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Hey there and welcome to the bringing business to retail podcast. If you're looking to get more sales,

more customers, master your marketing and ultimately take control of your retail or e-commerce

business.

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Then you're in.

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The right place.

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I'm Celina Knight, a retail growth strategist and multi award-winning store owner whose superpower is

uncovering exactly what your business requires to move to.

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The next level.

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I'll provide you with the strategies, the tools and the insight you need to scale your store.

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So you.

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Need.

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To do is take action ready to get started.

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Hey there and welcome to the brave.

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Business to retail.

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Podcast now when it comes to my team, I am always looking for people who are better at stuff than I

am like.

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I would love to.00:01:05 Speaker 1

Think that I am the smartest person in the room, but the simple fact is.

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Yes, I am smart and am at some stuff, but I can't be smart at everything. So when I hire my strategy

coaches now, if I can just take a moment to say.

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That a strategy coach that works with me has to have a whole different level of experience to maybe the

business coaches that you've been used to. So if you haven't done business coaching, what you might

find is you'll turn up and they'll kind of ask you some questions about where do you want to go and they

provide encouragement they might provide.

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Resources, or they might give you some referrals, but realistically.

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A coach acts as a sounding board.

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Now the difference that we have is we have strategic coaches. So if you have a business strategist, what

that person is going to do is coming to your business, audit your business, putting a strategy for you to

do whatever it is that you've hired them to get you to do. And then quite often they will help you

implement as well. So.

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What I did was knowing that people had need both. You do don't just need a coach most of the time.

What you really need is someone to tell you what to do and someone who knows what you need to do.

And so when I put together this role of a strategy.

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The coach I was looking for, people who had real world experience in retail and e-commerce, who had

built businesses quite successfully, had worked with a very wide range of different retail and e-

commerce niches. And if you've done that and you've done it really well, then that got you a step closer.

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To getting in the door now, one of those people who made it through the.

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Door and is.

00:02:47 Speaker 1Absolutely nailing it when it comes to helping retail and e-commerce business owners to grow is the one

and only. Daniel Gibney. Daniel, welcome to the podcast.

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Hey, you salt. It's a very gracious introduction. I often feel like I'm the least smartest person in the room.

So there's a mutual feeling there, which?

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Is all good.

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Well, I, I mean, we always tell people that if you're hiring someone, generally you want them to be

smarter than you, because if if they're not smarter than you at the job, then I mean it. It's obviously

different, different horses for different courses. But for the, you know, for the majority of the roles that

people are gonna be hiring for, you're hiring us for a store manager, for an e-commerce manager for an

e-mail marketer.

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Correct.

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You don't want them to be capped out by the amount of knowledge that you have, because otherwise,

what's the point? You could have just done it yourself.

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Yeah.

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So you have had a wealth of experience. So for those of the people out here who haven't had the

chance to work with you, I say, you know, that's not fair to them. But let's give them a little bit of a

background to how you ended up here today because you are the successful owner of several

businesses.

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As well as being a strategy strategy coach.

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Yeah, I I guess I sort of.

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Started back in and you know.

00:03:59 Speaker 2Don't freak out or we'll get through.

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This quite quickly back.

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Probably the late 90s, but I was, as you said, tell him a drummer. This is this is some of my collection

here. But I was buying stuff on eBay from America and bring it in. Selling it. I wanted to make a little bit

more money and take a bigger risk and IE commerce.

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Probably you.

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Know early 2000.

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And was just beginning to to really sort of.

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Take off and I.

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Thought well I could import some product. I could sell it. What could I do? And I had a whole lot of ideas.

They're kind of very Long story short, we just had our first, our first child. Our daughter Emily, couldn't

find any hearing protection in muscle which we needed because she wanted to play at the drums, watch

me play. And I found her.

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Need.

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But what about earmarks for kids? That would be a great idea and gave a shot, found a supplier, built

the website myself, set up the company myself with the help of a good account.

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And and gave it a shot and 17 years later still going. We've got officers in the US and the UK and

Australia. We have logistics operations there in Asia and and so look, that's a very condensed version of

of that. That's been something that's been going that whole time I've been.

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Involved with other.

00:05:04 Speaker 2Other businesses, some of you may be all.

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Aware to smoke a pickleball, which is really enough to set the lace in Australia and some involved with

Pickle Superstore, we're one of the biggest distributors in the country.

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Of pickleball equipment I have a BBQ business called fire slab with my.

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Brother, who's a very successful butcher, and that's kind.

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Of like a little.

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Hobby business on the side as well. And then in addition to.

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That.

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I also play drums. I call them my weekend job and I I taught drums for about 10 or 15 years while I was

building some of these other businesses too, and I still.

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Do some of that on the side.

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And then yeah, I guess.

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Everything I've learned in the the.

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Course of all of those, and I'm still learning, you know, I had the opportunity to join as a strategy coach.

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As you say I I sort of just told you my story and it's what you're after, which was.

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Very gratifying, very happy to be on board.00:05:51 Speaker 1

I have to say I didn't even know some of that. Do you know what?

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I knew you were a drummer and.

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I knew you had EMS for kids, the earmuffs, but for some reason in my head I never put two and two

together and I always thought you had started that business and you've never said this, I just assumed.

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Awesome.

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That it was because you were doing renovations at home and you needed them for the baby. I don't

know why I thought that.

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Will help. They were helpful for that. They were absolutely helpful.

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For that I.

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Think that the thing was I had.

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You know I.

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I went to an e-commerce seminar with a friend of mine who was already doing online fashion men's

fashion, and they basically the seminar you bought a website in the box basically, and they all really

pushing the idea of.

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Drop.

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Shipping which is very big and it's sort.

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Of.00:06:34 Speaker 2

Continental United States. But it wasn't really big in Australia, but I I rang my wife and said look, I've got

the opportunity to buy this website licence. I just feel like I should do it. She goes. What are you gonna

sell? I said I have no idea. But once I figure it out, this gives me the tools to build the.

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In the.

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Website and get.

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Set up and to her credit, she trusted me and I think.

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We used the last little bit of baby bonus.

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I know we added because that was the.

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Back then and I bought the license and then for 3-4 months sat there. What am I gonna do? And I looked

at music accessories and and, you know, drum accessories and things.

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Like that and.

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And in the end, I still remember the day I was sitting there and I just said to my wife we were both

watching.

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TV and I.

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Just turned to.

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Her and said, why don't you kids?

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Him ups and she'd had every idea under the sun by this point, so she didn't even look at me.00:07:16 Speaker 1

This is whatever.

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She said, yeah, yeah, it's hard.

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She goes. What do you mean? And I said, well, you know, Emily's gonna need.

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Some she wants.

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To hit the drums and watch me play and and you know, you could use it, but motor racing and and the

more I thought about it, the more.

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I thought, OK, this to work.

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That was 2007, early.

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2007 I had a launch by the end of.

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Yeah, you and I, I think we were very much in the same headspace, didn't know each other. Different

parts of Australia.

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That's right. Divergent paths have crossed.

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7.

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Paths completely different things, but I was about the same time and it was funny. I was just on a call

with Shopify today and I was talking about my my first ever POS was actually the back end of an AUS

Commerce website and.

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He was like, well, that dates you.00:07:58 Speaker 2

Wow. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

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Yeah, just mentioned domain Central or Aussie.

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Mail. Yeah. Ohh yeah. Aussie mail. Yep. Yep. And and flash. Let's be honest.

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You know you wouldn't if.

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Ohh yeah. Yes yes. Wow.

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You didn't know.

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What flash was, and I remember that the deprecation of flash and how we all had to, you know, change

up our websites and I mean building a website these.

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Days is so much easier.

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You know you whack a.

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Shop a template in you, drop some pictures in and it's ready to.

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Guy.

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Oh, it's incredible. It's incredible. It's so much easier, you know, and you can make it complicated if you

want, but you don't need to. So much of it is is just set and forget drag and drop and you're off the

racing. So I envy some people who.

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Are starting at this point.

00:08:35 Speaker 1Ohh me too I.

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Look back now and this just date this, this, this prehistorically dates both of us. But I look back now at

the things that we used to write down in an exercise book because we didn't have a diary big enough. So

we just have an exercise book that sat under the counter and you would write down the day and

everything that people had to do. So for example.

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Right.

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Say call Vicki about the cloth nappies to make sure everything's going OK and it would just be all these.

