"Destiny is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved. It is a matter of choice, not chance"

 Let me begin by asking you a simple question “Why 
 did you go into business?

All of us go into business to create a lifestyle of our choice, whatever that means to each of us individually. It could mean more time, more money or more choice.

Sadly, only 4% of all people who start out in business ever achieve this goal. The other 96% fail or remain enslaved to their businesses. Here’s why!

As your business enters different cycles, you experience different issues. It doesn’t matter if you have been operating for a few months or many years, things rarely go according to plan. 

If you are in the 1st cycle of business, you wish you had more customers or more sales. Your cashflow is very tight and you are constantly under a load of stress to make ends meet. You are working long, tiring hours and are desperately trying to get traction.  Your batteries wear down and you are continuously asking yourself “when is my break coming? Something has to change!”

 

Perhaps you are in the 2nd cycle of business where business is booming and sales are rocketing. But you are overloaded and have major time problems. There’s only ONE you and so much needs to be done. You need more staff, but that’s another truck load of issues. You believe no one can do the work as well as you can. “How do I manage them? How do I get results from them?”

You keep asking yourself “How do I get out of this engine, this rut and get my business working for me? How can I get systems in place or the right staff to help me grow? Where did my life go? Where did my dreams go? Life has become a process that is slowly killing my soul”

Sound familiar? It’s all true and you are definitely NOT alone. 85% of all business experiences these every day, common business problems.

How do I know? ...let me share my story with you.

I started out in business and quickly became one of the 4% to reach financial freedom. I achieved this at age 26. Impressive? Yes! But then I lost everything and suddenly became one of the 96% who fail. I then redid the journey and took another 7 years before rejoining the 4% living a lifestyle of my choice.

I believe many business owners trying to break through the daily barriers to reach their dreams will relate to what I am saying. I know it’s tough, it’s hard but I want to tell you it’s not impossible.

I hope my lessons of failure will help protect you, guide you and make your journey a little easier. I hope my successes and triumphs will help inspire you to keep going and not give up. In the end, when you do finally reach your goals, it truly is worth the sacrifice.

So here’s my story..

I was 23 when I co-founded my first company. I really had no idea of what I was doing. I had no experience, limited expertise and no one to guide me. All I had was an idea and a massive desire to own a business and be in control of my financial destiny.

I graduated as an engineer and started out as an employee. I lasted just 6 months because I realised I could not work for anyone else. There was no way I could ever achieve what I wanted to out of life by working for someone else. I met my first business partner Gary at university. We both decided we wanted to run our own businesses. So, we “straddled”. This is a term for working at night and weekends to build a business to a stage where you can safely leave your job.

 

Gary "straddling" from his bedroom where it all started

The “straddling” is a very safe and cost effective way to start a business and is one our most popular modules we teach. It is specifically designed to help people thinking of starting out in business who have limited cash but who want to make a go of turning their dreams into reality.
 
We straddled every night and every weekend for 6 months until we had enough traction to take the plunge. We quit our jobs and we went for it.

With only $800 in my savings, Gary and I started our first “software consulting business” from my father’s back shed in Aug 1994.

We attended a trade show, got a few runs on the board and moved into our first little office a few months later. This is going to sound very strange but it’s very true. Our driving force was not money; it was the will to be successful. I think this is a very important point.

Our first trade show. Computex, August 1994

If we judged our success on how much money we were making, we would have failed and given up. We earned no money for the first fourteen months. I mean no money. Gary and I both lived at home with our parents as we could not afford to move out. Most of our friends had brand new cars, were young executives with fancy salaries and were living a great lifestyle.

Gary and I were on the bones of existence. We could not afford beers at night clubs. We had cars that hardly went and there were absolutely no luxuries. Girlfriends were enticed with charm, not money. Any cash we made, we poured back into the business.

I worked 3 nights a week as a computer trainer. I taught groups of parents how to use a PC and the internet. The training centre was an hour’s drive from my house, so for two hours of those nights, I was driving.  The money from this paid the rent for our office. I had to do this because our business was not yet making money. While I was generating cashflow to survive, Gary kept working on the software development. It was a fantastic partnership.

