Archives For Metrics

“It’s very really important that you feel your business, that you have an understanding of [yourself], your community, and network, and that you create your own network. For me, I’m a media person and I come from an events background, and that’s why I talk about my promoting; it’s because I learned how to hustle doing events. And then whilst studying media I learned the value of an audience and of a community, and how to commercialise that.” – Francesco Nazzari

“[On decision making and the fear of the regret of making a wrong decision], we’re always going to have regrets; I have heaps! But the commitment to a decision, and the making of a decision in itself is really powerful. Whether the decision is right or wrong, to learn from the decision is what’s really important. Don’t sit and stew or get stuck. Make the decision.” – Francesco Nazzari

“I failed accounting twice in university, and now I am responsible for all the finance in the business. Numbers drive the business’ action and strategy. I look at the numbers every single day; it’s what I need to look at to determine how the business performs, and my job is to decipher the numbers so that it tells a story. For example: Your cost of goods are running at 35%; what does that tell you? There is an inefficiency somewhere and you then start to dig deeper into those problems to answer questions like: (1) where are the inefficiencies?; (2) what is happening here?; and (3) could it be a problem caused by a supplier? Numbers drive everything.” – Thin Neu

“Pay for good advice early on. Sometimes you cheap out on advice, and it costs you more mistakes and more money in the future. For example: If I didn’t have a good lawyer helping me at the very beginning (who happens to be my best mate now), I’d be paying 10-20% more on my leases, and I would not know about fit-out contributions (where shopping centres give you money to help you build stores). Other examples include: (1) how do you reduce bank guarantees; and (2) how do you get your employment contracts right. Get good advice early on even if you need to pay a little bit more for it because it will save you more in the long run.” – Thin Neu

“One of my biggest personal drivers was borrowing that money from my parents. Once I did this, there was no possibility of failure in my head because there was no way I was going to lose the money. If you have to wake up at 4 am to do your job, you go do it. If you have to find innovative ways to draw more markets into your business, you go do that. Work on that higher purpose; it helps motivates you to get out of bed every single day, helps you take that next step, and helps take away the fear.” – Thin Neu

“I spend a lot of time with staff. Having a business is challenging in so many areas, but you have to dedicate time to work with the people in your business. You have to sit down and invest your time in your people because they are the one who help you run your business. I spend a lot of time with my staff and finding out what it is that they want, and what it is that they want to achieve, and then I find a way to help them achieve their goals and dreams. Hopefully those goals and dreams align with Cupcake Central.” – Thin Neu

With thanks to

Francesco Nazzari is the founder of Rooftop Cinema on the top of Curtin House in Melbourne’s CBD. Since 2003 Rooftop has been showing movies under the stars with the best views in town. Frunch shudders when he thinks about the moment in his mid-twenties that he called the city council to get a permit to show movies on the roof.

Thin Neu is the Co-Director of Cupcake Central, building a business is a bit like following a recipe. His advice is to have the right people in place to help you and never cheap out on getting good advice.

About Masters Series by WeTeachMe

Masters Series is a show about inspiring entrepreneurs, creative thinkers, and visionary dreamers, and the stories behind how they built their companies.

Subscribe to show

Show brought to you by

Masters Series is presented by WeTeachMe.

Our strategic alliance partners: MYOB, SitePoint, and Entrepreneur’s Organization.

Our media partners: Startup Victoria and Digital Marketers Australia.

Our content partners: Written & Recorded.

The views expressed by the contributors on this show are linked websites that are not necessarily endorsed by the publisher.

Question of the day

What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

“[Business] is about your learning curve–how quickly you can learn–[and it’s also about] how that data driven can you be. The fine art of bring an entrepreneur is waking up everyday and challenging your biases. You have your vision, your personal and life dreams, and hard data points on whether issues are red flag, yellow flag or green flag i.e. what the issues with your staff, product or service are. Being able to grow and move past them is critical. When I learned how to do that, I saw big changes in my business.” – Georgia Beattie

“Dad is really good with wine and with production but the stuff that I was expanding, such as the IP, was different and “out of his house”. So I spent a lot of time with the startup community and had great mentors. The thing about startups is that everyone shares. You ask an entrepreneur, “What did you do in this situation?” or, “Can I have a coffee; I’ve got a problem?” and they will say, “Yep!” and then they will just give a complete download of how they solved a situation that was similar.” – Georgia Beattie

“For me it was really about being close to, and being around, the person I find the most inspiring in business; [my father]. My father is my mentor. It means that I can be around someone every day that can teach me so much, and [someone] who willing to teach and not hold back. He knows that I am family and [that] it is worth me knowing [what he knows].” – Penelope Sattler

“All the achievement and all the success that comes [to family businesses], you share with your family. And that’s such a huge thing. They are people who are fully invested in what you’re doing, and what they’re doing, and so being able to celebrate together is wonderful.” – Penelope Sattler

“I would say things like, “We are doing this!” and, “I’m gonna say this!” and a lot of it was rash. Dad would be my check-in. He’s a little more conservative and he’ll suggest, in a really gentle way, things like, “How about this?” or, “Have you thought about this?” [His] ease and grace was a big learning for me.” – Georgia Beattie

