Tag: entrepreneur - Page 6

It's a Sunday and rather than head to my nearest Starbucks to buy a NY Times, I decided to get all of my news online. Looking for some inspiration from other bloggers as I am about to embark on phase 3 of Marketing Eye's expansion and to be honest, I am nervous and excited at the same time. Any wisdom from my fellow bloggers is welcome. 

Another thing that struck me while looking for blogs is how out of date they are. If you type in a search in Google, you will get blogs as far back as 2005 that have never been written on again. Hope with the new change of algorithms that Google fixes this problems.

However, there are 20 very worthwhile blogs that are great weekend reads if you are looking for something easy to absorb, interesting, educational and business savvy.

TOP 20 ENTREPRENEURS BLOGS : 2013

A simple conversation can lead to anything. Literally, anything.

Like many entrepreneurs, gravitating to other entrepreneurs or business people is natural. Talking to a Neurosurgeon is not.

"It's not brain surgery" is one of my favorite sayings. The other, "it's not rocket science". It seems quite apt that I find myself in conversation with a neurosurgeon, whose gene pool is only bolstered by the fact his father is a rocket scientist.  Was I intimidated. Hell yes! But how impressed I was to be having such an intriguing and relevant conversation with a neurosurgeon, was only interrupted by moments of wanting to be opportunistic. I had to literally stop myself asking if a sperm donation was a point I could include in the discussion. Now, what single woman wouldn't want to have a child with this gene pool?

Nevertheless, when I pulled myself together, I realized the synergies between business and neurosurgery isn't actually poles apart and much closer than one would think. As a marketer, we have certainly learnt a lot from neuroscience and consumer behaviour, but the outlook of how a surgeon views what they do, was what struck me as being something every entrepreneur can learn from.

Stuck on a plane somewhere between Chicago and Los Angeles, I pulled out a magazine I had bought at the airport. It's one of my favorites and is always full of stories that inspire, educate and enlighten me on topics that are interesting.

Inc Magazine is an entrepreneurial stable. It is one of the most popular magazines in the world for entrepreneurs and people who run businesses. One of my good friends Kevin Daum, a guy that I met way back in 2002 in Sydney, Australia, is a New Yorker who submits regular articles to Inc Magazine that are read by thousands of people.

As I read the article, "I thought I knew you - Entrepreneurship changes people - and not always for the better", I reflected on my own experiences.

Has entrepreneurship changed me? Is it for the better?

As a business owner and entrepreneur, there is nothing more apparent than when you sit in a room full of other like-minded individuals, that you are a little different. 

If one of my "normal" friends were sitting there, in that room, they would be terrified. They would have ran out as fast as they can, without looking back. Everyone was talking, almost all at once. They all had their ipads, iphones and pens and paper ready to hear - you are not going to be believe this - JACK DALY. Not that you wouldn't believe that someone would go and see Jack Daly, but because most of the people in the room had seen him speak on sales, not once, not twice, not even three times - but more than 5 or 6 times - BECAUSE he is that good and everyone in that room knows that to build their businesses, they need good management, strong marketing, and SALES. And, when it comes to SALES there is no-one more qualified or better at giving small businesses insight, than Jack Daly.

Brian Heather is a serial entrepreneur; young, dynamic, good looking and with a real social conscience. Not only is he in the business of sustainable environments, landscaping and water proofing, this 30-year old business man is changing the landscape of green buliding.

It may be a buzz word to many, but let me assure you, being green is more than meets the eye. Brian is a much sought after entrepreneur who has landed himself in the spotlight with his inaugural Ted Talk on June 23 on "The importance of reconnecting our cities to nature" as well as the natural charisma of an entrepreneur who is really going places.

His business, Solterra Systems, is a fully licensed electrical, landscaping and waterproofing company that focuses on integrating environmental technology into buildings.

This can range from green roofsproducing food, through to rain screen siding systems that protect the building from the elements with plants. 

I don't know about you, but when I went to school, the coolest kids in the class who were destined for greatness somehow fell short of their schoolyard celebrity status and became, well, um, not as successful as their parents and friends first thought.

I remember all those cool  kids who seemed to have it all at the ripe age of 14, while I sat in the library reading a book because, quite frankly, I wasn't as cool, nor did I win any particular popularity contest to speak of.

Instead, I wrote my weekly debates and hoped that the cool kids' "coolness" would somehow rub off on me and overnight, I could hang onto their coattails too. But that was not to be - instead, I spent every free hour at school secretly hoping that one day I would be cool too.

Sitting in the Los Angeles airport after being in Miami Beach for an entrepreneur’s conference, I pick up The Mail on Sunday only to discover a story written about women who meet each other through work.

It’s been five days of the best Miami has to offer coupled by discussing entrepreneurial topics, life and success (or in some cases, lack of) with some very versatile, uninhibited entrepreneurs who all seem content to share stories and experiences while enriching each other’s lives through old-fashion mateship.

While it's no Huffington Post, there is more than 50 stories that are now live on www.marketingeye.org - Marketing Eye's online magazine.

Entrepreneurial stories on people like former Geelong footballer Michael Mansfield, Comcity's Jason Reading, Chris Reynolds from Champion Systems, Ryan O'Hare from Eutility and more.

Thought leaders on leadership, psychology, marketing and social media share their views and experiences. A really great story is on business turnaround specialist Daryl Wright from Bond Street 180 and you will also find a story on famous entrepreneur turn photographer, Tommy Mendes.

In all, its a good read and the best stories are on the entrepreneurs behind the brands. 

I was surprised as I tweeted the website only a couple of times yesterday and we haven't really promoted it while we tweak a few things, and more than 1000 people where on the site last night at 11pm and it was going up at a rapid pace. For a moment, it made me nervous! Creating your own media can bring greater loyalty to your brand, only if it is done right and you have thought through what your audience wants to read about.

If you have a story that you would like to share, please contact us on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

"Blame the fact that you have attention deficit disorder (A.D.D.) or that you are an A-Type Personality - or just blame the fact that you have never been able to concentrate," said a man sitting on the plane next to me as I moved from reading a book, to reading board papers to stretching - all within 10 minutes.

"But if you keep doing that, you will achieve nothing."

I have neither A.D.D. nor do I have a strong A-Type personality (although some people may challenge that), but I do have problems from time to time focusing and for that matter being able to sleep through the night because I am thinking of a hundred things at once.

The Rich 200 list is littered with entrepeneurs who have sold their businesses. 

Someone once said to me that they never wanted to be on that list because there are only two outcomes that derive from being placed on this list: 1. Telemarketers will harrass you for the rest of your life. 2. You will go broke.

Jan Cameron, the founder of successful retail chain Kathmandu knows this only too well. She built her business over 20 years to be the most successful retail business in the outdoor adventure space, selling for a reported $247 million and being placed on the Rich 200 list only to be in BRW today with the journalist reporting that she almost certainly won't be there this year. Why? She sold her business and then after a break decided to get back into the game and invested $80 million into Retail Adventures discount group. Not long after, she had to double her investment to keep the chain alive. Plagued with poor management and a bad company culture, the chain was put in Voluntary Administration in October.