 

"Business is not about which way the wind is blowing; it is how you set your sails"

 

Looking back, it was the pure ambition and the will to succeed that kept us going. If we did not have that embedded into our minds from the very start, we would never have made it. That journey would have been impossible. We keep focussing on the prize, the big picture. We had no choice. We had no cushions. We had to do what it took to get us to where we wanted to go.

Perhaps sometimes, options are not always a good thing. Edwin C. Barnes was determined to work with Thomas Edison.  Edwin Barnes had never met Thomas Edison and did not have enough money to pay for the rail fare to Thomas Edison’s offices. Nevertheless, he was determined to achieve his goal. Edwin Barnes burnt all his bridges behind him, so he could never return to the life he was living. He did this so he could only go in one direction – forward to his goal. Barnes become a business associate of Thomas Edison and made himself a fortune in the process.

 

Our first little shop. Buxton's Village, April 1995

By April 1995 we opened our first little store. Trying to figure how to succeed was very tough. By Oct 1995 we still could not afford to pay ourselves a salary. Cashflow had completely dried up and I decided to quit for real. I had already quit twice before because of difficulties and felt we were just not getting anywhere. I truly had reached my limit of struggling and fighting pressure. It was easier to go and get a job. I remember telling Gary I just wanted to earn some money, anything! I just wanted some stability. I was happy to work in the Post Office. At least there was no stress and some stability.

 

"In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins; not through strength, but through persistence"

 

I often think about the story Napoleon Hill tells in his book “Think and Grow Rich” about Mr Darby who became famous for his story of “stopping three feet from gold”.  Mr Darby, caught in the gold rush, gave up digging just up 3 feet from one of the biggest gold veins in history. 

I decided to do two things. If these failed, then it was game over for good. In reality, we had no choice. We had run out of money and so continuing on was impossible. 

It worked!  We had reached our turning point. We had finally made our breakthrough. Those “final things” were my introduction to street smart marketing and the world of joint ventures and leveraging.  I often stop and think about that moment. I refer to it over and over again in my seminars because it’s that significant. It was and still remains the most powerful point in my business career.

At that moment I had decided to quit, we were just centimetres away from our massive breakthrough.

Street smart marketing and the principles of Joint ventures and Leveraging saved my business. So many businesses, especially small businesses do not use these powerful principles. I believe they are the secrets to how you breakthrough to the next levels.  I have so much faith, belief and passion in these principles, I created Ideas into Business and that’s exactly what we specialise in. Our programs show people how to apply these principles to breakthrough their ruts and put their dreams back on track.

For the next 5 consecutive years, we grew that little business with all its problems into a US $12 Million company with 65 staff.

Here’s a snippet of my journey and the power of these principles in action.

 

$1.1 Million     2nd Year

 

$1.1 -$4 Million     3rd Year

 

$4 - 7 Million     3rd Year $7-$12 Million    4th Year

 

At age 25, we were awarded the Sunday Tribune, Ernst Young, Entrepreneurs award.

 

The Ernst Young, Sunday Tribune Entrepreneurs Award

I also received the Microsoft Top 5 Companies award at age 26. This was another prestigious award because we competed against all the Microsoft channel partners, most of which were national players.

 

"Success is a lousy teacher because once you are successful, you think you can’t fail"

 

My Penthouse Apartment

By achieving this much success so quickly, I truly believed I knew it all. I had no reason to think otherwise. I reached financial freedom at the age of 26. Life was an absolute party!

Being financially free! I highly, highly recommend it! 

 

 

 

And then the universe decided to teach me a very powerful lesson.

I lost everything! .......and I joined the 96% of all businesses who fail within 10 years.

The lessons were indeed harsh and the humiliation even more painful; however they served a significant purpose and created a dynamic turning point in my life.  This substantial failing made me acutely aware that even though I was awarded several prestigious business awards and was a self made millionaire at the age of 26, I needed to learn the single most important and powerful lesson in business......

The difference between being a Business Owner and being Self Employed.

 

"Don’t lose the lesson"

 

I remember the day when my first company closed its doors. The stores were locked for the last time; the staff were told they no longer had jobs and life as I knew it, vanished before me into a cloud of uncertainty and darkness.

