CEO Crossing Stories

Tony Nash joins us on CEO Crossing to share his amazing success story, turning $10/day in marketing into $175 Million per year in revenue.

Tony Nash started his first internet business in 1996. In 2004 Tony founded Booktopia, an online bookstore, with an allocated budget of $10 a day. The company’s first book sold in 3 days. Fast track 16 years and Booktopia now sells one book every six seconds, with an annual turnover of over $175 million a year. It was listed in AFR/BRW’s Fast 100 eight times, the only company to achieve this feat, and was voted Book Retailer of the Year for the 3rd time in 2019 at the Australian Book Industry Awards.

One of the defining aspects of the business is its philanthropic program. So far Booktopia has donated well over $1 million in books and cash to literacy based projects in Australia including indigenous literacy, writers festivals, readers conferences, library fundraising projects and book industry awards.

After being a finalist for 7 years, Booktopia finally took out the top award as the 2018 NSW Business of the Year at the Telstra Business Awards as well as the National People's Choice Award in the same year.

In July 2018 Booktopia also won Best Pureplay Online Retailer at the Online Retail Industry Awards and Tony was acknowledged with the Industry Recognition Award.

Booktopia launched a book wholesale distribution business called Booktopia Publisher Services (BPS) in 2016. In 2019 it also launched its own publishing imprint Booktopia Editions so the business can own the whole value chain from publishing right through to distribution as well as retailing.

In 2015 Booktopia bought Angus & Robertson, an iconic Australian book retail brand established in 1886. In 2020, Booktopia also bought The Co-op Bookshop established in 1958 after it went into administration.

Tony is an entrepreneur, Founder & CEO in online retail. With a background in recruitment, programming, business development, selling, SEO and internet marketing, Tony has developed outstanding negotiation and leadership skills with a thorough understanding of sales, forecasting, bootstrapping, PR, empowerment and managing an executive team.

Learn more about Booktopia at booktopia.com.au

Learn about CEO Crossing at CEOCrossing.com, where you can cross over to success.

Yesterday I was put in a position where I was not expecting to lead a meeting discussion but stepped up. I wasn't in control, but I took control and it was a success. On contrast, I've also been in situations where I was in control but lost control. The result is often not what you want under those circumstances.

Have you experienced either such example? What about examples of your own? At CEO Crossing we believe there's power in sharing and growing together. Through our networking and sharing, we see what's working and what is not, allowing us to avoid pitfalls before they happen.

Come check us out at CEOCrossing.com to learn how we can help you cross over to success.

#entrepreneur #success #small_business #ceo #leadership #owner #founder #sales #networking

Organic exposure is hard due to an increase in competing messages, as well as algorithms designed to prevent organic content from dominating like it once did. This doesn't mean that you can't gain organic followers, but it is harder than ever before to do so.

Does this mean we shouldn't be content creators? If you're running a business online, you can't adopt that philosophy. Content is the key to brand development and credibility. It allows you to become a trusted resource, it allows you to educate and transform your potential buying audience, and it allows you to be remembered over your competition.

In this episode, we take a deeper look at the nuances behind content marketing. The search engines do not work in your favor like they once did, so knowing how to overcome these challenges makes success more likely.

We also explore the opportunity to convert more leads within your website. Content is a key component to driving traffic to your marketing assets, such as your website. Learning how to convert these visitors to customers is critical in these competitive marketing environments.

What has been your experience? Are you finding content marketing is an easy process for your business? Or, do you find yourself frustrated that your efforts are not yielding results in line with your efforts?

We invite you to join in the conversation and learn more at CEOCrossing.com, the community where you can cross over to success.

Gautam Ganglani is the Chief Energizing Officer at Right Selection and the author of the book, Breaking Bread. Join us as he shares his views on networking and business relationship building, where you take the business conversation about of relationship building. He also shares the secrets to becoming a world-class speaker.

Gautam is a very knowledgeable and experienced business leader who knows how to create opportunities and build leverage with his clients, which translates to long lasting relationships. Tune in an learn how to master the art of relationship building.

Running a business is hard, so anything that helps with focus and productivity can help you avoid pitfalls and struggles associated with goals and targets. The 12 Week Year is the book and program created by Brian Moran and his partner, Michael Lennington. Instead of managing your business annually, as most do, the 12 Week Year teaches you to treat every 12 weeks as it carries the same significance as a one year period in traditional business management. This means shorter targets, less procrastination, and a highly impactful approach to managing your business and your life.

So few businesses run with fiscal literacy at the forefront. Charity Brown of NowAnswerGroup.com joins us to share why so many business owners are limiting their potential. It's why Kevin Harrington of Shark Tanks endorses her and her brand for the work they are doing to give business owners who implement her strategies a winning edge.

Aaron Marino is a successful Youtube personality with more than 6.3 million followers who are influenced by his messaging. Many of those same followers are active consumers of his five different brands that encompass multiple areas of business. While he is successful by all measures, his journey consists of broken dreams and bankruptcy due to failed businesses that almost left him shattered. Learn how one dream had to die to allow him to find his true potential.

Mo Brossette is an expert on human behavior, mindset, movement, and nutrition. He is a Keynote Speaker on Fear and Human Potential, where he teaches companies and individuals how to achieve professional and personal goals, overcome limiting beliefs, and use fear as your greatest tool for success.  

Mo has been in the health and fitness industry for over 24 years, and is currently the Director of Mindset and Nutrition at The Adaptive Training Foundation, a Dallas based non-profit that leads disabled military veterans and civilians through a 9-week mental and physical training program called “Redefine”. Through this unique program, Mo helps these adaptive athletes overcome physical, emotional and mental pain, fear, and self-doubt.  

Learn more at https://brossetteperformance.com/ 

CEO Crossing is a community designed to give CEO's, owners, founders, and entrepreneurs the keys to success through fellowship, networking, education, and incredible resources. Learn how to join at CEOCrossing.com

---

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/ceocrossing/message

Ben Baker is a leading expert in the space of branding. His business experience is vast and in this interview he shares the pitfalls of entrepreneurship and then he shares why branding is not marketing and the dangers of not understanding that distinction.   Ben Baker is an international speaker and an author, contributing both to magazines and other people’s books over the last number of years. 

His book “Powerful Personal Brands: a hands-on guide to understanding yours” is available at www.PowerfulPersonalBrands.com. You can download a chapter for free.   

Learn about Ben Baker at https://yourbrandmarketing.com/ 

Follow CEO Crossing at CEOCrossing.com

---

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/ceocrossing/message

GARY GOLDBERG, CEO, SquadLocker

Gary is a third generation textile engineer who has enjoyed designing products to improve the well-being and comfort of consumers for some of the world's most recognized retailers and brands. He is the founder of CleanBrands, encasements for mattresses and pillows that protect against allergens and micro-toxins. He also founded Case The Music, a guitar and musical instrument case company which was his first step into sewn textile product development. He has served on the board of trustees at Moses Brown School for over a decade. He admits that he never reached star athlete status during his younger days, but recently has enjoyed learning to play Squash with his three teenage children. He is regularly beaten at pickup basketball by his two boys, but claims he wants them to win. A native to New England, he resides in Providence, RI and is the proud owner of a French Bulldog named Gallagher. Connect with Gary on LinkedIn.

---

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/ceocrossing/message