15 things that illustrate the entrepreneurial journey

One’s entrepreneurial journey may differ from others. However, there are patterns, challenges or wins that may resemble other people's business experiences. These similarities are key learnings that can prepare upcoming entrepreneurs for the impediments ahead. It is to convey to those on the starting line that there are mavens who can relate to their trials and are willing to help them out.

That is the essence of EO. If you have browsed through the stories shared on this site, you will find inspiration from the people who braved tough times to make their businesses grow. They have mentioned certain elements or pieces to help us grasp their entrepreneurial passage better. Some of these experiences you can relate to a particular item that can provide a visual illustration of how a business journey unfolds. It will help you to fully comprehend what is to come and how you can approach your entrepreneurial voyage with the right attitude and mindset.

Take as much stuff as you can on your journey. There’s no weight limit when it comes to bringing some best practices and learnings from your entrepreneurial adventure. We got some ideas from the stories of EO Melbourne members. So, pack up the best insights that can help you get to your destination.

1. Canvas

Entrepreneurship is about creativity. Whether you are in an artistic field or a rigid discipline, you create something. Every stroke you do, every colour you put, every line you draw helps form a creative picture of what you want to achieve in the long term. Not every part of the portrait may be lovely. There may be some blots here and there – mistakes you’ve made, circumstances beyond your control, or a sudden turn of events that may lead you south – but you can always do something to add a touch of beauty. Your experiences, good or bad, make up for a magnificent masterpiece that others can admire.

2. Lens and magnifying glass

As an entrepreneur, you get to see what others don’t see. You see an opportunity, you spot a promising talent, or you visualise your end goals. Vision is an important aspect of running a business. And while you look at things at a macro level, you also need to pay attention to the details. It’s not just about checking your financial books or processes. You also need to take a look at relationships, connections, and people. Perspective is another thing. Your entrepreneurial lens can help you make your sights clearer if you consider various facets of your industry, positive or negative. Even when things may not work out well for you, you can take a look at things from an optimistic, yet realistic standpoint.

3. Sports team

You win some. You lose some. You learn from both winning and losing. Being in a sports team is like traversing through stumbling blocks and obstacles. It’s a matter of endurance and discipline. You have to go through rigorous tests, trails, and training sessions to strengthen your entrepreneurial muscles. To put them to good use, you need to get into the arena, inside the playing field. Running a business is also comparable to coaching a sports team. You lead a group of players that can help you earn a score. Teamwork is essential to winning a game. Having a strategy is key to unlocking potentials to success. When victory comes, you celebrate and move on to prepare for the next game.

4. Blueprint

Careful planning is needed to build a good structure. And it goes the same for business. Albeit there may be instances where a business is born out of unexpected circumstances, a good plan is still needed to allow that business to expand and grow. A well-thought-of blueprint will ensure all the significant features of an enterprise are in place to be able to construct an impressive edifice.

5. Building tools

If the entrepreneurial journey is comparable to a blueprint, it is also relatable to building tools. These construction devices will put together the different parts of a building. As small as the nuts and bolts can hold all the pieces in place. Proper implementation is necessary to carry out an effective plan. The tools will help you execute your strategies to build up to your goal. Eventually, if you want to have a strong enterprise that can last beyond its startup stage and longer, proper facilities have to be in place – systems, processes, products, services, people, branding – that will serve as your foundation, posts, walls, doors, flooring, ceiling and façade.

6. Rollercoaster

Founding a business and making it grow is not a steady climb. Even the most successful of businesspeople also falters at times. They are not immune to hardships and difficulties. There will always be highs and lows, ascent and descent, peaks and troughs. Certain parts may make you nauseous, but just be patient because you’ll eventually get to the end line. All you have to do is buckle up, prepare yourself and enjoy the ride.

7. Train or bus

How are you going to drive your bus? Who are the people aboard your train? Being a business owner is a leadership role. You are the captain, and you decide on the speed and direction of your vehicle. Decision-making is something that entrepreneurs do day in and day out. Part of that decision is choosing the people that should be on your bus – your team, your partners, your clients or customers, your suppliers - and which way you should take. There are twists and turns, so you have to be alert at all times.

8. Bamboo tree

Nurturing and managing a business is also likened to cultivating a bamboo tree, specifically a moso tree. It doesn’t show growth in the first few years. But when it does, it grows at an accelerated rate. Success does not happen overnight. That is why patience and endurance are needed to reap the harvest that you have painstakingly planted. Moreover, a bamboo tree exhibits resilience. The entrepreneurial journey is often unpredictable. Ergo, an entrepreneur must be pliable enough to steer his business to the proper course. His flexibility is a strength that allows him to adapt to changes in the wind’s direction.

9. Timepiece

Like a timepiece, being in the entrepreneurial tracks means you have to be constantly in motion. Every second, every minute, every hour is significant. Entrepreneurs value the sense of urgency as they put a premium on time. There may be different kinds of timepieces, as there are various types of businesses. There are sports watches, collector’s items, or funky clocks. Regardless of its design or price, each timepiece tells time. There may be huge companies, startups or medium-scale enterprises. Then again, all of them go through ups and downs in delivering the product or service they provide to consumers.

10. Jungle

It’s the survival of the fittest. There are harsh environs as well as unfriendly inhabitants. Getting into the business space is not easy at all. Competition, turbulent industries, internal struggles and unpredictable market changes make up for the tough terrain. The learning experiences may vary, but most of it, you learn by doing. Thus, getting a mentor to guide you through the trail is advantageous in outlasting the entrepreneurial jungle. You have to be strong in facing risks and threats to your business. Resourcefulness and adaptability will help you subsist in ferocious surroundings.

11. Ocean

Apart from the wild, the business journey is also comparable to the ocean. You have to brave rough waters and tumultuous waves to get your entrepreneurial ship to port. There are instances wherein you have to either sink or swim. Business owners battle out the dangerous waters to get to safe harbour. Not many endure their entrepreneurial voyage. Some collapse, while others go bust. Some are consumed by competition. But the unrelenting ones make it big, and they make it to shore.

12. Waves and boulders

Rocks are hard materials. But with the non-stop hitting of the waves at sea, it is often deformed. Over time, those waves can drive a hole through a stone. The same with running a business, it requires tenacity and determination to achieve one’s goals. There may be hiccups and missteps, but they are not barriers to triumphs. The way to success is to rise each time you fall and to keep going. There may be some hits and misses when it comes to achieving feats. But as long as you continue to strike and never give up, you’ll eventually hit the mark.

13. Mining

Conquest in business is like mining for precious minerals. You cannot fully discern the business landscape unless you get into the tunnel. Victory does not present itself in the onset. You have to dig deep and work hard to find it. You can only find what you are looking for if you keep digging. With that, you have to continue even when you seem to be facing a blank wall. Who knows? Maybe your next blow on the earth will uncover mounds of gems.

14. Heart rate monitor

Trudging the business path may often be lonely because those who are not in your position cannot totally comprehend what you go through. But a business owner is not totally isolated from others. Having a business entails dealing with people – partners, teammates, suppliers, clients, and prospective customers. As an entrepreneur, you have to be sensitive to the people around you. It’s not true of what others think that a business owner has no boss. The customers are the boss, and there are plenty of them. That is why you need to feel the pulse of your market to adjust to their modifications. Even if you may reach a certain point of success, you still have to be constantly cognizant of their needs and wants. Monitoring them will warn you of possible dangers.

15. Puzzle

Getting into business is like solving a puzzle. There are various pieces that you have to put together. Most enterprises spring out from a pain point or need. Your business should provide the answer or solution to such necessity. Not all pieces may arrive at the same time. They come in bits, and you sometimes need to look for them. Once you get all the pieces right, you can put it together and achieve your goal.

What item represents your business journey? What lessons can others get from your experience? How about the learnings you get from other business owners? Read their stories and be inspired by their entrepreneurial adventures. Embark on your own voyage with this knowledge in mind.

Bumper stickers for entrepreneurs to get them going

Getting caught in a traffic jam can sometimes be stressful or boring. When the flow seems slow-moving, how do you keep yourself amused on the road? Take a good look at your surroundings to get an idea or two. Better yet, read those bumper stickers that can sometimes be funny or inspiring. People often put them out for others to know who they are or what they believe or represent. As an entrepreneur, what do you want to convey to others behind you, who are on the way to their entrepreneurial journey?

Here are some lines that you can stick on your vehicle bumper and inspire those who are at the crossroads of their lives. These are tips gathered from EO Melbourne members we have interviewed. Budding entrepreneurs or those who are contemplating to start a business can learn a thing or two from the following passages. Those who are ahead can pass it on to others. Nevertheless, it’s a good cue for anyone who is on the business path.

1.) Fuel your drive. Go passion forward.

Passion. It is a powerful word that we get to hear a lot from business owners. Passion is the fire in the belly that makes them go through obstacles and stumbling blocks just to do what they desire the most. Passion is the fuel that gets an entrepreneur moving, even when things don’t seem to work out well for them. In fact, one learning they kept on repeating is “do what you love and love what you do”.

If you are still at the beginning of your journey, load up with lots of passion. That will provide you with the needed boost to propel you forward. If you’re somewhere in the middle or farther on your journey, passion is what will give you the energy to recharge and face insurmountable challenges and disappointments. Also, passion can be contagious, but it can die down if you don’t nurture it. Hence, hold on to it while you can, and generously share it with others.

2.) Plan ahead. Chart your route.

There are stories wherein a business took form under unexpected circumstances. Sometimes, opportunities come, and the best thing to do is to grab them before they drive away. So, you often start without a clear picture of what’s ahead. On the other hand, there are entrepreneurial journeys that are premeditated. Careful thinking and preparation are done right at the beginning. You know perfectly well what you want and where to go before embarking on a business adventure. Either way, whichever point you are in your entrepreneurial track, planning is a vital component that allows a business to stay afloat, to grow more and to achieve big goals.

Goal-setting and planning are pertinent lessons that EO Melbourne members have picked from their learning events. True enough, it is crucial to know the route towards your destination. Do research. Gather data. Come up with a checklist. Map out how you will arrive at your goal. It’s a good feeling when you know exactly where you are heading and how to bring your business to that point. Planning can even help you accelerate things to get there faster. That will also prepare you for the twists and turns that you may encounter along the way.

3.) Take courage. Face your fears.

Some entrepreneurs admit that there were things that scared them when they started their businesses. There may be a few who were more daring as they began at a young age because they had little or nothing to lose. But as they mature, certain things begin to worry them. For instance, cash flow, debts, problem employees, and the changing business landscape can keep them up all night.

Courage is one characteristic that makes entrepreneurs stand out above the rest. They face their fears and take risks because they want to carve their respective paths. Even when the ride ahead seems tumultuous, they continue to move forward with the determination to arrive at their next stop. Don’t be afraid to fail. Be disruptive. Innovate and challenge yourself. In the end, what you do will make a difference in your life, in others, and in society.

4.) Stay in the positive lane. Wear a smile.

The entrepreneurial journey is like a roller-coaster ride. It’s not a straight path. It goes through peaks and troughs, potholes, and sharp curves. There will always be situations and instances that can dishearten a business owner, especially with all the effort they pour into their ventures. Amidst all the disappointments, positivity is a quality that can make the experience more colourful and less dreary. To do this, focus on what you’re good at, as well as pleasant things around you. If there are bumps and problems in the path, be solution-driven. There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. Follow that light instead of staying in the dark.

