Tag: entrepreneurs - Page 3

With so many things happening right now at Marketing Eye and also with my other investments, I find myself being pulled in many different directions. In some ways I just want to do the charity work I am doing, and make a difference to people's lives, but what funds that is my business interests, namely Marketing Eye.

While Silicon Valley still is the money bags capital of the world as far as venture capital dollars are concerned, with 15 percent of the world's venture capital dollars being invested there, compared to 5 percent in New York, the tables are in fact turning.

Siicon Valley is home to the coolest companies on the planet, the highest salaries in the world and the most expensive real estate; it's New York that is comparative on a few levels here, but is currently experience a tech boom that may eventually take the reigns of it's Bay partners.

Guest Post by entrepreneur and "money man" Scott Malcolm, of Money Mechanics. 

The excitement of a new business venture or idea requires a different energy and skill set to the day to day of running a business.  Entrepreneurs have skill set and vision to setup business but often need strategies in place to take the business to the next level and run it!

As a small business owner myself, I am always looking for ways to improve what we do. It's a constant struggle to not only be ahead of the times when it comes to professional services delivery, but also to pioneer the future.

If you have read this blog for a while, you may have realised that I am a country girl. I grew up in rural North Queensland in a small township called Charters Towers, just over an hour west of Townsville. It seems like a million years ago now, as I have been living in big cities for the past 20 years or so. I currently reside mostly in Melbourne and from there I have built a multi million dollar international business. What I have realised about business is that the  more mature my business becomes, the more flexible I am with where I work from. It certainly has got me thinking about where in the world people can build successful businesses from and what are the hurdles that they must overcome if they are not located in a major city.

I've always been aware that I have all the things in life that are necessary to become successful; mentors, learning and development, financial stability, and a community... and the right mindset. But it wasn't always that way, and the first thing that you need to know about being successful is that you have to have the right mindset and belief that anything is possible. It takes so many parts to be successful, but I guess for most of us, it just starts with a dream.

Most entrepreneurs don't listen. They trust their gut instinct and often find that their newest great idea, should take precedence over everything else their business is doing.

While that is good and well, this constant need for gratification and results often leads to entrepreneurs missing the mark - and then wondering why they are forging ahead as first thought.

Over the past 16 years, I have worked with more than 300 companies, and over that time there have been a number of things that I have learned simply by listening and observing.

Somehow we got through the end of financial year in Australia. There's a lot to be done to make sure that everything is in order; every box ticked, every invoice accounted for.

My team made that deadline and for that I am thankful. No late nights, just a lot to be considered. My headspace over the past 2 weeks feels like there is so much in there, that it is impossible to take in any more.

I am in strategy phase. What's next? Where to from here? Who is doing what? What does the next 5 years look like? What does the next 10 years look like? 

Then of course, what about me? What is going to make my life more fulfilling in the next 5 years? Next 10 years?

It was enough to make me burst into tears.

I have been putting magazines together since the Czech Republic applied for membership to the EU. That was 1996 and back then Tupac was still alive, Trainspotting was released into cinemas and the French halted nuclear testing in the Pacific.

Magazine production has been my passion for almost 20 years, and whilst I am making myself feel old writing this blog, there has remained a sense of achievement with each and every issue of the thousands I have helped produce, including the latest issue of Marketing Eye.

After spending some time in New York talking to hundreds of entrepreneurs from around the globe, I am rejuvenated and ready to tackle my next challenge.