Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Meet Dale Murray, CBE

Dale Murray, CBE
Co-Founder, Omega Logic; Angel Investor; Non-Executive Director; Government Business Adviser

Imagine starting up a business to launch technology based pre-pay mobile top- ups in the United Kingdom (previously a scratch card system was used), working incredibly hard with your fellow co-founders and staff to substantially grow the business in an exceptionally competitive industry, selling out and becoming CEO of the company that bought the business and driving mobile top-ups revenue to £450M, all in the space of approximately six years. Then being awarded British Angel Investor of the Year in 2011.

Well, in a nutshell, that is Dale Murray’s entrepreneurial story! But it doesn’t end there. Dale is now a coach to start-up and early stage businesses. She is also a Non Executive Director (NED) of the British Government’s Department for Business, Innovations and Skills, and UK Trade and Investment, along with being a NED of other businesses. Born in New Zealand and living in London, in 2013 Dale was awarded a CBE by HM the Queen for services to business.

There were many early challenges in establishing Omega Logic as a serious business in the mobile technology sector. Credibility was an initial hurdle as the company was very small and was competing with much larger and established technology software entities, all vying to win contracts with Vodafone, Orange and other multi-billion pound telecommunications network businesses. Professionalism, and a total customer service and delivery focus were key in being accepted and to winning major contracts.

The mobile top-up software developed by Omega Logic and other competitors was displacement technology. This required a change in consumer buying behaviour, which was not easy to achieve. Supported by the marketing efforts of the telecommunications networks and incentivising the re-sellers to sell top- ups rather than scratch cards, finally the new technology broke through consumer buying resistance, and Omega Logic grew. Dale and her co-founders had to ‘dig deep’ and totally believe that their technology would be accepted by consumers. “Resilience was often required”, commented Dale, “as it was very difficult to push through the resistance in consumer buying patterns”.

Another key element in Omega Logic’s success was the quality of its technology. The company had a vision of being the best software provider for top-ups on the high street, leveraging the till technology that retailers already had.

Strong financial management was also key to the success of Omega Logic. Dale has a chartered accounting background, and ensured robust financial control systems were in place to manage the volume of money that flowed between the retailers, networks and Omega Logic.

Dale’s advice to budding entrepreneurs is:

1) Clearly understand and articulate what it is you are doing – what is the business? What problem are you solving and how are you going to make money? If over time there is a lack of clarity around the business strategy, quickly sort it out to enable the business to move on.

2) Carefully manage team dynamics. When things go wrong with people (founders and staff), face them head on, and deal with them immediately.

3) Network widely from time to time, but get on with the work. Dale notes that too many budding entrepreneurs are focused on networking rather than building their business.

Over the next few years Dale wants to continue acting as an advocate for entrepreneurs in all the various capacities she currently enjoys. Dale has a particular interest in female entrepreneurs as she believes they see things differently. As well, Dale will continue investing in ventures that are of interest to her.

Adèle’s Note:
I had the pleasure of interviewing Dale Murray for my book: BIG Profits – 12 Strategies To Substantially Grow YOUR Business Profits, in which Dale features.

Dale has a wonderful entrepreneurial success story, founded on being in the right place at the right time; being in a sector she knew and liked; with her co-founders, working exceptionally hard to break into and succeed in an established market; being totally focused on customer service and software excellence; and having a total passion for and belief in what Omega Logic stood for, especially when times were tough. As well, the co-founders had an exit strategy that they executed at the right time. Since then, Dale has continued her entrepreneurial endeavours, while supporting others towards their success. Dale now has three young children, and while she gets huge pleasure out of business, she is very family focused, and able to balance the demands and joys of both. It was an absolute pleasure to interview Dale, and to hear her story which will be an inspiration to many entrepreneurs across the world.

You can listen to the original Interview with Dale Murray here:

To connect with Dale Murray:
W: www.dalemurray.net

Adèle hosts an interview series entitled:

• Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Adèle McLay Interviews…..
• Business Success Tips : Adèle McLay Interviews …..

…where she interviews successful entrepreneurs from around the world, asking them to share their entrepreneurial stories, and other business ‘subject matter experts’ who share business success tips. If you would like to be part of Adèle’s success community and receive the interviews and much more directly to your inbox, please click here.

