or a small enterprise and you want to sell your products using the online platform, you can promote them on your site and provide an option for site visitors to purchase them there. However, you can move your products faster if you make them available in top online shopping sites.

Before you embark on this direction, you have to review the site, its security features and partnership agreement, as well as the advantage and relevance of such to your brand. Once it has fulfilled your requirements and standards, you can begin featuring your items on your chosen shopping site or sites. But there are a few things you have to keep in mind to get more visitors and prospects to your page.

Write clear descriptions and catchy titles

Your description must be able to inform readers of the features of your product and how it can become a solution to a problem or situation where your item can fill in the need. Do not try to sound hard sell though, but be sincere in stating your offerings. You can include a call-to-action to motivate visitors to do something after reading about your product.

Use nice and attractive photos

Graphics and images are better than a thousand words. People can immediately see how your product looks like and how they can use them through photos. Invest in good product images that can attract people to your page. Make your photos easily searched online by putting tags and captions.

E-mail and engage your buyers

Take the extra step and engage your customers by communicating with them through email. Establish trust and build positive relationships with them through constant updates and fast turnaround on inquiries and complaints.

Follow-up on leads

Build your database of inquiries and convert visits into sales. Follow-up is key to completely closing a transaction. Check out concerns and assist prospects so that they become repeat customers.

Give discounts and special deals

Putting your product photos and description on an online shop may not be enough to bring in sales. With several vendors and many other products available in every online store, you have to compete for attention and gain the trust of site visitors. Coming up with discounts and special deals can put you on the homepage and featured portions of the online shopping site.

Utilise product reviews

When buyers are satisfied with your product and customer service, they will promote your brand and leave positive reviews. But don’t shy away from unfavourable comments. The best way to approach that is to respond sincerely and communicate well with disgruntled customers.

Promote in other sites

Even if your product is on your website and the online retail sites, you still have to strengthen your presence on the internet by using social media marketing and targeted sites. Check out blogs, vlogs and popular accounts of social network influencers. You can send them samples or tokens to feature your product on their sites.

There are plenty of options and opportunities for you even when you are only starting your venture. It is best that you scan the industry and study carefully the various online shopping sites that may lead to increased sales. If you are not too familiar with the terrain, seek help from experts or fellow entrepreneurs who have experience in this area. Attend learning events and seminars, such as those offered by EO Melbourne, and expand your knowledge on business, particularly in using e-commerce.

Hannah Vasicek and her meaning of success

“Success means nothing unless you're giving back.” Hannah Vasicek, Founder and Director of Francesca Collections, lives by this philosophy, which has also become the tagline of her business. More than just making jewellery, Hannah subscribes to the belief that her business is also meant to create an impact on people’s lives.

Hannah’s entrepreneurial adventure began when she was still a child. Imagine this young lady, who at 12 years old, already started her first little business selling lollies, where she earned around one or two hundred dollars a week. A year after, she ventured into making jewellery, which became one of her greatest passions that later paved the way to her Francesca Collections. “I started making jewellery when I was about 13 years of age. I lived in a rural town in New South Wales, and I had nothing to do. So, my mum took me to a beading store, and that's when I started making jewellery,” Hannah narrated.

She then began selling the jewellery she made. Her first little market store was when she was 13, selling $5 earrings and whatever her hands could create. When they moved to Tasmania at 16 years old, she supplied a merchant with her jewellery. However, because of the huge markup on her items, she decided to cut them out of the supply chain and switched to selling directly to her customers in Salamanca Market, a famous market in Tasmania. At that time, her business was called Handmade by Hannah.

Her family is one of the influences on the cultivation of her entrepreneurial spirit. Her dad worked in the music business and was quite entrepreneurial because he was good at selling. Similarly, her brother runs a business, while some of her uncles and aunties are business owners.

Upon finishing school, Hannah proceeded to university studying two degrees – science and law, retaining her jewellery business on the side and selling at the markets one day a week. At that point, she was still learning the ropes of discerning the pulse of her customers and the effective means of selling to them. Halfway through her five-year university degree, she re-branded her venture to Francesca to capture the younger market segment.

At the final year of university, Hannah made a breakthrough. “I applied for the Global Student Entrepreneur Award, which is run by EO. I got in the finals a week before my final year of law and had to fly over to Melbourne to present the business. I ended up winning, which was awesome. That was my first introduction to EO. Part of that award was to fly to New York and present the business at the world finals. I didn't win, but I met many EOers in New York. A lot of them said that I should pursue my business,” she said.