I remember phoning my gran the day it all finally came to an end. My gran has always been special to me & she always knows the right words to say to me. Her little words of wisdom always served as powerful tips throughout my life. I remember telling her that I had really screwed up, had lost my business and everything I owned. I did not understand why this had happened or what I was going to do. I was in a very bad place.

The words to which she responded are ones which I have never forgotten to this day and are words I share with all our members when they are going through tough times and do not understand why things have happened to them. Her words were:

 

My Gran Thelma with my boy Blaize

 

 

"It’s okay to make mistakes, as long as you don’t lose the lesson. You still have 2 legs, you can still smile, you’re a smart boy and you will do it again"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those powerful words beamed like a ray of sunshine through those dark clouds of adversity that surrounded me that day. My dear gran had given me a guiding light of hope and direction to pull me through the toughest period of my life.
 
I was determined not to lose the lesson. If I ever wanted to be successful in business, I had to learn “HOW” to transition from being Self Employed to becoming a true Business Owner.  I could not just hope for the best and that things would just work themselves out.

 

"To become an expert you need to learn more than others. To remain an expert, you need to keep on learning more than others"

 

My lesson was also one of humbling and realising that there are people out there who know more than me and who really can help me; if I let them. My early success created a mindset that made me think I was too smart to learn from others, take advice and be open to other possibilities. My arrogance at that time was really demonstrating my immature business mind. I would not allow myself to be taught "HOW TO" grow with my business.

I learnt through hardship that running a successful business has nothing to do with how fancy your turnover is, how many years you have been in business or how many staff you have.

What happened to me was that my business outgrew my skills and capabilities. It required a greater level of expertise and direction I did not have at the time. I was in fact still SELF EMPLOYED, not a Business Owner. My business was totally dependent on me running it. As I tried to "fix" my knowledge gaps myself, my business consumed me and eventually I burnt out and collapsed under the pressure and lost everything I had worked so hard for.

 

"If you view life at 50 the same way you did at 20, you have wasted 30 years of your life – Mohammed Ali"

 

For the next eleven years, across three countries, I dedicated my life to studying, learning, rebuilding and understanding what were the “secrets” of transitioning from Self Employed (SE) to Business Owner (BO). Why do 85% remain stuck in SE and why do only 4% ever reach BO after 10 years. What were they all doing wrong? 

The search for the answers to these burning questions became an obsession for me.

 

"What was my $12 million mistake?"

 

I discovered so many people making the same mistakes I had made and struggling with the same issues I had struggled with. Most of these people were working long hours, yet seeing very little reward. The harder they worked, the more pressure they exerted on their health, motivation and family life.

So what were they doing wrong, everyday?

 

"They were not doing tasks in their business to set themselves up for the future. They were doing tasks to get themselves through the day"

 

They were working to make profits today, not creating wealth for their future.
Because they were Self Employed and their businesses were dependant on them running it, their businesses held very little value. In contrast, the Business Owners businesses were not dependant on them. Their systems ran their businesses, generating profits consistently. These businesses therefore held significantly greater values.

My discoveries made me aware of the massive opportunity to help people in business to become Business Owners. To help them get their businesses working for them so they can enjoy more time, more money and the freedom to choose the lifestyle they desire.

What they needed was a system that provided direction and support so they could reap the rewards of their labour.

 

"The importance of journeying with likeminded people"

 

For many years I was very ashamed of my failure. I was too embarrassed to reveal my past. I went from being financially free living in a multimillion dollar penthouse and enjoying an endless supply of cash to working as a sales assistant on a retail store within 1 year. My manager had about 6 month’s actual management experience, but that’s not the point – he was my boss! That’s tough in anyone’s book.

I remember the desperation of that situation and looking at the massive mountain I needed to reclimb to get back to where I once flew a victorious flag. It was just too overwhelming.

And then one day, sitting in a group with fellow business owners, I finally told my story.....and the words that followed changed my life forever.

“Why are you so embarrassed?” they asked.   I replied, “Because people see me as a failure and a loser”.

“How many others have done what you have done?” they asked. “They drive around in their every day cars to their everyday jobs and they are criticising and judging you?”