Listen to more Successful Entrepreneurs and be inspired in the Successful Entrepreneurs Stories : Adèle McLay Interviews….. YouTube and Podcast series:

Other articles on What Makes Successful Entrepreneurs:

Millionaire Mindset

Guest blog by Dr Jane Cox

Today, we live in a world today that is extremely fast paced and ever changing. We live in danger of getting bogged down in the rat race. The time equals money trap.

Wealthy and/or fulfilled people have a different mindset – a millionaire mindset: they operate on the same clock, they too have 24 hours in their day, but have an abundance of free time to use as they please.

How do they do it? Because they have the right mindset – a millionaire mindset. T he right mindset is key

The body achieves what the mind believes!

For most people the challenge is for them to change their beliefs about money and their own worth.

The struggle for most people is that our beliefs tend to be generalisations about our past, based on our interpretations of painful and pleasurable experiences. Most of us do not consciously decide what we are going to believe. Instead; our beliefs are often misinterpretations of past events.

But the mind is like a garden; if you want to change what grows you have to first change the seeds you plant.

A great way, in fact the only way, to start a change in ingrained beliefs, i.e. our current mindset, is create real clarity of purpose.

Knowing exactly what you want will change the way you think, feel and act at any moment. From the moment you gain a strong sense of clarity for a task, you will create focus. Focus means that you are in control and putting your life in the direction that you want go.

Happiness and wealth come from clarity; when you know what you want and you are moving towards your target. These dynamic movements create happiness and wealth. People who fail to gain or maintain clarity, lose track of time, suffer from confusion and feel like they are constantly playing catch up.

People with a millionaire mindset ANTICIPATE, they don’t REACT.

The best first step to developing your millionaire mindset is to ask yourself these questions:

What is my vision?
What do I really want?
What is my mission?
What is my purpose?
What specific actions do I need to take?
What will happen if I don’t do this?

Without (honest) answers to these questions you can’t begin to develop clarity and without clarity you can’t even begin to develop a millionaire mindset.

My 10 top “shortcut” tips to a millionaire mindset.

Change your thoughts and you change your world. Realise that you have as much ability to make money as anyone else.
Keep your mind open for opportunity. Read, listen, observe, and take note of where business gaps exist, or opportunities for investment may be found.
Step outside of your comfort zone.
Be prepared to put in the work to make the money.
Recognise that money is a tool, and tools are there to be used.
When you lose your fear of money, money loses its fear of you.
You might not feel able to make a million, but you could well make £100 one thousand times. It’s the same thing.
Get into the habit of spending less money than you make.
Know your strengths and abilities. They are worth a lot of money to you.
Keep learning. The more you educate your mind, the more knowledge you have to share and utilise.

Dr Jane Cox is a business psychologist, who works with large corporates and entrepreneurs, supporting them on a range of business issues, including leadership, communication, performance improvement, and much more. Dr Cox and Adèle McLay are business partners, having created the Millionaire Entrepreneur Business School that is launching in 2015.

Other articles on What Makes Successful Entrepreneurs:

Seven Secrets of Super Successful Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship vs The Meaning of Life
Mega Entrepreneur Defined!
Supercharge Your Profitable Business!
Leadership Qualities
NZ Entrepreneurship Success
What Makes Great Entrepreneurial Leaders?
All Work + Little Play = Boring!
Entrepreneurial Success without Fulfilment: Who Wants That?
7 Secrets of Business Success
Sir Richard Branson Asks…
Ordinary vs Game Changing
Thriving within the Juggling Act
Business Success and Cookie Dough
What Ice Cream Flavour is Your Business?

Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Meet Shannon Lea Reynolds

Shannon Lea Reynolds
Consultant, Coach, Speaker (aka The Well Heeled Coach)

Shannon grew up within an entrepreneurial family, so began working from the age of five years in her grandmother’s restaurant, and at 12 years old, she was doing the accounting and book keeping for various family businesses. After leaving school, Shannon moved into banking, and quickly moved up the levels to become the youngest officer they had in the bank. Shannon studied full-time at night while working full-time, and with this thirst for knowledge found herself quickly getting bored in the bank jobs she undertook. She would take on new roles, write the ‘how to’ manuals, and then move to the next role. During her maternity leave from the bank, Shannon worked part-time as an on-call officer, covering for management staff across the bank’s state network. Through that exposure, Shannon’s confidence and experience continued to develop such that after 20 years in banking she left to establish her own business. Shannon’s business quickly moved from book keeping to working with businesses that were in transition or financial difficulty, where she reconstructed their financial statements. By doing that type of work, Shannon ‘fell’ into management consulting.