But when she graduated in 2012, she received an offer for an amazing law job. She was given a month to choose between her business and the job. “I decided that I wanted to do the business and give it a crack,” Hannah quipped. However, she received comments from other people telling her, ‘You're giving up five years of study to do your business,’ or ‘You're wasting your brains’ and things along those lines. Despite those discouraging feedback, she stood by her decision and took her father’s advice at heart. She called her dad on the day she got the job offer, who then told her, ‘Do what makes you time-rich.’ That was one of the reasons why Hannah chose to do the business over her law job. She knew that only business would allow her to have the flexibility of time to work on things she loves to do.

Even though she was zealous about what she was doing, it wasn’t entirely a bed of roses for her. At the beginning of her venture, she was multi-tasking and doing everything her hands and brain could do. “I was making the jewellery, selling it, marketing it, and making social media,” she described. It was only later when her sister joined Francesca and took the lead on the creative side of the venture.

Since she had no prior experience in running a business, Hannah had no clue on the other aspects of managing it like hiring staff and handling finances, for instance. She learned most of these things as she went along the journey. Hannah recounted, “I had to teach myself how to hire someone because I didn't know how to do it. Then the biggest thing has been the access to capital. I wanted to grow the business, but then I had to pay the bills. While starting out, banks won't look at our business because we were new. And I was a sole trader. So, every single bit of cash was going back into the business. And I think one of the biggest challenges was learning things early on.”

When it comes to finances, revenue has not been consistent. “As we've grown, cash flow is such a challenge. Not only are we growing and needing more resources, but our revenue spikes and decreases seasonally. So, we would do 20% of our revenue in the month before Christmas, and then we'll go down during our slowest month by having about 4%,” explained Hannah.

In the early days, she also had to survive through the various challenges to keep her venture afloat. But experience has taught her how to surpass those hindrances. According to Hannah, “I solely relied on the markets since I was 18, living out of the home. Sometimes there were problems, such as markets were cancelled due to bad weather, and I was without income for a week. I had to be always thrifty and ready for unexpected things. There has been that risk involved in losing it all. I think that's what has driven me to succeed. If things were easy, I might have become complacent. I once heard this great woman speak, and she said, ‘Always run your business as if it's going to have a massive problem tomorrow because then it makes you plan for those things.’”

One of those unexpected incidents was a burglary in her first store, which Hannah considers as her biggest heartbreak as a business owner. About six months into the opening of their first store, they got robbed. Hannah could still remember the day when she went to her store on a Sunday to get something out. “When I opened the door, I found all the jewellery gone. I thought someone was playing a prank on me. It was a huge challenge because I was very trusting. I didn't think through the risks of such things. We were under-insured, and it took us ages to recoup all of the jewellery lost.”

Another major challenge for Hannah is the location of her business. Being based in Tasmania was not easy for her to find a group of people where she could bounce off ideas related to business. She is grateful for EO Melbourne because being part of a forum helped her overcome challenges. In her determination to accumulate more knowledge, she flies to Melbourne every month to go to EO.

She credits EO for its positive effect on her venture and entire entrepreneurial journey. Hannah professed, “I honestly could say that I wouldn't be in business without EO. My ultimate goal was to join EO. I think that having a support network is so important, especially that I’m quite isolated because I am in Tasmania. I would have given up because there's a lot of things that come up and challenge me. Unless there is someone there to say they've been through it and they've gotten through it, it's disheartening. EO Melbourne has been fundamental in supporting me during my business growth. Just having people to bounce ideas off and support me through cash flow struggles and other concerns have been amazing.”

Because of her passion for work, learning, and growing the business, Hannah has harvested impressive wins from the early stages of her venture up to the present. “When we opened our first little store, I worked a 2-day a week law job to fund the rent for the store. After six months, I didn't need to work the law job anymore because we were making enough money. Then about 18 months after opening the little store, we opened a big store in Hobart. The revenue quadrupled as soon as we opened its doors. In 2014, we got invited to the Golden Globes to do the gifting suite. I went over to Hollywood and gave jewellery to celebrities. A year after, we won the Telstra Business Awards Business of the Year for Tasmania, which was awesome. In 2016, we opened our Melbourne store,” she enumerated.

Hannah discussed a few points that helped her achieve successes, big or small, in her business journey. “Now that we are successful in some people's eyes, I get a lot of people asking me how they can start a business. They think that they're going to make heaps of money as soon as they start a business. I have three things that people need to be able to run a successful business. My number one is passion. My philosophy is never to do something unless you love it and would do it for free because most of the time, it’s hard. You're just going to give up unless you're passionate about it. My second one is perseverance. You have to want to work hard and not have any reward back until you push through. The other one is the conviction to do it because that's another thing that I struggled when I had to choose between the law job and the business. If I didn't believe in my work, there's no way that other people would. If you have the conviction to do what you love to do, that's going to resonate through the whole company,” the young jeweller-entrepreneur stated.

