Ben Stickland adds value to people’s lives

“My philosophy is I want to find a way for everybody to win. There are some cultures where you only win if other people lose. I want to do business with people and want them to have a great experience. I want to be able to meet every client that I've worked within 20 years’ time and make them feel that they got good value. It's one of the core values I have that I add value to people's lives and not take away,” declares Alliance Software CEO and Owner, Ben Stickland.

Solving problems, family and his Christian faith are some of Ben’s great passions. He admits that he does not have any entrepreneurial background in his family, but he has always been into ventures since he was a kid. “I was born in a small country town and then moved to a regional city before I became a teenager. I had a very good family life to middle-income parents and a couple of older sisters. My dad was a teacher, and my mum was a nurse. They have no entrepreneurial background,” he began.

He even remembers his childhood wherein he was embarrassed that his father was a champion knitter who made jumpers and placed them in exhibitions. Ben grew up in a tough little town where everyone played football and fathers displayed masculine and macho prowess. Now that he perceives things differently, Ben believes that people should do what they want to do, as his father did in knitting and him in taking the entrepreneurial route.

“Even from a young age, I was always trying various entrepreneurial ventures. When I was little, I bought myself a saxophone and a windsurfer by selling pot plants on the side of the road, doing things like that. I was always trying to do weird things to make money as a kid, and lots of them failed spectacularly. But, it was a hobby of mine as a child,” Ben continued.

It goes to show that he has exhibited the entrepreneurial spirit at an early age. In fact, he started Alliance Software when he was still in university. Except for his service in the church, Ben never had a full-time job in any company. He immediately took the business journey when he had the opportunity. He narrated, “I worked with the church for two or three years and did that at the same time I've had some other part-time roles. I was passionate about the youth work that I was doing with the church where I was involved. I effectively started my business out of university. I've never had a real job.”

Alliance Software was the banner under which he did contract programming for other businesses while he was still studying. “The reason I started it was because it was convenient, and I could make better money than I could in doing student jobs. I think it's easier to start a business while still young because in my case, I didn't need much money since I was living with my parents. Then I got married quite young. My wife was on a good income, and I was running Alliance Software,” explained Ben.

At the end of his Master’s course in university, he got a job offer from a company called Accenture, a large multi-national consulting firm. The offer was great and tempting. At that time, Ben took a Master’s degree, as he thought he would get a real career, and it seemed Accenture was the answer. But he seriously pondered the kind of life he and his family would have if he accepts the offer. He recalled that fateful night, “My wife and I went out for dinner, and I remember we were looking over the sea and talking about it. We knew people who worked at Accenture and the lifestyle they had. That was the night when we decided to reject the offer and try to be a real business owner.”

While Alliance Software is his primary business, Ben has also dabbled in other enterprises as well. Another business he put up was Noble Samurai, which is a tech startup. He also built Web2TV, a business in the age care space, which he sold to a publicly listed company. He’s also looking at establishing another venture, although he’s still fiddling with the new business concept.

Since there are low barriers to entry in the industry where he is operating, it was not a difficult space for him to found an enterprise. It is true that Ben found it easy to start some businesses, but there were tougher times along his entrepreneurial path. Making a business flourish is a huge challenge in itself. His Noble Samurai business started very successfully and was popular in its category as an SEO tool. But the industry collapsed, tools in that trade became less popular, and competitors were fleeing. It was an exciting venture that made lots of money that fell into a crashing failure. Ben and his team had to endeavour to rebuild it from the ground up to keep it running.

Then he was embroiled in a legal battle with a customer, one of the lows he experienced as an entrepreneur. Still, he regards himself a person who tries to find amicable solutions to a whole range of problems. There are also misconceptions about businesses and business owners that others see differently. “People look at businesses and think they’re all well-run, orderly, organised, and efficient. As I've gotten to know more businesses, I've realised that a lot of businesses are not well-run. The other thing is that most business owners are dysfunctional in some way or another. They generally have significant weaknesses in certain areas of their life. They only succeed because they set up processes that don't need them to be strong in those areas. A lot of business owners are just holding on by the seat of their pants. I can only think of two or three people, who I would consider genuinely well-rounded and can excel across five or six different business functions where they are involved. I'm not one of them. Business people are not as clever or capable as I thought they would be when I started my business,” Ben declared.

On the flipside, one of the highs of his entrepreneurial adventure was when he launched one of his businesses fruitfully. He also felt euphoric when it brought in a huge income. The last few years, he has been happy that his ventures are doing well, especially when it continues to grow, earning solid revenues and good profits.

For Ben, the two key factors that provided him with continuous growth are the books he reads and the people who surround him. In fact, he regards the two books he read in EO, Scaling Up and Traction, as good tools that he was able to use for his businesses. “Both are business process books and are excellent, in my opinion. We’ve implemented a lot of the principles, such as deciding our target market, deciding how we’re going to run the business with people, and deciding how we’re going to execute the processes. At a pragmatic level, they’ve been very good, and I highly recommend them,” he stated.

With regards to EO, Ben shared an anecdote about his entry into the organisation. Two of his clients were both EO members and recommended him to be part of this group. “I joined, paid my dues and turned up without knowing what it was I was joining, which was in hindsight, a little bit silly. There are other obvious ways to assess it and get some input. But that was my experience. I got a couple of suggestions from people I trusted, and I paid up and came along,” he laughingly recounted.

Nevertheless, he has received great value from becoming a member of EO. For him, “It has been an opportunity to see how high-calibre business owners approach problems and work through situations. It is like having a sounding board to talk those through with them. Seeing how other people wrestle with challenges, and the kinds of actions they take, it gives you a whole different perspective on how you act. It allows you to upgrade your mental operating system to the way that different people would operate, rather than just seeing things the way they always seem.”

From books, people and experiences, Ben has established rhythms in their business that have become some of their best practices. They have daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual rhythms of setting goals, strategy, and check-ins to identify where they are off and what are the problems present. Because Ben believes that people are not lazy and will want to work when given the proper motivation and environment, he leads his team towards their goals through right incentives and rewards, recognition, clear directions, celebrations during victories, and good corporate values.

Managing a business and the people in it may vary from one business owner to another. Ben has structured his business where he doesn’t have to work crazy hours so he can spend more time with his wife and two children. He’s normally home by 5:30 at night and takes dinner together with his family. His son, who is 12 years old, shows that he can be an adept computer programming by learning free stuff on the internet. He stressed how individuals, especially business owners, can learn from the internet without shelling out a lot of money. “I heard this crazy story about the guy who was the world record javelin thrower. He got to the position of being the best in the world, but he never had a coach, he never had a lesson. He had learned everything about javelin throwing from YouTube,” Ben shared.

Ben pointed out that training can be low-cost nowadays because of the various resources available online. In fact, they are training their staff on a particular technology at the moment, and they found a great training resource at a very low price. He hopes to grow his businesses to become a bigger version of what they’re doing now. He wants to increase the number of staff and do more startups, probably some joint ventures with his existing staff that he has good relations to be his business partner.

It was not so long ago when Ben found himself at the beginning of his entrepreneurial journey. Now, he has built a company that is almost two decades in operation and several other ventures along the way. To those who want to become entrepreneurs, his suggestion is this, “Keep your costs low. Take a job where you have to sell to make money. Don't beaver away building something in your garage for two years before you go and sell it. Take the idea and go and pitch it to people first. Then get your first customers to help pay for the product to be created or pay for the service to come into existence.”

Different strategies and management styles can be applied depending on the kind of business model one has. But the simple things new entrepreneurs should know, according to Ben, is to buy a thing or create a product or do some work and then sell that product or service for profit. It only gets complicated once the business grows due to higher demands of work. There’s no need to perfect everything. For him, even it’s half-baked, one should take the risk and test its viability in the market with the least possible cost. Then take the metrics to evaluate where one can improve and develop.

Most of all, he cited the need for a business owner to be curious and humble enough to accept that there are more things to be learned as one continues in the entrepreneurial journey. Ben expressed something about himself, “I like to surround myself with smart people. I want to be curious. I want to be learning new things. For me, that's a big passion. That is what drives me. I enjoy the learning process. I enjoy the discovery. I enjoy figuring stuff out. I like working with people who are thinking in different ways. There's no grand message in the realities of the journey. The journey is still pretty young in many ways. I feel very fortunate, and I think I'm very lucky to be able to have this business, which has given me something that I enjoy doing where I get to work with good people.”

Know more about Ben Stickland through his LinkedIn profile. More on Alliance Software at https://www.alliancesoftware.com.au/.

Entrepreneurs can learn from these 10 movies

Learning takes place in many forms and places, not only in classrooms or books. There are other artistic means where individuals and groups can draw lessons and insights for growth and development. One particular medium where entrepreneurs can gain inspiration and motivation is in the film industry. With numerous movies shown each year around the world, there are stories which can teach business owners a few lessons on how they can improve themselves and their ventures.

The movie industry is a rich repository of resources like films that have business angles, which may be beneficial to your entrepreneurial journey. It’s a great way to learning and chilling out, absorbing the story and the lessons behind the stories.

Let us take a look at ten films that will entertain and educate you at the same time. So, sit back, relax and enjoy learning from these movies.

1. The Founder

Almost everyone knows the McDonald’s brand, and it is interesting to have a flick based on the true story of this international fast food joint. It’s how Ray Kroc, who began as a salesman and became the burger giant’s top honcho, spotted an opportunity in a restaurant owned by the McDonald brothers. He may not have the original concept of McDonald’s, but he built the empire and expanded it globally.

While the movie instils a thing or two on business partnerships and doing it right, it also presents a valuable lesson on persistence and keeping one’s eye on potentials. There are also other interesting tips and ideas that the audience can note from the film. The McDonald brothers tried to open other stores but were unsuccessful. They had an efficient system and model but was not able to replicate it in other locations. On the other hand, Kroc didn’t have the original idea, but he was good at enlarging it through franchising. He also identified the brand as a strong one, something that other entrepreneurs can hone when it comes to creating and building a brand name.