One of the biggest challenges Shannon faced was the decision to leave banking after 20 years; it was a comfortable career and the staff were like her extended family. After much deliberation, she left to set up a business where she found that the telephone did not ring and she did not have a pay cheque coming in each month. As an analytical, introverted personality type, Shannon found the idea of selling herself and her skill set to potential clients very intimidating. To manage and bypass this fear of sales, she relied heavily on her extensive network, developed during her long banking career. Shannon focused on re-establishing her credentials with the CPAs and banking lenders, and in return they referred business to her. As well, Shannon learnt the benefits of networking and using networks to build business relationships. Shannon now laughs at how she initially went six weeks without receiving a telephone call for business, then after a lot of networking, she received nine business opportunity telephone calls in one day! “Whew”, she said!!

Since those early entrepreneurial days, Shannon’s business has significantly grown and evolved. She is an advocate of lifelong learning, and continuously has coaches and mentors supporting her business success. When seeking a mentor, Shannon looks for someone who is in a field that she is in, with the same philosophy, but with more experience so she can learn from them. When seeking a business coach, Shannon looks for someone who is going to push her in areas she is not comfortable in, so that she is stretched to move beyond her own mental barriers, therefore achieving at a new level.

To be successful in business, Shannon believes:

1) You should not be afraid of failure. Very often people are so afraid that they over-analyse and paralyse themselves into inaction, such that nothing is accomplished. Shannon believes that failure is a valuable tool.

2) Make sure you have focus. Set goals and go for them but be clear on what the big picture for your business is, as it is easy to get distracted by new ideas. When a new idea arises, create and implement action steps in your business plan, even if they are small ones, so that you have forward momentum.

3) Talk about your goals so that others know what you want to achieve and can support you – whether those people be employees, family, coaches and mentors, or your network of business contacts and friends – put it out there. They will support you and hold you to account when you are checking in with them.

Adèle’s Note:
I had the pleasure of interviewing Shannon Lea Reynolds for my book: BIG Profits – 12 Strategies To Substantially Grow YOUR Business Profits, in which Shannon features.

I really enjoyed interviewing Shannon. As it turns out we have similar backgrounds; trained accountants and former bankers turned consultants/business coaches. Given her personality type, perhaps one might think that Shannon is not a ‘natural’ entrepreneur, as they are often represented as highly outgoing/extroverted types. Shannon’s success has put paid to that stereotype! By using her networks, Shannon has built a tremendously successful consulting practice, and has substantial business goals in place going forward. In particular, Shannon wants to support more women in becoming successful entrepreneurs, and with that success to create a Foundation where her successful women clients mentor and support young women in high schools and colleges to feel confident, understand their worth, and consider entrepreneurialism as a fantastic career option. A wonderful community based add-on to her business; a real example of ‘giving back’.

You can listen to the original Interview with Shannon Lea Reynolds here:

To connect with Shannon Lea Reynolds:
W: www.shannonleareynolds.com

Adèle hosts an interview series entitled:

• Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Adèle McLay Interviews…..
• Business Success Tips : Adèle McLay Interviews …..

Listen to more Successful Entrepreneurs and be inspired in the Successful Entrepreneurs Stories : Adèle McLay Interviews….. YouTube and Podcast series:

Other articles on What Makes Successful Entrepreneurs:

Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Meet Rick Tobin

Rick Tobin
Owner/Broker, Premier Hotel Realty in Florida

Imagine establishing your own international hotel sales brokerage during the global financial crisis – that’s potentially scary stuff. Who knows if you’d sink or swim in what was the world’s worst financial crisis to date.

Meet Rick Tobin. He did just that. He established Premier Hotel Realty because he wanted to follow his dream, and his business has flourished.

