Unique Business- ISSUE ONE

From The

Editor Welcome to our first issue of Unique Business Magazine. Well done for turning up! So few people turn up and do what they have to do to get to where they want to go.

This magazine is here to give you some tips and real-world advice – no BS just the facts.

In this issue we cover a whole stack of great information to help whether you own your own business, or you are on the way to taking the leap into owning your own business.

Also, be sure to read about Andrew Banks, Australia’s favourite Shark, and how he can help you make your first million.

Finally, we hear from the carpenter who now enters our lounge rooms almost every day, Scotty Cam, on how you too can have his style of success.

We hope you enjoy this first issue and get a tonne of great tips from all the pages.

Some of the great articles include: - Why bricks and mortar businesses still matter!

- Why not to buy a franchise.

- Where are you on the Money Pyramid?

We also hear from some really switched on business owners who share some fantastic tips with you.

Learn what Arnold Schwarzenegger can teach you about business, it’s a great read check it out.

We also had a chat to Australian CEO Tony Nash from Booktopia, he shares his wisdom and journey from university dropout to one of Australia’s best business success stories.

Matt Buchel Matt Bouchel

Why Bricks and Mortar Businesses Still Come Up Trumps!

I

t’s no secret that technology has changed the world; the internet has changed how people consume knowledge, machines have changed our workforce and smartphones have changed how we interact. However, while some industries have become obsolete, when it comes to brick and mortar businesses, they are still very much in demand for a variety of reasons.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, chances are that you’ve participated in some form of online shopping in your life. While it’s true that e-commerce is very common and is growing, the majority of sales still take place in a physical store.

Think about it, when it comes to something like clothes or jewellery, it’s so hard to tell 6

whether the item will fit properly, sit the right way, or even be made of the desired materials without seeing it physically. The hesitation behind whether or not the product will be as we imagine can often lead to disbandment of buying the product online.

In fact, in America alone, a study found that 80% of all U.S. retail sales happen in store and that consumers in all age groups prefer shopping at a physical store as opposed to online. This can be for a variety of reasons but most obviously include the instant gratification from the lack of waiting time to receive the physical good, and the ability to try and test it before buying.

In fact, it’s statistics like these that allow us to analyse the customer’s shopping preferences

to tailor their shopping experience to bring out complete satisfaction from the customer.

An in-store experience can bring out much more than online, think: taste, sight, touch, smell and sound. Whereas, an online site is limited to just sight and perhaps sound.

Some of the bigger companies, like Samsung, M&M’s and Apple, are really embracing this advantage and creating a shopping space that customers enjoy being in and don’t want to leave. For example, M&M’s in London offers a truly immersive brand experience by creating a four floor ‘M&M World’ featuring personalised items, pick’n’mix walls, M&M movies and interactive games.

Customers also believe that they will receive better service in store as opposed to online, which is another factor that keeps them coming back to physical stores. Let’s face it, chat bots, generic email response and communicating with a customer service representative who struggles with english are all problems consumers face when trying to return a product online.

Brick and mortar stores hold that competitive advantage of being able to provide the customer with an exceptional and personal service experience and make them feel as though their needs and expectations are met.

This is one of the main keys to keep a physical shop truly successful.

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8 Things

Arnold

Schwarzenegger can teach you

about Business.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of the of the most recognisable people on the planet and whether you know him as the bronze and ripped Mr Olympia, decked out in the Terminator costume uttering, “I’ll be back,” or in a suit giving a speech as the Governor of California, there is no doubt his rise to the top of three vastly different realms can teach you many important business lessons.

While it may seem Arnold is a force of nature, he has said time and again that it was his relentless pursuit of bodybuilding that gave him the discipline, focus and drive to succeed at anything he set his mind to.

This doesn’t mean all budding entrepreneurs

3 Always aim higher

need to head to the gym and start pumping iron, but looking back at his illustrious

Arnold knew he would never get

career, here are eight things Arnold can

anywhere by aiming for the middle of the

teach you about business.

pack. Instead, he gunned for the top of the ladder, where this is often little competition

1 Visualise

accompanied by the opportunity to make the biggest impact.