Another thing that entrepreneurs picked from EO is to be grateful for all the things they experience, good or bad. There are countless reasons to thank for every day. Even dreadful and difficult situations can mould you to become better and stronger. Take a moment to think of those things and be thankful for what they have brought to you and made you become. And smile often.

5.) Never give up. Drive on.

For others, it may sound like a cliché. But for entrepreneurs, it is a grain of wisdom that they need to consume every day. Persistence, perseverance, relentlessness, determination, patience, tenacity, endurance, and the list goes on. All these words are summed up in one mantra: “Don’t give up”.

Having your own business is often akin to going into battle. You battle it out with the business landscape, with your competitors, with people around you, and, most of all, with yourself. In business, there are those who quit after the first year of operation. Some ventures don’t fly in the initial stages. But those that survive and last long are those that persist. Success does not happen overnight. There may be traffic jams, but keep driving, and you will eventually get to your destination.

6.) Work hard. Make it happen.

Victories and achievements don’t just come knocking. It takes a lot of hard work to earn them. Business owners become successful because they spend sleepless nights to make the best, do the best and be the best in their spot under the sun. It is a reality that sacrifices have to be made for them to thrive in their ventures. The entrepreneurial trail is no easy voyage. They reap bountiful harvest because they sow the right seeds and cultivate them diligently.

There are no shortcuts to triumphs. You have to labour for it and invest in it – physically, financially, emotionally and mentally. Luck plays a small part in the equation. The huge chunk of it is in the hard work that you put into your business. You’ll never get to the peak unless you do the climb. And it takes more effort to go uphill than to go downwards.

7.) Find your tribe. Be a trailblazer.

Surround yourself with the right people, whether inside the business or outside of it. Join groups like EO Melbourne that can further help develop yourself. Having good companions will make your entrepreneurial journey more exciting and worthwhile.

One of the humps that business owners encounter in their ride is hiring the wrong people and not firing them too fast. Choose people that fit your organisational needs – skills, behaviour, attitude, passion – you name it. Once you have formed an impressive team, nurture it. Remember that as the business owner, you are also the leader. You are the trailblazer. Carve the culture you want to cultivate. Align your team with your goals. Develop your people. You hold the steering wheel in your hands, and you control the pedal with your foot. It is up to you to speed up or slow down, to go straight or go backwards, to make a stop or take a turn. Just make sure that your team is with you towards your journey’s final stop.

8.) Ask questions. You’ll get there faster.

To avoid getting lost, ask questions. That will take you faster to your destination. Sometimes, all it takes is one powerful question to generate the right answers, insights, and concepts that can help change the course of your journey for the better. Also, to ask is to acknowledge that you don’t have the monopoly of bright ideas. Humility is a good ingredient to becoming a good leader.

9.) Stop, look, and listen

Stop making noise. Look at your surroundings. Listen to others. Listening is one practice that many of our entrepreneurs mention time and time again. It is necessary for decision-making. Listening encourages openness. You also learn more when you hear the opinions of others. That is why we have two ears and just one mouth, with a huge brain in between.

Listen to your people. Listen to the market. Listen to your partners. Listen to your clients and customers. Listen to your loved ones. Listen to your body. By listening well, you know when to avoid danger or when to chase after an opportunity.

10.) Keep learning

Wherever you are in your entrepreneurial career, there is always room for improvement. You have to grow alongside your business. It is the natural way of things. Expand your knowledge, augment your skills, and enhance your capabilities. You can do this by attending as much learning events as you can, listening to experts, reading books, and exposing yourself to various situations that will stretch your entrepreneurial muscle.

Now, which bumper sticker will you put on your car window? Some of these might be reminders you need to repeat to yourself every now and then. Or, it could be that you have experienced them yourself that you want others to learn from them. So, what else can stall you? Start that entrepreneurial engine, get it going and rev off towards your end goal.

The curious case of Bernie Fernandez

Curiosity ignited something within Bernie Fernandez, Executive Director and Founder of Agero Group, to start a business. That curiosity has constantly made him yearn for more. There are pros and cons to it, he fathoms. The thirst for knowledge can often be insatiable. Nevertheless, it is this same curiosity that has led Bernie to a perpetual quest for learning.

In the beginning, Bernie didn’t regard himself as curious. The discovery was quite peculiar. It was on his wedding day when it was his best man’s turn to give a speech. The fellow started highlighting his various characteristics. “I never met a more curious person in my life than Bernie,” the best man said about the groom. Bernie never realised he was a curious person before that. Those words just hit him in the face.

Another incident that reinforced that description of Bernie was when someone came up to him and asked if he had taken an online character test, the VIA strengths, where he would find out his top 24 strongest characteristics. So, he did. Remarkably, Bernie’s results generated curiosity as his number one character strength. This curiosity was a significant key to his entrepreneurial journey.

Bernie didn’t have any entrepreneurial background in his family to lay claim to, as they were the working-class type. His father was an orphan who left his life in Spain to come over to Australia when he was a young man. His mother’s family, which was very conservative and risk-adverse, was from Chile. Growing up in an immigrant household that included his maternal grandmother and uncle, Bernie developed a diversity in his character. He found in himself aspects of both his dad and his uncle, who were very different people.

“I feel like double. I feel like I’m the benefit of being twice as diverse. Dad was an immigrant orphan. He was hardworking and head down. As an orphan, he struggled with his emotions. He was very loyal. A very nice guy. He was such a hard worker, which was a bad thing if you think about it, as he passed away because he worked so much. On the other hand, my uncle from the Chilean side was politically privileged in the Chilean society. He got amazing awareness of culture, food, dress sense and habits. For example, he would take me to the ballet and the orchestra. Through my uncle, I know how to do a tie and how to wear a suit. And that's the salesperson in me,” Bernie explained.

As a youth, he recalls being frustrated and rebellious. “I didn't do well in high school. I left my university degree before I finished it because I knew I was going to hate it.” But the frustration also drove him to constantly strive for something new as he started entering the workforce. At 15, his first job was at Coles as a cash register. But he got frustrated that it made him want to do different things to be better. From there, he moved on to find his place in the food and hospitality industry.

“I started in a café, and I loved it. Then, I ended up working at fine dining restaurants and being a manager and enjoying it,” he recalled.  Since he started settling down to work, he always wanted to work in the architectural industry. Bernie worked his way from the bottom and quickly rose through the ranks in different roles and responsibilities. From being an architect, he graduated to become a designer and then later a project manager. He then found himself making sales, which he thoroughly enjoyed more than anything, as he worked for only four hours a day and did quite well. This point in his career was what he described as “a truly balanced, fantastic life as a salesperson”.

“And then, this frustration inside me came about again that I wanted to feel my worth, my value at work,” Bernie expressed. He aspired to be a partner in the company where he was working. From the first day of his job, he told his employer that he would dedicate himself to the business because he wanted to be a shareholder. That never happened. With the desire to satisfy his need and knowing he wouldn’t find a better employer, Bernie decided to go on his own and start for himself.

“When you get to the top, you realise there’s nowhere else to go. But I have to get to the next. With work and business, when I have covered the technical skills and the management and sales side, the natural next step for my curiosity is to start a business.” Since he has built his career in this area of expertise, he founded a business focusing on interiors construction.

Bernie didn’t experience a lot of difficulties starting a business because of the business acumen he honed over the years of his employment and the low barriers to entry. “It's relatively easy to generate good cash if I have a sales pipeline. I know mine is going to come in through the door. I’ll have a low cost (of expenditures), and I’ll be good. The only thing that can truly scare you is failing. And you can't fail if you keep having jobs. The real challenge is starting now for me. The more I have to manage a business, the less I sell, the business starts to hurt. To be honest, I’m now in the midst of my first very big challenge, I think,” he surmised.

Still, difficulties were never absent in life, especially to business owners like Bernie. Having invested everything he had in the business, including his time, there were aspects of life that were bound to hurt. “The hardships were that my relationships have suffered. My body is what has suffered the most because I’m not as active as I used to be. The best version of me in business was when I worked four hours a day. That’s when I sold the most and performed the best. I didn't have to worry about anything, other than selling, finding opportunities, and having fun with clients. I’m working through hardships now. There are people hardships, such as hardships of trying to keep staff. I’m not a very good manager of staff. So, the real hardship is that I’ve lost staff because they come and go. And I get bigger projects.” As if these were not enough, Bernie underscored the major hurdle in his path. “The biggest hardship is meeting my own expectation. I get frustrated when I’m not growing,” he disclosed.

Moreso, the construction industry is quite volatile. Bernie pointed out the labour market as a difficult factor. “I have to compete with bigger construction businesses that continually increase wages because they have to get people. There is a big labour shortage in construction,” he declared. He has come to terms that he is not going to win in the labour game. To counter that, he keeps his staff to a minimum, with only three people under his wings.

Because he has a few people on his team, Bernie has devised a way to guarantee effective delivery of their services to clients. “The best practice I’ve ever done was, with the three of them, have a strategy. We execute a rhythm of meetings where we would focus on accomplishing certain things that are outside of our day-to-day technical life.” He has also kept strong relations with his clients, and they have remained loyal to him.

In retrospect, there are things that he would like to change if given a chance to do things differently. “I probably wouldn't do my business as it is in its current format because it's a project-based business. I don't like the fickleness of it. There's no value to my business. There's no recurring income. There is no sticky client. But, now, with this business as it is, what I would do differently is that I probably would have taken a bigger risk and pay for better staff for better performance,” Bernie contemplated.

Having experienced being employed and running a business, he can now measure up the challenges and rewards both have given him. “Well, working as an employee certainly gives you a certain level of bliss because all you have to worry about is what you have to do and that's it. I got so good as an employee. But that frustration crept in. That curiosity crept in.”

“The benefit of having my business is that, aside from growing my business, I, myself, as a person, have grown exponentially. I almost argue that my growth for the last five or six years has been bigger than I could ever remember. I have a thirst for knowledge that I never had at school. I never had school. I want to improve myself and my level of awareness. Spirituality is back into my life. My communication skills alone have been worthwhile. I was a shy kind of guy. I never understood girls or how to communicate with them. Now, my wife and I, even though we had tough times, I think we can communicate better than ever. I’m forever improving. I’m the best version of who I am because of having a business and because of having that curiosity, so much in so many other ways. The bad side is like I’ve said, it’s very consuming. The biggest spiritual challenge right now is how to bring balance back into our lives so I can have my family, so my body doesn't turn shoddy because I sit down so much all day. That's my challenge.”

Outside of work, Bernie focuses on self-improvement and family. Although he yearns for golf and he knows he needs exercise, he doesn’t have the luxury of time anymore. He’s trying to work on some bad habits, such as watching television and not guarding the food he eats. He was unmindful of their effects on his body until the books he reads and the talks he attended in EO Melbourne opened his eyes to these things.