Rick’s biggest fear when starting out was whether there would be enough business in his niche market to survive. He had to be flexible in his approach to the new business, so rather than relying on banks to fund the deals for investors, he focused on seeking out investors who did not need to borrow to invest.

In our interview, Rick shares his marketing, sales and business differentiation strategies, tools that have helped him build a significant international hotel sales brokerage.

Rick offers budding entrepreneurs the following thoughts:

1) Listen to what your clients want; understand what their real objectives are in working with you.

2) Work with and for people you like and concentrate on your ‘A’ clients, not your ‘B’ and ‘C’ clients.

3) Think big! Go for it in your business!

Enjoy this week’s insightful and inspiring interview with Rick.

Adèle’s Note:
I had the pleasure of interviewing Rick Tobin for my book: BIG Profits – 12 Strategies To Substantially Grow YOUR Business Profits, in which Rick features.

I have not met Rick. He was recommended to me as a highly successful entrepreneur who is passionate about how he supports and serves his clients. In interviewing him, I could feel his passion for what he does and the difference he has made in the lives of this clients. Rick’s joy and enthusiasm are infectious, and I have no doubt that his attitude to life and business has substantially contributed to his success. Rick was a delight and inspiration to interview, and I can’t wait to meet him one day.

You can listen to the original Interview with Rick Tobin here:

To connect with Rick Tobin:
W: www.PremierHotelRealty.com

Adèle hosts an interview series entitled:

• Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Adèle McLay Interviews…..
• Business Success Tips : Adèle McLay Interviews …..

Listen to more Successful Entrepreneurs and be inspired in the Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories: Adèle McLay Interviews….. YouTube and Podcast series:

Other articles on What Makes Successful Entrepreneurs:

Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Meet Veronica Pullen

Veronica Pullen
Social Marketing Queen

Imagine having Asperger’s Syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, hearing difficulties, an eyesight issue which means you are blind at night, and mobility issues. What might life hold for you? Meet Veronica Pullen. She has all those health issues, but that hasn’t stopped her being a hugely successful entrepreneur based in the United Kingdom. Because of her ailments, Veronica began networking online 18 years ago; through internet chat rooms and forums, she made friends. A book keeper by day, online networker by night, Veronica realised that business people were starting to wonder how to use the online world to network – something she had been doing for years. So, a new social media business was born.

Veronica admits she did undertake some social media training, but soon realised she knew as much as the trainers. What she needed to learn was how to build and run a business to support her social media skill set. Veronica is passionate about learning, so even today, while running a hugely successful business, she is continuing to explore new ways to develop and run her business.

At first Veronica tried to ignore her health challenges, thinking that if she just focused on her expertise in social media, no one would pay any attention to her health issues. She was wrong. By not acknowledging her issues, Veronica found she alienated her audience. Once she began to ‘weave in’ her health challenges, people started to accept her as they respected the personal challenges she had overcome, and continues to overcome to this day.

As you might expect, being a social marketing queen, Veronica has built her customer base via social media. The friends she had developed became her first customers when she established her new business, and in turn they continue to refer her to their friends. Now Veronica has social media customers all over the world, and some very well known names have their social media activity managed by Veronica and her team.

Veronica has been shortlisted for and won various business awards. She credits a lot of her business success to having mentors and coaches supporting her. They teach her and she always implements their teachings. She also continues to participate in Mastermind type coaching groups with others in business. These environments ensure Veronica continues down the right path in her business. Veronica’s greatest joy in business is that she owns and runs a business that is an extension of herself. As she says, she “shows up as Veronica”! She gets paid to talk about and teach the things she lives for. For Veronica, there is no distinction between work and play. It is all play!

To be successful in business, Veronica believes:

1) Do something in business that you love. If you are not passionate about it, you will not achieve the success you aspire to achieve.

2) Always make sure you are networking with people who are more successful than you. If you want to grow your business, look at the people who are around you, and make sure they are helping you to go forward and not holding you back.

3) That all businesses need to embrace the power of social media to support the growth of their business.

Adèle’s Note:
I had the pleasure of interviewing Veronica Pullen for my book: BIG Profits – 12 Strategies To Substantially Grow YOUR Business Profits, in which Veronica features.