While setting goals is paramount for any entrepreneur, Arnold is a firm believer in vision. For him, to picture what it would feel like to achieve that goal helped him to overcome anxiety and kick his level of commitment to achieving that goal into overdrive, propelling the young boy from Austria into greatness.

He held out for the biggest movie roles and went straight for the most powerful political position he was able to run for. It’s a lesson to never settle for second-best.

4 Learn from your competition Although Arnold was named Mr Universe

“I always feel that if I can see it and

and began his bodybuilding legacy at the

believe it, then I can achieve it,” he says in

age of 20, he didn’t win the title on his first

his book, Total Recall.

attempt, nor did he crack Mr Olympia on the first go either.

2 Surround yourself with likeminded people Even from his early days in body building, Arnold only trained at the best facilities, with the best trainers and training partners.

He observed his competition, saw what they had that he didn’t, went away and regrouped and came back stronger than ever.

5 Don’t let limitations get in the way

This meant he was constantly being challenged, motivated and mentored,

No matter who you are or what your

never taking it easy.

background is, we all have limitations.

Surrounding yourself with people with

But when you look at the hurdles that

passion and drive in abundance will

Arnold had to overcome in order to

help you to lift your game and strive for

become the Governor of California, a

greatness.

body building icon and one of the biggest

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movie stars along the way, you could

Whether it was building the perfect physique

argue that limitations are something we

for Mr Olympia, learning the intricacies

create in our minds.

of broadsword fighting for his break-

Arnold shows that it is how you move past your limitations, real or perceived, that determines how successful you will become.

6 Explore all opportunities Not many people know Arnold was a successful property developer in his younger years.

He worked in construction while training for Mr Olympia and went into business with best friend and fellow body builder Franco Columbu.

They recruited a dozen other local bodybuilders to keep up with demand and went on to buy 15 acres of land as an investment. The development of this property saw Arnold become a millionaire in his early twenties, yet despite his success, he still went on to complete a Business and Economics degree at the University of Wisconsin.

7 Don’t be afraid of hard work According to Arnold adaptability is achieved through an ingrained work ethic and determination to succeed without shortcuts and with unfailing confidence.

On many occasions, Arnold has attributed his unwavering drive to repetition.

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through role in Conan the Barbarian, or gaining a greater knowledge than his political opposition to take out the election, repetition has been a constant in his world.

8 Back yourself – always On the day Arnold announced he was going to run for Governor of California, it is said he walked into the filming of The Tonight Show with two scripts in his hand.

One pledged his support for another candidate, another announced he would run himself.

Unsure which path to take, Arnold made the ultimate decision to trust his instincts and go with whatever came out of his mouth at the time.

Backing yourself and trusting your instincts are important skills for any entrepreneur to foster and embrace.

Where Are You On The

Money Pyramid?

By Matt Buchel

Let’s talk about money for one minute.

Let’s take a look at this pyramid.

Top Income Wealth High 6-Figure To 7-Figure Income + Affluent Mid-Income+ Financially Secure

By Retirement

Making A Living

*Broke*

1% 4% 15% 60% 20%

You have to look at this now, yourself, and you have to say, “Where am I on this pyramid?”

Not really where you want to be… I’m going to show you how to get there... providing you’re consistent, anyone can get in to this 4% I believe. First of all, you have to believe in yourself. Second of all, you have to have a system.

High six figure to seven figure income – that’s what you take home. That’s not what the business turns over. Anyone can get in this area. To make five, six, seven hundred thousand dollars is totally doable, but you have to do something.

You have to get out there. You have to be in front of people and you have to build customers.

Just to give you a little bit of clarification.

If you’re talking broke, that means that basically you’re backwards significantly and you’re not actually getting enough money to come through and pay your bills. If you’re talking about making a living, you’re sort of surviving on a neutral level. You can’t really save and you’re not really getting ahead.