Call such and such. Call such and such. Call such and such just to make sure everything was OK because

like back in the day, I'm thinking that we maybe had MailChimp.

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And I actually.

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Don't remember how we used to send.

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Well, we certainly didn't sell send automated emails right back at the beginning and.

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Yeah, no.

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No, no, no, I.

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Think I remember working out. We were used to record these videos in store of how do you use

products like baby carry?

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And then don't go to YouTube back then. I'm pretty sure they must have showed me a way to embed

them in secret pages of the website, because back then, having video on a website slowed everything

and so we used to send these. We send these messages that were like here's the link to the video that

you need to watch and it so it would be like.

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I was huge, yes, yeah.00:09:51 Speaker 1

Send such and such that.

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Video #2 and now you're just like.

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Oh my gosh.

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Like press the button, personalize emails, sending, segmentation, AB testing like life is so much easier

now you you can say easy.

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Automation, everybody.

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You got it.

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I know. And I'll tell you what, I use that phrase like too often as well in all areas of life, and particularly.

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In economics as well, but.

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Alright, So what I wanted to talk to you.

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Today about was.

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I remember when you first started and you had, you were a little bit daunted. Forgive me. Yeah. Feel

free to can jump in and correct me. But you're a little bit daunted about the fact that you had to, you

know, as a team we provide bespoke, you know, customized, personalized strategic advice for each

business and you were kind of like.

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You're like.

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That feels like it's gonna be really, really difficult and Fast forward. I think it was about four weeks.00:10:47 Speaker 1

And you're like ohh my gosh.

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Everyone has the same problems.

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Yeah, yeah, yeah.

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I remember saying to you you will find it's like the same half a dozen things that every person needs to

that they're obstacles that most businesses need to conquer first. Yes, we might go onto marketing or

KPI's or leadership or whatever, but realistically.

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They're this handful of obstacles or constraints in the business that I'm going to say 99%.

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Of people that we work.

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With come up against and once.

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They can crack through those.

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They see results really, really quickly, so.

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I would love to hear from you from the skeptic who thought that.

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All these businesses are gonna come with different problems. What are the what are the big things that

you see that and this is businesses from six figures like through seven, you know, high 7 figures. They're

the kinds of people that we're working with that are getting the personalized advice from you and the

team and the experts and me.

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So.

00:11:47 Speaker 1And I do laugh now that you have so many niches under your belt from fabric or clothing to pet food like

they the list.

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Goes on.

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Yes.

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Yeah, yeah, I'm learning a lot as well as teaching a.

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Lot. So that's good, I think you.

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Were going to be the fabric store official enough?

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I feel that way.

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I do feel that way, yeah.

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Alright, so let's jump in. What do you think? Is probably the number one thing that you see?

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The biggest thing.

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Is probably just understanding not what OK before.

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That.

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Having a grasp of numbers and triggers and then understanding how to.

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Interpret them and then.

00:12:20 Speaker 2Some people that are very good in.

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Terms of they.

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Have all their they have all the numbers in terms of this is our website sales versus our in store sales and

all these sorts of things they.

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Have them recorded but.

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They don't really know. What do I do with this? How does this help you?

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With a lot of.

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Projections and forecasting and how does how do I do figure out my tax and?

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All those kind of things. But then there are also.

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Some other people that just have no idea and we'll get to the end of the year and go.

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I've done this much in sales.

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And Isaac, So what are your sales channels where they come from? I don't know. We just sold it and I'm

look, I envy that because, you know, I'm dealing with a couple of people that are in that position that are

very profitable, which is great. But I think it's not necessarily because people can't understand them or

won't be able to understand them. There's just this intimidation around numbers and around finance, I

think, and not just necessarily.

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Just to do with money, but to do with inventory and stock quantity and and all these sorts.

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Things. So I think a lot of people are just a bit scared to jump in and ask questions.00:13:16 Speaker 2

Or I'll just.

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Let the accountant handle that and understand that they can just tell me what to do and I'm a huge fan

of good financial advice. There's no doubt about that, but I think really a lot of people are just

unnecessarily intimidated. I think by she gets and by numbers and you don't have to be a math genius.

You don't have to have.

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Every last.

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Event worked out in a candid floor, but you need to have a grass with it's, you know, the health of your

business. If you could have your, your personal health on a dashboard with, you know, your heart rate

and your cholesterol and your blood pressure and all these sorts.

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Of things you.

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Wanna know and if you if that's spikes I need to fix that. How do I fix it if that's gone down, how do I fix

it? The business is exactly the same.

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You don't have to understand how to explain every little.

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Thing, but you need to be able to look at your numbers and get a good idea of where you're at at at any

given time, and so access the numbers.

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Again, talking about, you know, people had no idea how hard it was. Now all accounting online, you can

access it 24/7. It's great, you know.

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I remember I.

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I.

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Remember, going to the accountant, you know, at the end of each.00:14:14 Speaker 1

Quarter with the the shoe box and the.

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A big holder of.

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Of receipts and things like that, and spreadsheets and all that kind of stuff.

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And I'm like you. I am a firm believer of.

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Not leaving your accounting and bookkeeping till the end of the quarter because by the end of the

quarter it is too late to make any changes like you need to be looking at. You need to be looking at this

stuff. I think almost on a daily basis, but at least on a weekly basis because if you get 2 weeks into the

month and let's just say you've got a goal of $100,000 in the month.

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Hmm.

00:14:48 Speaker 1

And at week.

00:14:49 Speaker 1

Two, you're only at 20. You gotta, you know, to, to put an Australian saying in there. You gotta pull your

finger out and do something to make changes. You can. Yeah, whatever you're doing isn't working. If

you're supposed to be at 50 and you're only at.

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Yeah.

00:15:01 Speaker 1

20 What are you going to do? And to me, this is one of the, I guess the benefits of being an independent

retailer and not being part of a chain or a franchise is that you can react really, really quickly. Your big

box retailers, if they're having a, you know, a bad map, they just can't go on sale. It doesn't work like

that. They can't just pull up a supplier.

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And run a promotion at the drop of a hat. All of those things are planned quarters, if not a year in

advance. So yeah, their ability to adapt to the market is really slow. You know, it's like trying to move a

cruise ship, whereas the people listening.00:15:36 Speaker 1

Thing it's like.

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You can make a call today you.

00:15:38 Speaker 1

Can make a call.

00:15:38 Speaker 1

Tomorrow and you can.

00:15:40 Speaker 1

Implement something. Yeah, as long as you got systems in place, you can implement something to make

changes.

00:15:45 Speaker 2

Yeah. And the ability to be agile as a, as a a small business or you know even not necessarily a small

business, but a business that's doing quite well. How do you grow and and scaling it bigger bit maintain

that agility, that ability to quickly move and quickly pivot and of course a recent example this was.

00:16:03 Speaker 2

With that, there were some businesses that I was amazed. I think the statistic was something like 70 or

80 odd percent of businesses in Australia didn't have any commerce website. When COVID hit, which as

someone that had had a an e-commerce site for 13 years. By that point I was.

00:16:17 Speaker 2

Absolutely staggered but.

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I I like. I'm like you.

00:16:19 Speaker 1

I just I.

00:16:20 Speaker 2

Couldn't believe it. You know, it's so.

00:16:22 Speaker 1

Easy. Like literally you have a PO.

00:16:23 Speaker 2Yeah.

00:16:24 Speaker 1

Yes, I don't know if it is a, a monetary thing, like they didn't want to spend the money or they didn't

want to upload the pictures, but I don't know. Being in the IT hurts my brain to think one how much

money were you losing? And two, how many people didn't even know that you exist.

00:16:41 Speaker 2

Yeah, I think it was a necessity thing too. Look, there are businesses. I know now that have a website,

but they're very it's very outdated because they don't need it and business is OK without it. They just

keep going. And I think there are plenty of businesses.

00:16:53 Speaker 2

And that had no e-commerce or very little, but it didn't matter, because they had their customer base

and they had the other usual sales channels and their usual events. But once all those got shut down,

they had to go. We have to find somewhere else. And they turned the e-commerce and the businesses

that responded the quickest, we usually the ones that didn't have to tell 300 staff how to use the

website and get a head office permission.

00:17:13 Speaker 2

And.

00:17:13 Speaker 2

Get financial approval, which just just I'm gonna find a contractor.

00:17:17 Speaker 2

We've only.

00:17:18 Speaker 2

50 A hundred, 150 products as opposed to 50,000 quick let's get something online and so that ability to

be agile is is very, very important, but even you.