Most of all, Hannah has the conviction to put purpose in her venture. For many years, her company, Francesca Collections, has been helping various charities. Their company tagline speaks volumes of what is in Hannah’s heart. “Our tagline ‘Success means nothing unless you're giving back’ can mean anything. It can mean empowering our staff, creating social change, or generating a lot of awareness or funds for charities. I think that a lot of people are so focused on success, and they think they're going to feel good when they get there. But it means nothing to have just nice things and not feel like you've made an impact on the world. My biggest legacy would be to show you that you can have a sustainable and profitable business as well as give back to the community.”

Her passion for her business and her causes makes Hannah look forward to the future full of excitement and positivity. She aims to expand the business in a slow, steady and sustainable growth, where she can maximise time and profit and enable her staff to have some flexibility at work. Apart from that, she has a long-term goal to have a better work-life balance and work outside of the business. Right now, she and her husband have another venture, called Apostl, which sells luxury leather goods.

For Hannah, business is not just about earning a profit. Her venture, Francesca, is not only about making and selling jewellery. There’s a lot more to it than just the goods. Her pieces represent the love she has for what she is doing and their emotional significance to the customers. “You only get one chance to do what you love. Make sure that you're living the life that you love. You shouldn't just go to work because you have to. You should go to work because you love everything that you do. I think success is when your actions are in line with your values. For me, I value giving back and making a difference,” Hannah remarked.

Know more of Hannah Vasicek through her LinkedIn profile. Read about Francesca Collections at https://www.francesca.com.au/.

Michael Clark wants to make the world better

Michael Clark, Crisp Solutions Founder and Lemon Wedge owner, is guided by these business philosophies: make the world better, don’t take no for an answer and never give up. His deep awareness of both the good and the bad forces in life drive him every day. The positive is a never-ending inspiration and the negative elements are a powerful teacher where strength and experience can be found. Thus, out of the opportunities and the challenges his environment and life posed before him, Michael has emerged as a formidable businessman.

The Younger Years

Born and raised in the suburbs of Melbourne, Michael was a happy, determined and capable kid. He loved all sports and was particularly obsessed with basketball. “I loved people, making friends and doing fun things with them. I was always hardworking on weekends, doing jobs for family and friends to earn some pocket money, such as washing cars, gardening, mowing lawns, or working at our family business, filling bags with mulch or rocks for sale to customers,” Michael described. Alongside these affirmative attributes in his early years, he was also battling some undesirable surroundings.

In the space of about two years in the early 90’s recession, the family business failed and the family went bankrupt, with the bank taking the family home as a result. His Dad then left, placing his mother in a very difficult financial situation with two young children, no home, a low-income job and no financial support. “We were literally left with nothing financially – zero. There was a lot of intense emotional, sad and scary times. Mum did everything she could to keep a roof over our heads and single-handedly got us through this tough time.” Living every day in an environment where money was scarce and was seemingly the cause of all the world’s problems burnt many lessons into Michael’s mind. As a 12-year-old, he made a lifelong commitment to himself to do everything in his power to make the world better for himself and everyone he cared about.

In addition to the family complications, there were also rough times in school which were not ideal. Fortunately, again his mother was there to guide him through this uncertain scenario. “She was instrumental in keeping me at school and not going completely down the wrong path - as much as I tried,” Michael intimated. The school environment was not helping, with kids that were doing the worst things deemed as the cool ones. “It was a pretty rough school environment and I was getting in a lot of trouble. There was zero incentive to do the right thing or study hard. Anyone with ambition or academic success was brutally cut down and bullied,” as Michael puts it.

“Amongst all the craziness, I did still manage to stay focused on working hard and earning money. I had jobs every weekend and after school. I worked as much as I could to earn money and save up for things. I was always living by my own high moral and ethical code, but in reality, I was in a lot of high-risk situations. Without realising it, I was in a huge struggle not to become a product of my environment,” he related.

The Turning Point

The major turning point in his life was when he took a TAFE course in Business Marketing. “I met with a guidance counsellor who presented a TAFE course that was called an Advanced Diploma in Business Marketing, and I had just enough marks to get into it. Like many 18-year-olds, I had no idea what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I also had no idea what Business Marketing was, but when the counsellor told me it could be applied to any industry, a light bulb went off. If I took this course, I could defer a big part of the decision about what I wanted to do, which sounded perfect. That conversation with the counsellor had put me on the path to where I am today,” he narrated.