2. Office Space

The film takes on the daily office grind where disgruntled employees are bored and unsatisfied with their work environment. They plotted their revenge on their company as they planted a virus in the computer system and embezzled money.

Their means may not be upright, but the scenario can give one a few thoughts about work life. For employees, the film renders the realities of work life and endows a source of reflection on what to look for in a job. For managers, it teaches one how to relate with staff members by not treating them harshly. For business owners, it is an eye-opener on work culture and setting, imparting the need of looking after employee welfare and business growth.

Generally, it sends a subtle message to work on something where your passion lies. Many business owners take the entrepreneurial route because they prefer it over a nine-to-five job and love the creative freedom and flexibility that comes with entrepreneurship. Not everyone is fit to work for others, in the same vein that not everyone can start and run a business. The bottom line is to search where your heart beats fast and put your heart on whatever work you have.

3. The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard

When it comes to selling, Don Ready has the charm and the skill to put the goods on the market. He was enlisted to help out a car dealership business get rid of hundreds of cars from the lot on the fourth of July. But as Ready and his team show their ability to take on the mission of selling used cars, he has to convince his boss’ daughter that he’s the man for her. Will his knack as a salesman extend to his love life?

When you’re on a bind, there’s always a solution to keep your business going. Factor in the price, the market’s needs and demands, and competition. But there’s more to that when it comes to marketing and sales. Other people go to various lengths to meet their quota, but selling is not just about an exchange of goods. Understanding the needs and the pulse of the market is equally important.

4. The Game

A lonesome wealthy banker learned a valuable lesson about enjoying life and cherishing people around him through a game. It came in the form of a gift from his brother, an innocuous voucher for him to play the game. But what seemed like a harmless entertainment turned out to be a life-threatening scheme that also sucked him of his wealth and assets. The banker later discovered that it was all orchestrated so that he will come to see the real meaning of life.

The top tier of the corporate ladder may be a lonely world unless you find groups of like-minded individuals such as EO Melbourne, for example. The movie shows that there’s more to life than bank accounts, mansions and the like. Human interaction and relationships are significant to a person’s life. Through a maze of suspense and thrilling scenes, The Game closes with a reminder of embracing life in its totality.

5. Wall Street

As the name suggests, the movie occurs in the famed financial district of New York City. Ambitious stockbroker Bud Fox, who wants to rise to success, is the main character of the movie. To get to his goal, he got involved with a corporate raider who provided insider trading, exposing him to schemes that bred greed and shrewdness.

“Greed is good” and “Money never sleeps” are a few of the lines that have become popular quotes in the movie. The dialogues and scenes portrayed the various facets of investing and cultivating those investments. Startup entrepreneurs can pick up some pointers on investing.

It touches on taking calculated risks, which is an important aspect of running a business. Although it demonstrates the fundamentals of investing money, it also paints the harsh realities of the business world. Entrepreneurs will see in the movie that persistence is key. While profit is crucial, one must not forget that the greatest treasure of all is family and relationships.

6. The Social Network

Social Network is the story of Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, that highlights his struggles, successes and shortcomings. The people behind this platform, not the platform itself, are placed under the microscope. The film illustrated the rejection, determination, friendship and betrayal that happened, which led to the birth and existence of the social network.

Although we don’t know how much of it is fiction and how much of it is true, the movie portrayed Zuckerberg as a young startup entrepreneur who created his site primarily to impress a girl and to gain fame. There will always be friends, and there will always be haters. In the tough business environment, one must know how to lay out ideas, get clear contracts, work well with people, and overcome adversities.

7. The Wolf of Wall Street

Another movie set in New York’s financial area is The Wolf of Wall Street. Although the movie highlighted fraud and corruption in the financial industry, it also underscored leadership and other qualities in starting and managing a business. The flick is all about Jordan Belfort, a stockbroker who founded a company with his business partner and grew the firm exponentially. Along with his success, he succumbed to the lures of a lavish lifestyle, engaging in parties, sex and drugs. He laundered money and became entangled in conflicts.

Despite Belfort’s dubious character, the audience can gather tips from his good qualities and pick lessons from his mistakes. One cannot deny that the man has vision, charisma and leadership skills. It’s interesting to see how he hires employees, brings together a team, sells an idea, and persuades people. Of course, as much as you can absorb something that you can apply to your venture, you can also ascertain what to avoid to prevent problems and negative aftermaths.

8. Boiler Room

Another film on brokerage firms is the Boiler Room. Again, it reveals the cruel side of the business atmosphere, especially in a cutthroat industry. College dropout Seth Davis gave up the unlicensed casino he was running from home to please his stringent dad, a federal judge. He got a job as a broker and displayed good skills at making cold calls.

There are great tips on selling that can be taken from the Boiler Room. There are also lessons on how to invest well. But what it drives across is for people to make smart decisions, calculate risks, and learn when to retreat to a safer place. Drive and motivation are good, but if losing seems to be palpable in the end, it is better to step back and review one’s actions rather than to jump in even when the odds are against you.

9. Jerry Maguire

“Show me the money!” It’s one of the movie’s famous quotes. These were the words of athlete Rod Tidwell to his sports agent, Jerry Maguire. The latter was at the crossroads of his career, having an attack of conscience because sports management firms put profit first over their clients’ welfare. Maguire decided to quit his job and start his agency, with an altruistic purpose in mind. But the sports industry is a ruthless one, showing Maguire and his protégé in his former company scrambling for clients’ contracts.

Business is business, but client relationship is also important. It’s not all about making money. It’s also about looking out for each other’s welfare. The entrepreneurial journey becomes fulfilling when you see your purpose in the bigger scope of things. Sometimes, you have to make unpopular stands because you believe in something greater. Just press on and do what you think is best.

10. The Pursuit of Happyness

It is a heartwrenching drama of a struggling salesman, Chris Gardner, who got evicted and had to live on the streets with his son. He had to work as a stockbroker intern without pay to secure himself a paid position. Eventually, he landed the position amidst the many contenders. In the end, Gardner became successful as he established his brokerage firm.

Based on a true-to-life story, The Pursuit of Happyness an inspiring film about determination and perseverance in spite of all the difficulties and challenges life has to offer. Gardner is a living testament that success is about not giving up and making every effort to achieve one’s dreams.

We can add several more movies to the list. Many of them reflect the complex world of business and entrepreneurship, and they also leave thought-provoking lessons that entrepreneurs can apply in real life. The films illustrate impressive ideas that one can implement in his business, as well as vital points to avoid to pivot from misfortunes and problems.

Some of them may be works of fiction, but they still mirror the things we see and experience in society. It is good to allow these movies to not only entertain us but also to instruct us on how to move forward on the entrepreneurial journey.

The social media and the entrepreneur

If an entrepreneur is a social media platform, what would he be? He would be a mix of the popular social media we see these days. As much as every entrepreneur is unique, every social media network also has its respective strengths and interesting features. We can pick a thing or two from each platform and blend them in moulding the qualities of a business owner.

Let’s merge these social media features with the characteristics of an entrepreneur and see how it will develop. So, familiarise yourself with each platform and learn how you can utilise them in your business.

1. He creates a vision board like Pinterest

Pinterest is a visual board where you can group photos according to a particular theme or topic. It’s a beneficial tool for companies that sell products because they can post pictures of their items here. Moreover, even service-oriented enterprises can take advantage of Pinterest because they can link back their photos or graphics to their website.

An entrepreneur is a visionary. He visualises things way ahead before they happen that he can easily spot when an opportunity knocks on the door. Many brands and companies introduce a new idea and concept through a visual board to share what they have in mind. At times, it is hard to describe something in words, and images send a strong message that can instantly capture one’s interest.

2. He networks like Facebook

When it comes to the number of users, Facebook is at the top of the game. It has billions of users that are scattered all over the globe. It is the primary platform people use to get in touch with friends and acquaintances, announce an event, sell products, form groups, and promote various causes and businesses. There’s also high engagement as users can express their reaction, such as “likes”, comments and replies on posts. In Facebook, it’s about relationships, which can be either personal or business.

Similarly, an entrepreneur expands his network for the benefit of his venture. Building bridges and making connections are part of the business landscape, which many entrepreneurs adhere to do. To keep himself in touch with people, he engages with them in various ways that can effectively bond his brand with his customers.

3. He builds a reputation like LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a network of professionals that link colleagues, companies and clients. It also provides a rich resource of professional interaction through the LinkedIn groups. Often, it helps users find jobs and companies scout for new talents. Mostly, user profiles feature their career and work experiences in this platform. They also share links or notes that are useful to the business world.

Reputation is one thing that allows clients to trust a business or an entrepreneur. Thus, business owners see the value of building a respectable name that will help their ventures last for long. Users, both individuals and corporations, engage in LinkedIn because this social network is distinctly known as a serious kind of platform. Similarly, entrepreneurs want to show others that when they do business, they truly mean business. They want to present to their clients that they are professional in dealing with people and in carrying out its offerings.

4. He keeps up with trends like Twitter

Twitter is heavy on the use of hashtags # to highlight the trending conversations of the day. These conversations happen in a wide array of audiences, not necessarily friends or acquaintances. Every post is limited to only 280 characters, but that’s where one’s ingenuity in conveying a compelling message comes in. Many brands use Twitter to promote their sites by linking their posts to a more detailed page. Twitter users can also include images, videos, and polls to their posts. Most users get their news updates and express their opinions through Twitter.

To get the pulse of the market, business owners keep up with trends and listen to the current needs of the people. An entrepreneur can briefly explain about his brand to a wide audience and always speaks of his business. He can be direct to the point, crafting messages with his customers in mind. He provides an avenue where people can gather and give feedback.