Veronica is amazing. She decided early on that she would not let her health issues affect the quality of her life, and she hasn’t. Veronica has embraced her ailments, and has used them to her advantage. She has a hugely successful international business, and aspires to achieve even more. She has set herself some significant goals for the next five years, and is on track to achieve them. Veronica has found that she enjoys the life of a celebrity and being recognised, so has set her sights on presenting her material on the stage to larger groups of people. Go Veronica. You are an inspiration.

You can listen to the original Interview with Veronica Pullen here:

To connect with Veronica Pullen:

Adèle hosts an interview series entitled:

• Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Adèle McLay Interviews…..
• Business Success Tips : Adèle McLay Interviews …..

Listen to more Successful Entrepreneurs and be inspired in the Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories: Adèle McLay Interviews….. YouTube and Podcast series:

Other articles on What Makes Successful Entrepreneurs:

Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Meet Rachelle Harte

Rachelle Harte
Managing Director, Lollipop Events

Rachelle unexpectedly found herself leaving a corporate job she loved, having been with the same company for 18 years. This change in circumstance due to the need to support a family member with severe ill health meant Rachelle needed to consider her part-time employment options. After researching the market, she decided to establish an events business that focused on planning and project managing children’s parties, building up a reputation in that niche before moving into other event management areas. That strategy worked, as Rachelle has been an entrepreneur for over 11 years and owns a highly successful events management business, Lollipop Events.

When establishing her business, Rachelle’s initial concerns were how she differentiated herself from the local competition, and her ability to manage her business while only being able to work part-time. As a highly focused service oriented person, she wanted her business to quickly stand out in the market by growing its reputation in its niche so she could then move into a broader range of events management, so balancing her personal and work commitments was a challenge.

In the past Rachelle relied on advertising for growing her business, but in the end found advertising was not offering an effective return on investment. In recent years Rachelle has enjoyed business growth through referral marketing and collaboration. She joined a local business networking group, BNI, and that involvement has enabled her to widen her network base, support other businesses to be successful, and substantially grow her own business.
Strongly branding her business has also been a key decision for Rachelle, so that Lollipop Events is now recognised as a major events management business in South East London and beyond.

A key lesson Rachelle has learnt along her entrepreneurial pathway is that she cannot do everything herself (as much as she wants to). As a young entrepreneur, she found she was good at most things, but she continues to force herself to enlist the help and support of other professionals who complement her business, often in a mentoring way, and as a result they have helped her to grow and sustain her business for the future.

Rachelle’s advice to budding entrepreneurs is:

1) Make sure everyone knows about your new venture and plans and ask them to spread the word.

2) Have a plan for what you want to achieve and keep focused on the plan. What are you here for? Where are you going? How are you going to get there?

3) Get up a little earlier each day. Even 15 minutes can make a real difference to how much you can get done when the phone is not ringing.

4) Ask for help! You will be surprised how much others want to support your success.

Rachelle’s business plan includes substantially growing her corporate customer base over the next three to five years. A key area of business growth for Lollipop Events will continue to be working with local government on the regeneration of town centres in the United Kingdom, something Rachelle and her team are passionate about supporting.

Rachelle truly believes she is living her dream as an entrepreneur. She is working in an industry she loves, supporting customers to achieve their business and personal goals when hosting their event; and her company continues to substantially grow and is highly profitable.

Adèle’s Note:
I had the pleasure of interviewing Rachelle Harte for my book: BIG Profits – 12 Strategies To Substantially Grow YOUR Business Profits, in which Rachelle features.

Rachelle is a focused, determined and very successful business woman who goes out of her way to support other businesses to achieve the success they are seeking, and in return she has built a substantial events management business herself. I have known Rachelle for several years, and have thoroughly enjoyed hearing of her ongoing business successes, and how she supports others towards their own success. Having had the privilege of using the services of Lollipop Events to manage an event of my own, I know firsthand how committed Rachelle and her team are to ensuring their clients achieve the outcomes they are seeking for their events; they definitely go beyond the call of duty in their work, and I am sure this attention to service delivery has played a major role in the success of Rachelle’s business.

You can listen to the original Interview with Rachelle Harte here:

To connect with Rachelle Harte:
W: www.lollipopevents.co.uk

Adèle hosts an interview series entitled:

• Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Adèle McLay Interviews…..
• Business Success Tips : Adèle McLay Interviews …..