Attending the course each day presented a whole new environment for him. Michael recalled, “I met people that were loving life. They were a different kind of cool for completely different reasons than what I had been exposed in my earlier school. They were getting good marks in the course. They were ambitious, positive, outgoing, and hardworking. These kids had different family units and were into sports, things I had never tried before, like wakeboarding and snowboarding. It was truly a foreign concept to me. I loved it and immersed myself in all of it. I started to get good marks and enjoyed learning everything about marketing.”

At the TAFE course, Michael met some role models that ushered him to a positive journey in his life. He became close mates with his classmate Richie, who welcomed him into his family. Richie’s dad, Robyn Bray, became his inspiration and one of his mentors. “He was a successful entrepreneur, and his lifestyle engaged me completely. He was killing it in business, and he still had time to hang out with us and go wakeboarding or snowboarding a few times a week. Lucky for me he shared his experiences with me, with nothing being off-limits. I remember sitting in his office at his home for hours on end and asking thousands of questions to which he sat there and gave me time and energy in answering every single one of them.” That got Michael inspired with all the lessons that he found invaluable.

After some success in the TAFE course and some difficult negotiation with the University, Michael managed to get himself into a Business Marketing Degree course at Swinburne University, Hawthorn. In his 3rd year of study, they had an assignment on product management, which could have been just another random assignment. But, in fact, it turned out to be a pivotal moment. At that time, he was doing the standard part-time job in retail on days off and weekends. In the hope of landing a marketing position in the company’s head office, he started studying the business model and the customers’ behaviours and came up with different product ideas. The 3rd year university assignment was the perfect opportunity to put his ideas to the test. The research from the assignment reinforced Michael’s thoughts on how well the product ideas would work if he could get the product developed and ready for market.

The Deal of a Lifetime

From here, the real entrepreneurial journey began. Michael recalls hitting so many seemingly game-ending brick walls. But after two years of not taking no for an answer and applying many creative tactics, he had a product that was ready for market. The product was great for the stores, great for the customers and, with the right business model behind it, had an upside for Michael, too. After presenting the idea to the owners and directors of the national retailer, the long and tough negotiations began. Imagine the 22-year-old University student at the table with three experienced successful businessmen. The odds were not in his favour. When Michael walked out of the retailer’s national head office with a signed contract in his hand, he had achieved an awesome win-win deal for the retailer and his brand-new business. So long as he kept his end of the deal, he had secured a revenue stream for his business for a time period longer than he had been alive. “Can you imagine how I felt when I left that meeting? I sat down in my very average car, in a suit that I borrowed from my sister’s boyfriend, coming from a challenging upbringing, looking at a contract in my hand with signatures on it and a deal to last longer than the years I had lived on this earth. It’s safe to say there were a few tears. I will never forget this moment.”

Start Up Problems

With a contract in hand, Michael had to execute the operations to bring the business to life. Often, starting a business has some difficulties. Michael had to contend with those who were dissuading him to pursue his plans, telling him it was a crazy notion. Another major consideration was the capital. In the beginning, with no money, no access to finance and no knowledge of where to get it, he had to work things out creatively to get his ideas off the ground. It was a huge risk, and so much hard work was already put into his ideas. He could have given up, but he realised the potential of his business far outweighed the risks involved.

“My whole life, I dealt with being told ‘no’ and being around negative people. So, I pushed through it and did not give up. Financially, I attempted to borrow money from banks, my family and family friends. The majority said no, and the options on the table were not favourable, as I did not think it fair to give up a large portion of the business. In the end, I made it happen by bootstrapping everything and structuring the initial deal so that I could effectively make it happen with no money down,” Michael revealed.

His first business transaction was still vivid in his mind. To make both ends meet, Michael worked out a deal with the retailer and the supplier to get him through the financial challenges. He settled with the retailer to have a suitable minimum order per store that would give him enough gross profit to cover the cost of his expenses. “I negotiated shorter payment terms on this initial order of 14 days from delivery,” he said. With regards to the supplier, he bargained for a smaller minimum order quantity for the first order and a 90-day payment term from the date of delivery. “Effectively, this made the business cash flow positive from two weeks after delivering the first order,” he added.

The Entrepreneur

From these beginnings, Michael then pushed forward, determined to make the most of the opportunities now in front of him. He has been involved in many exciting businesses, ideas and partnerships. At present, he has two enterprises where he is active in the operations and management of the business – Crisp Solutions and Lemon Wedge. These are in addition to property businesses in the UK and Australia where he doesn’t involve himself on a daily basis.