5. He illustrates well like Instagram

Instagram is all about images and brief videos. Because photos are more compelling than texts, more and more people prefer to share things and memories with the use of pictures or short clips. They also easily attract attention compared with plain words. More and more brands turn to Instagram to share photos of their products, services, graphics, and moments.

Milestones and celebrations are important in the business journey. Various occasions, including trying times, are remembered because they make the entire adventure more memorable. Entrepreneurs highlight wins and challenges and learn from each one of them. Just like Instagram, he conveys his ideas and objectives to his staff, clients, suppliers and partners by providing a clear picture of the end goal.

6. He demonstrates like YouTube

YouTube is one of the most popular sites for videos. Businesses take advantage of YouTube’s features by sharing corporate videos or instructional clips. It has become a great platform for telling a story with moving graphics, giving rise to a new breed of social media influencers, the vloggers. Often, YouTube has become the go-to platform to watch impressive talks and training videos where people can learn new skills and improve their capabilities.

The best way to attract more and more people to a particular venture is to show the various benefits that the company has when it comes to delivering goods and services to its customers. An entrepreneur does not hesitate to demonstrate the advantages of his products, expertise and offerings to those who may benefit from them. He acts as an expert in his field, imparting pertinent information that customers need to know.

7. He leaves traces like Google+

When it comes to SEO and searchability, Google+ is a good pick. Although there are many users in Google+, this social network is not as utilised as other platforms. However, it is still used by individuals, groups and companies because of its Google brand, which leaves a footprint in the worldwide web that allows posts to appear in searches. It has circles and communities where users with the same interests can interact well.

Similar to Google+, business owners want to leave behind their imprints through their business, good works and impact on society. They want their ventures to be visible and easy to access by those who need their products and services the most.

When it comes to circles and groups, entrepreneurs also recognise the need of surrounding themselves with like-minded individuals. Therefore, they see the advantage of joining organisations like EO Melbourne, where they can share and amass valuable business insights from others.

Many of these platforms have their respective metrics when it comes to measuring page traffic and engagement. Business owners also recognise the importance of having metrics in their ventures, which can help in decision-making and strategic directions.

Social media networks have their own life. Every platform changes over time, depending on the needs and wants of people. New platforms emerge almost every day, and more and more users converge in these networks. Likewise, enterprises, their owners, markets industries and the entrepreneurial journey transform in accord with the shifting business landscape.

Entrepreneurs can learn from these platforms, not only as a tool to promote their brands but also as a guide on how to become an effective business owner. They can develop and hone their qualities and characteristics based on the features of these various social media platforms and the way they attract countless users to their sites. Like social media that acts as a hub for people across the globe that have varying interests, entrepreneurs bring together people, creating connections and establishing relationships.

An entrepreneur spelled out

What is an entrepreneur? Dictionaries describe an entrepreneur as someone who starts and runs a business venture. However, every entrepreneur may vary from one to another, depending on their capability, preferences and work style. Still, business owners need certain qualities to help them through the stumbling blocks and challenges that the entrepreneurial journey poses to them.

Let’s spell out the makings of an entrepreneur and see how each quality can help a business owner grow and develop. These are characteristics that you can learn to cultivate in yourself or your team members. Other entrepreneurs who have been on the journey for quite some time have exhibited these qualities or have cited them as among the important tools for the survival and longevity of one’s career in business.

E – Energy. The journey can be quite exhausting with all its ups and downs. Business owners are human beings, too, and they also feel tired and burnt out at times. All the responsibilities can sometimes put you under so much stress and pressure. There may be days when you have to work for very long hours. That is why a good dose of energy is constantly needed to fuel the drive. Where can you draw energy to keep your vigour and strength going? Look at your source of joy – it may be your family, loved ones, friends, interests, hobbies, places or achievements – and take time to be with people and things that you love the most. That can bring inspiration and motivation to move ahead in your journey.

N – Newness. There are times when you feel you’re stuck in a rut, and things have become a routine. You neither advance nor regress, and you end up experiencing a plateau. It’s good to introduce something novel and fresh, whether as a personal experience or as a business concept. It could be a new product or service, some addition to your workspace, a different strategy, or another passion that can make your mind more creative. Travel to new places, talk to more people and expose yourself to new things that can add value to yourself and your venture. Who knows? You might come up with fresh ideas that can rejuvenate your soul and rekindle the passion for your work.

T – Tenacity. Persistence and determination are key ingredients in the business journey. There are moments when nothing seems to happen, and the end of the tunnel looks too far. When things turn south and frustrations set in, the tenacity to move forward is often helpful for that needed boost. The resolution to not give up despite the lack of positive signs can enable one to reach the goal and produce good results. Sometimes it takes time for things to bear fruit, which is why the drive and steadfastness to move forward is important in the entrepreneurial path.

R – Risk-taking. They say, “no guts, no glory” and “no pain, no gain”. One cannot dive into entrepreneurial waters and wade through the terrifying waves without the courage to take the risk. It may look scary at the onset because you can either win big or lose big. Business owners invest their money, time, effort and resources even when they run the danger of not succeeding. Ideas may not fly as expected or there may be circumstances beyond one’s control that can adversely affect the business. But failure only happens when an entrepreneur does not bounce back from missteps and attempt to do things right. He braves the unknown and sets up a plan to turn things to his favour.

E – Excitement. The entrepreneurial journey has highs and lows, peaks and valleys, and incline and decline. But most of the time, it is one fun adventure. For some, it is like a roller-coaster ride. Challenges, sacrifices and problems are never absent. But whatever experience it brings, the important thing is for a business owner to have the positive outlook to enjoy the journey. He exudes with so much enthusiasm and excitement that he infects people around him – his partners, staff, suppliers, clients and stakeholders – with such delight and enjoyment that work is no longer work but more of a pleasurable thing to do. He loves the thrill of creating and solving problems, knowing there’s a wonderful scenario waiting at the end of the journey.

P – Productiveness. You feel exhausted working long hours, mulling over an idea or problem. But things are not in order, and your mind is wandering. Despite all your efforts, you still feel you haven’t accomplished anything. There’s no point in working too hard and spending too much time doing various things when the outcome is not productive. The key is to be strategic in utilising time and keeping the cost low to produce the needed results. What is important is to be efficient in propelling the business to greater heights. An entrepreneur works with the end goal in mind, and he plots his direction and set up systems to get to that goal faster and with efficiency.

R – Resourcefulness. What would you do when you don’t have the raw materials or when things you expect go wrong? That’s when resourcefulness comes in. A business owner is inventive enough to find solutions to various problems. When a wall keeps one from going ahead, an entrepreneur makes a way to get to his end goal through positive means. He can’t take no for an answer. He uses whatever is available to turn things to his favour. There are no dead ends, only detours to another route that will lead him to success.

E – Enhancement. A business owner never settles with what is the usual and strives for continuous progress. He spots opportunities for improvement to better himself, his business and his people. Sometimes, entrepreneurs also experience a slump in their venture, whether they are internal or external challenges. But they learn from their mistakes, recover from their fall, and strengthen themselves. On the other hand, even though things look bright and steady, entrepreneurs take steps to upgrade their capabilities, increase their yield and enrich themselves.

N – Nosiness. Curiosity may kill a cat, but it can save an entrepreneur. He always wonders, showing interest in people around him and in things that can affect his business directly and indirectly. Socrates once said, “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” A wise business owner acknowledges that he doesn’t hold the answer to everything. Because of that, he constantly questions and learns from the people around him. He looks at the bigger picture and gets into the details to fully understand any situation.

E – Encouraging. Leadership is a quality that entrepreneurs possess. They lead their staff, set the vision and goals, and make decisions and strategies that are advantageous to the business. Entrepreneurs, with all their mistakes, learnings and wins, inspire others when they endeavour to overcome any obstacle thrown in front of them. They encourage their team, provide hope to their clients, and support others who are also along the entrepreneurial track.

U – Unpretentiousness. Humility is a significant quality that can help entrepreneurs build relations with other people. Despite all the achievements and recognition, an entrepreneur stays humble and unassuming, recognising that there are always other people better and smarter than him. He acknowledges the efforts of his team and treats his staff and clients as partners in the journey. He surrounds himself with individuals who can add value to his character and his business. An example of this is by joining professional groups like EO Melbourne, where he can learn from others.

R – Revolution. Along with innovation and risk-taking, an entrepreneur is brave enough to disrupt the status quo by creating alterations in the industry. He is not afraid to modernise and reform society through his business. He welcomes change and utilises it to build opportunities. Thus, he revolutionises ideas and turns things around. In areas where there are still no clear paths to take, he creates a road for others to trudge after him.

These are what make up an entrepreneur. He may not acquire all these qualities in one go. However, because the business journey is an ongoing process, he can develop many, if not all, of these over time. He is like a precious stone that gets polished through the years. Still, there are countless facets of an entrepreneur that we need to uncover. How about you? How do you spell out ENTREPRENEUR? Share your thoughts below.

Ina McCorkell’s food for thought on business

“The customer is king. Cover your back. Always do what you say you will do.” These are just a few of the business philosophies that Ina McCorkell goes by, Owner and CEO of EasyChef. For over two decades in the business, Ina imparts her grains of thoughts and nuggets of wisdom on how to overcome the challenges of the entrepreneurial journey.

Both of Ina’s parents were self-employed, so taking the entrepreneurial route seemed a natural progression for her. “When you grow up in an environment where people create their destiny, it encourages you to see it as normal. It's a lot easier if your family are already doing their own thing. Four of my siblings do their own thing,” she professed.

Supplying Australian food to Asian market was something she saw as an opportunity because their family had farms. Ina pointed out, “We grew up knowing that Australia had a natural advantage with food because we have land. It's quite a big country, so we have different seasons. We have variation because Australia is tropical and temperate.”

Before she set up her venture, Ina first worked as a trainee in a supermarket chain in Taiwan. “Working at the coalface of retail in Taiwan, I saw an interest in Western food, as explained by the locals, and an opportunity for good Australian food, in particular,” she cited.

