Interview with successful business owners

Between October 2015 and January 2016 I’ve been doing something a little different and something that I haven’t really done in the past. You could say it’s part of the development of new ideas and concepts for EzyLearn and I don’t know how it will work out but am very interested in your opinion and feedback.

Business StartUp Course – EzyStartUp

Over the summer break we renamed our Small Business Course to the EzyStartUp Course and we’ve more clearly targeted that it is for people who are moving from being an employee to working as an independent contractor (with a bigger more comprehensive and detailed Business Plan Package coming later in the year for bigger businesses) and as part of these changes I’ve been interviewing successful business owners about all aspects of their business.

Setup, Legal, Vision, Ideas, Structure, Forecasts

I’ve been lucky to have met a lot of business owners of the last 20 years because many of them have been willing to share intimate details of their businesses in my interviews and the information covers all aspects of the business process from setup and planning to marketing and sales to exit strategies and succession planning. One of the people I interviewed is Tracey Dickson, who bought a promotional products business, built it up and made it valuable using technology and sold it when she was ready to exit. I’ve interviewed Tracey for a number of subjects for The Australian Small Business Centre Pty Ltd and in particular I’ve delved into what she’s gone through in writing a new children’s book based on a character she created called Will Hallam. You can watch the introductory video interview below.

Ideas turn into products that are packaged for markets who buy and use them

The process of creating these videos went a little like this.

1. I looked at each of the topics in the ASBC Small Business Management Courses
2. I compiled a list of questions that I thought are relevant for each topic (some as a result of further research)
3. Looked around at people I know in various different business types (importer, retail, professional services, marketing, sales trainer)
4. Studied these business owners websites and business to compile questions that cover the course contents but also relate to their business
5. Interviewed the business owner with input from them before and in between videos

After going through all the technical and know-how aspects about the steps you need to take it dawned on me that all of these business owners had something more than just knowledge and experience, they had all those character traits that make business owners successful. They include:

• being inquisitive
• always asking questions
• learning new things
• studying their market
• evaluating their business
• making changes if needed
• sticking at it
• trying again and again
• working to a plan
• working out another way to do things

There are probably many other words or phrases that can be used to describe these traits and they all add up to what makes these people and these interviews so valuable. For many people starting out in business for the first time it’s weird just keeping a time sheet and invoicing for the work they do and then following up for payment so listening to experienced business people and understanding the right attitudes will make as big a difference as the technical know how itself.

Will Hallam is for kids between 7-11 and Tracey has a global opportunity

Tracey is a meticulous person who puts in the ground work and she’s passionate enough about her new project that she’s taken the time to understand how the publishing industry works and what her readers (and their parents) are looking for. I think you’ll find her insights and thought processes very useful and please make a comment on Facebook or Linkedin to let me know your thoughts.

If you like what you’re reading so far subscribe to this blog and check out the new EzyStartUp Course.

Here’s my Introduction video interview with Tracey