With more than two years as part of EO Melbourne, he has learned a lot of insights that he can infuse into his business and personal life. He may not regard himself as an entrepreneur yet, but as a business owner, he admits that EO has taught him a lot. “I think one of the biggest values for me as a young business person (I avoid using the word ‘entrepreneur’) is the content. The educational content is superb. And as I mature and have more and more psychological problems with running a business, the support network is going to be great. I can see it. Over the first one or two years, I never had much to contribute or even take from the support it gives, but I’m getting there.”

It was in EO Melbourne where he learned to accept the scenario that he’s in. “I guess I’ve recently reached a level of understanding, which has given me a lot of comforts that I’ve come to accept, that my business is a cash flow business. That will never have value. But what cash flow businesses can do is potentially open up opportunities to look at other businesses. So, in other words, I’ll take the cash from here and look at a recurring-income business, then I have two businesses,” Bernie quipped.

Another significant lesson he picked from EO is to be grateful for things every day. And the one thing he is most grateful for is the best treasure he now possesses – his son. “In my life, the happiest I am is because of my son, my little boy. When I am with him, it's absolute bliss. I don't think about work. What work buys and the money I make has no impact on my happiness with my son,” Bernie articulated.

There is no doubt that his son is his ultimate joy. But when he looks at the business side of his life, he feels he doesn’t have wins yet.“I look around. I have a great office and relatively good life,” he admits. While there are things he still wants to do, there is also a part of him that doesn’t want to work. “I'm Spanish, right? I don't want to work. I’d rather play golf and spend time in some amazing beach. But you know what, life is going to happen. Let's say I achieve that goal. I don't work, and I play golf for a year. I'll get another stimulus or some other idea that will make me follow that. It's a bit on the spiritual side. I don't want to be driven by the next thing.”

The future may seem far ahead, but he looks at selling his business and expanding to other ventures. “Selling my business is very important for me because it is the point in time that I know that I've succeeded,” he conveyed. Since he didn’t finish his degree, this is the one thing that can give him that approbation he warrants. “I didn't have a point in time where they say, ‘You know what, you got your degree, you got there, and all your hard work paid off.’ For me, selling my business is that point in time when it happens,” Bernie revealed.

After that, he would probably start a new business again. In fact, he’s working on another one right now. When that takes off, Bernie thinks he can officially call himself an entrepreneur. He believes he is more attracted to startups, founding them, growing them and selling them. But he does not also discount the idea of going back to employment and taking on a leadership or directorship role. Wherever his journey leads him, he is curious to find out what else is in store for him.

When asked if his curiosity on starting a business has led him to some answers, he has this to share. “I found the state that I was looking. It’s the state of perpetual improvement. There were no answers after a state of being. This curiosity thing, it’s perpetual learning. I still want to be somewhere where I can continually improve myself.”

Know more about Bernie Fernandez on his LinkedIn profile. Read about Agero Group at http://agero.com.au/.

Ross and David Fastuca: a family (partnership) that works

Working with family is something that one must avoid at all cost, some people warned this duo. But for cousins Ross Fastuca and David Fastuca, Locomote’s Chief Information Officer and Chief Marketing Officer, respectively, it is something that has thrived very well for them. For 16 years of working together in various ventures and businesses, Ross and David have shown that they are a formidable figure when it comes to building a company and steering it to success.

“David and I have always done business together since we were kids,” Ross remarked. “But I think we did it at such a young age that we probably learned through the years how to completely argue and be very candid and then not take offence to it. That's how we work together. We banter so much because we know it comes from a place of care. It doesn't come from ego.”

As business partners, they have established how to make the partnership work. There is no question when it comes to the delineation of roles. As David puts it, “that’s pretty easy because we both have different skill sets. My skill set is design and marketing, whereas Ross is more on the product management and technical side. I mean, we do give each other advice and give each other opinions on what each person is doing. So, we never had that issue of who does what.”

“With business decisions, we just agree either violently or not violently. When it comes to skill set, yes, we’re different. But with business decisions, I don't think we ever made a decision that wasn’t mutually agreed. It’s either we mutually agree or yell at each other for two hours until somebody quits. And it's not a win either. We just go, oh yeah, you're right,” Ross clarified.

From design to fashion to entertainment, and now, travel and information technology (IT), the duo has dipped their fingers into different industries. They have started off with businesses that provided services until they found more comfort in product-based endeavours. It seemed that David and Ross have been doing business their whole lives. Both have their close-knit family to thank for when it comes to setting the stage for their entrepreneurial debut.

Their grandfather’s coming over to Australia was a typical Italian migration story. The entire family – Ross’ father, David’s dad, who passed away when David was about three years old, and five other siblings – grew as new generations of Fastucas came into the picture. When David had a christening for his daughter, the party that was composed of their immediate family already totalled to 80. And it is still growing.

Ross grew up with his dad working from six in the morning until nine in the evening, which happened much throughout his childhood and for about 25 years. His father started a milk bar in Werribee. “We lived at the back of it while David lived down the street. So, we grew up like right next to each other, went to the same school, went to the same primary school, same secondary school, same higher education. We're basically like brothers,” Ross attests.

Their parents and all their uncles had small businesses. “I can't think of an uncle that doesn't have his own business,” Ross commented.  Although they weren’t poor, they lived basic lives and worked very hard to earn a living. That had a great impact on David and Ross because even as kids, they were doing something to make money. Ross remembered that time when his dad would give him a box of chocolate to sell at school instead of giving him money by doing chores. On the other hand, David recalled how they were working after school and during weekends, doing things from the kitchen table at Ross’ mum’s house.

Starting things and putting their ideas into something tangible were not always smooth-sailing for them. Ross described how they did things during those days. “To be honest, at the very start, when we started doing pretty much everything that we've done, we had no idea how to do any of it. We just took on opportunities as they came along and then learned them by brute force. It's not like learned and then do it. We got the opportunity and then learned based on whatever that opportunity was. At that time, we were doing so many different random things.”

One time, David was able to lock a project for a family friend. From there, his desire of starting his venture started taking root. He had business cards printed out, made up a name for his enterprise, and pretended he ran his own company. He told Ross about it, who exclaimed, “That’s not how you start a business!” Eventually, Ross, at 19, and David, at 16, teamed together to put up their first design agency. At that young age, nothing scared the two of them from diving into the entrepreneurial waters and testing the extent of their capacity. “We looked at it at that time as something as what’s the worst that could happen?” David explained. “At that age, we were so young. We just tried anything. We didn't truly care,” Ross added.

“My dad used to tell me and David that there’s no such thing as a word “can't”. So, I was brought up with that mentality that if you want to do something, just do it,” Ross intimated. Despite their exposure to entrepreneurship at an early age, the Fastuca cousins also encountered roadblocks and stumbled on obstructions throughout their entrepreneurial journey.

One particular misfortune was a business deal that got nipped in the bud. “We came up with a brilliant idea that we pitched to an investor. The investor said yes. They loved it. They were going to give $500,000 to start the project,” David recounted. However, the investor got embroiled in an embezzlement situation. “It was crippling at that stage. It was our first big project. It was something that would have made us say, ‘Yes, we made it. We're going to build something.’ And then the next day, we got nothing,” David continued.

For them, the greatest challenge is the build mode. Ross finds it as the most stressful stage when it comes to having your own business. While they were out trying to build something, they also had to worry about getting the right funding, making sure their business model works and growing their team.

David shares the same pressures with Ross, too. “A lot of stress is on ensuring that you’re building the right thing. It’s a good kind of stress, as opposed to not having enough money to pay off staff,” David opined. To which, Ross expounds,“One of the biggest stresses is when you have a bunch of employees in your company. Especially as a technology company, you need funding. You don't make a lot of money in the first few years of the company. The biggest stress is making sure that you have enough money to pay people because they are relying on you to live. So, you need to be on top of your game to make sure that you can fund what you're doing and that you don't leave people out in the lurch.”

How they built their venture Locomote was interesting. The duo got introduced to a travel consultant that led them to a large mining company. As they sat down with this company, they discovered the problems in the travel booking segment. “They explained to us how they manage their travel and I couldn't believe that people would manage anything that way. It was so old and antiquated and disjointed,” Ross related. They went out and talked to other corporations of different sizes to figure out if they, too, have the same problems. And they did.

They then put their heads together, came up with a solution and presented their ideas through a PowerPoint presentation. “We went back to this big mining company and said, ‘This is what we think will solve your problem. If we build it, will you use it?’ And we got them to agree. We got them to sign a contract to have it free for the first 12 months and then pay for it after that. We did that before we even had anything. We didn't have any funding or anything to build this product.”

Good thing that one of their partners introduced them to Travelport, which pays an incentive to travel companies that transact through their platform. To overcome their stumbling block, they went to Travelport and asked, “If we can get this big company to put all their bookings through Travelport, will you pay as an incentive to fund this thing that we want to build?” Although the idea of a small company convincing a giant mining company seemed ridiculous at that time, Travelport agreed to it. Things fell into place. David and Ross got the funding they needed to build their product, which became successful. In the end, they sold Locomote to Travelport. It went full circle. Building Locomote and selling it was the most amazing thing that has happened to the Fastuca partners. And it all started with just a PowerPoint presentation.

In retrospect, Ross recognised that surrounding himself with mentors – people who were already ahead of their game – earlier in his entrepreneurial journey would have made things a lot easier for him.  “Find some mentors who have accomplished things that you want to accomplish.” That is the one thing Ross wants to do if he could just press the reset button. That is the same thing he would tell his younger self if he could travel back in time.

David concurred with Ross. He realised it’s a good thing that they have each other. According to David, “Find people who are going to be blunt, upfront and honest. We've been lucky that we've been each other's sort of that person. Having someone that tells you the truth is rare and hard to find.”

Lady luck must truly have been looking kindly on them because they have found like-minded individuals in the bosom of EO Melbourne. “It was really good timing for us to surround ourselves (with like-minded people) and to put our network and meet other people,” David enthused. Through EO, he learned to give less advice and give more experience. To this, Ross added, “Certainly, for me, it's a good sounding board. You learn a lot from it. It's like having your mentors but a little bit more practical.”

Ross and David like to be around people who have the same passion and persistence as they do. These are two qualities they believe entrepreneurs should have. “If you don't have persistence or passion, it will never work,” quipped Ross.

That is why David likens their entrepreneurial journey to someone digging for diamonds and not stopping until he hits the treasure. In contrast, a man who stops digging might just be a few inches away from the diamonds. But he wouldn’t know that because he already quit. He said, “If you believe in what you're doing and have the passion for it, then do not give up. There were times when we could have given up.  Just keep pushing through the hard times because you never know when you're in the corner of hitting that success.”

For Ross, the journey is something that is comparable to chaos. While most people think of it as a straight line from one end to another, the reality is that the line has many twists and turns.  “It's like the line goes all over the place. There’s craziness. It goes up and down, backward and forward, and then it goes to the end. It’s like the craziest rollercoaster you can ever imagine. You think it's all going to collapse. And then, it becomes amazing. You like to do it over and over again. When it's amazing, enjoy it. When it's about to collapse, try to work it out and keep it together.”

Now, the Fastucas are looking positively to the future, especially that Locomote is gearing for global expansion. It now has a presence in the U.K., Singapore and Japan and they are eyeing the U.S., Malaysia and South Africa as their next targets. David and Ross are no longer shareholders in the company but are still very much involved in the business. “We have an attachment to Locomote, having sunk five years of our lives into it completely, and sacrificed a lot of things to make it happen,” Ross shared.