From her love of food and travel, Ina started in 1995 their own food export business, EasyChef, with her husband Maurice, who was a graphic designer from Barcelona. But when Maurice was diagnosed unwell in 2013, Ina took over the reins of running the business by herself. Since their children are in their teens, they also help out, especially the eldest who is working part-time in the business. But Ina says there are still no signs that they are serious about doing this as a profession.

The children have a good business foundation because they grew up with Ina and Maurice already involved in EasyChef. Ina described how it was when they had the children four years after they started their venture. “It was good because when you run your own business, you have a lot of flexibility in your time. For the first ten years, I had an office at home, and the staff were in the rear of the house in a converted garage. The children were in the house, and the office was in the back garden.”

Starting a business was a tough ride, but Ina and Maurice pressed on. Ina recounts the early days, “We started the business and funded it by having part-time jobs in a petrol station. We probably continued juggling work at the petrol station and starting the business for about three to six months. Within a couple of months, we started getting regular repeat orders. I think we employed our first staff member within the first year.”

As they began in the fruit and vegetable export space, they had to contend with long working hours to get the business going. They would start their day by going to the wholesale market at one o’clock in the morning, working till midday, sleeping in the afternoon, then resuming work at night. “It was long hours, but the business moved very quickly. All the businesses we provided were overseas, so we only exported. The value of the consignment we were doing from the beginning was a minimum of five thousand to ten thousand dollars shipments. It was quite a large value for a small business starting out,” Ina proclaimed.

But as much as they put a lot of hard work on the business, there were things beyond their control. The political turmoil overseas, particularly the crisis in Indonesia in 1999, had a huge effect on their enterprise. The currency has devalued rapidly, and some customers were unable to repay their balance. What scared Ina then was not having enough cash flow and getting into debt.

Good thing there was credit insurance to counter the risk of trading overseas. “That was probably our best backup. But that was more for larger debts. For day-to-day cash flow, we structured our suppliers to be paid around our payment receipt days since some of our customers pay us only twice a month. We made sure that the suppliers were paid in batches after the receipts come in from overseas. We also went into diversification so that we are not too reliant on one customer,” Ina disclosed.

During the initial years of the venture, Ina admitted that they lacked direction and accountability, as EasyChef was run more as a lifestyle than on strategy. It was only in the last three years when they implemented budgets and business plans. Also, Ina felt that the business controlled her as they were starting out, unlike now where she feels more in control of it. “I think when you're young, and you first start a business, you feel like you have to please everyone and work with everyone and do whatever is required. When you get older and wiser, you learn to say no, and you put boundaries around who you work with and what you are doing. Now, I completely decide where the business is going, who I want to be our partners, and what type of people I prefer to engage in the business,” explained the food-loving entrepreneur.

Running a business requires constant effort that Ina found it very hard to switch off. She stressed, “I think the other challenging thing is that for me, it never stops. Because I like my business, I tend to think about it all the time. It's quite engulfing even after so many years.”

The great sense of responsibility can be overwhelming for Ina. She expounds this by saying, “The negative also is that the buck stops with you. When there are issues, there's no one else to fix it except yourself. Sometimes you have to do the challenging parts of the business that no one else wants to do, such as chasing the money, firing or disciplining a staff member, or whenever everything gets too hard. That's when the fires are too big. That's when they need the CEO.”

Despite the challenges, the ability to evolve and adapt to the changing landscape is something that she has learned in her journey. “If something challenging happens, you can't sit and continue to do things the way you always did it. I think challenges are the best lessons. When you face challenges, contemplate what you can do better and how you can handle it better. Then put procedures in place for the next events. When you learn your lessons, you can move forward,” Ina counselled.

She has also learned a lot from being part of EO Melbourne, which was introduced to her by her younger brother, Bill. What she found valuable in EO is the camaraderie and the environment of continuous learning and development. “Everyone is trying to do better. We're always learning from each other. Because the cohort is ambitious, it also makes you ambitious. It's fun because most people that run their businesses tend to have a sense of adventure. It can be lonely when you're running a business on your own, that's why EO is good,” Ina said. She added that EO also taught her discipline and provided her with tips for improvement. Likewise, she drew inspiration and drive from the group.

However, the best advice that she remembered was the one that her grandfather gave her, which is to be a person of her word and to pay her debts on time always. It’s the same advice she wants to impart to her children, should they later decide to take the entrepreneurial journey. “The best advice to the children is the one on being a person of your word. Be honest. Be reliable and trustworthy. I also think that you need to be flexible and agile. You need to plan, but you also need to plan to change. So, if things aren't working out the way you want it to work, you need to look for another path.”

There are instances when there are forces that would go against you. But Ina prefers to focus on the positive. “You have to be brave and follow your instinct. People around you can be negative and pull you in a different direction. I think when your instinct is strong, you should follow through with them,” Ina added.

Armed with all these learnings, Ina hopes to bring her company to greater heights. Having served the company for 24 years, she wants to take an advisory position in the company in the future than being involved in the day-to-day dealings. With her vision, goals and hopes for EasyChef, she envisions a better tomorrow for the venture. Ina stated, “I would like to see the business to be much more automated, and the staff to have more ownership over what they're doing. There will be a need for this type of business, but I think the platform in which we do the business will be more automated and faster.”

On the other hand, Ina likes to take time off from work whenever she gets the opportunity. In fact, she looks forward to spending holidays with her family, travelling, and visiting the farm. She’s also involved in helping set up a charity, called Electrosensitivity Australia. For now, she enjoys the business journey, taking to mind the benefits that the entrepreneurship brings to her. “The advantage is ownership and flexibility, especially for a working mum. I think it's good. It’s creating your destiny. It's very creative having a business because you can design where you want the business to go,” Ina quipped.

And for those who plan to enter the entrepreneurial world, Ina has an added food for thought, “First, plan the life that you want to have. Then, build a business around meeting your personal goals.” These are wonderful words from the EasyChef head, which can nourish the business mind, heart and soul.

For more about EasyChef, visit http://easychef.com.au/.

Getting fit with Aaron Smith

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Keeping pace with Frunch Nazzari

Francesco “Frunch” Nazzari is what he calls himself a serial entrepreneur. “I love starting a business. I love to see an opportunity. But not only do I love an opportunity, as all entrepreneurs do, I also love to see a niche, an actual community. I like to have a visceral experience around that community,” the Managing Director and Co-founder of Rooftop Cinema declared.

There are eight to nine businesses under his tutelage, not to mention that he’s a family man, an EO Melbourne member, a cinema lover, a publisher, and a runner. It seems he is always on the go, and those who want to run with him have yet to increase their pace to keep up. But Frunch has not achieved his full speed yet. Besides, the finish line is still nowhere in sight. What he knows, however, is that he committed himself to this path of becoming an entrepreneur, and there’s no turning back.

Frunch may have found his tempo along the entrepreneurial track, but it is not an easy race. In fact, there’s nothing easy with either a race or the entrepreneurial journey. Both are challenging. But Frunch does them, anyway, because he is passionate about the things he brings himself to do. “Being in business is like running a marathon. You’ve got to prepare yourself. You have to put a lot of training to have the endurance and stamina to go the whole way,” he opined.

One can say that the business route is an inevitable road for Frunch because the entrepreneurial spirit runs through their family. It also exhibited early on, as he already wanted to work and earn money during his teens. When he came of age, he followed his brothers to a job where they were working part-time, but things turned out differently, which became a motivation for him to do things on his own. “I was quite angry about not getting that job. I made a little promise to myself that I would never go through that again and that I would carve my path in life. And so, I forged my way. So, yeah, from a quite young age, I started thinking about how I could make money,” Frunch narrated.

He started his career as a promoter for various events. “I slowly built my way up from there. But that taught me the spirit of hustling. So, I became a little hustler from a young age,” he quipped. In the events and promotions space, he progressed to a sole trading capacity. “I started working my services and selling my networks. I started off in events, and then I went off to study media, which then led me down the path of setting up communications agencies and that kind of things,” he added.

Among all the businesses he owned and founded, Rooftop Cinema is the longest-running one. According to Frunch, “Rooftop Cinema is the jewel in my crown. I love that business because it personifies me. It is the creative use of space. It is about community, and it's just a beautiful business. It is the longest relationship that I've had with a business. I think I'm into my 11th year of the cinema as founder and as managing director. And I'm still obsessed with that business as the first day that I was running it.”

Before that, Frunch worked in his 20’s for a company called Moonlight Cinema, where he was able to merge his skills in events promotions and sales. In that company, he met his would-be business partner. They discussed various ideas, such as how to improve experiences in the city, audiences, and niches. “Then we were talking about the fantasy of having a cinema on a roof. We started expressing that to people. All of a sudden, we were told that there was an opportunity on a building in the city. And we looked at that. Lo and behold there was Rooftop Cinema,” he recounted.

The idea kept rolling despite his reservations. Frunch remembered how it was back then. “I was always the glass-half-empty kind of business partner, whereas my other business partner was like glass half-full. He's like, 'this is going to happen.' I'm like, 'this is never going to happen.' Nine months later, we launched  Rooftop Cinema, which is arguably the world's most beautiful outdoor cinema experience. It's unparalleled in this country.”

The journey was not always smooth-sailing. There were heartbreaks, missteps, hiccups, potholes and stumbling blocks that were constant issues on the entrepreneurial lane. Frunch was not spared of these as well. For him, “There are not many entrepreneurs who haven't had failed. I probably had more failures along the way, than I have had successes. I've had multiple initiatives and ideas that have lost me money. I've had some that have made me great money.”

He’d been on the brink of bankruptcy and other difficult situations. Nonetheless, Frunch learned to accept these as the realities in the life of a business owner. He pronounced, “I could tell you tomorrow I'll have a low, and I'll probably have a high on the same day as well. That's just the way that comes with the entrepreneurial journey.”