As he grew his businesses, he has had to hurdle more stumbling blocks. Cash flow was a constant challenge, particularly with some unproductive transactions and unforeseen circumstances. Plus, of course, he had to build a solid team to make his ideas happen. Moreover, he needed access to knowledge and systems to execute his ideas.

Good thing that he got a little help from certain areas. One of these is EO Melbourne. “I am a believer that you are the average of the five people you hang out with most. EO gives unlimited access to improve that average. I love learning from experts and others that are successful. EO gives me great opportunity to learn in this way. To me, experiences are among the most important parts of life. Mexico and India University have provided life-changing experiences that I will keep forever,” he quipped.

He also honed his skills of running a business effectively through audiobooks, books, podcasts, thought leaders, mentors, and experts. “Richards Branson’s book Losing My Virginity was a massive influence. And his attitude of making anything happen, regardless of the circumstances, was a big player in my early career,” according to Michael.

When he had people already working for him, Michael learned the importance of open communication. He imparts to his team his big visions and goals, along with clear expectations. They have Daily and Weekly Huddles, Weekly Wassups and Monthly Mirrors. He listens to his people and provides a platform where everyone is heard equally and recognised.

With their company vision of “Make the world better”, Michael offers his team an environment that can make their world better, both in their personal lives and careers. “Everyone knows what it is: Make the world better. It’s a simple and fun motto. It applies to all suppliers, partners, team members, and customers. It is ingrained in our daily routines and habits. We make it a huge part of our recruitment. We do what we can to make sure that anyone who wants to be part of the team has the right mindset and knows what they are getting themselves into. We then keep it a big part of the day-to-day culture through daily processes, reminders and things like gratitude journals.”

From his experiences and the knowledge taught to him by those who were ahead of him in the game, Michael formulated pertinent qualities of an entrepreneur that others may also find helpful. For him, it is important to “Find out what people or businesses want. Give them more of this than anyone else does, and you win. Learn how to learn. Get as many skills as you can, as they will all come in handy one way or another, often when you least expect it.  Learn about marketing, finance, mindfulness, focus, communication, and life balance.”

Life

When it comes to life balance, Michael loves being a dad to his two kids and “the best partner in the world” to their mum. He also finds time for his other interests, such as sports, training, snowboarding, socialising, travelling, and learning. “It never stops. I will be learning until my last breath,” he uttered.

Michael looks back and relishes the things he has done as an entrepreneur. He happily named his achievements as, “Living every day, creating products, building businesses that run without me, and changing people’s lives.” Then, with eyes set on the future, he has grand plans for the rest of his entrepreneurial journey. “I am aiming for five businesses to run with the little requirement on my time. I would expect to be turning over anywhere from 20 to 100 million dollars across those businesses.”

To those who intend to take the entrepreneurial road, he has this to say, “Spend time improving who you are as a person, as well as your knowledge base so that you can continually improve your levels of happiness, and the same for those around you and your businesses.” And if he could go back in time and convey some words of wisdom to his younger self, this is what he would tell the novice Michael, “You can do it, bro. Don’t lose too much of your energy to the stress about it not working out. Keep learning, and surround yourself with others that are winning and achieving more than what you are, to make your world even better.”

Learn more about Michael Clark on his LinkedIn profile. Read more about Crisp Solutions at http://crispsolutions.com.au/.

The strength of time for Graeme Goldman

The adage "time is gold” may be a bit of a cliché, but not to Graeme Goldman, who is in the business of selling timepieces. Graeme is the founder and owner of Lion Brands, a multi-brand distributor of Swiss-made watches, and the love for this item grew in him since childhood.

“Ever since I was about seven or eight years old, I always had watches around and was always enthralled by watches,” Graeme began. He remembered his grandfather who had several of those timepieces. Back then, the young Graeme wondered why older people were so fixated on time.

Growing up in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, they didn’t have television at that time because it didn’t arrive early in Africa. “For us, we would finish school at midday, and then we would have hours after hours where we couldn't sit in front of a computer or a TV set. We just played outdoors. So, we had six or seven hours to mark. I was always fascinated as to why adults were always worried about time. They needed to have this thing on their wrist, telling them that I had less time left. Whereas as a kid, time was irrelevant,” he pondered.

From an early beguilement of that object, it evolved into a hobby where Graeme was buying and selling second-hand Swiss watches during his teens. “I was always wheeling and dealing, swapping things, buying things, trading stuff, swapping a goldfish for a bicycle, all that sort of stuff for the friends of mine. So, to me, it was just an extension of my hobby,” narrated Graeme. Instinctively, because he wanted to make more as well as not lose on a deal, he continued trading until he became good at it.