But beyond business, Ross and David have some personal plans as well. Last year, they joined Project Gen Z and its team of entrepreneurs to Cambodia to teach the next generation on how to be entrepreneurs. They ran some workshops there that inspired the children to dream big and achieve things. It is something that the cousins plan to be involved in as they will be going back to Cambodia this year to continue what they have started.

In work, in volunteerism, and in life, David and Ross are partners till the end. “We're one family. We just do everything together. We invest together. We invest in property together. We invest in our business together,” Ross pointed out. “And it isn't just at work. I mean, inside and outside work and life, in general, we spend a lot of time. So right now, literally, I can throw a tennis ball to David’s house. Our wives are very close. I've got a son and another baby on the way. David has three kids. Our kids play and jump into the pool together.”

As they say, “a family that plays together, stays together.” But for the Fastuca cousins, a family that plays and works together succeeds together. David and Ross are truly fortunate to have each other in their entrepreneurial journey. Indeed, they have proven that blood is thicker than water.

More about Ross and David on their Linkedin profiles, Ross Fastuca and David Fastuca. Check the Locomote website here http://www.locomote.com/.

10 things about superheroes that you can relate to entrepreneurship

By now, you have probably read the stories of our EO Melbourne members on how they traversed their respective entrepreneurial paths. Many, if not all of them, went through arduous experiences to get to where they are today. If before, you would have probably asked, “how did they do that?” now, you might have exclaimed, “wow, they did all that!” Thus, it comes as no surprise if some people regard these entrepreneurs as a kind of hero, drawing inspiration from them.

We love great stories. We like to hear exploits of heroes who emerged as winners against all odds. Based on the stories we’ve read on business owners, there is something about superheroes that we can link back to entrepreneurship. They may not be entirely similar but there are certainly parallelisms between the two.

These past years, superhero movies banner the big screen one after another. Sure, those caped crusaders and masked heroes have awesome kick-ass moves that make us root for them, the same way we look up to those individuals who are now at the helm of successful businesses. But underneath the glitz and glamour, the cheers and the applause, there are insurmountable undertakings lined up for superheroes. How they hurdle all those obstacles is what thickens the plot, which we all crave to watch.

Let us take a closer look at superhero stories and spot the parallels with the entrepreneurial journeys of business owners.

1.  A superhero was once an underdog

Even heroes born with superpowers had been bullied or had to go through hardships at the early point of their lives. It was when they experienced being at the bottom that they felt the pain of those who were in the same boat as they are. That pain is often the wick that ignites the burning fire within superheroes to help others and save the world.

Based on the stories shared in the blog articles in this site, entrepreneurs, even those born in a family of business people, experienced several difficulties and adversities. Their pain points drove them to start their respective businesses and provide solutions to society’s problems. And as they started with their enterprise, the birth pains were constantly present. These sufferings can be a motivation that can push them forward to reach for their dreams and turn them into reality.

2. Testing the superpower and controlling it

Upon discovering the power they held, our superheroes didn’t jump out immediately and go about saving people. The biggest challenge in the onset was to master what their power could do and control the energy emanating from within them. Once they learn the extent of their power, that's when they make their debut to the public.

Starting a business does not mean it will yield profits overnight. It takes a bit of training and getting used to the environment before you get to grasp the ins and outs of running an enterprise. Don’t get frustrated if you don’t get to see the results you want in a short span of time. Learning is a continuous process. You’ll be able to get there with determination and relentlessness.

3. Symbols are significant

Superman has his red cape and “S” symbol. Captain America has the star. Batman has his bat sign. Each one of them has a costume and an insignia that enable people to identify who they are. People know who does the good deeds and whom to call for help. Those costumes also hide their true identity as superheroes do not want to brandish who they are.

Your brand is important to your business. It makes people identify and connect with your products and services. That is a significant part of marketing. But as you build your business and as you expand your empire, keep your feet on the ground. One piece of advice that entrepreneurs impart to budding startup owners is to stay as humble as they can despite the successes they garner.

4. Responsibilities, responsibilities, responsibilities

“With great power comes great responsibility,” Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben uttered in the Spiderman movie. Being a superhero is no joke. They work round the clock, responding to calls for help whenever they can. If you have been following the epic stories of superheroes, you’ll find that they often lose their family, friends and loved ones. And while they possess superpowers, they also have limitations. Those powers are intended for the good of others and not just for selfish gains.

Similarly, entrepreneurs have a lot on their plate. Besides, heading an enterprise is not a popularity contest. Owning a startup is a position of responsibility. Business owners have to oversee their team, ensure a positive bottom line, and supervise operations with utmost standards. For entrepreneurs, work is life. They are so passionate about their business that they often lose sleep over it. Accountability is one of the many things that we keep on hearing from business owners because it is necessary for achieving one’s goals.

5. Heroes save the world, but they also need to be saved

Superheroes save those who are in emergency situations. They fight crimes. They rescue those who call for help. They put out fires any time of the day. But have you observed that there are scenes wherein the superhero is often on the brink of defeat? Sometimes, a loved one would be able to save that hero. Despite their powers, they are often in need of heroes themselves.

Leading a company can often put one in a lonely position. Business owners oversee everything, but it seems that no one has got their back. Or so it seems. Behind every successful entrepreneur is a family or loved one that gives strength to keep the entrepreneur going.

6. It’s not just the cape – it’s the wind – that make superheroes fly

Caped superheroes can fly. But it’s not just that piece of clothing or their superpower that helps them fly high above the sky and beyond, defying the force of gravity. It is the wind that provides the force to propel them upward and soar like a bird.

Entrepreneurs attribute most of their successes to an effective team that helps them achieve their goals. Selecting the right staff members is one of the challenges that business owners face. However, once they are able to hire the people that perfectly fit into their business culture, they can do things by leaps and bounds.

7. Shield and armour are necessary for defence

Despite their powers and weapons, heroes still need some form of defence from attacks against them. Their suits, shield or accessories can help protect them from danger and minimise damage.

In business, some form of security and insurance is needed to protect one’s venture. One cannot know what may happen, so it’s always helpful to prepare for the worst. Entrepreneurs will go to certain lengths to protect their business, their ideas, their people, and their customers.

8. For every superhero, there is a villain

There won’t be a hero without a villain to face. It’s like a stamp needed for one to be a superhero. There is always someone that will make a hero’s life a living hell. Villains wreak havoc and create chaos for humanity. Don't they make the story even more exciting?

Even in business, there are so-called “villains” that create a dent in a brand or a venture. They can be competition, problem partners or employees, economic downturn, or even the business owners themselves. Sometimes, the setback can be the mistakes that entrepreneurs commit or internal struggles they have to battle out. There are demons to fight, whether internally or externally. Obstructions seem to be an ever-present entity in anyone's entrepreneurial journey. On the other hand, these obstacles also help mould entrepreneurs to be better individuals and stronger leaders.

9. Joining a league is an “in” thing

There’s the Justice League, the Avengers, and the X-Men, to cite some examples. We love it when heroes band together to fight a greater evil. There’s strength in numbers and the more diverse powers they can pool, the more undefeatable they become.

At some juncture in the journey, business owners realise the need to be with like-minded individuals that can relate to the struggles they are experiencing. This realisation led some of them to join groups like Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) Melbourne. EO has become a strong support system for these entrepreneurs through their forum, not to mention the continuous learnings that help hone their capabilities. Members of EO Melbourne emphasise the great value it brings to their business and personal lives.

10. The battle is endless

Many of these superhero movies have sequels or varied versions. That’s because their mission is ongoing. As long as there is a need in this world, superheroes are here to stay. Also, with new challenges in our society that are mirrored in these movies, expect additional superheroes to crop up in the future.

Most entrepreneurs say that the challenges never stop. At the same time, the learning is incessantly never ending. Every milestone calls for bigger expectations. For every victory, there is a new goal set. As they move towards expanding their business ventures, a new adventure awaits along their entrepreneurial journey.

Becoming an entrepreneur is an exciting prospect. People may have several misconceptions about owning a business. For some, it seems like a daunting thing to do. For others, they may deem it boring. There are a few that only see the successes entrepreneurs are reaping. Unless we read their stories and be inspired by them, we’ll never fully appreciate the colourful journey they are taking.

According to Christopher Reeve, the American actor who portrayed the role of Superman, “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” And so is an entrepreneur.

Matt Butterworth makes wedding planning easy

Staying close to the customers and understanding their needs is how Easy Weddings CEO Matt Butterworth keeps himself abreast of the trends and the demands of the market. While he makes wedding planning a breeze for couples, his journey to building his business was not without challenges and obstacles.

When the internet gained popularity among the public, Matt became so interested in it that he bought a book called “Learn HTML in 24 Hours” to see if he could build a website. He started playing around the HTML codes and eventually cracked it after three weeks. “But the book was lying to me. It wasn’t 24 hours,” Matt jokingly said as he narrated the early beginnings of his business. Serious on his pursuit of learning to build a website, Matt went back to university to study computer programming.

One of the things Matt wanted to do was to build a website but he needed a topic to base it on. Matt and his then-fiancée, now wife, Katrina were also looking for resources online that would make planning their wedding easy but found none. That inspired him to build a cool website that people would love to use to plan their wedding. Similarly, it was a familiar area for Matt because of the family business. “Since I already know a little bit about weddings, doing a lot of marquee weddings in the past, I based my site on it. We went from there. I built the website over the next few months and thought of making it into a business,” explains Matt.

Growing up in family businesses all his life, Matt was exposed to this kind of work early on. From the age of 4 to 14 years old, they ran a paddle boat business on the holidays. Afterwards, they went into the catering and party hire venture, which started with only his father, a chef, and his mother and him in the business before they grew it to 60 staff members. That time until he was 22 years old, he was so involved in the family business, doing party hire and marquees during the week and then functions and catering during the weekend.

Those experiences laid the foundation for his own enterprise when he eventually went on his own. Despite his exposure to entrepreneurship, Matt found that there were still challenges he had to surpass when he became a business owner. Doing it all on his own entailed more effort and sacrifices, especially that his business concept was not yet mainstream at that time.

When he put up his website, people were still used to the traditional way of advertising their businesses. “Back in 2000 to 2005, people wouldn’t want to advertise online. They’ll just advertise in the yellow pages.” In fact, businesses during those days didn’t even have an email address or a website, yet. Matt had to convince them to advertise with them by offering to build their website and set up their email addresses. It took a bit of education for these companies to catch on with what Matt was offering, while it also presented a huge opportunity to tap since the terrain was still uncharted. Unfazed, Matt kept pushing on and went about showing the value of their business to wedding suppliers. He and his team kept in constant contact with wedding suppliers as they travelled around the country doing education nights and similar activities, which they still do until this day.

Their persistence paid off. “It was just one client after another. It was more of moving them away from the yellow pages onto Easy Weddings. Before we knew it, we had about 1,200 suppliers advertising with us around the country. We ended up to be the number one wedding site in the country in about 2008.” And as Easy Weddings progressed, they had also deepened their relationship with their suppliers by not just providing them with advertising opportunities but by also supporting them in growing their businesses.