It might take you three years to get to that five to six hundred thousand dollar income, but it’s totally doable in a period of time. If you want to do it in the next year, pretty hard, unless you’ve got a lot of experience behind you, but it can be done. In reality, over a few years, you can definitely get there. But if you do nothing and stay where you are, you’re not going to get anywhere. It’s the end of the story.

Next is literally 80/20. 80% of people are in this area. In the mid income segment, you might be making $100,000 to $200,000 a year. You’re sort of okay.

You’re saving a bit of money, but you’re not really miles ahead. You haven’t got hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank, or anything like that.

The top wealth at the top of the pyramid, we’re getting into the serious dollars here. Obviously the 1% of the 1% are the Jamie Packers and Frank Lowys of this world and people earning tens of millions dollars a year, celebrities, those types of people. But the high six figure and seven figure one is totally achievable for 17

anyone. This one is totally achievable for anyone and you should want to be here, because otherwise you’re just going to have money to survive. Below that, you’re not going to have any money and at the lower levels, you’re already backwards.

You’ve got to find a way to get into that 4%.

One way or another, if you didn’t know it exists, now you know it exists and you’ve got to aim for that 4%. End of story.

Reaching the Top of the Pyramid Now, let’s talk about you. Here’s a big problem that most people face. To get to the top of the pyramid, you need a proven plan.

To get into that 4%, you actually need a good, solid, proven plan. Now you have

to push yourself up the pyramid. Like I said before, sitting there and waiting for the money to arrive and thinking because you’ve done the right thing by people… that all of sudden your boss is going to give you a pay raise and the money is going to come…. it’s not happening.

Thinking because you spent six years at University and now you should go out and automatically huge sums of money should come to you, it’s not going to happen.

You have to make it happen; you have to push yourself to the top of the pyramid.

To hear more about the Money Pyramid head to www.yourimportingcashflow.com.au www.importingsuccess.com.au

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4 Reasons

You

Shouldn’t

Invest

in a Franchise

W

hile having the freedom to set your own hours, employ who you like and be your own boss may sound enticing, if you’re thinking of going down the franchise path, then all may not be as alluring as it initially seems. While technically, when buying a franchise, you’re classified as a small business owner, you’re still under the control of a higher power; you’re told what to sell, how much to charge, where to source your goods from and how much to buy them for. But, that’s not the only red flag that springs to mind when it comes to investing in a franchise. Here are some other reasons why buying a franchise is a bad business move.

1 Blocking Future Business Opportunities

Let’s say you bought a franchise in a very famous sandwich chain. Perhaps a few years passes and you decide that you 20

can make your own sandwiches - with your own business - and no longer want to be attached to this chain. It’s likely that this will be impossible - for a few years at least - due to legal reasons. Almost every franchise has a non-competition clause built into their agreement, limiting your business opportunity for years after the contract ends.

2 Steep start up cost

To put it simply, buying your own franchise is almost always expensive.

Plus, you must remember that even after the initial investment of pouring your hard earned dollars into a franchise, you’re still required to make royalty payments to the franchisor, usually as a monthly set amount or as a percentage of earnings.

Why not spend this initial lump sum investing in your own business where you will reap ALL of the profits?

3 Limited freedom and creativity

4 Lack of Protection

if it’s the freedom of owning your own business that draws you towards buying a franchise, then beware. While it may seem like the easy route to becoming boss, it limits you in so many areas.

Ultimately, you will be working under the franchisor, making them your boss.

Because of this you won’t have much scope to be creative or to introduce new and exciting business ideas or even a new logo, as the franchisor always has the final say.

When it comes to the legal side of the business, Franchisors hold the majority of the power. Most Franchisors make franchisees sign agreements that waive away their rights, meaning that the Franchisor gets to make the call when it comes to legal situations. So, unfortunately, if you are wronged by a franchisor, you will have little legal recourse.

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From actor to recruitment boss, the Shark Tank star is a big (and little) ideas guy He swapped London for Australia in 1972, hoping for success as an actor. Instead, Andrew Banks found he was a natural entrepreneur and is now one of the country’s most prolific business brains.