After university, Graeme first worked in companies as a chartered accountant before he trudged on the entrepreneurial road. But because he was dissatisfied with the politics and unhealthy dealings in large corporations, he left the corporate world in 2004 and went on his own. “I decided to leave (the corporate) and not die wondering how it is to run my own business. I thought, ‘let's see whether it's worth it or not, whether I have the ability to do something or not.’ And it all started there,” was how he described his early beginnings.

The shift from corporate to entrepreneurship was an adjustment for Graeme. For one, he had to do everything by himself, from packing boxes in the warehouse to heavy lifting. Another adjustment is the lack of companionship, from having over a hundred staff members in the corporate, down to only about three of them in his venture, which meant not having enough people to bounce ideas off. “It's like travelling at 400 kilometres an hour, and then suddenly stopping and starting to walk. You feel the inertia pushing behind you, but there was just no momentum. So, it was the lack of having a sounding board, the lack of interaction with people, and the lack of advisors or people that you could lean on just for a different opinion,” Graeme expressed.

Not having any mentor when he started his business was one of the struggles he experienced in the early part of his journey. “That's why I joined EO Melbourne because I found it exceptionally lonely. There were a lot of other issues an entrepreneur faces that I never anticipated I would face, being shielded to a certain degree by big corporates,” he explained. Graeme found great company in his EO Forum. “To quote one of our forum members, 'we're like a band of brothers and sisters that no matter what, we are here to watch your back in a safe non-judgmental environment.' And to me, I've been lucky enough to experience that,” he said.

The main issue that Graeme realised business owners face is cash flow. “I wasn't well-funded,” he disclosed. The second issue, according to him, is staffing. And then, third is partnership issue.

“Staffing is hard,” according to Graeme. “Although I shouldn't complain. I've got a phenomenal core team around me that that have been here for a long time. So, overall, that core is fantastic. But as you get further out, it gets more and more difficult as to their understanding of how the business works. They have expectations of what they want to do, how little they want to work, and how much they want to get paid,” he added.

How Graeme approaches his role as a business owner is like being a captain of a rugby or football team. “It's not a matter of me sitting in some ivory tower dictating to people what to do. I still go score goals myself. I still have to be part of that team.” He doesn’t think of himself as a good leader or a bad leader. Rather, he learns from his previous bosses, retaining the good and refusing to pass on to those reporting to him the bad habits that he was a recipient before.

But the lowest of lows for Graeme is the betrayal by a business partner. He started his business with partners from overseas. But three years into the partnership, they had to part ways. “Their values were not quite the same as mine. Values are very important,” he quipped. Plus, he brought in a concept that was not as well accepted in Australia as it was back in South Africa. With his divorce from his previous partners, Graeme brought on board one of his colleagues whom he met through business. They became friends over time and set up three businesses: a retail store design venture; a wholesale import distribution Swiss watch business; and multi-brand Swiss watch stores.

It is also tough that the retail industry is a fast-paced world. One of the biggest challenges is marrying the retail experience of brick-and-mortar to the convenience of the digital technology. Graeme finds it frustrating to have old-school retailers that don’t want to change and are holding back the business. At the same time, it is an opportunity for him and his team to lead in the industry through innovation.

Since being a business owner takes so much time and effort from Graeme, he admits that he has not been a poster boy for work-life balance. He has missed out on several things with his children because he was working in the corporate and travelling during their formative years.

They are now grown up, and Graeme talked about them with a father’s pride. His youngest son has shown signs of interest towards the business world, with a lot of promise of becoming a successful salesperson. But Graeme still wants to give him the freedom to explore the world outside of their business, gather as much experience as he can, and choose what he wants to do in the future. “He needs to go out to the big wide world first. If he does come back, he was meant to come back. If he doesn't come back, that's life,” the father and business owner shared. For now, his son works part-time in their retail business. Graeme applauds his son’s interaction with the team because the staff don’t regard him as the owner’s son. “It’s a testament to his character,” Graeme said.

Even with the possibility of having a new generation taking over the business, Graeme still sees himself very much involved in his ventures. “You know, growing up, it was always, 'Oh, I'm going to get into a business. I'm going to get a job. I'm going to make money. And then, I'm going to retire.’ There was always this romantic notion of retirement. I don't see myself sitting on a beach one day, stopping from work. I see myself as always being involved in something to do with business, whether it's this current business with my son's involved in it or we sell it. Who knows what happens?” Graeme thought.

He knows that getting old will eventually slow him down. He might reduce his work days from something like seven down to four, and spend more time with his wife and family. While he still pictures himself working in the future, he will no longer be working like a madman as when he started his businesses.