Listen to more Successful Entrepreneurs and be inspired in the Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories: Adèle McLay Interviews….. YouTube and Podcast series:

Other articles on What Makes Successful Entrepreneurs:

Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Meet Phil Turner

Phil Turner
Electrician and former owner of a Fujitsu Heat Pump Franchise

I have known Phil Turner as the electrician for my property investment business in New Zealand for over 10 years. He and his team have always been excellent providers of service as electricians, totally focused on giving great customer service at fair prices. On the back of that, Phil built up a successful electrical contracting business.

While on holiday in 2007, Phil learnt about the international heat pump industry; at the time, The Netherlands was predicted to be the next big market for the industry. Phil returned to New Zealand, did his research, and decided to purchase a heat pump franchise through Fujitsu. Because most New Zealand homes are not centrally heated, the heat pumps are used in New Zealand to warm houses in winter and cool them in summer; the technology was moderately new to the country at the time. Phil had always wanted to own a product focused rather than service business, and felt that the heat pump industry was a natural progression from being an electrician, so took on the new business and industry with a business partner, Gareth.

Fujitsu New Zealand was impressed with Phil’s business plan, so embraced the new business supporting them with advertising investment. When they started, Phil and Gareth had budgeted to install four heat pumps per week; in fact, at times they were installing six per day and had a four week waiting list. Phil notes that they could have installed 10 units a day if they had had the staff to support them.

Initially Phil and Gareth used a home delivered magazine to advertise in, but eventually focused their marketing and advertising budget on Google AdWords, as it was the means by which they received most of their customer leads. Phil’s wife is an accountant, so supported the business with day to day accounting and administration.

Phil notes the business’s greatest achievement was being Fujitsu’s number one dealer in the country; something they achieved after two years, to the delight of Fujitsu, Phil and Gareth.

The industry got very competitive as more heat pump companies entered the market. And, as often happens when a new market matures, Phil’s business ended up competing with one-man-bands who operated out of home without the business overheads.

After five incredibly successful years, in 2013 Phil and Gareth decided to sell the business after being made an offer they couldn’t refuse. At the time of the interview, Phil was still coming to terms with not being in the business, noting he had just booked his first decent holiday in five years.

After taking a good holiday, and in light of enjoying the experience of selling a product, Phil is considering other product ideas that draw on his electrical contracting experiences. He is too young to retire, and besides, he loves the cut and thrust of being in business.

Adèle’s Note:
I had the pleasure of interviewing Phil Turner for my book: BIG Profits – 12 Strategies To Substantially Grow YOUR Business Profits, in which Phil features.

Phil and Gareth were really pleased with the way in which they ran their very successful business. If they had continued in it, in view of competition, they would have to have reviewed their business overheads in order to increase profits, but at the time they achieved the financial success they were seeking. Phil and Gareth should be an inspiration to anyone seeking to break out of a business they know into something new. If you apply your business knowledge to the new industry and are passionate about achieving success, you will do it. Then the rewards are there for reaping – great profits; selling out for an excellent price; lifestyle.

You can listen to the original Interview with Phil Turner here:

Adèle hosts an interview series entitled:

• Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Adèle McLay Interviews…..
• Business Success Tips : Adèle McLay Interviews …..

Listen to more Successful Entrepreneurs and be inspired in the Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories: Adèle McLay Interviews….. YouTube and Podcast series:

Other articles on What Makes Successful Entrepreneurs:

Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Meet Bice Awan

Bice Awan
Social Entrepreneur, CEO – Skylight Trust (up to Dec-14)

Skylight Trust, a non-governmental social enterprise, was established in 1997 in Wellington, New Zealand after key community leaders identified a lack of local and national resources to support children and adults who were experiencing stress, grief and trauma. Bice, who has a significant international health consulting background, took up the role of chief executive, and spearheaded the development of Skylight, which today is a leader in providing support and resources in New Zealand and across the world to people in desperate circumstances.

Bice started the Trust as a ‘one-woman-band’ and has grown it significantly on the back of a strong vision. Not without its own business challenges, even today, Bice notes, “that the Skylight Trust is still moving along the social enterprise continuum from dependency to total financial independence.” “Social enterprise is a philosophy of balancing social missions with revenue generation, but we haven’t got to the stage yet of being fully in that position.” Bice commented that, “it is important never to lose sight of either in managing and growing the enterprise day-to-day.”