But he used those challenges to flex his entrepreneurial muscles and build himself up. “I've learnt my lessons. There's not necessarily a particular experience that I look back and say, 'Oh, I failed,' because each one of my failures has defined me as a person. I look at all of them, and I can say that there's something I've taken from every single one. They shaped me,” he bared.

One of the major concerns he encountered was cash flow, a ceaseless worry among business owners because it is the fuel that keeps a business running. Frunch points out that apart from money, lack of knowledge, experience and expertise are factors that can also pose a huge challenge, especially when starting out a business.  “Having a particular understanding of your industry is very important. You need to understand what it is your expertise that you're selling and also the community that you're trading within,” he commented.

That mindset is useful to Frunch in starting more businesses. While there are some who are aggressive in setting up a venture, he sees himself as more of a businessman who lays the foundation slowly and steadily. Then, he looks at opportunities and adds value to them. “Over the years, that's led me down a path to becoming a publisher and looking at the media industry. I think what's important is understanding what it's going to take to get a business up financially,” Frunch articulated. He iterated as well the significance of understanding the product one is selling and knowing all about intellectual property.

With regards to best business practices, Frunch considers Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) Melbourne as a huge advantage to his journey. “I thrive within the EO environment. Sharing my business stories and successes with like-minded individuals and being able to give back to those individuals have been wonderful for me,” expressed Frunch. Surrounding himself with the right people has helped him in his growth. His openness to learning new things also enabled him to get as much value from all his EO experiences.

These learnings he brings to his businesses and applies them to his enterprises. Frunch acknowledges that people are the biggest resource of a company. He explains, “The greatest asset that an entrepreneur has is the people that he surrounds himself. It is important because you need to build a team. I see myself as a coach.” Despite having several ventures to oversee, he can cope because of people that seamlessly fit into his team. He has a group, composed of individuals with businesses that provide similar service or product offerings. “Predominately, we're within media, and we are speaking to a very clear-cut audience. We know the products we're selling, and then we work as a group to develop efficiency,” he added.

They divided their responsibilities into different areas: strategy, execution, and distribution. “Instead of running everything under one banner or one brand or one business, what we've done is we've built a group. I work with these like-minded individuals. They share the same vision and passion as I do. Then, I've got them responsible for one area of the business. I'm only as good as the people with whom I work. And I work with some amazing people – people that I think are better than me and stretch me every day. We have a fantastic team,” he enthusiastically said.

Thus, working efficiently with one another allows them to engage in their other undertakings. For Frunch, it means time with his family and other interests. “I love my family. Being Italian, we're all about family. I'm very much involved in my family, and they're a big part of who I am. The reason why I have these opportunities is that they helped me and lifted me up to where I need to be. So, that's something that I'm passionate about.”

He’s also passionate about publishing, films, niches, communities, and running. “I love running. It's something that I've found recently. One of the challenges that I put to myself was to run a marathon. Off the back of that, I saw an opportunity to create a running publication,” he shared.

As he runs towards his goals, Frunch has a clear vision of what’s ahead of him within the next three years. “We're just focusing on our cadence, and how we can increase our tempo and feel more comfortable with moving faster and being swifter,” he stated.

For Rooftop Cinema, they were at a point many years ago when they were considering doing multiple venues. But Frunch felt that developing a network of cinemas wasn’t right. Recently, they underwent a refurbishment, which has cemented their place in the outdoor cinema sphere. “So, I'll continue to work on building that business and making it the best it can be.”

He also has distinct plans for his other ventures. “From a media network perspective, we will continue to create relationships with like-minded publications and launch publications that the market wants. And then from an agency perspective, we will work with brands to make them the best potential publishers for themselves. We want the service offerings of our business, which is called Single Double, to help brands turn into publishers. We're in an era of content, and that's what we're going to do. That's where we're going over the next three years.”

Frunch looks forward to taking the rest of his entrepreneurial journey. He strives to continue to grow and become better to be able to offer greater products and services. “Where will I be in three years? Hopefully, a very successful businessman who has built a very successful group of companies,” he imparted.

If one would sit back at the Rooftop Cinema to watch Frunch’s entrepreneurial story on film, or browse through the pages of a publication that features his experiences, the moviegoer or reader will find that the theme of Frunch’s journey is all about passion. “Be passionate about what you're doing and love it because things are going to get tough. If you don't love what you're doing, don't do it. Have passion and everything else becomes endurable. It's going to be hard no matter what you do,” he advocated. And that’s how you will find your pace on the path of entrepreneurship.

Read about Frunch Nazzari on his LinkedIn profile. More on Rooftop Cinema at https://2017.rooftopcinema.com.au/ and Single Double at https://singledouble.co/.

Playing footy in the field of entrepreneurship

There goes the kick, and the ball made its way to the goal post and earned a score. It’s fun to watch your favourite sport, whether on TV, online or live action because it can take away some of the stresses that are wearing you down. When it comes to sports, Australian football is one of the most watched events in the country with its millions of followers.

The excitement of the play can be contagious. More and more people can get hooked on the sport. However, apart from the adrenaline rush that the game provides, there are also some lessons you can pick from playing footy. Surely, there are certain skills and tactics in Aussie rules that you can apply to the entrepreneurial field. Take a look at them and see which ones can help you be on top of your game.

Grip the ball: put your hands on your business

Get a good hold of your business and learn the different aspects of running it. You can strategise well if you are hands-on with your venture. Take into account all necessary information, finance included, about how to manage your enterprise and make important business decisions based on them. It also pays if you know your brand inside out. Constantly communicate with your clients and prospective customers to get the pulse of the market. Like the ball that becomes part of a player, an enterprise is an extension of its business owner. Learn the ropes of your trade and take the lead in bringing your business forward.

Be one with the team: pick the right people

Many business owners accentuate the importance of hiring the right people in their team and nurturing the right business culture. Always align your goals with your team and share the vision, mission and values of your business with them. Find like-minded people that can become part of your business. Join organisations like EO Melbourne that can help you develop your enterprise. Listen to mentors that can coach you during your journey, and cultivate people that you can groom to become future leaders of your company. If there’s anyone that may not fit into your group, find solutions to deal with the setback.

Mark with your eyes: focus on the prize

Never leave your eyes on the prize. When things seem strenuous and the journey burdensome, keep in mind what you have envisioned in the first place. Surely, there will be difficulties. They may often weigh you down or dishearten you. Various factors can get you blind-sided and distract you from the path you have taken. But do not waver on your resolve and persist with determination until you have accomplished what you have planned to achieve. Do regular huddles with your team to gauge how close you are to your target. Deliberate the data pertaining to your business and listen to what your gut tells you. Then plot your tactics and map out your gameplan.

Catch it nicely with your palm: put safety nets in place

Once you have marked the ball with your eyes, have the necessary skills and tools to catch it safely. Plans can go awry. Things can go beyond your control. Circumstances can suddenly turn to your disadvantage. Make calculated risks, create backup plans and come up with safety nets that will allow your business to withstand complexities. Lay down the necessary support system needed to seize opportunities and bear the influx of demand. Don’t overpromise and underdeliver. Stay true to what your business can hold. Know your capacity and work around your capabilities.

Release with ease: be flexible

To be able to make a good move and a winnable kick, a player must first release the ball. There may be alterations in your business and your industry landscape. You have to learn to adjust your business to these changes and make the bold move to be the one to disrupt your industry. Open your mind to various possibilities and consider various options. Learn to modify your strategies to be able to adapt to internal and external environs. It’s good to anticipate things in advance so you can position yourself accordingly and prepare for what may come your way.

Point your toes at your target and kick hard: build momentum

Move towards the target to help you acquire your goal. Then bring all your force to launch your business to greater heights. Entrepreneurs invest not only their money into the business, but they also put in their time, talents and passion. They face different kinds of challenges and sacrifice their lives to make their ventures prosper and serve those they deem to serve. If you are eager to make a score, bring your business to the direction that will help you achieve your dreams.

Follow through: follow-up your actions

One good move is not enough. No one can claim success and let it die. There has to be advancement and growth as you go along. Walk the extra mile when you have reached a milestone. Pick up the phone and make daily calls. Acquire new knowledge and proficiencies. Hone your talents and leadership skills. Take part in learning events, such as those provided by EO, to increase your capacity and that of your business. This growth is not just for yourself but also for your people, clientele and other stakeholders. If you have scored a win, assess how you can take your business a notch higher. Sometimes, the danger is not in failing but in settling with what is good when you can aim for the best.

Dodge the opponent: don’t let your guard down

Know your opponents – their strengths, weaknesses, capabilities and downfall. This opponent can be your competitor in business, a disruptor in the industry, a staff member that does not fit your culture, or it can be your fear or lack of confidence. Examine what it is that provides a negative force in your enterprise that prevents you from attaining your objective. Once you have identified this opposing energy, find a way to tackle it. Look at things from different angles. Don’t rest on your laurels. Even in the face of success, always anticipate possible problems to avert a crisis.

Pick up fast: bounce back after a fall

You will stumble, take a misstep, trip over, or plunge in a pitfall. Don’t let a mistake stop you from getting to your goal. You may get bruised or injured, but there’s no use crying over spilled milk. Instead, lick your wounds, take time to recuperate and get back to the game once you have mended. The best way towards success is to recover from a gaffe. Ponder on your weaknesses and understand areas that may expose you to vulnerabilities. Work on those aspects, learn from the experience and allow it to strengthen you and stretch your entrepreneurial muscles. Many say that when you’re down on the ground, there’s no other way to go but up.

Run swift: persevere and keep going

As much as running is an important skill in football, so it is in business, figuratively speaking. Time is of the essence, and to be a frontrunner in the game, you have to move fast. Be agile and aim for a goal because every score counts. You can achieve victory through small wins. Just run towards your vision and bring your business further. It might be tiring, leaving you out of breath, but once you get towards the goal and make a score, the reward cannot be equalled.