00:17:27 Speaker 2

What I was saying about numbers too, a lot of what I talk about and demonstrate it. I'm talking from

experience, usually where I've got it wrong. They got myself through it and fixed it and worked it out. I

remember the first two years I I upgraded and so kids we rented a lost because we were just spending

so much on development and research and buying products and.

00:17:46 Speaker 2

I'm glad it was here.

00:17:47 Speaker 2Three around about mid-May that I looked at the rudimentary figures I had and went oh, I'm gonna

make a profit this year, which is great, but then of.

00:17:56 Speaker 2

Course I'm gonna get a tax bill. I'm.

00:17:58 Speaker 1

Gonna pay tax.

00:17:58 Speaker 2

Ohh, hang on a second. So I was I know. So I was. I was scrambling, scrambling for deductions, digging

through the shoe box, you know. And and I.

00:17:59 Speaker 1

Gonna tax that money. Ohh crap. I'm gonna have to pay for it.

00:18:06 Speaker 2

Couldn't avoid it and I was.

00:18:08 Speaker 2

I'll remember the moment my account and used to laugh about it. Years afterwards. He when I got like a

5 figure tax bill and had no money available.

00:18:16 Speaker 2

Buy it and he said. I honestly thought I was gonna have to catch you as you fell off your **** because I

was just in shock. But you know, I talked to the Ato. We figured it out. I got it done. But ever since then,

you still get the odd shock and the odd shot. But ever since then, I've been.

00:18:29 Speaker 2

I've gotta know my numbers. I I can't.

00:18:31 Speaker 2

I can go.

00:18:31 Speaker 2

Through my profit loss and explain everything not down to the cent, and I've gotta check with my

account on a couple of things. But it just it just gives you Peace of Mind and it gives you a sense of

control and a sense of you know.

00:18:43 Speaker 2

Less panic, I guess, to look at the numbers now, you might always like what you see. You may need to be

at 50 grand for the month that you're only at 20, or you may have a small loss or you might have spent

too much there. But it's true that it in so many areas and in your.00:18:56 Speaker 2

Finances, knowledge is power and if you.

00:18:58 Speaker 2

About it.

00:18:59 Speaker 2

You can plan to fix it if you don't know about it, you're gonna get a rude shock eventually because it will

catch up with you.

00:19:04 Speaker 2

Just like the tax office.

00:19:06 Speaker 1

I remember first.

00:19:06 Speaker 2

It'll find your.

00:19:07 Speaker 2

App.

00:19:08 Speaker 1

I remember my first year when the accountant was trying to tell me I had to do stock take.

00:19:13 Speaker 1

And I was like ohh look yeah, I don't. I know what's in there. And they're like, no, you actually legally

have to do stock take because if you have more stock than you started with we tax you on that and I'm

like I'm.

00:19:26 Speaker 1

Like, oh you did.

00:19:27 Speaker 1

We were like ohh I get a refund.

00:19:29 Speaker 1

Back for that.

00:19:29 Speaker 1

And she's like, no, no, dear, no, no, that.

00:19:33 Speaker 2Wishing mad, it's.

00:19:34 Speaker 1

She's like. No, no, you get you.

00:19:36 Speaker 1

Have to pay tax on.

00:19:37 Speaker 1

That, and I remember saying to her, but.

00:19:39 Speaker 1

How do I pay tax on something I haven't sold?

00:19:40 Speaker 1

Well, it's it's an asset. You pay tax on assets and you know I kind of joke about the fact I failed

accounting twice. But then I'm I'm such a penny pincher. Like, how did I not know this but the

accounting. I went to university didn't talk about that. Like I didn't talk about running a business and

things like assets and inventory it was like.

00:20:01 Speaker 1

His money coming in and his money going out and and it it, I don't know. It's none of that translated to

having a business. And then when I had a business, I remember thinking.

00:20:04

Yeah.

00:20:09 Speaker 1

Oh my God. It's just money. Like, why didn't someone say that to me? It's just money. Just like money.

00:20:15 Speaker 2

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:20:18 Speaker 2

Yeah, it's amazing how numbers numbers here. Whenever when you think of cash like, Oh my gosh, I

gotta get serious now. Yeah, I. Well, my friend friend of mine runs a very large supplements company.

And him and I because we did business principals at school as it was.

00:20:22 Speaker 1

Yeah.

00:20:30 Speaker 2Hold that in year 11 and 12 and that poor teacher share out the missus. Bad. If you're watching for

putting up with this.

00:20:35 Speaker 2

We would, we would sort of.

00:20:36 Speaker 2

Mess around all time and.

00:20:37 Speaker 2

Make jokes and just be a bit not serious, but they would always do well on the exams. I don't know.

Ohh, but again it was like OK, here's your lecturer. He's your profit. He's your loss and his inventory. And

I remember back then going OK. I just did enough to get through the exam and and you know anyone

who knows me knows I I actually left school. I didn't know.

00:20:56 Speaker 2

What I wanted to do?

00:20:57 Speaker 2

I went into the Bachelor of Business and quit after six months because I thought business is Ultra I'll

never want to do business, so I I really was not set up.

00:21:04 Speaker 2

To end up here, but this is where I am.

00:21:06 Speaker 2

It, but it is funny how when you, you're involved and it's it's money and it's your money. My goodness,

she gets serious about it.

00:21:12 Speaker 2

Pretty.

00:21:12 Speaker 1

Quick. Ohh yes, yes I did a Bachelor of Business as well, but not until.

00:21:16 Speaker 1

A little bit later I.

00:21:17 Speaker 1

Know just if we could just talk about money.

00:21:19 Speaker 1

Just for another couple of minutes, I know that.00:21:22 Speaker 1

You were very kind to do a session for our our five exits the other day. We're walking through what?

What does a profit and loss look like? What are the things that we're looking for because we're not

financial advisors, we are literally just looking for the patterns of that number. Doesn't seem right. Why

is that number a bit high like from the experience we've got? Umm.

00:21:40 Speaker 1

You know, things are not necessarily looking like they're supposed to, and someone who find quite a lot

of money just because people have put things in the wrong places and all of a.

00:21:48 Speaker 2

Yeah.

00:21:49 Speaker 1

Sudden it's like ohh, but what I.

00:21:51 Speaker 1

Wanted to ask you is you work with a lot of people and a lot.

00:21:54 Speaker 1

Of women and.

00:21:57 Speaker 1

The I guess the reaction to talking about money can literally go from.

00:22:03 Speaker 1

Crying and tears to a lot of confidence around money, but I'm guessing most people kind of end up in

the middle. They're kind of doing a lot of smiling and nodding and hoping that Daniel doesn't realise. I

don't know what I'm talking about.

00:22:18 Speaker 1

How do you empower people?

00:22:20 Speaker 1

Cool.

00:22:21 Speaker 1

To be OK with money.

00:22:23

I think.

00:22:25 Speaker 2Most most people. In fact, I'd almost say all that I've I've worked with, they actually know more than

they think or they've got better instincts than they realise or they're doing better than they think and.

And so I've been saying to a lot of people, look, OK, this isn't great and OK, that's, you know, there's

there's a bit of a mess there or a bit of an issue we need to fix. But look how well you're doing.

00:22:45 Speaker 2

Here, here and here. I've never worked with anybody in business. That was a complete and utter basket

case and was doing nothing right because chances are the business wouldn't be functioning.

00:22:54 Speaker 2

So I I think more often than not, it's actually encouraging them and it's all good if you don't know some

things. Welcome to my life. You know, like there's always something to learn. There's always something

to get better at something you gotta focus on. What you do know, what you are good at, what your

strengths are.

00:23:08 Speaker 2

And then when?

00:23:08 Speaker 2

It comes to money. It's actually quite easy to get a decent amount of knowledge fairly quickly and going

through the profit.

00:23:15 Speaker 2

Nice. Like we did the other day on that call and I've done that directly with a number of a number of

clients is just go through line by line explaining what this is and this then relates to that and this is what

this means. And if this goes up, then this needs to go down and.

00:23:31 Speaker 2

99.9% of the time you get to the end of the call and people go. Oh wow. Like Ohh is it. Is that all that's

almost there response. And I again I think there's this almost this fear I I didn't study accounting or I

didn't do business at university or this is my first business a lot of it is quite basic you buy something you

sell it for more.