“I like pitching things to people and when they give me a funny face, I’ll know that I need to slightly change the pitch. It’s about getting [the idea] out there. You will find someone that has [relevant] experience and you will be able to learn a little bit more.” – Georgia Beattie

“The deeper you get into the business, the clearer it will be what your point of difference is.” – Georgia Beattie

“Family businesses are such a special thing and not everyone can have a family business because not all families get along. In a family business there’s trust, you know what you need to do, and you communicate in [many] other ways. It is such an amazing and special thing and shouldn’t be taken for granted. Bring all your different loves and skillsets into the business to contribute to it rather than just conforming to its past. Make sure you bring your diversity and new-generation ideas into it.” – Georgia Beattie

“In terms of the finances of the company–such as where the money comes from, and how cash flow works–there are things where you think you have it under control because you have a degree and you learned about it. But real life, it’s different.” – Penelope Sattler

With thanks to

Penelope Sattler is the General Manager of her family’s golf course – Barnbougle Golf, which has been voted as the Best Australian Golf Resort. Penelope really likes her family and says business rewards are even sweeter when shared with them.

Georgia Beattie got her start in her dad’s winemaking business before studying entrepreneurship and taking on the CEO role at Startup Victoria a few years ago. She’s now running her own business which is bringing startup skills and mentality to big corporate players. Georgia says one of the key benefits of working with family is the transparency and trust in management.

About Masters Series by WeTeachMe

Masters Series is a show about inspiring entrepreneurs, creative thinkers, and visionary dreamers, and the stories behind how they built their companies.

Subscribe to show

Show brought to you by

Masters Series is presented by WeTeachMe.

Our strategic alliance partners: MYOB, SitePoint, and Entrepreneur’s Organization.

Our media partners: Startup Victoria and Digital Marketers Australia.

Our content partners: Written & Recorded.

The views expressed by the contributors on this show are linked websites that are not necessarily endorsed by the publisher.

Question of the day

What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

“Make that investment in yourself. The more you level up and invest in your knowledge and mindset, the faster you can grow your company. The growth of your company is a reflection of you as a founder; of how much you know and of how much you’re learning.” – Nathan Chan

“Be consistent with your content [in one channel]. Then move on to the next [channel]. One at a time. Be relentless on mastering one channel [at a time].” – Nathan Chan

“Data comes first. When looking at your data, numbers don’t lie. Test based on your gut instinct but data at the end of the day is critical.” – Stephen Esketzis

“Digital marketing comes down to 3 things: (1) Having the right offer. It’s got to be a high converting offer that resonates with your audience. Make it an irresistible offer; (2) Target customers. Be crystal clear on are your target customers are and how you will be reaching them. Because if you have the best offer but the wrong target market, they will not respond; and (3) The messaging of your copy. If you have the right offer and the right target customer but your copy misses, then they will not take action. It will be a dead campaign.” – Stephen Esketzis

“Your network is your net-worth. If everything went to shit and you lose your business, your network is what will to stay with you. Having a strong reputation and nailing the relationships game is more powerful than anything else. Marketing platforms will change. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram might be gone tomorrow; this stuff comes and goes like the wind. The network is what’s going to stay.” – Stephen Esketzis

“At the start of every year, I say to myself, “I am going to have a good stab at these goals. I’m gonna give it a good, hard crack for the next 12 months and see what happens.” – Nathan Chan

“I remind myself, “I could be this close but if I give up now, that’s it. It is definitely over.” Keep mentally reminding yourself. You could be one campaign away in making something work. Same with business. You could be one opportunity away, or one person away, in turning your business around.” – Stephen Esketzis

With thanks to

Nathan Chan is the Founder of Foundr, the magazine that profiles entrepreneurs. Nathan started Foundr at the top by interviewing Sir Richard Branson – he then gave away that copy of the magazine to supercharge the Foundr brand. Since then he’s interviewed Arianna Huffington, Mark Cuban, Seth Godin, Tim Ferriss and he shares their insights and his own in this brand building masterclass.

Stephen Esketzis is the marketing funnel mastermind and Founder of Digital Marketers Australia. He launched his first business straight out of high school with the Meggle App which hooked people up with their nearest bar or nightclub. Building a 10,000 strong network for the app took Stephen deep into the world of digital marketing. Today he builds marketing funnels for businesses of all shapes and sizes.

About Masters Series by WeTeachMe

Masters Series is a show about inspiring entrepreneurs, creative thinkers, and visionary dreamers, and the stories behind how they built their companies.

Subscribe to show

Show brought to you by

Masters Series is presented by WeTeachMe.

Our strategic alliance partners: MYOB, SitePoint, and Entrepreneur’s Organization.

Our media partners: Startup Victoria and Digital Marketers Australia.

Our content partners: Written & Recorded.

The views expressed by the contributors on this show are linked websites that are not necessarily endorsed by the publisher.

Question of the day

What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.