However, Easy Weddings was not the first when it comes to offering online advertisement spots. Based on Matt’s account, “There were a lot of other players in the market. We just managed to scale up our business quicker than the others. The market in Australia wasn't really big enough to sustain many big players. For us, our main challenge was battling Instagram, Google, Pinterest and other billion-dollar companies. To compete for the user's time online, we needed to create a good product, one that was sticky and can justify them leaving Facebook and Pinterest and so on.”

The way Matt’s business operates, brides or couples use the site for the 18 months that takes to plan a wedding in Australia. After that, the customers move on to their next life stage. That is why they had to continually engage with their customers to find new ones and get referrals. “We participate a lot and sponsor the main wedding expos around the country. Our team goes to those expos a few times a year. So, they are meeting the end user quite a lot. We talk to those girls and guys during the expo. We're also surveying those brides constantly and finding out what they like, what they don't like, and what we can improve,” Matt shared.

For Matt, he regards staying close to customers as the most important ingredient to his business success. It’s customer first, then his team second. Having the right people on his team made it easy for him to stir his business in the right direction.

He admits that when it comes to the second factor, there were hits and misses along the way. One of those was getting the wrong people to be part of his team. “As we employed more and more people, I think one of the biggest heartbreaks was just going through a phase with the team when we were hiring more on skills rather than on culture. So, we learned the hard way that it's not the best way to go about hiring people.”

Learning from that experience, Matt regards getting the best team early on as one of the first things he would do if he has to walk back on his journey and do it all over again. “I'll start with better people. I think there was a bit of a trap of just hiring what you can afford, like hiring people that are just of the same level as where you are in the business. But in a growing business, you need someone who is going to be suited to where it is going in two or three years’ time. I would probably spend more to get the best people earlier. I think that would be the number one thing I would change.”

So when he was able to gather the best people that fit his company’s culture, he was on his way towards growing his business and his team. Matt finds it rewarding to see his staff members evolve from how they were five years ago with the skills they came with and how much they have grown with the skills they have now.

Apart from his team, Matt is grateful to people who came along the way that contributed to his entrepreneurial journey. He has a lot to thank his father for in not only providing for their family but also in showing him what hard work is all about. When there’s an amount of work that stresses Matt out, he looks to his father, who is his main role model, to give him guidance and mentorship. But if there’s one businessman that he would consider as his role model, it would be Elon Musk because of what he has done with Tesla and SpaceX and with the way he gets his consumers and employees defined to his mission.

There were other people throughout his journey that Matt is thankful for because of the lessons they have given him. At one point early on in the business, Matt received the best advice he ever had from one of his coaches. “He told me that, ‘Matt, you only have a hundred units of energy. You need to make sure you know where you are spending all those hundred because once the hundred are gone, you cannot just pull energy from anywhere else.’ He was talking about sticking to your core business and knowing what your core business is since entrepreneurs often get distracted by bright, shiny diamonds constantly. It's just about staying true to your core, knowing what that core is and then spending all your energy just doing that rather than trying to branch out to all these other lucrative, interesting things.”

Matt sees his business to be fortunate that they have their niche and they are very specific with what they produce for that niche. They have successfully bridged the market that is planning their weddings and the suppliers that are constantly on the lookout for clients. Their uniqueness and their direction of sticking it to their core have become their competitive advantage.

He also regards organisations like EO Melbourne as a big help in his entrepreneurial journey. Although Matt only joined EO Melbourne in October 2016, he has already picked out a lot of learnings from the organisation that aid him in his continued path. Having a preset time every month in the Forum to take a step back and look at his business from a different perspective has contributed a lot to making improvements in the way he runs things. “In the Forum, that’s where we are looking at eight businesses and the challenges each one has and then coming up with solutions for those eight different businesses. There are a lot of similarities in the problems. So, we can apply the same learnings to each. It’s just good to get the perspectives of different people on things and the learnings about how people are going about solving their problems,” Matt reflected.

It was also a great help that Matt is managing the business alongside his wife. As CEO, Matt does all the jobs that no one else wants to do, apart from leading the pack to the direction where he wants to bring the business. He is more focused on innovating their products and services and in employing the right people in his business. His wife, Katrina, has the COO role. Her job is predominantly around the systems and processes to ensure that the business is running like a well-oiled machine. Being into the details, she makes sure that the team dots the i’s and crosses the t's, not leaving out anything that may affect the business adversely.

Having that personal relationship with a business partner can be a challenge to others. But Matt and Katrina have proven to be a formidable tandem. Matt points out clear and open communication as the key to their successful partnership. It also helps that they have a clear boundary on tasks, roles and responsibilities. “We work well together. We don't have any problems. I think we set down the rules very early on in our relationship. We agreed that I would be the boss at work, while she would be the boss at home. And that's worked out well,” he laughingly said.

The couple sees to it that they also spend a lot of time with their three children. Matt prefers to do things and go to places where there’s the least amount of technology possible. “I like to go fishing, four-wheel driving, camping, or anything that gets me away from the computer. But really, spending a lot of time with my three kids is the most fun at the moment. They're 8, 11 and 12. So, they're really at a fun impressionable age.”

Nevertheless, there are sacrifices in becoming a business owner. But there are rewards as well. “The best advantage of being an employer is turning up to work every day and seeing the people I chose to be on my team. That's important. I also get to travel quite a lot for work and join in things like EO. Just being able to do my own thing is very important to me. I think the sacrifice is that you can never give up and you can never take it easy. You're always thinking of work. No matter what you are doing, there's always a part of your brain thinking about work, how you can make things better, how you can grow faster and all other problems. But through the years, you just get used to that as you integrate that with your life. And for me, it's part of who I am,” declares Matt.

Truly, it’s not easy to be an entrepreneur, but it’s what Matt does to make it easy for their customers. And that’s at the core of their venture’s existence.

More of Matt Butterworth in his LinkedIn profile. Read about Easy Weddings at http://www.easyweddings.com.au.

Mark Calabro’s Double D: Determination and Discipline

Determined to take control of his destiny and to create something meaningful to the world, Mark Calabro went into business straight out of university, taught himself the ropes of running it, learned from the real world and helped establish one of the biggest Point of Sale providers in the food and beverage industry.

Ordermate Co-founder and Director of Sales Mark Calabro has the best job in the world. He gets to enjoy two of the things he loves: technology and food. As an engineer, he has a knack for technology and innovation. His affinity for food, on the other hand, can be traced way back from his childhood with his family. Surrounded by his grandpa and adults in the family, Mark loved watching them cook and share a meal as he was always very curious as a kid.

“I love how food brings back emotions. These are warm, loving and caring emotions from childhood. And I love to share experiences. I love to share things that I make. I love to share learnings with other people. As for me, food is about sharing, and sharing is a part of me,” he expresses warmly. On top of that, he loves to cook as he finds it very calming. As a matter of fact, cooking is a form of meditation for him.

Thus, Mark’s authentic zeal for food eventually extended to his business, Ordermate, which develops technology that helps improve the way restaurants, cafes and bars run their businesses and grow their profits. “We all have a genuine passion for the food and beverage industry. It translates to the quality of our product. It shows how we recognise and celebrate working with the very best in the industry: the best chefs, the best operators, and the best barmen,” the food-loving engineer articulates.

Ordermate’s early beginning was not as opulent as the industry it now caters. It simply started at a garage in 2002. “We were straight out of university, myself and my then business partners. We were at the university together taking up a double degree in engineering and multimedia. We started up our business as more of fun. It was just a project,” he describes.

Young and fresh out of university, they didn’t have much money to put into the business. “We lived on just water for the first few years,” Mark laughingly puts it as they weren’t taking any wage during the initial years of their business. It was all self-funded and its growth was purely organic. Since they had to take in a software developer and hire more people, their team had to expand. In effect, the ability to pay wages for their staff kept them up at night as cash flow was a real problem.

Add to that was the fact that Mark and his partners had no idea about sales and marketing. That part was just self-taught. They learned on their own feet as they went about running the business. What they did, however, was link up with friends who had some background in marketing to help them go about it.

The challenging part, however, was that marketing was crucial to their business during the early stages as they had to convince those in the food and beverage industry why they need a software to run their operations. When Mark and his partners were starting out, the industry wasn't used to the modern way of doing business, such as paying for a subscription service.

“The perception of the industry was just to buy a cash register that comes out of a box, have someone unbox and program it, then pay them the money. For us, we went better in a different way as we took a consulting approach rather than a box product. Back then, 90% of the market would buy the box product. A cash register was cheaper than our software,” Mark shares his sentiments.

Mark and his partners spent the first 5 to 8 years presenting to businesses the value of their product and the wisdom why they had to spend 5 to 10 times more on this technology. “It was then very much about showing our value proposition whereas today, everyone knows you have to buy a Point of Sale system. It's now just a matter of which brand to trust and which one has great service or good after sales or great tools.”

As competition is growing, the challenge for Mark and his team is to set their business apart from the rest. Their approach is to provide genuine care, interest and passion for the industry that will contribute to the betterment of the industry. On the other hand, they try not to be everything to everyone. Instead, they carved their niche by focusing more on bigger, larger and more professional, aspirational hospitality venues. While they deal with anyone in the food and beverage industry, channelling and focusing their initiatives towards businesses that give value to everything they do was a more efficient method. With that, they cater more towards serious business establishments where there's a marketing function or stock inventory.

With the constant ordeal of maintaining a positive cash flow, acquiring new skills, getting new clients and facing competition, Mark realises that running a business entails a lot of hard work. He loves what he does, that’s for sure. But people regard owning a business as something like a walk in the park. In reality, nothing can prepare a business owner with the challenges ahead when it comes to growing and building a business until he becomes one. “You have to live being a business owner. I think you don't know it unless you've done it. Thousands of people may think it is glamorous and it is a nice thought. What they don’t see is that there is a lot of sacrifices, like in relationships and personal life,” he shares. “For me personally, I never switch off,” he remarks.

The biggest heartache in his entrepreneurial journey was a business relationship that turned sour. There were some people in the organisation that they had to let go. Mark acknowledges that his mistake has been knowing that they have a big problem but not facing it head-on. So, apart from honing the various job functions that he has to learn and then excelling at them, managing people and building better relationships were also key learnings that he found on his journey. He finds that relationship-building and people skills are necessary for sales, marketing, recruitment and leadership. Part of that learning includes getting the right people on the team.

“As they say, ‘you’re as good as your weakest link.’ I learned that we have to get the right people to keep going. When it comes to systems and processes, we’re good on that stuff because we're engineers. I didn't value marketing and HR before, but as the business was growing and evolving, those are probably two of the most important things in any business. So, it’s about people, which is HR, and marketing, which is creating value for the market segments that you want,” Mark answers thoughtfully.

Recognising the significance of the different aspects of the business that they have not given much attention before, Mark learned to surround himself with business coaches and mentors that cared about the business and guided him through his entrepreneurial journey, particularly in areas where he didn’t have previous skills.

Earlier this year, Mark also joined EO Melbourne, where he has picked additional knowledge that he has applied in his business. “I learned the importance of execution and strategy. I also understood that having the absolute clarity and unity at the top of the business can penetrate all the way down to the staff.”