Graeme also acknowledges the risk of the business falling apart without him there. So, he needs to put up a structure wherein they can still sustain itself even when he’s no longer around. “I'm not saying this because I'm very important. But, because it's me who runs a business, I sometimes forget that I need to separate the business from myself. I need to build the business in a way that it can operate without me there, which is possibly the biggest challenge. It's one of the biggest things that we were looking on for the next three years, which is to build the business around the team as around me,” he professed.

While he likes to do big-picture dreaming and plan long-term, Graeme believes that many things can still happen in ten years’ time, given the changing economic landscape, particularly in the segment where their businesses belong. But within five years, he wants to strengthen the brand experience of their customers in the actual physical setting and the online sphere. He hopes to have a dominant position in both online and offline platforms.

For those who also want to enter the entrepreneurial space, these are his words of advice, “It always takes longer than you think. It always costs more than your budget. You're going to have bigger and greater problems then you can ever believe possible. But if you don't give up and continue to believe in yourself even during the dark times, when you come out the other side and taste the sweet nectar of success, it's a truly pleasing time. You forget about the darkness you've gone through in the past. So, stick with it.”

Along with it, he cites the qualities of honesty, integrity and fairness as important tools in running a business. In the same way, he counsels others to be discerning in choosing and surrounding themselves with good people that have positive values. These qualities are some of the ingredients that brought Graeme to the road of success.

The victories, big or small, are what Graeme gets going. Whether it’s selling and exiting a business or assembling a great team, he sees them all as a reward for all the hard work he has put into his ventures. So, he takes time to relish on those wins. “With the passage of life and lack of time, we tend to let the successes go by unnoticed. As it's always human nature, we look at the negatives, the troubles, and the problems. We don't always look at the successes. Sometimes, it's just the small things that are right in front of you that are the most successful. When you sit back and reflect on those, it makes your work more than just a number. When they happen, they're sweet,” he remarked.

As every second is vital to complete a minute, Graeme takes on every success, challenge and learning event that helped mould him to be the entrepreneur he now is. He began his entrepreneurial walk early on, trudging a long, arduous path, which continues to this day, not knowing when it will end. With all his experiences, Graeme has been tested and strengthened by time. And he is set to spend the rest of his entrepreneurial journey doing what he is most passionate about, which revolves around time.

Read more about Graeme Goldman on his LinkedIn profile. More on Lion Brands at http://www.lionbrandsaustralia.com.au/.

Donna Guest on preparing for life challenges

An accidental entrepreneur. That is how Co-founder of retail company Blue Illusion, Donna Guest, describes herself. It was not something that she envisioned when she married her late husband and then business partner, Danny Guest. Moreover, becoming a CEO of a company was not something she contemplated when they started the business 20 years ago. She came into the position when Danny passed away suddenly last year.

Losing a business partner is one thing. The demise of a spouse is another matter. It was like a double tragedy for Donna. Someone who’s been a huge part of her life has departed. Business-wise, the difficulty was that she was more responsible for the creative side of the venture. Negotiating contracts, overseeing leases, and transacting with banks were Danny’s responsibilities. With the turn of events, Donna has to be comfortable with various aspects of the business.

This uneventful circumstance left Donna to rely on her executive team. This strong team quickly picked up the pieces and helped her run the company. Donna found it fortunate that her People and Culture manager that is handling HR is also a personal friend for the last 30 years. “She was mourning as well because she was very close to Danny. But she could nurture the rest of the team because I couldn't. So, it was an interesting time. I look back now, nearly eleven months, we're just starting to get out our pace and energy back, and celebrating the wins again,” Donna quipped.

The Guests started their business 30 years ago and grew it into a brand that has a presence in Australia, New Zealand and the US. Donna and Danny were already husband and wife when they started Blue Illusion, which marks its 20th year as a retail business. However, they were ten years into wholesaling before they shifted to retail. “My husband had a little business with his mom. Then she wanted to retire. I was pregnant with our second child. I came into the business, and we just we just hit it off. We knew what we wanted,” she narrated.

The independence and lifestyle of running a fashion business drew Donna on the entrepreneurial journey. But more than that, the obligation to provide for the family also brought her and her husband towards this career. “We wanted to send our children to private schools, and the only way we knew how was to work hard and be successful. It was our driver. But it was more of that we just loved what we did. Then we learned more about running a business as the years went along. We did every course I think known to man. We just had that spirit that there were no limits. We'd set our goals every year, and we'd achieved them. Then we would set another larger goal. It just grew and grew and grew. Before we knew it, we had 120 stores and a lot of employees,” shared Donna.