00:23:51 Speaker 2

You make money. What does it cost you to do the selling? That's really what it comes down to in a.

00:23:55 Speaker 2

Nutshell, if we're.

00:23:55 Speaker 2

Talking about an inventory based or goods based business and so it really it's just slightly expanding that

out.

00:24:02 Speaker 2Answer Answer any questions along the way or or any any uncertainty that's there.

00:24:07

But I think.

00:24:07 Speaker 2

Really, it's a case of demystifying money, demystifying profit and loss, and and, and a lot of those terms

that we hear thrown around. Sometimes you just use.

00:24:17 Speaker 2

A different word.

00:24:18 Speaker 2

OK, it's not inventory, it's stock or you know something like that. Like you said, it's not money, it's it's

cash.

00:24:23 Speaker 2

You know, it's aged inventory. It's not just old stock, it's money sitting on the shelf and it's amazing how

they can make people go ohh and they suddenly realise I've gotta clear that or I've gotta sell that. So I

didn't demystifying it is is is a massive part.

00:24:36

For sure.

00:24:37 Speaker 1

I love that.

00:24:37 Speaker 1

I have to say, as I look around, you can't see. But as I look around my office at the literally dozens of

boxes that are sitting beside me outside of the view of.

00:24:45 Speaker 1

The camera that.

00:24:48 Speaker 1

I can completely appreciate, I know one of the things that you work with people to do when you first

start working is once you go through the money is you find all the old inventory and you know we find a

way to to move as much as of that as we can.

00:25:00 Speaker 1

But it is not easy, it's. It is like moving house after 20 years, which is.

00:25:04 Speaker 1What I'm doing and.

00:25:06 Speaker 1

It's it gets so hard to pick.

00:25:08 Speaker 1

Up a box and go.

00:25:10 Speaker 1

Do I need this? But I paid for it. Could somebody else use it like do I want to let this go?

00:25:15 Speaker 1

Do I just throw it like?

00:25:17 Speaker 1

The the like internal dilemma that you go through.

00:25:22 Speaker 1

As a you know, to make a decision whether you keep something or whether it goes, it's quite.

00:25:26 Speaker 1

Difficult and I.

00:25:26 Speaker 1

Know we've had quite a few people.

00:25:27 Speaker 1

Who? Come on, who's?

00:25:29 Speaker 1

Who've shared their stories.

00:25:30 Speaker 1

About running a big promotion and they've said it's like like they've been in tears as they do it. And I can

understand that. But having just lived that and literally living it as we speak, I have 100% empathy for

them.

00:25:43 Speaker 1

You know, being able to take control like so many people.

00:25:49 Speaker 1

Know what they have to do, but it's the taking action that is hard and.00:25:54 Speaker 2

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:25:55 Speaker 1

It it it is that.

00:25:56 Speaker 1

You know. Ohh I know I have to get rid of this stock but.

00:25:58 Speaker 1

I don't want to make a decision.

00:25:59 Speaker 1

To sell it at.

00:26:00 Speaker 1

A loss or, you know, give it a give it away as a gift with purchase or whatever, even though it's costing

me money and even though I could end up benefiting.

00:26:09 Speaker 1

Benefiting if it goes, it is that like we are so adverse to loss that.

00:26:18 Speaker 1

We overlook what can happen. You know the good things that can happen so.

00:26:23 Speaker 1

I guess my next question.

00:26:25 Speaker 2

Yeah.

00:26:25 Speaker 1

For you will.

00:26:25 Speaker 1

Will go kind of in that vein, which is.

00:26:28 Speaker 1

Sometimes it's really difficult to get people to shift their mindset from a lack mentality like, yeah, I will

lose money in that, or if I hire someone I have to, you know, that's money I'm going to lose.

00:26:35 Speaker 2Oh yeah.

00:26:41 Speaker 1

What are the areas that you find are the biggest obstacles when it comes to changing that mindset into?

00:26:50 Speaker 1

If I spend money on marketing, it's an investment. If I spend money on people, it's an investment.

00:26:58 Speaker 2

I think it really there's a, there's a couple of things, first of all.

00:27:01 Speaker 2

I'll say that.

00:27:02 Speaker 2

People looking might give you $20,000.

00:27:04 Speaker 2

Right now, what would you do with it?

00:27:06 Speaker 2

Oh my gosh, I do this and I pay for this and I get this.

00:27:08 Speaker 2

I get this.

00:27:08 Speaker 2

And I go well see that number there.

00:27:11 Speaker 2

That's $20,000, and if you can sell that, I don't see if you sell anything at half price, that's $20,000.

00:27:18 Speaker 2

And the shopping.

00:27:19 Speaker 2

Ohh yeah, you're right. You know, I think I think it's tangible things when you've got something in.

00:27:24 Speaker 2

Front of you and.

00:27:24 Speaker 2

You go right.00:27:25 Speaker 2

It just cost you this much. I could sell it for this much. That's great. But then if I got money to that and

spent it on.

00:27:31 Speaker 2

Marketing or I spend it on something else, but that's I can't see that I can see this. And so it's just human

nature. You know, if you've got something, it's it's tangible. It's here. I've got it now. As opposed to

something down the track or something down the.

00:27:44 Speaker 2

Line, so that's usually.

00:27:45 Speaker 2

A really great exercise, not sort of lead them into that. Almost wanna see that trap, but ask.

00:27:50 Speaker 2

Them that question.

00:27:51 Speaker 2

Hey, I'll give you $20,000. What do you need to do?

00:27:53 Speaker 2

And there's always a list. Oh my gosh. I mean, this could pay this off. I gotta pay this down. And then you

just redirect and go well, you actually got that money. You know, you've actually got more than that.

00:28:01 Speaker 2

Hi.

00:28:02 Speaker 2

Sitting right there and you know, you could have had that $20,000 three months ago. Sometimes it's as

simple as. Ohh, right. OK. And then they sort of, you know, did their home in the water and sell the first

little bit and they actually sell and they get that money in and they go ohh. I'm gonna do it again. Do it

again and like so many things. I remember I had an issue with my UK company about 5 or 6 years ago.

00:28:22 Speaker 2

Noticed an issue with our VAT like our bass.

00:28:24 Speaker 2

Return and a whole lot of VAT hadn't been claimed or hadn't been. We hadn't claimed it, we paid it. We

hadn't claimed it, and once I realized that it was, it was literally not looking for buried treasure. I'm

looking through thousands of lines of spreadsheets. All this in 100 lbs. There's another £200. It was

incredible and this money was just building up. It's the same thing. You know, if you look at inventory,

you got $50,000.00:28:45 Speaker 2

Worth of inventory of the stock and to some people that might sound ridiculous, I've dealt with clients

with 3 or 400% more than that sitting on the shelf and suddenly they sell $5000. Ohh, that's great. I'm

gonna sell another 5000. Oh my gosh, that's $10,000. And it just hit this snowball.

00:29:00 Speaker 2

Effect, But it's the first kind of step to yeah, like I've gotta. I've gotta jump to.

00:29:04 Speaker 2

That the hard.

00:29:06 Speaker 2

Part is and I I've struggled with this. I've got a really great marketing manager. Just push me a lot, but we

would do baby Expos and I would know that I pay for the booth and the staff and everything else. I paid

this much money and at the end of the weekend.

00:29:20 Speaker 2

We sold this much so I made this.

00:29:22 Speaker 2

Much, I like that.

00:29:24 Speaker 2

Marketing, in particular Google Ads and Facebook ads, social media marketing. It is very easier and it's

much more accurate to track, spend and return that, you know, the investment return these days. But

there is still an element of marketing that you just don't know and that's what it comes down to risk as

well. And for some people, there's the risk.

00:29:38

9.

00:29:43 Speaker 2

Of that's the other.

00:29:44 Speaker 2

The other piece of the puzzle is to how much of?

00:29:46 Speaker 2

A risk appetite?

00:29:47 Speaker 2Do they have? They've started their own business. They've got some, they must have some appetite to

risk. But then it's a case of, well, are you prepared to risk losing money on that to get that money in and

then to take that money and spend it on something else and risk spending it on that?

00:30:00 Speaker 2

Like marketing, but then the returns are huge. You know the risk reward thing is, there's a definite

reward. One thing that I see with some businesses that is quite sad as they cut their marketing spend to

save money and yes, OK, they're spending less, but then they're telling less people about themselves

and the products they have where they are. And So what happens, less people know.

00:30:02

Hands.