To top all of these, don’t forget to enjoy the game and have some fun. You can often get wrapped up in your business world and become too serious in your venture that you often wear yourself out. Even when you are toiling, relish the experience. It doesn’t matter if you are working round the clock as long as you are passionate about what you do. Still, harmonise your business with other aspects of your life, such as your family, community, and other interests. Remember that the game is not just about yourself. It is also about your team, your opponents, the league and the spectators. So, bring your best into play and get ready to kick some balls and hit a score.

Timo Karnath’s positive energy

“Everything is possible. I'm not taking 'no' for an answer. I stay positive, and I look for solutions until I succeed. I truly believe that many people who have a clear vision of something, if they stay true, it can be achieved.” Such is the unwavering faith, optimism and energy of Timo Karnath, TCK Solar’s Director and Founder, when it comes to getting things done.

Raised in Germany, Timo started his career as an industrial engineer and worked for a solar panel manufacturer, Solon. That provided him with a thorough knowledge of solar energy and its benefits to our planet. While implementing a new Enterprise Resource Management (ERM) software for the whole corporate, he worked with external consultants that somewhat ushered him to the world of entrepreneurship.

“It sparked my interest in people running their show and working at other ones. There was particularly one who shared his story of starting his own business when he was 30 years old. I somehow thought, at that point, that I would like that. Then, of course, I always have lots of ideas I wanted to do, but they remain ideas. When this idea came up, and the opportunity arose, I just took it,” he expounded.

Through that exposure, he found he had the entrepreneurial spirit within him, although it was not something he imbibed from his family since his parents were never business owners. He had a grandfather who was an entrepreneur, but Timo never met him because he passed away before Timo was born.

However, before he crossed over from being an employee to becoming a businessman, Timo had to experience a lot of transitions in his life and learn things by experience as they came along. First, he and his then-girlfriend got married while they were in Germany. Then, five days after their wedding, they made the big move to Australia. When they settled in this new country, they both first worked in an environmental company before Timo decided to start his venture.

Those life changes were never a walk in the park. As immigrants, Timo and his wife had to deal with all the documents and visa requirements. When they arrived in Australia, the first thing they did was buy a camper van and travelled around the country. After three months of doing that, they realised they needed to settle someplace and earn fixed income. With a new environment, new people and new systems, there were hurdles to surpass in trying to make a living.

Good thing that Australia is a country that has helped them through the changes. “I think, overall, Australia made it fairly easy to transition, such as opening bank accounts, and all the other things, which might become an issue. Australia is helping people to make that easy,” Timo declared. Also, his optimism helped them through the adjustments. “Some people find it annoying that everything is different, and you have to learn everything new and find your way. I always found it very exciting to find new ways and see people do it,” he added.

After two years of working for an environmental consultancy, a big break came for Timo to trudge his path in the entrepreneurial space. “Suddenly, there was a whole group of people interested in doing something in the solar industry. That's, of course, my business, doing high-end solar solutions,” he began. But out of the five people who were interested in this endeavour, it came down to only two of them who started the business. At first, they were doing it part-time as they both continued with their respective jobs. Eventually, they went full-time and focused their energies on their enterprise.

Along the way, the business also underwent a few changes. From importing products from Germany to Australia and installing them, they later moved towards wholesaling. Like in any other business landscape, the balance tilted to their advantage and their disadvantage. “We had good years with that, and we had bad years with that. After a few years, our main supplier from overseas allowed too many competitors into the market. It destroyed the margins, the risk got way too big, and the return wasn't enough. We then decided to close down the wholesale side, with a large amount of stock – about over two million dollars’ worth in stock – sitting there at that time. It took us nearly two years to sell off that remaining stock,” Timo revealed.

The time also came for him and his business partner to split paths. “The good news is that we didn't have a single fight over this. We just decided to go our respective ways. So, I took over his half of the business at that time. Since we had closed down successfully the wholesale side, we focused back on the installation side and the energy concepts for our customers. From there, it was all on me to rebuild the business with one focus, and that's what I've been working on very hard for the last two years,” the young engineer cum industrialist explained.

As he walked the entrepreneurial journey, he discerned things others perceived about business owners that were not entirely true. People thought that entrepreneurs like him have total freedom and are rich. “You know what, I have less freedom than being employed. I can't just clock off and go on holiday, then come back and say, ‘whether it worked or not, that's not my problem.’ It is my problem. If I go on holiday and things start falling apart, I pay for it. And I have to tidy up afterwards for weeks and months to bring it back on track,” he iterated.

“You're exposed because you invest your own money. You put your house down as security and whatever else there is to make this happen,” Timo added. Despite having to work round the clock, since he has to deal with suppliers from overseas, he is still passionate about what he does. For him, whether he is working as an employee or running his business, he puts his 100% in all his efforts.  But doing things on his own gives him a different kind of energy and excitement because he can carry out his ideas the way he wants it to be.

“What excites me is to push boundaries and find new ways to arrive at new solutions. With that, I create things others haven't done before. I go to customers and share my ideas with them. Most of them take these ideas on board and say, 'That sounds great. Let's give it a go.' Then, I source all the components – I design it, I install it, I commission it, I make it happen. Afterwards, the way my systems work, I've got full control of them. Even years after, I can verify that what I've designed and come up with is working. So, for me, that’s the rewarding bit,” Timo excitedly shared.

Apart from the opportunity to create things and find solutions to problems, another area where Timo gets his energy is the Entrepreneurs Organization, where he is a member of the EO Melbourne chapter for about five years already. “The key ones for me, in general, are the speakers and the events that EO is organising. They fill me with energy every time I go,” he disclosed. Although there could also be less exciting activities at times, he still makes sure that he stays after the event to get some value from that gathering and take home something that he can apply to his business or personal life.

“The first thing that hit me from day one was the discussion on my values, vision, and goals. I never thought about that before. Working on that for years and drilling down on my 'whys' and ‘whats’ – why I do things, what is motivating me, what are the beliefs of the business, what do we stand for -- that helped me a lot,” Timo said. As such, his guiding philosophy in his business is the core values of his venture, which is aiming for nothing but the best, selling only ethical and environmentally beneficial products and services, and providing a hundred percent customer satisfaction.

“Customers being happy is number one for me. If I get a text message from them months later or years later or two days later, saying, 'Your team is fantastic, and your product looks amazing,' that is important and rewarding. I look at those houses, often classified as modern castles, and they can have all the luxury they want. As long as they are carbon neutral, they take the other key part that is driving me, which is helping save this planet,” the man with a mission quipped. Saving the planet is one of his aims, and he wants to make sure that he and his team are all working towards the right direction.

When it comes to the future of the business, Timo has a different path from those that are preoccupied with expansion. His tack is to focus only on one state, which is Victoria, and ensure that he is the best supplier and installer of renewable energy solutions in the area.

“I have more to do. I still need to double the business to create a more stable environment, financially. The solar industry is fluctuating a lot. There are busy times and quiet times. It's very hard to predict when what is happening. We are also involved in lots of building projects. They take years to become a reality. We need to feed the funnel with leads and nurture the leads very heavily. So, yeah, we still need to grow,” he elucidated.

Apart from the industry challenges, there is still a need to educate people about renewable energy. There are those that sell solar panel systems without thorough training or knowledge. Since TCK Solar only provide high-quality products, Timo understands that their price points are not for everyone. Despite these limitations, he already has a map planned out for his business on where he wants to take it in the next few years. He wants to reduce the company’s dependency on him as he prefers to focus more on business development rather than on the day-to-day operations.

When it comes to the personal side of things, Timo and his wife have a 20-year plan laid out, as triggered by EO. “We want to travel around Australia with our kids. We realised that it should happen probably in about two years because school-wise, that's where it fits best. So, that means, in two years’ time, I need to be in a position to be away for three months without having things fall into pieces.”

As to his children, he wants only the best for them. “Growing up, they, of course, saw me how I was working and how demanding the job was. If they want to walk after me, I would tell my kids to find their passion, stay focused and don’t forget to enjoy living. Like EO is promoting, find the right balance between work, family and personal. Only with all of them in sync, we can be truly happy,” he advised.

All these things that he strives to do are for his children, their future, and that of our planet. Even with the realities happening in our environment today, Timo stays positive that we can still do something to find a solution to our ecological problems. “I think there's no alternative but renewable energy. Those who still haven't realised what trouble we are in, as a world, with climate change and everything, will eventually see that there is no plan B. There is no planet B. It's only one. We need to save this one. And renewable energy is the only way we can do that. Now, it will be a very large, strong growing industry, and the products available in that industry will keep developing rapidly to make this happen. There will be a long future in that field,” Timo imparts.

Read more about TCK Solar at http://tcksolar.com.au/.

Jamie Lingham braves the entrepreneurial waves

Jamie Lingham, CEO of Absolute Immigration, has a deep affiliation with the ocean. His love of the seas makes him enjoy swimming, surfing and paddleboarding. That affinity with everything related to the waters also brought him close to environmental causes. Braving the crashing waves and coming out after being struck by its force bring a different kind of thrill that Jamie can liken to the entrepreneurial journey.

“When you’re surfing and paddling out the big waves, sometimes they smash you back a bit. But then, once you get through the back end, you can surf the wave. It's amazing. That's like life. Life keeps hammering, and you're trying to get to the prize at the end. It's tough and hard. Sometimes, you want to give up, but you've just got to keep going. And then, eventually, you'll get out, bounce back, and enjoy the ride,” the highly passionate global immigration strategist stated.

That brings him to his teenage years when he would sell mangoes at Bondi Beach. “I used to get my mum's car when I was about 17. I would go to the fruit market and buy three boxes of mangoes. I would chop up the mangoes into halves, and I'd go and sell them on Bondi Beach. I buy them for 60 cents, and I'd sell them for a dollar and a half. Then, I’d go surfing for the rest of the day. So, there's always been little things that I did. I always had ideas for making money and doing little ventures,” he recalled.