Donna and Danny were not born into wealth. Their humble beginnings and similarities in their upbringing bonded them together. They both had a huge drive. “We worked from very young, both of us. We were working from the age of 14 or younger, whether it was newspaper rounds or working at the supermarket or Danny working for his mom sewing. In our day, it was either you were educated and became a lawyer, or you left school young and followed your passion,” she stated.

That passion blurred any boundary there was when it comes to chasing their dreams. The possibilities became unlimited. “When you're passionate about something and super focused on it, it gains momentum,” Donna pronounced. That same passion kept them driven towards achieving their goals, regardless of the challenges and stumbling blocks.

The early stages were tough as they had to do everything. They also lacked organisation and focus on the things they were doing. “When we first started the business, my husband and I used to crossover roles. When we got bored of an area, we would swap. One minute he was the salesman or the sales manager, the next minute I was the sales manager. One minute he was doing designs, the next minute I was doing the design. It was until someone sat us down and told us to focus on our respective strengths,” she recalled. Donna then oversaw product and marketing, while Danny supervised the sales and all other aspects of the company, such as finance and operations.

Having this single-minded focus was one of the key learnings for Donna throughout her business experience. “Find something that you're seriously great at, and just focus on that,” Donna imparted. Thus, in aspects of the business which are not her strength, she employs people who are good in those areas.

As in most startups, difficulties were always present. Insufficient funds were among their major considerations. Also, there were so many things that they wanted to do straight away. Being new in the business at that time, they haven’t protected their business enough. One of the heartbreaks that Donna remembered they went through was having well-trusted employees stealing their intellectual property. “You put in all this work to learn and grow the ideas. I think it’s heartbreaking when that happens. It’s very disappointing, and it shakes your world a little bit,” she expressed. To address this concern, they had to put in systems and agreements in place.

Through the years, they had contractors who have helped them grow and develop their business. One of their role models, who is also their mentor, is Craig Kimberley, Just Jeans founder. “Craig Kimberley was the chairman of my advisory board. He was a great role model, a success story with the Just group. He was in our lives for a good ten years, mentoring us,” Donna said.

“Being part of EO Melbourne also enabled us to learn how to organise and lead our team efficiently. We recently did a learning activity with my executive team after attending the Verne Harnish’s strategy for the year. That was great because it pulled the team together, and we had great ideas. The executive team constantly communicates and congratulates their people when they achieve something and provides them with opportunities to grow,” she stated. However, Donna realised that while they were able to encourage the team, motivating a team through disaster was a lot tougher.

Continuous learning is one of the tools that Donna has found helpful throughout their entrepreneurial journey. She finds the EO international events and universities fantastic. “You’ve always got to look at what’s going on and learn,” Donna commented. She admits that she wasn’t good at networking, while her husband was a natural networker. He would communicate with various people to get ideas and stay on top of what’s happening in the marketplace. “I think that’s something that I’ve had to go outside my comfort zone to do. I'm quite happy with the fact that it's so worthwhile. It’s always great to hear other people’s experiences. So, networking is always a good thing, as well as studying and going to courses.”

With the company’s three pillars of fashion, lifestyle and community, Donna and her team are heavily involved with charities. They support six charities and hold day events for them. Similarly, their managers and staff also fundraise for charities that are of importance to them. “Normally, a lot of our ladies don't have the opportunity or the finances to donate a lot. But when they want to hold an event in store and raise money for charity, it's something special to them. They get a lot of joy from it,” Donna revealed.

Now that Donna is suddenly thrust to the helm, she rallies her people behind her. “We launched the vision of the company back in September because we felt that everyone wanted to understand where I would take the business.” She may have big shoes to fill, but she is stepping up to the challenge.

Her advice to business owners on facing unexpected predicaments like hers is this, “In my experience, for anyone in business, especially if they are a partnership, they should talk the ‘what ifs’ and work out what they would do in case a sudden crisis happens. I think if Danny and I had discussed this earlier when we were healthy and thought of a plan if there was some emergency or crisis, it would have been helpful.”

Their husband-and-wife business partnership worked perfectly well for them. Donna credits her other half for the success they have both achieved. “I know that there's a lot of entrepreneurial women out there that started their businesses and had huge success. But I can't say that I did all these on my own. I relied on my husband to support me and encourage me to take on the role that was not my natural ability. And now, in memory of him, he's challenging me to do it, and I'm learning to enjoy it.”

For Donna, her story is not complete without Danny. His legacy still lives in the heart of Donna, their family and the many people he touched. By sharing their entrepreneurial journey, Donna hopes to honour Danny and give him the acclaim of being such a wonderful entrepreneur.

Read about Donna Guest on her LinkedIn profile. More on Blue Illusion at http://www.blueillusion.com.au/.