00:30:20 Speaker 2

Less people buy sales. Go down. Oh, my gosh, we're selling less. We're we're losing money. I'm gonna

cut marketing even more and they end up in this downward spiral. And you cut marketing your sales

drop. So you cut marketing so your sales drop.

00:30:33 Speaker 2

And sometimes, you know, I come in and they're doing this for 6/6.

00:30:38 Speaker 2

12 months. So they're spending nothing on marketing, but they're getting no sales and that can be a

challenge to you know what again it's it's just the language, OK, no one's buying from you, not because

your products are terrible, not because your service is awful, but no one knows you're here. No one

knows. No one knows you've got this. Then that's right. And so how are you gonna tell people? Ohh, we

can try this and try that. OK, but that might tell 5 people or 10 people.

00:30:50

So.

00:30:52

Yeah.

00:30:59 Speaker 2

Jim got that many social media followers and warned if you can spend money here and let 1000 people,

but really quickly, no wonder if you could spend some money on this event.

00:31:08 Speaker 2

And it's just it's. It can be hard. And I've been there. I've been there with business is tough. And if you're

just throwing money into something that is not a guaranteed return, you spend $50 on something and

you know it sells for 150. That's a that's as close to a guaranteed return as you're gonna get in business,

where if you spend that $50 on digital advertising.00:31:28 Speaker 2

You can get $500 worth of sales.

00:31:30 Speaker 2

Or if you don't do.

00:31:31 Speaker 2

It right, you can get nothing. So there's a risk. So it's it's pushing people to just grow their risk appetite

slightly, but sure.

00:31:38 Speaker 2

Ready to get themselves back out of that? That hole that fallen into as well.

00:31:43 Speaker 1

And then I mean that falls into a whole other category of having people who are smarter than you too,

doesn't.

00:31:47 Speaker 1

It it's like you have.

00:31:48 Speaker 2

Oh, absolutely.

00:31:49 Speaker 1

You have a knowledge debt essentially like if you don't know how to run ads.

00:31:52 Speaker 2

Yes.

00:31:54 Speaker 1

Your chances of it going wrong are much higher if you but the time take to take to learn to do that is an

opportunity cost of doing something else that could have made your business money. So it is trying to

explain all of that. Alright, so you and I can talk forever, but let me just quickly recap what we've talked

about so far. So 1 was.

00:32:14 Speaker 1

Really, understanding money and being confident that.

00:32:18 Speaker 1

The numbers aren't scary.

00:32:19 Speaker 1Like if once you numbers hold.

00:32:20 Speaker 2

Yeah.

00:32:21 Speaker 1

No power when you know what they mean.

00:32:24 Speaker 2

Yes.

00:32:24 Speaker 1

And we talked about mindset. We kind of fell down the rabbit hole of marketing. But one of the other

things that you see, like what are the the biggest obstacles that you tackle right in those say first three

months?

00:32:39 Speaker 2

I think.

00:32:40 Speaker 2

There's definitely the the money aspect of things, and I think too it's just it really is just that people are

risk averse. And I honestly think this has become particularly particularly prevalent in the past four or

five years because just because I'm.

00:32:56 Speaker 2

Uncertainty and look.

00:32:57 Speaker 2

I'm, you know, my businesses, I have to predict. I have to try and project.

00:33:01 Speaker 2

We all do.

00:33:03 Speaker 2

Oh my gosh, I can't predict what's gonna happen tomorrow. The way the world's going sometimes and

COVID.

00:33:07 Speaker 2

I think it really.

00:33:08 Speaker 2Gave everybody a flight because then they gave it was ups and downs and there was uncertainty and

unrest, but suddenly the whole world literally got turned inside out, upside down and everything else.

And I still think there's a bit of a hangover.

00:33:18 Speaker 2

From that where?

00:33:19 Speaker 2

People are because they know it's possible because they know it can happen now. Yes, that was a once

in 100 year event.

00:33:24 Speaker 2

We're only four or five years out of it now, so it's probably not gonna happen again soon, but I think

there's a bit of tension and uncertainty there and there's always tension and uncertainty in business as

someone that obviously I'm on the.

00:33:33 Speaker 2

But I think.

00:33:36 Speaker 2

Outside looking in.

00:33:37 Speaker 2

And so I sort of come in and say, well, look, OK. Yes, you've had this struggle and you've had this

problem, but if you just push a little bit here and if you take a bit.

00:33:44 Speaker 2

More of a risk there and if you take a chance on that.

00:33:46 Speaker 2

There's actually heaps of upside, and it's trying to, I guess, get people.

00:33:50 Speaker 2

Out of that.

00:33:51 Speaker 2

Sometimes we can get, we will look so busy looking down we we don't actually look up and see what the

potential and see the opportunities because we're looking at the the one issue or the two or three

issues within our own little ecosystem. And so for me I I spend a lot of time, I feel like just trying to lift

people's chins up, just do it just just lift your head up, lift your head up in terms of being.

00:34:10 Speaker 2

Encouraged. And you're doing? You're doing better than you think.00:34:12 Speaker 2

But also but look at that potential over there, look at that opportunity over there, I I.

00:34:16 Speaker 2

Had a chat with the client recent.

00:34:17 Speaker 2

I mean, who you know is doing OK but not doing great, but they don't even have an e-commerce

website yet. And I said, my gosh, I think the.

00:34:25 Speaker 2

Numbers you're doing. You know they don't, and you're.

00:34:25 Speaker 1

If you're.

00:34:26 Speaker 1

This for that, yeah.

00:34:27

Not even alive.

00:34:28 Speaker 2

I was like, yeah, there was so much up. So that here. OK. Yes. You have to spend money on the website

and you have to spend time on it.

00:34:34 Speaker 2

You're gonna have to.

00:34:35 Speaker 2

Figure out shipping, but my gosh.

00:34:37 Speaker 2

You know, there are so much potential for you here and I was just trying to encourage them that it's

gonna cost you money. It's going to be a risk. But let's face it, e-commerce in this day and age is so

prevalent. Well known. There's not that much of A risk.

00:34:50 Speaker 2

It's just trying to get them to get out of there, their own sort of funk in their own, I guess, you know, we

get stuck in this.

00:34:57 Speaker 2Yeah, this is more mindset. And again, I've been there. It's very, very easy to do and it's really hard to get

out of it. So my job as a coach is not only get in to build the website and to do all the marketing and do

all the work, but I've I've done it before and to sit there and I'm gonna be right here with you. I'm gonna

tell you how to do it. You've gotta do it. But it's like any coach, any sport. He's not out there on the field.

00:35:17 Speaker 2

He's not out there shooting. They're sitting back in the dressing room. They tell the players, go and do

this and.

00:35:23 Speaker 2

If the players execute it, it should work and that's why successful coaches are so successful because they

can get those results and so more often than not, it's just about standing back and going OK just come

back with me and take a wider view of where you're at here. I'm missing the necessary issues, but

there's a lot of potential. How do we deal with both? How do we achieve the potential? How do we fix

the issues?

00:35:24

Is executed.

00:35:44 Speaker 2

And just get you to a place where you're more confident and you're willing to take a bit more risk

because you take a risk. It works, you take other risk. You know you that's how we grow. That's how we

get bigger as people and as businesses as well.

00:35:57 Speaker 1

How difficult do?

00:35:59 Speaker 1

You find it to get people to think bigger.

00:36:02 Speaker 2

Yeah, it can be it.

00:36:03 Speaker 2

Can be very difficult and and I think this is something that just in life I am still trying to get my head

around. You know there are, I'm the kind of person that always wants to do something bigger, wants I in

some ways take a bigger risk and that that have a huge risk appetite.

00:36:17 Speaker 2

But I want to be better. I want to get better. I want to try new things and there are.

00:36:21 Speaker 2People that are just happy to stay where where they are and happy to just like, hey, you know what? I

just don't wanna. I don't wanna do that. I don't wanna grow now I'm happy to say none of those people

see seem tied up in.

00:36:32 Speaker 2

That program which?

00:36:33 Speaker 2

Is good. So you got a lot of people that like, don't want to grow, but I.

00:36:36 Speaker 2

Just don't know how.

00:36:37 Speaker 2

I'm a little bit scared and it really is just a case of I think it rather than you know.

00:36:42 Speaker 2

You can paint too big a picture. Sometimes you've gotta kind of just push them forward a little bit. Just

nudge them and sometimes it takes.