To address the issue of financial independence, Bice and her team established a publishing arm to the enterprise, and to date have published over 50 resources, which are available for purchase. The resources are of such a high quality and relevancy, that Skylight Trust has won major organisational customers and contracts in New Zealand, Australia, Denmark and Saudi Arabia, to name a few countries.

Branding and marketing has played a key role in Skylight’s development. Skylight sees itself as a ‘hope broker’; it can’t fix somebody’s trauma, loss or grief, but Skylight can give hope for the future. This message is used strongly as part of its branding and marketing strategies.

On the back of the strong branding and marketing work, which has created significant visibility for Skylight, it enjoys significant repeat business with its customers, many of which are very large organisations seeking a holistic approach to working with grief, stress and trauma in their organisations.

To be successful in developing a social enterprise, Bice believes in:

1) Establishing a board of directors who truly understand the importance of balancing a social mission and financial imperatives.

2) Having working capital available from the beginning, as most enterprises don’t and that is a real commercial challenge.

3) Developing profitable partnerships with other agencies as those associations can be very powerful and provide a way of growing a social enterprise in the early years.

Adèle’s Note:
I had the pleasure of interviewing Bice Awan for my book: BIG Profits – 12 Strategies To Substantially Grow YOUR Business Profits, in which Bice features.

Bice’s vision and drive to make a difference has been the cornerstone of Skylight’s success as a social enterprise in New Zealand and internationally, in the lives of those affected by stress, grief and trauma, and whose voices are often not heard. As a leading Government official said to Bice, “If Skylight didn’t exist, New Zealand would be a very sad place!” As well as being successful in achieving its social mission, Skylight as a business is a success. Recognising the need for financial independence, it has developed significant and profitable revenue streams which, as those continue to grow, will hopefully allow the enterprise to enjoy absolute financial security. Bice and this enterprise are a true inspiration for business owners and other social enterprise leaders.

You can listen to the original Interview with Bice Awan here:

To connect with Skylight:
W: www.skylight.org.nz

Adèle hosts an interview series entitled:

• Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Adèle McLay Interviews…..
• Business Success Tips : Adèle McLay Interviews …..

Listen to more Successful Entrepreneurs and be inspired in the Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories: Adèle McLay Interviews….. YouTube and Podcast series:

Other articles on What Makes Successful Entrepreneurs:

Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Meet Andy Harrington

Andy Harrington
World Leading Public Speaking Expert and Trainer

Some would say that Andy Harrington lives a dream life. With his family he travels the world, speaking on stage with some of the world’s leading business and motivational speakers who have included: Sir Richard Branson, Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Tony Robins, and Brendon Burchard, to name a few. Andy is a public speaking entrepreneur, teaching public speaking from the stage, and selling entry to his Public Speakers University courses. He has developed a system that, when applied by his students, means they become expert public speakers.

But it hasn’t always been that easy. Prior to establishing this, his third business, Andy suffered the financial failure of his second business due to a flawed business model. But as Andy says, you have to “lick your wounds and get back into the game”. He returned with a more robust business model for this business, and as a result it has thrived. In establishing his current business, Andy was concerned not to ‘overtrade’ as he has the ability to grow businesses extraordinarily quickly. He has ensured this business growth is measured and has implemented an appropriate infrastructure to support the growth. Key to that infrastructure is a team of skilled staff.

One of the keys to the success of Andy’s public speaking business is personal branding. Careful management of his personal brand has resulted in large promoters who organise international conferences now seeking Andy out and promoting him around the world. As he teaches communications to his audience, Andy has invested heavily in video technology to support the growth of his brand by enabling his audience to watch him via YouTube and to receive free tutoring if they opt-in to his free information. If they are interested, they can then pay to attend his training programmes. To achieve a worldwide audience, Andy has focused on dominating the YouTube categories of ‘public speaking’ and ‘presentation skills’, which gives him a competitive advantage.

Andy has also created modules and systems with his products, so that others on his team can teach the public speaking tools he has developed. Through doing that, he now has a scalable business that can grow without being totally reliant on him. Andy also has a business mentor who helps to flesh out ideas, acts as a sounding board, and challenges him in areas where his skills are weaker in business.