“Yes”, I replied, “unfortunately they do. They don’t look at the risks you were prepared to take, they don’t look at the successes and victories along the way. They only judge you on your failure.”

The words “You don’t FAIL if you lose. You FAIL when you give up!” still echo in my ears today.  It’s human nature to pass judgement based on opinion, not experience.

 

"From adversity comes opportunity"

 

That group was part of a seminar in Sydney. On stage was an international presenter called Loral Langeiemer who teaches people how to be successful in business. She is brilliant and very inspiring.  She said “You should be sharing your story, your experiences and most importantly your lessons with all other business owners. That’s an opportunity for you and the right thing to do. So many business owners desperately need help but do not know what to do. You have an opportunity to help them learn from your mistakes. ”

 

"Everything in life happens for a reason"

 

It made so much sense to me. There is so much information available on how to improve profits and marketing but there is very little help available for showing business owners how to set themselves up for their future.

Why was Loral so correct in identifying I had an opportunity? ...because 96 % of all businesses fail. Who better to speak to than someone who has fallen down the cliff and reclimbed back up?

 

"Courage is being afraid but going on anyhow"

 

Through my adversity I was given a chance to help others. To guide them from the fatal mistakes I had made and to show them a far smarter way to make more profits, quicker and with less effort.  Most importantly, I could show them how to build their businesses to set themselves up for their future. I could share my knowledge of freeing them from the daily grind. After 5, 10 or 20 years they will have something greater than just profits to show for their hard earned efforts. They would have turned their businesses into valuable assets.

 

"Ideas into Business was Born"

 

My single greatest learning was that you work to create wealth from your business, not just profits. This is how you work smart and how you quickly accumulate wealth.

You should view your business as a valuable asset that you can one day sell off for a healthy profit. The assistance and knowledge to do this proved to be a massive gap in the market.

And so I created Ideas into Business to share my lessons, mistakes and triumphs of my journey with you to HELP YOU so you can build a business to set yourself up for life. I created an affordable and practical system to help people in business transition from being SE to BO. 

The 4 most powerful business lessons I have learnt and that we now teach in our programs are..

1. Work to create value in your business, not just profits. This strategy will set
    you up for life.
2. Design your business to generate passive incomes. Do the work once and
    get paid for life.
3. If you want to accumulate wealth quickly, design your business to deliver
    multiple revenue streams
4. Start Preparing a profitable exit strategy today

 

"Oh and don’t do it just for the Money"

 

On my journey of rebuilding myself, I left a very well paid, secure job with fantastic career prospects to start a new business adventure. I had another idea and I wanted to create a business from it. Since I was rebuilding after losing everything, I did not have a lot of money behind me. My fiancé was pregnant with our first child, I had a large mortgage yet I still decided to take the plunge.

When I left my full time position I was offered a $200k salary + bonuses package by a competitor to move across and join their company. I declined.

Why? Because for me, it is not only about the money.

Earning $200k + a year would suit most people. But for me, working in a job was never going to give me my lifestyle of choice.

I invested $45k into my idea and created a business valued at $3.5 million in less than 3 years, working just 2 days a week, from my home office. This reward was worth the risk I had taken. It allowed me to create a lifestyle of my choice.

Most people have a very casual attitude to success. They are so focussed on dealing with issues or barriers they believe they have in their lives. These obstacles forever push their starting lines out for them to begin to be successful or happy.  The truth is, many are scared of change to their accustomed habits. Even though they feel stuck or unhappy, they are still not willing to change their ways.  As sad as that is, it’s great news for those of us who want to be successful. We have less competition.

 

"My greatest fear is to look back on my life and say “I should have, I could have but chose not to!"

 

Everyone in business who has taken risks and made sacrifices along the way deserves a good outcome!  Ask yourself if what you are doing right now in your business is setting you up for your future? If it isn’t, then maybe we should talk sometime.

We certainly would enjoy helping you on your business journey, whatever stage you are at, to reach your lifestyle of choice.

Make sure you educate yourself by investing in upgrading your knowledge. If you want to be the best, you have to invest in yourself. Upgrade your knowledge, your skills and execute with passion

Thanks for sharing your time with me.

I wish you all the very best on your journey.

Sincerely