00:36:48 Speaker 2

Six or months of just, you just gotta challenge among one thing and they get that one thing right. Then

you challenge them on the next thing and and it's look, it's personality based, it's situational. It depends

on who you're dealing with. For some people, it can be my gosh, you double your turnover 12 months

let's go. Whereas for others it's OK. Let's just, let's just try this. Let's just get this done and they get it.

00:37:09 Speaker 2

And it works. They get a bit more confident. OK, let's push them.

00:37:12 Speaker 2

Further, they get that right.

00:37:13 Speaker 2

They get a little more.

00:37:14 Speaker 2

Confidence.

00:37:14 Speaker 2

So everybody's different. Every business is different. Every business owner is.

00:37:18 Speaker 2Different. Some people are willing to just take the leap, and some people that you know, I've got one

client in particular that just says just tell me what to do, yell at me if you have to and I'll I'll do it, you

know, and I'm able to go, OK, you need to just fix this. Change this.

00:37:30 Speaker 2

And they do.

00:37:31 Speaker 2

It and it.

00:37:31 Speaker 2

Works and So what do they do? Great. What's?

00:37:33 Speaker 2

The next what's next? What's for? For other people, it's just just try this and you gotta. And you know

you gotta be patient.

00:37:39 Speaker 2

That sort of nudge them along and they get it. And you've always gotta, you know, without being

condescending. You've almost got to get you see great a you could do.

00:37:46 Speaker 2

It B it.

00:37:47 Speaker 2

Worked. Let's try the next thing and that that snowball effect and it just keeps going so.

00:37:48

Let's.

00:37:53 Speaker 2

It's just a it's just a patience thing and it's just A and understanding too. I forget that I was the guy at the

kitchen Table 1520 years ago, sending one e-mail and waiting for my first order, you know? So I've been

there and so I've gotta remember, like, so many things you learned from your experience and I'm trying

to draw on that to sort of encourage people to.

00:38:11 Speaker 2

To go on the journey that I've been on, that we've all been.

00:38:13 Speaker 2

On and and are still.

00:38:14 Speaker 1On I I love that and I think you've kind of hit the nail on the head of why I think.

00:38:21 Speaker 1

Our clients do so well is because every person gets something individualised, like the people who need a

little bit more hand holding get a little bit more hand holding the people who need just tell me what to

do is that. Yeah, OK, great. Yeah. I love getting on these calls because I can give you 3 things and I know

that.

00:38:38 Speaker 1

On the next call, it's done and you know.

00:38:41 Speaker 1

Not say that either are more successful than the other, it's just that ability and I think this is a great skill

that you and the other strategy coaches have is this this ability to.

00:38:52 Speaker 1

Empathize when needed, but also be a bit of a **** kicker when needed and and sometimes do a

mixture of the both and I. It makes my heart sing to hear the results that people get when.

00:39:00 Speaker 2

Yes.

00:39:06 Speaker 1

When their advice that they get is personalized to them and it's not just generic advice because.

00:39:12 Speaker 1

I cringe every time I go into. I was in a business Facebook group the other day, and yeah, someone asked

the question and there's so much. Well, I'm not doing this, but here's what I would do and it's.

00:39:25 Speaker 1

You just said you're not doing it. You're you're you're advice means nothing. Why would you? Why

would you even bother to reply? And so this boy.

00:39:29 Speaker 2

Why would someone else? Yeah.

00:39:34 Speaker 2

I think yeah that.

00:39:35 Speaker 2

That's a big challenge. Yeah. And sorry just to.

00:39:37 Speaker 2Jump in there a A.

00:39:39 Speaker 2

A big challenge as well as the fact that there's a lot of bad advice out there. There's a lot of, I hate to say,

but there's a lot of bad agencies, there's a lot of bad businesses.

00:39:47 Speaker 2

And you know.

00:39:48 Speaker 2

If you have one bad experience with a a business in a particular field, that could be enough to put you

off for good or for a very long time and and look. Unfortunately, digital marketing and and e-commerce

is still very much the Wild West in terms of regulation and these kind of things. And so that can be a real

challenge.

00:40:06 Speaker 2

People who've tried a digital marketing agency and didn't go very well or they.

00:40:12 Speaker 2

You know, they they got some results, but not enough. They will promise the earth and and didn't get

that and so they can come a little bit scarred, you know, a little bit shell shocked and it's not a case of

going.

00:40:20 Speaker 2

Look, I'm not gonna.

00:40:21 Speaker 2

Sit here, give you a bunch of theories. Everything I'm telling you to do. I've done every risk you've taken.

I've taken that anymore.

00:40:28 Speaker 2

And I've stuffed.

00:40:28 Speaker 2

It up and then fixed it. I'll just hope you get to the second stage.

00:40:32 Speaker 2

I won't make your stuffing up cause I've learned from that, but my mistakes save you time and money,

and as you know it's it's like so many agencies, I think I love about what we do.

00:40:42 Speaker 2

With the retail academies that we you know, it it, it's still, I wouldn't say this, it's always it is bespoke, it's

tailored to you. It's not a case of right here is just do this, do that and see you later. It's OK. What'swhat's your profit and what say what? What are your figures from last month? What do you what things

do you want to get to we apply principles but.

00:41:02 Speaker 2

It's the case, so here's some material that we have in this resource that we have. But here's also the

experience of a person who's done it. And I think that combination is what makes it such a unique.

00:41:11

Thank you.

00:41:12 Speaker 1

Umm, you touched on something there. You didn't say the letters, but you kind of hinted. And I know

one of the things that you do when we work with clients who have agencies or even team members is

implementing KPI's or targets. So if you if you have only just joined the podcast.

00:41:31 Speaker 1

There are three letters that I will say probably every single episode, which is KPI. KPI is a key

performance indicator. It tells you whether someone or something is doing their job to the point where

you are happy with the results and.

00:41:46 Speaker 1

The foreign agency, I think one of the things that we are able to do is is look at the quite often, the very

flimsy reports that they get back from some agencies and go, this is not the information you need to

know is the information that you need to know go back and ask for this information.

00:41:59 Speaker 2

Oh yeah.

00:42:04

Yeah.

00:42:07 Speaker 2

Yeah, correct. No. And I've, I've written emails said just send them this sending this.

00:42:12 Speaker 2

You don't. You know, you don't need to know necessarily what all this terminology means.

00:42:15 Speaker 2

We'll certainly explain.

00:42:16 Speaker 2

It and talk through it with you. But.

00:42:18 Speaker 2It's probably just a really good.

00:42:20 Speaker 2

Way to keep among these other external agencies accountable, unfortunately.

00:42:24 Speaker 2

There are a lot of people that go to an agency and say here's here's how much money I have. Here's

what I want to do and it could very much be a cookie cutter. Set and forget. Give us your money, off you

go. And this business owners left going. I just spent $10,000. And what did I actually get for it? You

know? But they have.

00:42:39 Speaker 2

No way of keeping that.

00:42:40 Speaker 2

Agency accountable. I worked with the digital marketing agency a few years ago.

00:42:44 Speaker 2

And they did a good job eventually, but as my marketing and the manager said, she said, oh, I don't

know what they're in for. They don't know they're dealing with. I'm Adam with logistics companies.

00:42:52 Speaker 2

So I've been.

00:42:53 Speaker 2

I've been doing international logistics for 17 years, so I was working with a a third party logistics

company and was just line by line picking up all these errors and my marketing manager goes. I feel

sorry for these guys, they don't know, they don't know they're dealing with, but as soon as I pointed

these things out ohh Yep. Oh sorry. Yep, we'll fix that. Will change that just.

00:43:11 Speaker 2

Because I knew what I was talking about.

00:43:13 Speaker 2

And I was able to pick up on things and save myself money.

00:43:16 Speaker 2

The idea as a coach is exactly the same thing, but I'm saving the client money. If you need to ask them

this, they need to tell you that and don't let them say no. Don't let them say they don't have.

00:43:25 Speaker 2

Access.

00:43:25 Speaker 2To that information, or they do you just need to ask. You need to.

00:43:27 Speaker 1

They do thank.

00:43:27 Speaker 1

So much.

00:43:28 Speaker 2

Ask them for it. That's right and.

00:43:30 Speaker 2

So it's it's it's a quick thing, people again, when I say to the to the client you go and do all the.

00:43:35 Speaker 2

Marketing. But it's here asking informed questions.

00:43:38 Speaker 2

And the answers will tell you this, and you can use those answers to achieve this. And that's always.