It may seem that the entrepreneurial spirit has exhibited in him since he was young. When he was just five years old, he would go with his brother on paper rounds to help sell newspapers. Many years later, he also worked in the marketing and public relations field and spent some time in the hospitality industry as a waiter in fine dining restaurants.

How he got into the immigration sector is no big mystery as he was familiar with the ins and outs of this trade, especially that his father had been doing it for almost two decades. “I'm on immigration, and my dad was doing it for about 20 years. But he dealt with a lot of people in detention. He kept saying to me that I should get involved in the business. I was always reluctant to do it because I didn't want to deal with this type of people. But he would have been the influence of me getting into it. However, I didn't go into business with him. I started my own business,” Jamie explained. Sadly, his dad later passed away.

During the time Jamie began with his venture, he found a mentor in a Jesuit priest, named Fr Michael Kelly. According to Jamie, Fr Michael is “unbelievably ethical and fantastic in business. He's an entrepreneur himself. He started a business that now turns over about over hundred seventy million dollars a year. He's from nothing. He's fantastic, and he’s got a wonderful moral compass.”

Although Jamie has been running his business for 17 years already, he admits that the challenges never stop. The early hurdles were trying to carve a name for himself as he was building the foundations of his venture, striving to get a client and wondering how to do the work. “When you start a business, you're like a puppy chasing everything. You chase people. You chase kids on scooters. You chase bicycles. You chase cars. Whatever you can, you jump at it. But as you get older and more experienced, you chase things like a double-decker bus full of tourists. You don't get off the porch for anything less. You learn not to run so much and be a bit smarter on what you're targeting,” he said, reflecting on his beginnings.

Not having enough money and failing in his business were the scary bits of running a business. One time, he had an executive assistant who stole a lot of money and committed fraud. At the same time, the global financial crisis occurred. He was close to going bankrupt. “I think you sail close to the wind a lot of the time as an entrepreneur, especially when you're investing in your business and people to grow,” he uttered.

To recoup his loss, he had to work 12 hours a day, seven days a week until he got his business back on track. “I did that for six months. I just worked like crazy,” Jamie narrated. It was a difficult time for him because he lost some staff members that he was left to do all their work as well.

While being an entrepreneur is a lot of responsibility, others look at it through rose-coloured glasses. Behind those glasses, however, is an entirely different picture. “Everyone thinks the boss is making all the money. Sometimes, that's not true. I've gone through times where I've paid all my staff and not myself. I know lots of entrepreneurs who've done the same thing. It's a misconception that they think we turn out loaded and make a lot of money. We work for that. Even 17 years later, I still go through my periods, my ups and downs. It's the roller coaster of entrepreneurship. It's a great ride. It's fun. But it is a roller coaster,” he clarified.

Being a business owner is no easy position. As a leader, he needs to brave the hardships and be strong for his people. On top of that, he has to make sure that he brings them towards the finish line. “We're going through a whole process change at the moment. We’re making sure that everyone's on the same page. You have to keep reinforcing and leading by example, making sure that everyone understands how you operate. You need to be available and have proper conversations with people to let them understand what the goal looks like, and what's needed to get to that goal,” the passionate entrepreneur remarked.

With all the weight he carries on his shoulder, the journey can often be lonely. Reassuringly, he found solace in EO Melbourne. Jamie realised that with EO, “there are so many different learnings. The life of an entrepreneur can be quite isolated. To have a support network of peers who understand what I'm going through and have been through it themselves, just having that level of connection and support is important.”

The pertinent ideas and lessons he took from EO have helped him swim through high waters. Their industry is hard-hitting, and competition is stiff, especially with over 7,000 migration agents offering immigration assistance. The players are too many, and the tide can abruptly change against his favour. “The biggest thing that affects our industry is government regulation. With regards to migration, they can turn the tap on or off. We can have a significant law change that can affect our business. And so, it's finding new ways to continue to be in business, not only to survive but also to thrive,” opined Jamie.

He had to reinvent and innovate in his business to rise above the flow and get ahead of other swimmers in the ocean. A strong relationship with his clients is another key component that keeps his business going. Absolute Immigration’s tagline is ‘People, Not Paper,’ and there’s a good reason for it. For Jamie, “I've always gone by the rule of making sure I give the best possible advice to clients. If I stay true to that, my advice is going to be the best. I don't hold anything back.” According to him, it comes down to the level of strategic thinking they offer, which is going beyond the transaction. He always pushes himself and his team to give more effort each time, to exceed expectations, and to get the right results.

In the 17 years of his business, as much as there were many disappointments, Jamie also had lots of victories and big wins. He may have been on the brink of bankruptcy, but the highs still keep coming. “What a victory looks like changes the longer you go in business. Winning a client that is a medium-sized company at the start might be a fantastic feature for you. Then winning a big company down the track might be the next victory. And things like buying a building and a warehouse for our office are great victories to celebrate,” Jamie described.

To get to those highs, it’s an arduous ascent. Jamie likens it to scaling Mt. Everest. “You think your high is Basecamp. But it's not really. There's still a journey to go. Once you get to the top of the mountain, there's another mountain to go behind,” he illustrated. Despite how rough and daunting the entrepreneurial rollercoaster cycle is, he sticks to it because he found it satisfying.

“An important thing to do is to understand that each day is a brand new day and then reset yourself for that day. It is not taking where the problems have been from your defeats the day before. You don't take them to a new day. You may get knocked over yesterday, but tomorrow is another day, and you're still pumping the same vision,” the determined entrepreneur imparted.

Looking towards the future, Jamie is keen to know how they can change the nature of work for immigration professionals. It all comes down to technology. “You could be doing my job and then working on the beach in Byron Bay, Mexico or Boracay. I think that the days of working in big firms until late at night are about to end. And so, I see us pioneering in our space in changing the way people work,” he thought deeply.

Apart from business, Jamie also has personal aspirations on how his future will look like several years down the road. Paramount to that is his family. Talking about his children brought a twinkle in his eyes. His joy was evident as he mentioned his two sons and two-year-old daughter. “We call her boss baby because she runs the house,” Jamie fondly said, referring to their youngest child. “Yes, she runs the house, the boss baby. She's hilarious.”

Hence, he hopes to be able to devote more time to his family in the years to come. “I want to make sure that I continue to have lots of time with my kids. I don't think they would want to hang around with me all their life. I think that period is only going to be very short. Making sure that I can always be available to them and spend time with them is important to me. But also, I want to look further and see how I can get more involved with environmental causes and help look at sustainability and things like that.”

With his past, present and future laid down before him, Jamie learned one particular thing that could have changed his entrepreneurial path. He believes that saving 10% of his income would have made a huge difference in his life if he had done that from the start. He may not be able to turn back time and redo things, but it’s a lesson that budding entrepreneurs can also learn early in their journey. Still, he believes that money always comes, just like the oxygen in the air. “You don't have to breathe in all the oxygen in the room. It'll come, and it'll go. But I think if you put ten percent away from that, it'll be amazing what can happen.”

As an ocean lover, Jamie knows the dangers of the raging waves and the strong currents. But they enable him to stretch his muscles and taste the fun of being in the water. His entrepreneurial journey is like surfing in the ocean. Armed with a vision, and the commitment and resilience to accomplish it, he was able to handle thousands of doors slammed on his face. That is why he keeps pushing, no matter what. He never gives up in the face of difficulties and bounces back stronger than ever. Such determination and tenacity allow him to get on his board, stand tall, and feel the thrill of the ride. “There are lots of people that will tell you that you can't do it or it will feel hard. Some days, you'll feel beaten up and defeated. But come back and do it again the next day. Don't stop until you've got to your goal,” he counselled.

More about Jamie Lingham on his LinkedIn profile. Read on Absolute Immigration at http://www.absoluteimmigration.com/.

Michael Clark wants to make the world better

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

The Younger Years

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

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

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

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

The Turning Point

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

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

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

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

The Deal of a Lifetime

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

Start Up Problems

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

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

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

The Entrepreneur

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Life

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

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

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

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

Fishing ideas for your business

Running a business and bringing it to success is like going on a fishing expedition. It takes a lot of discipline and patience to be able to catch something. The business landscape is a sea of challenges and opportunities where entrepreneurs can either sink or swim, depending on their ability to fish well.

For a hefty catch and great results, there are various steps to follow in both fishing and managing a business. It’s not as easy as sitting on the edge of the water and waiting for something to take on the bait. Sales, income and profit do not just come pouring into your venture. There are several things to be done before you can get some fish in the bucket or positive numbers on your books. And it takes a lot of hard work. Also, having a plan is a big help in overcoming the difficulties. Below are some fishing tips that you can entrench into your business techniques to achieve more successes.

1. Research about fishing: Gather data and information

Catching a fish is not just out of pure luck. Preparation is key to such success. The best way to prepare yourself before you jump into the water is to get as many information as you can that will help you plot your strategy. It’s best to consult an expert on the field, whether it’s in fishing or in the industry where you belong, to mentor you on the best way to get your catch. Take a look at the numbers, survey your market, and keep your ears open.

2. Choose location: Scan your business environment

Location. Location. Location. It’s important in business, and so is in fishing. What is the best body of water where you can get plenty of finds? You start fishing, literally and figuratively, in a zone where you are most familiar with and can do outstanding work. And, of course, where fishes abound. Ergo, before you select a location, make sure you have done your research well. Then use those data to your advantage and make your way to your fishing area.

3. Learn about fish species: Familiarise yourself with the market

What kind of fish or market is rich for the picking? Know well the types of fish you want to catch so you can pick the right bait to dangle before it. There are several creatures beneath the waters, and you should know which ones to target. Get your plan of attack right. Make your pulse steady and feel the fish movements that they almost become an extension of you.