Putting all those tools together and applying them in his entrepreneurial voyage, Mark has seen the fruits of their labours. Their biggest win is getting customers in the Middle East. “We are in the UAE since 2 years ago. It's nice to see people from various walks of life in other parts of the world smile and enjoy using what we developed way back in 2002 out of a garage. We're on that path of growth now, which is about getting the team right and consolidating our brand and our position in the Australian market. Next year is about extending that and also growing internationally. We have 3 countries earmarked in 2018,” Mark eagerly shares.

In fact, Mark is ready to take on the world. They plan to have offices in each of the major continents. The expansion, however, is not only geographic. It also extends to having more services and products in the pipeline. Mark takes their plans further as he sees more changes to occur in the market and, in effect, in their business within the next few years. “It is going to be totally different from what it is now. The market will be different. Technology is open to disruption, so we have to be the one that must disrupt so as not to be disrupted.”

Mark remains hopeful despite the constant changes happening around him. “As the business is growing and as we are getting more resources and people to do the operational stuff, I see myself spending more time on the innovation flow. I really enjoy that. I think there is a lot of exciting change that is already starting to happen. I think it excites more people to come on board and have a career with us as well,” he retorts.

As he looks at the 15 or more years of his entrepreneurial journey at a macro level, Mark cites the important ingredients for a successful business cuisine. “I think that perseverance, hard work and continuous learning are the key things that I attribute to what I have, where I am, and what I achieve. Also, it’s people and passion first before anything else. It's the passion you have for the right people.”

While he continues to cook up more ideas that will help develop the food and beverage industry and take it to a higher level, he imparts an important message to other aspiring entrepreneurs. “You need to be determined to get through every day. You must be determined to keep learning. Determination and discipline. These are the key behaviours that you need to keep you going to the next stage and the next stage and the next stage.”

These are the same qualities that enabled him to take control of his destiny and led him to create something meaningful to the world. And with determination and discipline, he is ready for the next stage of his journey.

More of Mark Calabro in his LinkedIn profile. Read about Ordermate at http://www.ordermate.com.au.

The creator and problem-solver in Damian Blumenkranc

How do you solve a problem like Damian Blumenkranc? The CEO of Creativa Videos loves solving problems and enjoys creating new concepts. Having a solution mind comes naturally to him.

Since the age of 15 years old, he has built various businesses, from IT to several other industries, which he grew and then eventually sold. So, why did he retain a creative business out of all the ventures he has put up? “I'm a creator. I always need to do new things,” he simply quips.

Damian’s entrepreneurial journey started early on. In his teens, he has already put up a business venture that could be considered as a genuine business. That was in 1993 when he launched the first online shop in Argentina, selling computer parts to computer nets through an application called BBS, or bulletin board system, something that was prevalent before the explosion of the internet.

“That was probably my first really serious venture as an entrepreneur. From then on, I have always been looking for opportunities; building small businesses, running them and selling them,” he reminisces.

Although he has formal training on business, having a double degree on business and information technology (IT), he believes that his family background has a lot to do with his savvy when it comes to entrepreneurship. “I think most my acumen comes from the family. My father, being an entrepreneur, was always sharing, always getting us involved in the business, letting us know what happened, and letting us participate. He would tell us about the wins and the losses, as well as the problems and the good things that happened, and so on. And I learned. I learned that way,” recounts Damian.

Those learnings were the tools he brought with him when he came to Australia to study. As a student, his visa didn’t allow him to be employed by corporations, but he needed to survive. The only way for him to earn money in order to support himself was to create a business. “When I came to Australia, I started my own business and IT support which I ran for seven years during that time. I also started a pilates importing business, the first voice over IP integrator in Melbourne, and then later, a hair removal business as well. In time, we grew them, including a couple of online shops. We grew them, we made them profitable, and we sold them one by one,” he narrates. Damian now oversees Creativa Videos, which he co-founded with Miguel Donnenfeld, also his partner in his other businesses.

For someone who had the confidence to build a business at an early age, it was expected that he would survive in a foreign country. Which he eventually did, but it wasn’t an easy one, given that he had to plant those businesses in a land unknown to him. “Imagine parachuting into a new place where you know no one, where you have no connections.  It is a place where everyone knows everyone because it's a smaller city than what you are used to.  It's not your language, it's not your origin, it’s not the same culture as yours. So, it's always been a challenge – trying to network, trying to understand. What I did, I read a lot of books, like everything, because everything was new from tax legislation to mannerisms to language to pricing to negotiation methods. Everything was different,” he notes, describing those early days of starting his first venture in Australia.

The challenges didn’t stop there. The unusual business terrain of an unfamiliar soil was not the only stumbling block Damian had to confront as he went on building his own enterprises. Whilst nothing might have scared a 15-year old boy because he had nothing to lose for taking risks, it was no longer the same as Damian matured in age and experience. He recognised his vulnerability as he found further in his entrepreneurial journey that revenue and cash flow, which are significant components in sustaining a venture, always worried him. Since he bootstrapped all his businesses, which were typically self-funded, finances for capital were never in abundance. For him, generating not enough revenue is equivalent to failure, and that scared him.

Navigating through an unknown landscape with limited resources, it was inevitable for Damian to commit some gaffes along the way. One particular miscalculation he did was hiring the wrong people. “We were hiring too fast and firing too slow,” he interjects. Nonetheless, he has coped and managed to correct that mistake as he needed to, especially that his company is people-intensive; thus, having the right persons in the team is crucial to the success of their projects. Otherwise, they just have to make that important decision of letting go of the wrong people when things don’t work out fine. “When it happens, we have conversations with them. If we don't believe it is going to work, then we end it.”

Others may think that being a business owner gives one all the power and freedom in the world. “But that's not particularly true,” he corrects. Damian explains that being a business leader, there are a lot of responsibilities to attend to, whether to the staff or to clients or to partners. “The result is generally attached to what you do. Because you're attached to the business, you cannot do whatever you want. When it comes to the freedom as a business owner, you still have a lot of concerns that you have to work around with. You're also the one who sets examples and creates a culture because whatever you are doing, you can expect people to follow it as well. So, if you don't want them to do (something) that is not good for the business, then you shouldn't do it either.”

What others don’t see are the impediments a business owner has to deal with in order to keep the business going and make it grow. Some of these drawbacks that Damian has encountered he enumerates, “A big deal didn't come through, an investor said no, a letter of offer got rejected, staff that has not been committed as we like to… There were always setbacks. But I can't recall any massive disappointments.”

That’s because he chooses not to dwell on the undesirable things. His actions are guided by his business philosophies and work ethics of doing the right things, doing what he says he’s going to do, and honouring his mistakes by admitting when he makes one. “I always try to do the right thing. I find win-win scenarios for everyone and I make an effort to understand everyone else's point of view. Then, I come up with a solution that is great for everyone,” the creative problem-solver explains. “Sometimes, even if they take advantage of you. It's not worth it, it's not for me. It is better to focus on the future and not on the past,” he asserts.

The setbacks, the disappointments, and the challenges. They are obstacles along Damian’s path. Yet, he doesn’t allow these hindrances to put extra weight on his shoulder. He prefers to look at what’s ahead of him and focuses on it. He shares this piece of wisdom that aspiring entrepreneurs can apply in their respective experiences, “You must have a very clear vision of where are you going because that guides everyone else on the journey.”

Not only that. While having a goal is vital at the very beginning of everyone’s entrepreneurial track, it takes more than that to be able to carry on with the entrepreneurial voyage. “Start by listening. That's the one thing everyone should do. Start listening to clients, to markets and to people; that's how you can align yourself with them to understand them,” Damian advises.

As he went along, he picked more lessons that equipped him to be a better entrepreneur. These lessons also enabled him to evaluate his actions and mistakes and see where he could still improve on. If he could do things all over again, Damian thoughtfully thinks, “I will only consider businesses with a high leverage on my time. Businesses that can be propelled without having to take much of my time.”

Time is something that Damian puts a premium on and he ensures he manages his time efficiently. “Well, I have a very strict, very specific way of managing my calendar. It’s a method that I use that I created for myself, where I'm constantly reassigning priorities and putting absolutely everything I need to do in that calendar with the right times so that nothing slips and nothing falls through the cracks. That is important on an ongoing basis.”

There are a lot of other things he sees in himself that he admits he can still work on. One example is motivating a team. When asked how he manages his people, "With difficulty," he jokes. “That's still something I need to master, I guess. I'm still learning.” And another skill he needs to hone is celebrating his wins. “That's the thing, I don't. That's one of the things I have to learn more,” he laughs.

One particular element he came across that was most helpful to his professional and personal development as a startup founder was a support group. This he found in the form of EO Melbourne. “Last year I joined EO. Over the years, a lot of people have suggested that I join, so I made the call and last year I did. Through EO, I have picked a lot of knowledge, a lot of nuggets, and some really good fun as well. It’s mostly about inspiration to me. Going to these events, you get that one little thing that inspires you, that re-ignites you; that 1% you can change and make everything better.”

With all the businesses he has put up all those years, Damian has probably done so much that has changed the business landscape and made things a whole lot better. “We built one of the biggest production companies in Australia, in an industry that is extremely customized, extremely competitive, where most production companies failed in a short period of time. This is in an industry where I knew nothing about. So if I managed to build from scratch and run and create a brand – a recognised and successful brand – in a profitable way from day one, it is a massive success in itself,” he discloses.

So, how do you become an entrepreneur like Damian Blumenkranc? “Find something that you are most passionate about because it makes a lot of things easier. It's a cliché, but it's very real,” he imparts. And nothing more can drive Damian to even bigger successes than what he is most passionate about – solving problems. Now, Damian rushes on to something that needs his attention. This problem-solver is always on the move, and he is fueled by his desire to create new things and fix broken ones.

More of Damian Blumenkranc in his LinkedIn profile. Read about Creativa at http://www.creativa.com.au.

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.

Dean Cherny drives Marketing Melodies to success

"As an entrepreneur, you have to be quite visionary. But not just visionary, you have to be willing to drive it. You have to drive it.” - Dean Cherny, Founder and Director at Marketing Melodies

Throughout Dean Cherny's 28-year entrepreneurial journey as Managing Director and Founder of Marketing Melodies, he has navigated his company solo for the majority of its existence. When Dean attended his first EO event, he was faced with the following questions: If you have a bus and you need to fill it with people, who will be the people you want to take in? How will you arrange them inside the bus? Will you drive it yourself or will you stay in the passenger seat? These were key questions Dean pondered on, and two pertinent takeaways stood out: one, he needed the right people on the right seats in his bus; and two, he must drive his bus and not just be a passenger.

Since his hands took the helm, Dean has happily driven his figurative bus – his company, Marketing Melodies – through an exciting ride, with his eyes set towards a more thrilling journey ahead.

When it comes to steering the wheel, Dean is persistent and unyielding. One particular example: He pursued his biggest client for 27 years until he finally got them to join him on his bus. That is why his proudest moment ever was when he eventually got a resounding “yes” from the Just Group after wooing them for almost three decades. Another feather in his cap was the launch of storePlay, an online app that makes the in-store music experience more convenient and satisfying. Since they say ‘good things come in threes’ Dean’s third conquest came one week prior to this interview, where he signed a reseller deal that would change the whole in-store landscape.