00:43:42 Speaker 2

A good feeling.

00:43:43 Speaker 2

We'll be sort of empower people to do that.

00:43:44

City.

00:43:45 Speaker 1

Yeah. And KPI is even around team members. Is that something that you find people get their back up a

little bit about, you know, the idea of putting targets on their team. I know for many of the people that I

work with is like, oh, but then, yeah, I feel like everybody's going to reject that and they're going to stop

working. And then if we don't hit.

00:44:07 Speaker 1

Targets, they're going to worry that they're.

00:44:08 Speaker 1

Going to be fired.

00:44:10 Speaker 1

What do you see?00:44:13 Speaker 2

I think a good A.

00:44:14 Speaker 2

Good owner, a good manager, a good boss. Some people really respond to that and rise to the

challenge.

00:44:19 Speaker 2

And on the.

00:44:20 Speaker 2

I'm a big believer. This is just a personal thing, but I'd like to try and incentivise as much as I can and so I

think you know you have targets and you have KPI's, but I think there's a way you can make it.

00:44:30 Speaker 2

Not this draconian heavy-handed. You must do this sort of thing. I think you just go the other way. You

want that target hit? You want that indicator reached, but the owner. Is that you motivate to get there

and you motivate with reward, with excitement rather than out of fear or punishment. You know, I've

had situations where if we sell this.

00:44:48 Speaker 2

Which?

00:44:49 Speaker 2

The whole office gets lunch. We all go out to dinner or, you know, for me when I first.

00:44:54 Speaker 2

Started.

00:44:55 Speaker 2

And was secured, we hit a certain monthly target. Our family would go for dinner, you know, and I look

at that monthly target now. And I laughed because we actually that month target we now get there in

about four days, right? That's it. But but back there that it was it.

00:45:08 Speaker 2

Was something you know? And so I think.

00:45:09 Speaker 2

I would say not just for yourself, but for yourself.

00:45:12

Well.00:45:13 Speaker 2

Reward yourself with with something. Set yourself a goal. Make it achievable and I think that's the other

thing. You know, I work with some clients where it's like, OK, here's here's the minimum, but if we get to

this, I'm going to give them this sort of reward. If we get to that. Oh, my gosh. I'm gonna give them this

sort of reward and everybody wins because the, the, the staff member of the team member feels them

achieve something and they get a tangible benefit.

00:45:34 Speaker 2

About us forward.

00:45:35 Speaker 2

But the business.

00:45:36 Speaker 2

Wins too numerous. The business owner win because my gosh, I never thought we'd sell that much. But

my staff were motivated and and look at what we've achieved and I've seen that over and over again.

And I think also again it's a personal approach, but as a business owner, there's KPI's, but I think also just

looking after your staff and.

00:45:51 Speaker 2

The full warning, when they're not expecting it, you know, I've had situations. We've had the biggest

month we've ever had. There wasn't a KPI in place in terms of if we reached this, bought them a reward

anyway, or giving them a gift out and said, hey, look, that was our biggest month. Thanks so much. And

you'd be amazed how it motivates him to work harder, but it also.

00:45:59 Speaker 2

But I'll just.

00:46:10 Speaker 2

Not buys, but it's sort of, you know, brings some loyalty from your staff as well. You're looking after

them. You're making sure they're doing well.

00:46:17 Speaker 2

You're rewarding them.

00:46:18 Speaker 2

Work hard. They then want to continue work hard, which means the business succeed, which means

they succeed. It it it's cyclical, but there is definitely having KPI's is is absolutely a good idea is something

to work towards. But I think how you implement them, there's the very draconian heavy-handed way

which I don't recommend.

00:46:25

OK.00:46:36 Speaker 2

Have them in place, but make them.

00:46:38 Speaker 2

A bit less. Yeah. Don't motivate out of fear. Motivate out of a.

00:46:42 Speaker 2

Sense of reward and.

00:46:43 Speaker 2

Accomplishment, I think is a better way to do it.

00:46:45 Speaker 1

Yeah. And even like, I love that even reward and accomplishment, but also.

00:46:51 Speaker 1

Like vision and like you want to get somewhere and everyone is excited when something grows. And to

think that they've had a part of it. So if you keep them on board with the vision and I know that this is

one of the things that I see people struggle with is thinking bigger and it's like, you know, but what if we

got there and and.

00:46:55

Yeah.

00:47:11 Speaker 1

Whenever I think about this, the first person who pops into my mind is Jill. If you're listening, it's always

you. When it comes to goals and stretch goals and she is one of those people who understands the

power of.

00:47:23 Speaker 1

A stretch goal.

00:47:24 Speaker 1

Because I think every time she puts a stretch goal in place, she's much closer to the stretch goal than she

is to the.

00:47:29 Speaker 1

And even even something as simple as that, like this is where we want to be. But here's where we really

like to be. And just that is enough to to drive your team, to go a little bit further and to drive you to go a

little bit further. But also if we can go right back to the beginning.

00:47:29

Yeah.00:47:44 Speaker 1

Of this conversation.

00:47:45 Speaker 1

If you have that, then.

00:47:47 Speaker 1

All of a sudden you're looking at the numbers.

00:47:49 Speaker 1

Going oh, wait two weeks in and ohh.

00:47:52 Speaker 1

We're not quite where we thought we should be.

00:47:54 Speaker 1

Instead of being in the pit of despair.

00:47:58 Speaker 1

Your brain can swap.

00:47:59 Speaker 1

To right. What do we need to do?

00:48:01 Speaker 1

To get back on track.

00:48:03 Speaker 2

Yeah, yeah, correct.

00:48:03 Speaker 1

Daniel, what do we need to do to get back on track? They.

00:48:06 Speaker 1

Can come to you.

00:48:06 Speaker 2

And ask that question and we can, you know, and there's multiple ways to do it. It's from leaders you

can pull to achieve that. And I think it's, yeah, it again it is that like you said, it's not sinking into ohhh,

my gosh, OK, here we go again. It's another terrible months. No, no, no. There's there's ways out of this.

There's always ways.

00:48:08 Speaker 2That's.

00:48:23 Speaker 2

Of it, how do you? How do you get that? How do you do it as an individual, as a team, as a business?

How do you get back?

00:48:29 Speaker 2

On track, it's.

00:48:30 Speaker 2

Not it's not impossible. It's sometimes it's hard, but you learn so much as well, and the sense of

accomplishment that you get once you've done it.

00:48:38 Speaker 2

Is such an incredible.

00:48:39 Speaker 2

Motivator to to keep going. You know, it only takes one win. That's why people keep coming. That's why

I keep going and playing golf.

00:48:45 Speaker 2

I'm the guy with one good shot and I'll play another.

00:48:47 Speaker 2

18 you know.

00:48:48 Speaker 2

That's all it takes. It's a.

00:48:50

It's a it's an.

00:48:51 Speaker 2

Old adage but.

00:48:51 Speaker 2

It's true, yeah.

00:48:52 Speaker 2

One good shot. Ohh, that's it. I'm definitely coming back.

00:48:55

Ohh.00:48:55 Speaker 1

I love it. Just. There you go. Just another new Daniel. Fact, please.

00:48:59 Speaker 1

Bums bus volunteer work run several businesses helps people. Business owners scale their business and

plays golf and is a loving father and husband Daniel.

00:49:10 Speaker 1

You and I can talk for literally hours, but I think it's probably a really good time to wrap this up and ask

you if you could let the people listening leave with one piece of advice.

00:49:23 Speaker 1

One thing that.

00:49:25 Speaker 1

They walk away. Just going. Ah, yeah, I can see that. If I just did that or if I thought that or if I

accomplished that.

00:49:33 Speaker 1

My whole business would change. What advice would you give to people listening?

00:49:37 Speaker 2

Well wow, I.

00:49:39 Speaker 2

Thought I'm gonna give an answer and then I'm.

00:49:40 Speaker 2

Gonna get off this.

00:49:41 Speaker 2

And go, oh, hang on. I should have.

00:49:42 Speaker 1

Said that, it's so they record the.

00:49:44 Speaker 1

Ending it's like a cheeseburger adventure.

00:49:44 Speaker 2

Yeah, we have several different alternative ethics.

00:49:48 Speaker 2Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so A/B.

00:49:50 Speaker 2

CDE.

00:49:50 Speaker 1

FASA for option.

00:49:52 Speaker 2

One that's right, financial version or.

