Gordon Bailey has been running A&A Accounting for over 25 years. His start in business is particularly interesting and it's a story that may resonate with you.

Like many professional services workers, he knew he was good at the work but less excited about the business development activities that would be required of him if he were to stay in the role and become partner, so he went out on his own.

Over 25 years and a few children later he’s still enjoying his work at A&A Accounting and we discuss many aspects of his role and life including:

What it takes to setup your own business & how he advertised before the days of advertising;

How he managed to start a business with 3 young children and grow it to support a family which eventually grew to 6 children;

When choosing a business, what’s important to consider so you can ensure long term success;

How to budget for a family when cash flow is inconsistent;

How sometimes it’s a small piece of work done well that can lead to big opportunities;

How investments in the right stocks sent his family on overseas holidays;

How he’s seen his best self managed super fund clients invest for success; and

The importance of faith in business and life.

Justin Hume and I recorded the first of a series of interviews I'll be hosting on my quest to find the best and brightest Aussies.

Justin creates innovative digital products with great user experiences and intelligent, data driven back-ends. Having founded a startup and grown it to 18 people, he shifted from thinking project to product.

In 2014 at SAP's Sapphire event in Orlando, he received a global Top 5 "Most Innovative" solution award from SAP.

In this interview we discuss how he came to work in IT, how his thinking shifted once he met industrious, entrepreneurial high achievers and how he’s been able to translate his knowledge into large scale projects as well as his own innovative products. You can find out more about his company below.

https://knowledgeflux.com

I hope you enjoy our conversation and consider following along on the Aussie Wisdom journey going forward!

I've answered Tim Ferriss' 11 questions from Tribe of Mentors as a way of letting you know a little bit about your host, Chris Andersen.

Now we've got that out of the way I can focus on letting the guests do the talking!