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Andrew’s first venture came in the early Seventies when he maxed out his credit cards to invest $5000 in a restaurant venture, turning a profit just 18 months later. He quit acting for a steady wage and began working in human resources in the oil, then marine industry.

In the mid ‘80s he set up the recruitment company Morgan & Banks with his business partner Geoff Morgan which went public in

1995, growing its revenue to $880 million a year. In 2003, Andrew launched HR outsourcing and executive search and selection company Talent2 International and since then has invested in a huge variety of other businesses. He is now a resident Shark on Channel Ten’s Shark Tank where he gives out advice - and money - to ambitious business owners.

Don’t always think new is better Andrew is all about thinking smarter. Just because a business idea’s been done before, doesn’t mean you can’t do it too.

‘Many [new businesses] just provide a similar service but “more, faster, better for less” so it’s the whole package - the idea, its market potential, the entrepreneur themselves, both competence and character,’ he explains.

Prioritise the boring stuff The nuts and bolts of running a business is often where inexperienced owners struggle.

Andrew advises not to spend too long on that lightbulb moment - that’s the easy bit. Now you need to work on everything else.

‘A great idea is not a business — it’s just the start! To be successful in business, cover all the things you’ll need to make sure you succeed. It’s called a “business plan” and it has boring but necessary things in it like cash flows, trademarks and patents, sales and marketing data and people profiles that will be needed to execute this idea! There is plenty of help and data out there on all of the above — go find it!’

Employ the best you can As someone who’s employed thousands of people in his companies over the years, Andrew’s an expert at ensuring he puts together a talented team.

‘So basically, it’s about putting a team together; everybody knows what their job is, they know what their goal is, they know how they’re going to get rewarded, and they’re obviously capable of doing the job – and then you get the hell out of their way,’ he says.

When you’re ready, introduce rewards for your employees, he advises.

Listen to your customer We always like to think as owner operators, we know exactly what our customers need.

But to convert, you have to keep listening to their changing demands.

‘It’s like a lot of things: all your best ideas come from your customers. Morgan always used to say “Two ears, one mouth; do everything in that proportion.” Which means, listen and look at your customer,’ explains Andrew.

Positivity is everything As Andrew says, ‘”Success comes in cans, not cannot’s. In other words, yes’, not no’ s. Early in my business career I was given the concept of listening to every idea and suggestion one came across and not being too quick to say no or dismiss the message!’

In other words, listen with an open mind, explore all options, try new approaches and pathways and think laterally.

For more on Andrew Banks visit www.andrewbanks.com.au or Facebook @andrewbanks.com.au 23

Meet Tony Nash - CEO of Booktopia

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that literally wheeled a trolley around

because it was immediately apparent

delivering mail,” he says.

that it “wasn’t for the faint-hearted.”

“From there I studied a computer

“There are a lot of things about the

programming certificate and computer

industry which meant not anyone

programming was something I was

could start an online book store and

really bad at. Then I moved into

be competitive. The barriers to entry

computer sales and I was really bad at

were really high. There is an incredibly

that too. I travelled around the world for

large number of SKUs to manage, the

three-and-a-half years and that was my

knowledge of how to run a website

university degree.”

with large volumes of data and to be

When Tony found a job as a computing consultant for an IT recruitment

able to respond quickly to the needs of customers,” he says.

company, he began to find his calling

“We started things without any plan or

and his first foray into business was

agenda, just connected with a company

establishing an IT recruitment business.

that managed 80 bookstores websites

He was later introduced to the world of books when a business he, his sister and brother-in-law established was employed to get Angus and Robertson to rank the highest in Google searches. In 2015, they had earned enough money through the success of Booktopia to buy that same book company.

But, let’s rewind back to 2004, when Booktopia was in its infancy. Tony says he was attracted to the book industry

and fulfilled their orders. It gave me the ability to dip in without having to invest and think about infrastructure and outsourcing in those early stages while doing things slowly to mitigate those high barriers and continually taking over market share and winning over customers.”