4. Know the rules: Prepare your documents

You cannot just set camp where you want and then cast your line. Every place has laws that regulate fishing. You need to accomplish permits and paperwork before you can even do the actual activity. The same thing is true with running a business. Make sure you are within legal bounds before you start operating. Get your documents ready so that you have nothing to worry about once things begin to keep rolling.

5. Safety first: Cover all your bases

Be prepared for the worst all the time. When you’re out fishing, take into consideration the weather, the water current, the surroundings, and other elements for safety precautions. Bring the right gear and wear proper clothes. Have some first aid kit on hand. If you’ve got a plan for your venture, you must come up with plans B, C, D, and so on and so forth. Put systems in place. Get the right tools. Hire the right people. Lay out your safety nets. Fill any gaps and loopholes that may ruin your fishing escapade or your business. Improvise, innovate and be inventive.

6. Prepare fishing paraphernalia: Equip your business

Have a checklist of what you need to prepare for your fishing activity. Make sure you have everything you need in your basket. Your business should have all the equipment that will make it run like a well-oiled machine. Hone your skills and those of your people. Join organisations like EO Melbourne where you can pick a lot of learnings from experts and fellow business owners. Create policies and set up the proper culture during the early stage of your enterprise.

7. Rig a fishing pole: Get all your departments running

Now, you assemble your hook, sinker, bobber, and the rest of the fishing line. Put together your team and get them into position. If you lack people or resources, simplify and set up a skeleton structure that will still keep your business running. The key here is that everything and everyone should operate in unison, like a single body. A good vision and a positive business culture will help unite your team towards a common goal.

8. Choose your bait: Strategize you marketing moves

How do you lure new customers or clients? What are the available strategies and tools that will establish good relations with them, entice them towards your business, and keep them there for the long-term haul? Once you understand their needs, you will know how to penetrate your market and position yourself to dominate that space. Again, put the best bait possible.

9. Cast the line: Put your business out there

Network. Be involved in your community. Go out and feel the pulse of the market. Make your presence felt so that people will be more aware of your business. You can’t catch a fish if you don’t cast the line. It may involve risks, but don’t be afraid to put your line in the water. You’ll never know what you have gotten yourself into unless you expose your business and launch it to the bigger world.

10. Assess your catch: Evaluate your results

Have a regular meeting with your staff. Check the numbers. Monitor your milestones. Get feedback from your internal and external stakeholders. Listen to what they have to say and discern the best way forward. Go over the reports and take them to heart. It’s always good to know where you can make improvements, as there is always room for growth.

Now, if you are excited to go fishing for your business keep these tips in mind. Don’t forget to pack loads of inspiration from the stories of our EO Melbourne members. It’s often a waiting game, but be patient for success to come. Hence, do everything in the right season and for the right reason as you embark on this entrepreneurial escapade.

The strength of time for Graeme Goldman

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Anou Khanijou’s concept of self-belief and endless possibilities

“Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail.” This quote from inventor Charles Kettering is the life and business motto of Anouconcept Founder and Owner, Anou Khanijou.

“I believe that nothing is impossible. The word in itself says, 'I'm possible',” the “powerhouse” business owner said. Her entrepreneurial story is one of courage and determination that helped her shape her space in the business world as she started her ventures on her own, regardless of the odds.

Anou’s business journey exhibited a boldness that propelled her forward. It also showed the entrepreneurial spirit she inherited from her parents, who made their living through tailor-making garments. Her father used to sell newspapers on the streets and worked hard to build his empire. Coming from an Indian-Thai ancestry, the family arranged her for marriage at the age of fifteen, something which Anou opposed. Wanting to escape such predicament, Anou ran away from home, came to work in Club Med Cherating Beach when she was only 16 years old and continued working at Club Med across the world.

Despite being a minor, as it was prohibited to hire one, she was still provided with work because she easily proved her impressive value to the company, given her ability to speak fluent English as a great advantage. Among her tasks was to teach people how to do basic computer programming, which was one of her strong suits. Coding was something she enjoyed when she was young, something she learned from the courses she attended in her spare time. Anou quickly learned the ropes of the trade and exhibited her sharp understanding of people and how the fabric of society is put together through her constant interaction and engagement with them.

“In another bold move, I met some wonderful families holidaying from Australia who offered me some great opportunities in their country,” she revealed. She grabbed the chance and decided to go to Australia. As a young girl travelling on her own, without any parents, she went through an intensive interview with the Immigration Department. “I was very lucky that I encountered these great people during my Club Med experience. They vouched for me to the Immigration Department. Through their generosity, I was able to come to Australia,” she added.

Because of her proficiency in various languages – English, Thai, Japanese, French, Hindi – she got a job at the duty-free shops as she could communicate well with various international tourists. “At that time, tourism was booming. And this was going back to 1987. So, I did very well out of that and saved money with the aspiration to start my own business one day,” explained the resolute business owner.

With the help of a close friend who she later married, Anou got the opportunity to start a business of her own. Not knowing what business that would be, he suggested a Thai restaurant so she could share her talent for cooking delicious Thai food. Nearing the age of 18, she opened her business, amidst many feelings of nervousness and fear. “I had no money the day I opened the doors. I had only $49 in my bank account when I opened the restaurant,” Anou shared.

As it turned out, the restaurant was a big hit. On top of that, the stock market crashed in the 1980’s that kept people from travelling, adding a boost to the restaurant’s performance. From what she accumulated from that venture, she opened another business with a group of people that she had met through owning the restaurant. “It was part of Melbourne's very exciting nightclub called The Carousel in Albert Park. I met a lot of people through that again, people in the music and the entertainment industry, and established myself in that space,” Anou recalled.

This venture introduced Anou into the world of entertainment. It led her to her next business, an advertising agency, which she opened when she was about 25 years old. Through that agency, she handled large clients, including energy companies that helped her carve a niche in that sector. One day, while at the advertising agency, a close friend she had made in the nightclub industry approached her, asking her help for a film opening. This opportunity paved the way for the birth of Anouconcept, which is her experiential PR and events agency.

Alongside her creative agency, she also went into the manufacturing trade, providing uniforms for schools and corporations. Anou knew that segment very well from growing up with her family’s business in the garments industry.

While Anou found the entrepreneurial world a comfortable space for her, her journey, however, was not a trouble-free start. When she began her first venture, not having enough capital was a huge risk that got on her nerves. “I was very scared when I was young. But now, I think that with the creative work that I do, money follows. It is not the biggest motivating factor in my life because I love creating businesses and building them well. I work very hard to ensure that we're always innovative and different and ahead of the game,” she disclosed.

The business environment was full of challenges, but Anou felt there were no hurdles too high for her to overcome. “I've never found any difficulty starting a business. I just wanted to do it. I jumped with my two feet in, put the best foot forward, and was able to convert them. So, my difficulty was being scared. It is being scared of not being successful. The fear of not achieving. The fear of not having money. The fear of not getting there. If you believe in what you're doing and have extreme self-belief, it overrides everything. That's the case for me. I truly believe in what I do and am very focused on it. That's been the reason why I’ve always been able to drive myself and whatever business I carry forward,” admitted the serial entrepreneur.

Running several businesses and starting a family was also not easy for Anou. Still, she was able to find a solution to her situation. “When I had children, my biggest thing was that I felt I was disconnected.  To overcome this, I made sure I worked very, very close to home. Currently, my large offices are less than a hundred meters walk from my house, so I can be connected to my two beautiful daughters as well as keep my businesses going,” she quipped.

Nonetheless, her entrepreneurial journey also had heartbreaks. “I went through a very scary patch when I had the advertising agency, and I broke away to do the fabrics,” she intimated. She thought it was a fantastic idea to be doing children’s clothing. However, she lost a lot of money, which scared Anou, yet made her even more determined to change the business into something meaningful. “Business is about passion and understanding the market, then connecting your client’s vision with their customer to create a lasting memory,” Anou imparted.

She also had to contend with the changing landscape of the industries where her businesses belong. Even in the manufacturing sector, she has to be innovative and dynamic because of market shifts. To be ahead of the changes, Anou continues to be responsive when the market is changing or when there are disruptors. For example, they have not only converted their plastics into biodegradable plastics, they have also set up a virtual fitting room for customers and clients.

Anou believes that the learnings never stop and that she will always be a student of life. One of the avenues that helped nurture her capabilities is EO Melbourne. Apart from the interesting people she met in the organisation, the learning events also opened her eyes to different directions. Listening to the inspiring stories of other business owners helped expand her thoughts. From what she has picked from the experiences of others, she then brought them to her businesses and applied the lessons accordingly.

Those lessons also moulded her to become an effective leader. Now, with a large number of people in her employ, Anou has been motivating her team based on their varying needs. For her staff in Asia, she provides language sessions, often inviting celebrity teachers to teach them English. Even her team in Australia, she grows them through continuous learning. There are spaces in their office for children and pets, who are always welcome. She cares for her people and, in turn, for their families, being a wife and mother herself. Anou shared, “Whether it’s a film, an event, a product or a garment, the same care and love since we established Anou Thai still live within our team. We love what we do, and our culture truly embraces our family values.”

When it comes to the drive, the passion, the vision, and the ability to see something and create it, Anou is a role model for the younger entrepreneurs. “If you believe in yourself, the courage comes. If you do the right thing in your business, money comes. It's all a byproduct of your doing. And it all starts with you, as an individual. Always,” she conveyed.

Continuing with her entrepreneurial journey, Anou looks ahead to the future full of positivism, determination and benevolence. “I want my businesses to be meaningful. In the growth sector that we're doing, we'll dominate the space. It's not always about how many millions each business may make. It's about leaving a legacy,” the dynamic businesswoman imparted.

Learn more about Anou Khanijou on her LinkedIn profile. Read http://anouconcept.com/ for more on Anouconcept.

Donna Guest on preparing for life challenges

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.