Andy’s three key points for a budding entrepreneur are:

1) To be successful, an entrepreneur needs to specialise and stand out in some way.

2) Build a systematic business right from the very beginning, so that the business is not reliant on the entrepreneur.

3) Build winning teams around the business, advice Andy himself took from Sir Richard Branson.

Over the next six years Andy plans to exit from his business as a regular speaker, only appearing in selected elite events. To achieve that goal he will be focusing on finding and training the best speakers in the world to run the business and to teach the people who enrol on his public speaking training courses.

Adèle’s Note:
I had the pleasure of interviewing Andy Harrington for my book: BIG Profits – 12 Strategies To Substantially Grow YOUR Business Profits, in which Andy features.

Notwithstanding some early business setbacks, Andy has always wanted to be an entrepreneur, so in establishing his public speaking business he learnt from his earlier mistakes, developed a clear vision and system for teaching public speaking, created a business infrastructure, and used his personal brand to grow his business. Today he is hugely successful, and ‘brand’ Andy Harrington is recognised and followed by vast numbers of people around the world. Andy is a truly inspiring professional speaker and teacher, and successful business man, who has found his niche and is reaping the rewards of his hard work.

You can listen to the original Interview with Andy Harrington here:

To connect with Andy Harrington:
www.andyharrington.com

Adèle hosts an interview series entitled:

• Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Adèle McLay Interviews…..
• Business Success Tips : Adèle McLay Interviews …..

Listen to more Successful Entrepreneurs and be inspired in the Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories: Adèle McLay Interviews….. YouTube and Podcast series:

Other articles on What Makes Successful Entrepreneurs:

Death by Chocolate Cake

Who doesn’t like a chocolatey Chocolate Cake. If you make this recipe with Chocolate Ganache, your family with love you for it… and the cake will be gone in seconds. So, take time out of your schedule and have fun in the kitchen making Death by Chocolate Cake.

What you need for the cake

175 grams softened butter
270 grams sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs
270 grams plain flour
70 grams cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
250 ml warm milk

What you need for the icing – there are two options

Chocolate Icing
200 grams softened butter
550 grams icing sugar
4 tablespoons sifted cocoa
3-4 tablespoons of very hot water

Chocolate Ganache (this is my favourite)
450 grams good quality dark chocolate
300 grams cream
50 grams butter

How to make
Cream the butter and sugar together until a pale cream colour. Add vanilla extract and mix. Add the eggs one at a time, and beat well between each addition of egg.

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, cocoa and baking power together. Then carefully stir/fold into the mixture, being careful not to over stir or you will end up with a heavy cake with no air in it. Add the warm milk and mix until mixed together. Do not over mix.

Pour into a 22cm round tin which has been greased with butter and lined with baking parchment. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F) for approx 30-40 mins or until a skewer is pulled out of the cake clean. Remove from the oven, and leave in the tin for about 5 mins before turning out onto a cooling tray. Leave until completely cold, then ice with chocolate icing or ganache.

Chocolate Icing
To make the icing, beat the butter, cocoa and icing sugar until very smooth and pale. Add hot water to achieve the icing thickness that you would like. Ice the cake. Decorate with chocolate decorations of your choice.

Chocolate Ganache – my favourite
This ganache will make for a very chocolatey taste as it is made with chocolate rather than icing sugar and cocoa. Heat the cream in a pot until very hot but NOT boiling. Take off heat. Add the chocolate. Mix thoroughly. Add the butter while mixing. The chocolate ganache will look radiant and shiny. Leave to cool a little as it will solidify to enable you to ice the cake. Decorate with chocolate decorations of your choice.
Other options: To make the cake a total ‘Death by Chocolate Cake’ experience, you can cut the cake in half through the middle and ice the middle with chocolate ganache or cream. Then sandwich together. Divine!! You can also serve this cake with strawberries which are fabulous with chocolate ganache.

Now, who doesn’t like Chocolate Cake? Gather up all your friends and family, and have a party, finishing off with this wonderful cake!

Other Delicious Delights

Classic Carrot Cake
Bonanza Banana Cake
Rocky Road Cookies for Summertime Fun
Pavlova Perfection