All these feats have gotten Dean to whistle a happy tune. Despite his accomplishments, he never forgets to glance at his metaphorical rear-view mirror every now and then, to look back to where his entrepreneurial bus started. It was in a classroom during his final year in the university back in 1989 when they were discussing points of sale. He raised his hand during the lecture and, being a DJ, asked about music in the retail environment. The lecturer acknowledged his question but also challenged his idea, so Dean decided to do his final year assignment on in-store music.

With two classmates, Dean worked on his idea and, as part of the assignment, presented it to the marketing manager of Portmans. Unexpectedly, the concept caught on with the retailers. As a matter of fact, Portmans wanted Dean to roll out the proposal straight away. High from that positive outcome, Dean went ahead and took the plunge. On the other hand, his colleagues backed out from implementing the concept. “Once we had done the presentation, they actually didn't think there was much opportunity in it that they decided not to be involved. So, I did it by myself. I still see those guys and we do have a bit of a laugh on that fact that this business has gone on to become successful, and that they chose not to get involved,” Dean chuckled.

You might say that Dean had the right tools that gave him a good head start on his entrepreneurial journey: he had training in marketing and he had experience with music as a DJ. Getting into the in-store music line of business was a rational one. Yet, it was his exposure to business through his parents -- his father was in shirt manufacturing while his mother had a travel agency -- that gave him valuable inputs on how to run his own. They also went through ups and downs as entrepreneurs, which opened Dean’s eyes to the realities of running a business.

“My parents, when we were growing up, they were doing it very hard. We were middle-income. There were times when they couldn't afford babysitters,” a thoughtful Dean remarked. For Dean and his two other siblings, school holidays meant going with mom or dad to work. Their playground was their parents' offices. They would help or be present with people working with their parents. Those experiences and their parent’s conversations about their respective businesses over dinner table provided Dean with the exposure he needed that became a foundation for his own business journey.

Dean had seen his father hit some tough times in his business, so he had a good grasp of the challenges that the journey entails. “I think some people do not realize the risk that entrepreneurs take.” Dean was quite pensive when he pointed out, “What people don't think about are the pressures. Generally, I'm the one who's at risk; it's my investment. Because it's essentially funded by me, if things don’t go well, that can very quickly have an adverse effect on my family. I've seen things like that happen with family members who were entrepreneurs and things didn't go well. And I've seen how that can affect them.”

But being a focused and tenacious businessman, failing wasn’t an option for him. “I didn't think failures were even something that I contemplated. Like I said, it was a risk to do it. But I knew I was going to be successful. I had no doubt that I would succeed,” the determined entrepreneur professed.

For instance, when he was starting out and was making inroads, his competitor underestimated him. “What they used to say was ‘ Dean’s just a fly by night. He is just a little kiddie. He's not going to be around in a couple of years.’ But I’m still here, and I don’t think there is anyone else in my industry who has operated longer than I have.”

Dean was out to prove the naysayers wrong. When he decided to turn his assignment into a business, he went ahead and secured the licensing of music so that the service he would offer would be legal, even when he had to toil hard just to get this done. He did the mixing of the records – from cassettes to burning it on CDs to creating it on hard drives – within the confines of his bedroom. He looked for suppliers and dealt with them when he needed to outsource some of the production. He made presentations, closed deals and looked after his client’s needs. He did all these on his own as he ran the business by himself until his first employee mid-2014.

These were bumps he endured, but because he loved what he was doing, the ride on his entrepreneurial shuttle was an unbelievably exciting one. The flipside of the risks and the intensive labours was the excitement and the adrenaline of achieving the goals. “If you put together the right plan to achieve the goals, and when you finally achieve your goals, the reward is second to none,” said Dean.

Being an entrepreneur, the success is magnified. Dean believes that when you’re working for someone and you win a deal, “it doesn’t compare to the excitement and the thrill as when you’re the owner.”

Unwavering in his fortitude to take his business even further, Dean went ahead with his other passion: learning. He gorged on workshops and talks when he joined EO Melbourne three years ago. And in that length of time, he's only missed five events. “I’ve gone to everything. I think I can truly say that I've got something out of every one of them. In that regard, I just love hearing people's experiences and the sharing of going down the path of leadership. I've exposed myself to EO members on the global level through GLC and through Ignite. I'm just like this kid in the candy shop, and I just want more and more and more because I'm loving the opportunity to learn.” Those learnings also boosted his confidence, especially on how to deal with clients and prospects.

These days, Dean furiously devours business books, inspired by speakers he heard from the talks. He is a tech geek, so he is learning more about how he can use technology to expand Marketing Melodies, not just geographically, but to other territories. His EO journey has strengthened his resolve of developing himself as a holistic entrepreneur – a businessman, a father and a husband – while he continually improves his skills, his mindset and capabilities.

Dean is content that he has good life balance. “I work from home. So, that's great as I get to see the kids when they come home from school, and I can go have dinner with them at 5:00, and bath them, and put them to bed or help my wife with domestic duties. And then if I need to do a little bit more work, I can do that,” the young father revealed.

For Dean, the best thing about his business is that he gets to have the personality that he wants to be. “I am also a commercial creative. I think commercial creatives are quite rare. Generally, people are either commercial and not creative or creative and not necessarily commercial. And I think that held me in good stead so I've been able to flirt and move between the two.”

Part of that commercial creative personality is constantly having a good relationship with his clients. “Call it crazy,” Dean quipped, “but all my clients have my mobile phone number. I am unbelievably responsive to clients’ needs.”

That’s a good driver who knows how to take care of his passengers. Nevertheless, despite his business acumen, there are incessant twists and turns throughout his entrepreneurial voyage. One, he has to navigate through the retail industry, which is undergoing turbulent times. Many brands are price conscious even though Marketing Melodies price their products and services very reasonably, and second, there’s the need for continuing education of businesses. “We supply in-store music and we're essentially like a version of Spotify for business. But people don't understand that Spotify isn't legal for in-store music or to use in their business. And so, they are probably our biggest competitor even though they shouldn't be competing with us. So, there's a big education piece.”

With his “never give up” attitude, Dean is keen on working his way through it. Looking back to that moment in university, Dean didn’t get a good mark from his assignment, but that didn't stop him from working on his idea.

“As an entrepreneur, you have to be quite visionary. But not just visionary, you have to be willing to drive it. You have to drive it.” These are sound words from a sound guy.

More of Dean Cherny in his LinkedIn profile. Read about Marketing Melodies and its service Store Play at http://www.storeplay.com.au.

The unrelenting pursuits of Kym Huynh

"God hasn't given me some special power. God hasn't made me any different to the average person. Where I attribute my successes in life to is my unrelenting pursuit of excellence in every single thing that I do.” - Kym Huynh, Founder at WeTeachMe.

Is being an entrepreneur something that is innate or does it develop over time? That may be subject to debate, but Kym Huynh, one of the founders of WeTeachMe, believes that one is born to it, and that is evidenced by patterns of behaviour over time. “I believe that you're born an entrepreneur. I believe there are inherent traits and characteristics that consistently manifest over and over and over in one's life. It's only when you reflect that you connect the dots; that the behaviour is consistent with that of being an entrepreneur,” the young businessman professes.

Coming from a family consisting of hardworking parents who arrived in Australia as immigrants, Kym lives and breathes what he learned and saw from them. Kym, thinking of his parents, recounts, “They left Vietnam after the Second World War and they came to Australia as refugees, on the boats. For them, they left an entire world that they knew behind them -- their culture, their family, their language and their innate sense of belonging -- and they started their life again in a strange and foreign land. To do something like this requires an inordinate amount of courage, tremendous bravery, unrelenting persistence, and dogged resilience; and these are qualities that I live and breathe each and every day.”

Given their experiences and the challenges they faced, Kym learned a lot from his parents. One of the things he learned is the results that come from being unrelenting. Kym likens this to waves that hit sea cliffs. The waves keep on hitting and no matter what happens, it will always keep on hitting. “And one day, if I hit something hard enough, and if I hit it the right way, something’s going to give.” That is the philosophy that Kym lives by. With conviction, he avowed, “I may not be the best, and I may not be the fastest learner, and I may not be the cleverest, but I will be unrelenting. I will never give up. And one day, somewhere, something is going to give.”

Kym exhibited his unrelenting attitude and his entrepreneurial abilities early on. When he was eight years old, he used to collect papers, odd bits and pieces of them with varying colours, textures and designs. He would approach his classmates and sell them his papers and they would gladly buy the papers at 50 cents or for a few dollars. Unbelievably, Kym's papers were always sold out, leaving him happy with his venture.

Three years later, like any kid in school, Kym moved towards collecting marbles, which was the playground’s currency. One day at lunch, he observed his schoolmates as they set out to win marbles. The good ones cheered when they acquired three to five marbles for their winnings. Kym thought, “there must be a better way I can quickly amass a lot of marbles.” An a-ha moment came. He rounded up his schoolmates and announced a new game he devised. With a container lid at hand, he placed it on the floor and challenged the other kids to throw their marbles into the container lid, at 10 to 15 meters from where he stood. If they could get their marbles to land and stay in the container lid, he would give them 50 marbles. But if they missed, he got to keep their marbles. The kids excitedly lined up, and showed off their throwing prowess, only to their dismay. His plan worked. He eventually amassed hundreds of marbles, and he gleefully went back to his classroom with the marbles in his arms. Alas, he tripped and the marbles flew everywhere, leaving the other kids to rush and seize whatever they could.

Kym has many anecdotes to share about his childhood. While they may sound funny,  these incidents left a dent in his life, which laid the foundation for his entrepreneurial journey. For instance, there was this time when his mom asked him what he wanted to be when he grows up. The boy who sold papers in school and amassed large quantities of marbles answered without batting an eyelash, “I want to be a dolphin trainer.” His shocked mother countered, “No. You’re going to be a lawyer.” And so, he trudged the path to becoming a lawyer. He loved the cases he worked on, but he later found out that his bigger passion lies in business. Still, he credits his experience as a lawyer for training him how to research, and how to structure and articulate his thoughts, which he applies to many facets of his life, including business.

Then again, Kym didn’t go after his passion in the onset. He was just starting to practice law and was travelling in South America when he met a freak accident. The car he was a passenger in drove off a cliff. Scenes from his life flashed before his eyes – him hugging his mother, devising games with his kid sister, spending time with his closest friends – and he thought it was going to be his end. Luckily, the car landed on a tree and he survived the ordeal. He was transported to an operating table and spent a year in recovery. That incident left a significant impact on his life because it made him realise that life is short.

Kym declares, "Life goes by in a blink of an eye. So I want to make sure that if I dedicate my time to something, I want to dedicate it to something that makes my heart beat, something that I am truly passionate about, and something that I will stay awake for days-on-end to accomplish. I want to live a life that is intensely passionate and extraordinary in every possible way.”

It was then when he took a turn towards his passion and opted to take the business track where he was able to recognise the need to seek other people’s help. Growing up with his parents working multiple jobs and working incredibly long hours, Kym became independent at an early age. As a result, he never asked for anything and he did things on his own. That was his methodology at first until he found a better way of doing things. “In business, there are so many lessons, so many obstacles, and so many hurdles that if you try to solve everything yourself, it will take you an inordinate amount of time. What I learned was that there should be no fear in reaching out to someone who has achieved what I want to achieve, and to sit down with them and ask them to share their experiences or their nuggets of wisdom. This alone will save me years of learning the hard way myself.”