Amazon has been a looming presence, threatening to appear in Australia for the past 14 years. But Tony says by focusing on their main product and not

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being pulled in many directions, they

more stock and getting people to hand

have cemented their position against all

over their cash isn’t done by magic, it’s

opposition.

by adding value for your customers and

“When you are one thing across the board, you can really excel at what

Tony says the number one thing all

you do. When you are everything to

entrepreneurs need to remember is

everyone, which is what Amazon is

there is nothing they can’t do.

really, your focus gets pulled in all directions. Books make up just three per cent of Amazon’s revenue and with our move to become a book distributor, Amazon would need to buy from us if they need to sell anything from Australian book stores,” he says.

When it comes to scaling business, Tony knows a thing or two. Booktopia has been in BRW Fast 100 for an impressive eight years.

“I found out in 2017 that I’d had ADHD all my life. I never knew. I dropped out of uni and I’ve been bankrupt, everyone has these reasons why they couldn’t do it and there are reference points in their life to make a personal assessment of why they are not good enough,” he says.

“But regardless of what you may or may not have succeeded at, the more focused on destination you are and the

“What we do is set goals to be

more you are crystal clear on where

generating 20 to 30% more than the

you are heading, the more likely you

same time last year. By setting that

are to succeed no matter what. Those

horizon point, you can start to imagine

barriers are irrelevant.”

some of the things you need to do to achieve that goal,” he says.

“You then reinvest in hiring more people, building new systems or buying

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building trust.”

Check out www.booktopia.com.au for more information on Tony and his family.

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Steps Cam’s Steps To To Scotty Scotty Cam’s Style Style Success Success

He’s the chippy from Bondi who became Australia’s favourite on-screen tradie when he joined Backyard Blitz and then Burke’s Backyard. These days the straight-talking building guru’s got a collection of Logies, a property empire worth around $10 million at last count and likes telling The Block contestants where they’re going wrong - and right - with their renos.

Unique Business breaks down Scott Cam’s tips for getting it right.

1 Put in your all

4 Get it done - then relax Like most of us, it’s all about keeping a balance for Scott, who says he got his work ethic from his dad, Allan. ‘I’ve always loved working hard, that great feeling of being tired and dirty, hot and sweaty – then the inevitable cold beer at the end of the day,’ he says.

5

Pay it forward - help a kid out

Scott’s all about working hard - whether it’s a build, a business or just something you’ve committed to getting done. ‘Laziness really gets under my skin,’ Scott explains. ‘I can’t stand people who don’t give 100 per cent or at least have a crack.’

As an Australian Ambassador for Apprenticeships, Scott reckons tradies and anyone else in a position to help has a responsibility to pass on their skills to the next generation. ‘There’s an unwritten obligation to keep the trade alive and moving,’ he says. ‘My apprenticeship was one of the best things I ever did.’

2 Don’t get stuck in the office

6 Crack a smile, mate

It might seem like he spends more time in front of a camera than over a workbench, but building is Scott’s first love and he’s usually got a project on the go. ‘I’ve never lost sight of where I’ve come from though. Every day I’m grateful for the opportunities that have come my way,’ he says.’I still like to get busy on the tools.’

He might put the frighteners on The Block contestants, but he’s just a big softy who loves it when people say hello. ‘What a great job I’ve got that people actually want to take the time out to say hello to you. It’s an amazing job and I’m privileged to have that in my life, you know – people just saying hello. And it doesn’t cost anything to say g’day back either,’ he says.

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Don’t let your past define your future

Scott admits to being a ‘bit of a bad kid’ when he was growing up - even though he came good in the end. ‘We didn’t even think about going to work, just where we’d get our next Violet Crumble bar or Wagon Wheel from. I was a bit of a knucklehead,’ he admits.

Finally - don’t listen to anything 7 he’s got to say!

He might be full of wise words, but when it comes down to it, Scott reckons we should all follow our own path. ‘My theory is that really, advice only suits the person giving it. You’ve got to learn to make your own decisions about how you live and how you work,’ says Scott.

Point taken, Scotty.

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