00:49:56

I think.

00:49:58 Speaker 2

Yeah, that's a.

00:49:59 Speaker 2

That's a really, really good question. I'm guess I'm just trying to narrow it down.

00:50:02 Speaker 2

I think more than anything.

00:50:05 Speaker 2

No, Lord, this. You just gotta look at the.

00:50:08 Speaker 2

Fact that if you're running a business, you are.

00:50:11 Speaker 2

Are you doing something and B you're actually successful? Have you been running a business for more

than 12 months? You are a statistical anomaly. You're actually.

00:50:20 Speaker 2

You actually beat the odds because so many businesses fail within the first, you know, depending on

which.

00:50:25 Speaker 2

Jurisdiction. Look at first 12 months, first two years. If you're still up and going, you're still.

00:50:29 Speaker 2

Running where there's.00:50:30 Speaker 2

Movement. There's there's hope. Where there's life, there's hope. And so I think it's a case of.

00:50:35 Speaker 2

Sometimes you just have to keep showing up and there are some bodies you get to work and you're like,

I'm just getting through this. And you know what? That's OK, it's not fun.

00:50:43 Speaker 2

But it's OK.

00:50:44 Speaker 2

You don't have to turn up to your business every day.

00:50:46 Speaker 2

Absolutely crushing all your goals and thinking I'm just flying so high. There are tough times and there

are challenges and not only are they OK, they're good for you because as someone has been through

some pretty hairy situations and we a lot of us went through with COVID, there's nothing more

satisfying than looking back and going, Oh my gosh, I survived that this challenge.

00:51:06 Speaker 2

Amazing. Now that's nothing compared to that. But you don't get that feeling unless you've gone

through the 1st.

00:51:11 Speaker 2

Challenge so I know.

00:51:11 Speaker 2

If you if you have a challenge and you have some, some, some tough times in business, don't feel like

you're Australian, don't feel like it's a lot. You know you're you're it's a loss of your business is a disaster.

00:51:23 Speaker 2

Every single person goes through it. You will not find a successful business person on this planet that

hasn't come close to failing. So don't let it keep you down it it it's. It could be hard and it could be

sometimes a bit depressing it. But get good people around you that will encourage you talk to other

business owners who will tell you, oh, that's nothing. I had this happen and you actually start to realise

that. Ohh.

00:51:42 Speaker 2

Actually doing the case so much of it is distracted. What I was talking about before of about so many

people were just looking down at their own little set of numbers for their own circumstance. Yes, and

they could just look up and see the.

00:51:52 Speaker 2Potential, but they'll look up and see everybody else. That's still exactly the same that's been through far

worse. So I had much tougher times. Get good people around you to support you. Get other business

owners.

00:52:03 Speaker 2

Brandy that you can talk to because being a business owner is a very unique journey. You know, I tell

people you live in a state of terrifying excitement. It's how I like to describe it. You're constantly

terrified. But it's a real thrill, you know. But the highs are higher and the lows are.

00:52:20 Speaker 2

And only other only other business owners can really relate to it. So just even if it's wild, two people that

you can just have a bit of event and if it's me, that's fine.

00:52:27 Speaker 2

You know, and I'll see the guy. Yep.

00:52:29 Speaker 2

Yep, not a I've been through it. Yep, I can with the.

00:52:32 Speaker 2

Owners. But B, let me tell you.

00:52:33 Speaker 2

How I got out?

00:52:33 Speaker 2

Of it, I think.

00:52:35 Speaker 2

Really, you know, and I hope that answers the the the question sale, but I think it's more of just a maybe

a bit too much.

00:52:40 Speaker 2

The existential answer, but don't feel bad if if business is tough, that's just normal. It's part of it. You just

gotta push through it. You'll enjoy the successes even more when they come. You'll learn a lot and you'll

get better as a result. And you never know. You might be able to help someone else further down.

00:52:57 Speaker 1

I love that. And do you know the only caveat? If I had said that that I would add is?

00:53:05 Speaker 1

Now is this how do you how?

00:53:06 Speaker 1Do you freeze this without turning sounding bad but?

00:53:11 Speaker 1

Don't hang around with the sad sex who just want to drag you down.

00:53:14 Speaker 2

Yeah. Yes.

00:53:15 Speaker 1

Are you saying have those people around?

00:53:17 Speaker 1

You have smart, talented people around you.

00:53:21 Speaker 2

Yes, that's a very good caveat.

00:53:23 Speaker 1

Especially in business, you know, not people who are doing this as a hobby and their life doesn't, you

know, their their life is not gonna change if they have a bad month. If you have other people who are

doing this, you know, I'm not gonna say as a job, but doing this to survive the answers they're going to

give you or the support they're going to give you or the insight they're going to give you is very different.

00:53:42 Speaker 1

Crowdsourcing and answer on a Facebook you know on.

00:53:44 Speaker 1

A Facebook group.

00:53:45 Speaker 1

From someone who's been going through all.

00:53:45 Speaker 2

Yeah.

00:53:46 Speaker 1

Of this, and if it doesn't work, they got.

00:53:47 Speaker 2

Yeah.

00:53:48 Speaker 1

Nothing to lose, whereas you've got.00:53:50 Speaker 1

Everything to lose, yeah.

00:53:52

Seven leg.

00:53:53 Speaker 2

Now that's a great point. That's a very good point. You got to make sure you get the right advice to the

right people at the right time. You know, as a, as a, as a drummer. One thing I've always been very.

00:54:01 Speaker 2

Big on is I listen to.

00:54:02 Speaker 2

Drummers and I listen to music that is doing something better than me, so I could try and learn and I

could try and get better at at my instrument. And there's so many areas of life. Business especially hang

around with people that have got bigger.

00:54:14 Speaker 2

Businesses that are making more money, they're selling more money. I guarantee you they will be able

to give you a million stories of the struggles.

00:54:20 Speaker 2

They've gone through.

00:54:21 Speaker 2

But look at where they are now. How do?

00:54:23 Speaker 2

They do it, you know, business, networking groups, all those things are great, but it's.

00:54:27 Speaker 2

It's really important to have that, that personal people alongside you can empathise with you, but give

you great advice too. That's a a bit of a lifesaver for me on so many occasions.

00:54:37 Speaker 1

Daniel, give me. Thank you so much for your story, your advice, your multiple businesses that you

brought to the world, the joy that you bring to so many people drumming and travelling around and

pickle ball and all of the things.

00:54:52 Speaker 1

That you do.00:54:53 Speaker 1

All the things here, all those things you are a credit to society and I am.

00:54:57 Speaker 2

Thank you. Glad to.

00:54:58 Speaker 1

Have you, as part of the retail Academy?

00:55:01 Speaker 2

Thanks. Also it's great.

00:55:02 Speaker 2

To be on board. I'm enjoying it. It's good.

00:55:06 Speaker 1

So that's a wrap. I'd love to hear what insight you've gotten from this episode and how you're going to

put it into action if you're a social kind of person. Follow me at the Selena night and make sure to leave a

comment and let me know. And if this episode made you think a little bit differently.

00:55:26 Speaker 1

Or gave you some inspiration, or perhaps gave you the kick that you needed to take action. Then please

take a couple of minutes to leave me a review on your platform of choice, because the more reviews the

show gets, the more independent retail and e-commerce stores just like.

00:55:43 Speaker 1

Tools that we can help to scale and when that happens, it's a win for you, a win for your community and

a win for your customers. I'll see you in the next episode.

In 2007, Daniel Gibney, dad, and drummer, needed a product that would protect his daughter’s ears while he practised drums at home or played at gigs. On the hunt for a product to help, Dan realised the market had room for an earmuff designed specifically for kids. Consequently, over the next 12 months, Dan patented the first folding, KIDS earmuff design and launched it to the market with the ‘Ems for Kids’ name, in honour of his first daughter ‘Emily’ or ‘Em’.

Two years later in 2009, Daniel designed and patented the original BABY earmuff with a unique pressure-reducing headband design safe for newborns.

In 2017, the Ems for Kids range expanded to include the AUDIO headphones.

Ems for Kids is now sold online as well as across the globe in retail stores and the brand can be found in baby expos and trade shows internationally, multiple times a year.

In 2018, Dan and wife Kate welcomed baby number three, Isaac, little brother to big sisters Emily and Lucy. The Gibney clan is passionate about family time, music, travel, and Dan’s homemade self-saucing chocolate pudding too!