Climbing With Scars

Today on Climbing With Scars I’m sharing an experience I was lucky enough to have with one of our customers and the unexpected value of learnings received. From a customer competition we had that allowed the winner a three-hour workshop with me, the big lesson was when giving and sharing you get more back than expected. I share the three biggest takeaways I took from this 1 on 1 opportunity and the learnings of how to do more for clients that grow more than just sales. Get ready to be Wow’d.

In today’s episode on Climbing With Scars I’m joined by Dr James Muecke, Australian of the Year for SA 2020 and founder of Sight for All, a non-for-profit company dedicated to overcoming world blindness. From 11 years old James had a passion for medicine, with an even bigger passion to help others. Today he shares how his experience working as a medical student in Kenya taught him many life lessons, revealing how he overcame the many obstacles and dangers of working and doing business in a foreign country. Tune in to find out how taking yourself far out of your comfort zone builds up the amount of resilience it takes to build any business. 

Moving forward is more than just heading into a direction. Forward movement takes us into the future, towards places we’ve never been. We learn this from when we’re toddlers, taking forward steps towards the unknown, yet somehow many adults “unlearn” this and stay still or worse look behind, go backwards and never end up where they could. This week on Climbing With Scars I talk about what moving forward actually reflects in all of us, how it leads us into the future and guides us to positive outcomes. I not only share how this happens in entrepreneurship and business, but reveal what I’ve found as the key ingredient to unlocking the doors to go where you want. Take a walk forward with me on this episode, I’m sure it will move you towards where you’re destined to head.

Really enjoyed this open and honest chat with Sean Baxter who shares his story of how a budding entrepreneur finally found his way into the groove. From university graduate in journalism to product ambassador with iconic spirit labels and then as one of the last 20 contestants on the MasterChef 2014 series, Sean reveals how he overcame doubts, fears and uncertainties until he found himself into the Never Never. This is a great story of one of the Co-founders of Never Never Distilling Co. that explores his journey and how passion ultimately finds the way through. A raw and endearing recount on a story that will give listeners a refreshing perspective on how the world of start ups and entrepreneurship actually is. Don’t miss out on getting a taste of this story!

On this episode of Climbing With Scars I’m joined by Leila Henderson, CEO and founder of Newsmaker, an Australian press release company. Leila began her entrepreneurial journey when she fell in love with journalism and found herself landing a job working with Australian icon Ita Buttrose on the Australian Woman’s weekly! Working with such a strong female role model, Leila shares her experiences and lessons learned that propelled her forward to other  passions that  came from left field Into the area of information technology. Join me on this one where we go deep into Leila’s journey, touching on many aspects to growing a business, females in business and hearing her views on start ups she now works with that impress.  

Today's episode is a special one, where my team surprises me with a little celebration here at the office for my 100th podcast episode on Climbing With Scars and invited the first three podcast guests to join me on this channel 2 years ago, John Caporaso, owner of Mercato, Mary Centofanti, Managing Director of Davroe Haircare, and Anthony Kittel, CEO of REDARC Electronics.

In today’s episode, we talk about how quickly time passes while growing a business, and how important it is to take the time to celebrate the little wins. We share the knowledge that we have gained and learnt over the past two years, diving deep into the new strategies we implemented in our businesses for furture growth. Join me on this one to find out how these three entrepreneurs have taken their businesses to the next level in as little as two years.

This week I’m joined by Cheryl Shigrov, the Managing Director of Precious Cargo Education, an early learning education centre that follows the Montessori teaching method. Like many successful entrepreneurs, Cheryl’s motives behind starting the company was never about the money, but instead was about a genuine belief and love of her beliefs in how to teach children. In this one we go deep into the “not so pretty” parts of Cheryl’s journey and how she found the courage to persevere and keep going when faced with the most daunting challenges. Join me this week on Climbing With Scars to find out how Cheryl went from an anti-risk taker, to courageous single mum and successful entrepreneur.

This week on Climbing With Scars I talk to Kirk Drage, the CEO of LeapSheep, a company focusing on empowering entrepreneurs and increasing start-up success rates. From a young age Kirk had a passion for science and mechanics but little did he know that would lead him to a journey of entrepreneurship. I was fortunate enough to pick his brain on this one where we dive deep into how and why the global success rate for start-ups is as low as 5%, answering all kinds of questions about venture capital, investors, and patents. Join me on this one where Kirk spills all his secrets on successful start-ups.

I often hear “leader” and “manager” used in the same context, but are they the same? Is the leader of the business a good manager of the business? This week I talk about being in charge, but you may be surprised on what being in charge actually means for the leader.  I’ve come across many great leaders that have led the way on this and I’ve been fortunate to learn from my time as an entrepreneur on how important it is for any leader to truly be in charge of their business and in a context many overlook or realise. Join me this week where I share how this differentiates businesses that thrive and those that are stuck at road blocks. Get ready for a charge of a different kind.

This week on Climbing With Scars I talk to Adam Carpenter, joint founder of Prohibition Liquor, that lives and breathes the entrepreneurial spirit. After 14 years of running his own graphic design agency he and his business partner Wes decided to enter the world of creating a gin brand, and not just any gin. Hear the story of how from working inside his home garage, the creation Prohibition Liquor Co evolved to enable a clever unique brand find its way onto the shelves of some of the largest liquor retailers and bars around the country, after only 4 years of operation. Many lessons here on how to utilise design to do it different and stand out from the crowd. Join me to hear how this Bootlegger shares the joys and challenges of turning a passion into a brand, that is now finding its way onto shelves across Australia and into export markets.