One particular nugget of wisdom he received from his parents, which he considers as a very important one, is the value of learning. “They've always said to me: In life, you can lose your house, your car, your money, your clothes, and all the material possessions that you have amassed. You can lose everything. But you will never lose what you have learned.” The idea of continuous learning has stuck with Kym his entire life as he has seen firsthand how learning can be transformative not only to one’s life but also to those that surround that person.

Wanting to take that idea a step further and as his way of honouring his parents, Kym planned to set up something that can encourage learning, one that will lead to changing the individual, those surrounding the individual, the community and, eventually, the world. From that seed of vision sprung WeTeachMe: home to Australia's best and most popular classes.

Along with three other friends, Kym co-founded WeTeachMe. As Kym would put it, they started on the smell of an oily rag. With basically nothing, these four individuals worked only on the idea that they could increase knowledge in the world by disseminating and democratising education. And being young, green entrepreneurs, they committed several mistakes along the way.

Throughout his entrepreneurial journey, Kym recognises that errors and miscalculations are part and parcel of the learning process. As Kym quotes George Naddaff, a serial entrepreneur and founder of New Boston Chicken, "No business, no problems. No problems, no business."

The biggest blunder Kym can remember was when they did not conduct customer research prior to launching the first WeTeachMe platform. There they were, pouring all their energy and spending sleepless nights designing and developing the initial website. However, after they launched their “baby” to the public, a month came and no one visited the site. It was heartbreaking, but more than that, Kym felt sad for the team. Sitting down with one of his mentors, Kym voiced his misery and asked where they went wrong. “Did you do any customer development?” he was asked. Learning from that, they sprang into action and talked to hundreds of customers before they launched the second platform. Only then they were able to see growth on their site. Now, they are the biggest school in Australia.

But did you know that this entrepreneur who loves learning often feels like he knows a little? “What I love about EO is that I constantly feel like I am the dumbest person in the room. It’s a feeling I have never quite shaken off, nor do I want to. I constantly feel like I have to run and chase to keep up with my peers. I love that feeling because that's when I'm most challenged and when I am most engaged.”

As much as he loves challenges, this lawyer-turned-entrepreneur also gets tired, so when things get tough and when business gets difficult, he goes back to his family, which he considers his fortress. He recalls the words of entrepreneur, educator and public servant, Warren Rustand, “No success in life compensates for failure in the home.”

And that’s what makes him unrelenting. “I am not afraid to put myself out there, grab risk by the proverbial horns, try new things, and leap in all-guns-blazing. But, I cannot take credit for this, because behind that is a very strong family that believes in me, and supports me in every single thing that I do. For me, even though I may be taking a risk, I like to think of it as taking a risk from a position of strength.”

Kym makes sure that he pays attention to four things that make up life as a whole: business, personal, family, and community. He puts a premium on his relationships in these various aspects of his life. In fact, relationships play a key role throughout his journey, and he gets recharged by conversing with people close to him or spending time with them. That same connection with people got Kym to sell his bits of papers when he was eight. “I found that my classmates bought the paper, not because of the product itself - the product was great, by the way - but mostly because of the relationship they had with me.”

He may have tripped and dropped his marbles, but Kym never gives up. Now, this man who loves learning has a company about learning, and he continues to learn in the process. There is no stopping Kym as he is unrelenting in his pursuit of excellence.

More of Kym Huynh on his LinkedIn profile. Read about WeTeachMe at https://weteachme.com/.

Jason Ellenport on starting the day early with a healthy mind

With a goal in mind, the time frame to do it, and the accountability to make it happen, Jason Ellenport swims into rough waters and towards success.

Coming from a cold-water swim in the ocean, Jason Ellenport, one of the principals in the mergers and acquisitions advisory firm, Edison Partners, enthusiastically shared the story of his entrepreneurial journey. He looked relaxed, yet full of fervour, and right off the bat, he makes other people feel at ease conversing with him for the first time.

Jason spoke, “For me, entrepreneurship is about having a healthy mind as much as it is having a healthy business. I've benefitted enormously from doing things like meditation.” And a swim in the ocean early in the morning, which seems to be an arduous activity to start a day. It is because while being an entrepreneur can often look attractive and exciting, it is not really an easy path. According to Jason, it takes a lot of hard work and a long time at the wheel. You might find it daunting, but looking at the stark parallelism of the cold water and the ordeals of everyday living, you can pick a grain of wisdom behind his morning ritual.

“Doing these things that are a challenge outside of your business help you. If I can swim in the darkness in rough water, then I feel like I can handle anything that the day throws at me. So, it's really about preparing yourself for the day. Whether it's meditation, or yoga, or swimming, or going for a walk, I think getting up early and seizing the day is absolutely critical to success, and having a clear mind to be able to achieve success,” the business strategist added.

Waking up early is a habit he imbibed even at an early age. When he was eight years old, he already had small jobs and tiny business ventures. He used to get up at 4:30 a.m. to deliver papers, and then repeat this for the evening paper rounds. On Saturdays, he would be up at 6:00 a.m. and then jump the fence to the golf course to find golf balls, which he would wash and sell later to golfers who lost them. He laughed as he remembered the folly of it all but that was quite ingenious for an eight-year-old.

Growing up, Jason always had a job. “As a kid, I was always wanting to earn my own money and to be in control of my own fund, I guess, rather than being reliant upon pocket money or someone else's generosity. I think I understood the link between hard work and freedom quite early in my life.”

However, he wanted more of that freedom where he is able to make his own choices, “rather than be obligated to work to somebody else's clock,” as he puts it. After five years of being employed, he felt he didn’t want to work for anyone else ever again, so he set out to build his very first business while studying MBA at the Melbourne Business School, with his father as his partner. Still aiming for bigger things, the young, dynamic Jason went on towards going on his own, so it comes as no surprise that right after MBA, he raised some money from local investors to build a technology business with a colleague from MBA.

It was not an easy start, as he described themselves as “wet behind the ears and inexperienced”, making mistakes along the way. They were going around in circles rather than having a clear understanding of exactly what it was that they were trying to achieve. Being a little green was in itself already a hurdle that they had to overcome, and it didn’t help that Jason was struggling with the fear of failing. For him, this is what he considers as the scariest part while he was starting his own business. Never really failing on anything, it scared him that he might not actually succeed. In hindsight, he recognised he was reaching for really impossible stuff that was not quite achievable. Then, he also started doubting his abilities. If he would do it all over again, he would spend a lot less time worrying about things and a lot more time just getting stuff done.

They were hard lessons learned, but those strengthened him as a person and as an entrepreneur. The learning continued as he went on his business-building path, dipping his fingers across a range of different industries. For example, when he was starting out, he viewed things as black and white, until experience showed him that there are several shades of grey in various situations. “The more I learned, the more I realized what I didn't know. But I think the simple things are probably the most important, such as creating the time to think, rather than just spending all the time doing.”

He found that the simplest things were the most effective, even in dealing with customers, such as engaging them rather than keeping them at arm's length. “I've always learned the most by building very strong relationships with the customer and building a trusted advisor relationship with the customer,” said Jason. And then he learned to listen more.

Opening his ears to other people, bits of wisdom also trickled in. “I think the best advice that I had was simply that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Definitely, it is the best advice I've had, which is to be clear about what your objectives are, plan carefully, and it's okay if the plan changes or if you don't achieve the plan, but be deliberate in the way you plan for success.”

And it was truly towards success where he eventually turned out. Jason still vividly remembers that special day back in 2000 when they were the first to run an online reverse auction in the southern hemisphere. He and his business partner were the only ones in their tiny office, watching the auction happen on the internet. It was a tense moment, but when it was finished, they were doing lots of high fives, emphatic with their achievement. More successes came along, and after 10 years, they had the biggest cause for celebration and relief – being able to pay back their investors handsomely.

With all those frustrations, learnings and accomplishments accumulated in his memory vault, he now finds gratification in guiding those who are just in the starting line. “The reason why I've chosen to do this mergers and acquisitions (M&A) business now is that… all our customers these days are entrepreneurs. I think that's something that I'm particularly enjoying, which is to be helping entrepreneurial businesses with the biggest events of their career: selling businesses; raising capital. It's nice to be able to do that from a position of knowledge, rather than just be a transaction adviser who has never actually run an entrepreneurial business before.”

Helping others also extends to his other endeavours, such as EO Melbourne. Positioned in what he considers as the front door of the organisation, he finds it rewarding to see new members make it through the process, especially those who complete the EO Accelerator Program. He also found a good support group in EO, which he described “as a sounding board that I never really had before.”

It’s not just his entrepreneurial experience that puts a twinkle in his eyes though. He lights up whenever he talks about his family -- his wife, Vicky, and his 10-year-old daughter, Cleo, who is the love of his life. But as quickly as the smile appeared on his face, a sombre look immediately replaced it when he mentioned about losing a person dear to him: Ben Cowen, founder of Edison Partners; who was his business partner and a great friend.

Cowen’s passing early this year reminded Jason of how things can quickly change. It also brought home the importance of spending more time with family and of enjoying each day in my life. His life purpose also shifted, wanting to experience more of what life can offer. Looking at the future, he sees himself spending a lot more time living through various encounters, a few years down the road. “I'd like to have a bit of mini-break and mini-retirement. I want to see a lot of different countries. I want to meet a lot of different people. I want to experience a lot of different things,” he quipped.

With Cowen’s death, Jason and his remaining partner in Edisons Partners, Shaf Dewani, realized they couldn’t do it all on their own. At present, they are building a team of fantastic, bright, young people with whom they have the pleasure of working with and learning from. He realised that businesses, in general, do a poor job in empowering these young minds that are often pigeon-holed and given limited control. Imagine a young Jason during his employed years, seating in his tiny cubicle, wanting to spread his wings, and you get the drift of where he’s coming from.

For Jason, “We probably are the opposite of the spectrum.” He recognises the need to support these emerging and soon-to-be business leaders. “A lot of what we are able to learn are from these young people. I guess the key lesson for me is to surround myself with great capability and get out of the way, basically, and let them do their magic. That's a really important value within our business: to trust people to achieve excellent outcomes and support them wherever they need this for. We want to throw people into the deep.”

With such trust and confidence, you can picture thousands of young businessmen and entrepreneurs getting into the deep, braving the proverbial rough waters, and swimming in the ocean at the break of dawn, just as Jason does.

His bits of advice for startup entrepreneurs: “One, tap into experience because there's a lot of people who have done similar things before, and most of those who have been very successful are very happy to share their experience. One of the curious things about entrepreneurship is that it seems you need to make the mistakes yourself in order to learn, and I think that's a little bit silly. A lot of those mistakes should be avoidable by leveraging on the experience of others who've already trodden that path. The second thing I would say is: create the time to think, not just do. And then the third thing is: create specific goals over time frames and manage yourself to be accountable to those time frames, even if you don't achieve what it is you're planning to do.”

And going back to his daily habit, it is good to start the day early with a clear mind and make your way towards achieving success.

More of Jason Ellenport on his LinkedIn profile. Read about Edison Partners at http://www.edisonpartners.com.au.