• Consider using your calendar and booking in "you time" - for the gym, meditation, and other forms of self care
• Nutrition is extremely important - if you don't have time to prepare healthy meals, consider nutritious pre-prepared meal services
• Preparation is key to losing weight and maintaining this weight loss

1. Sleep - without sleep your body can't recover and cells don't replenish. To get into true deep sleep consider temperature controlling your room, avoiding blue light before sleep and giving yourself the chance to wind-down
2. Nutrition - fuelling your body the right way gives you the energy to smash out the work day, without feeling lethargic
3. Schedule your time and exercise whenever you can - make yourself accountable by sharing these plans with others and writing things down

• Walking meetings where teams leave the office for short periods are increasingly popular. These quick-fire catchups are less intimidating options for staff to gain access to the boss while getting some much needed fresh air and exercise
• Encouraging a healthy balance in the workplace - fit and healthy staff are more productive and offer a higher long-term return. This could include providing healthy pre-prepared meals for staff or extended lunch breaks to allow for exercise/gym visits
• Remember there are dangers to having so many unhealthy options at our fingertips in the age of online ordering. Treating healthy food as fuel is a good business move for you and staff.

• Achieving a complete overhaul of your health and life isn't magically going to happen on 1st January. This kind of change is unsustainable and waiting for a time you are ready to change everything is never going to happen. Try to make minor changes consistently to achieve your goals.
• Achieving an exercise-based lifestyle requires you finding a form you actually enjoy and will be able to go back to again and again. If you do pursue personal training, find someone you get along with, that won't intimidate you and can motivate you when you're at your worst.
• Whether it be exercise, sleep or nutrition, If it's important, you need make the time - everyone has time to do these things, but they fail to prioritise what is really important.
• Consider finding different methods of personal motivation - this may be meditation/mindfulness which can help you become more aware of your own consciousness.

Muscle Meal Food Preparation Sam Harris meditation - 'Waking up with Sam Harris podcast'

ENKE CO – If you are looking for business advisory, accounting and taxation packages, head to www.enkeco.com.au

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Transitioning from Corporate to Start-Up

• Capture a business opportunity. Look into a gap/problem in the market
• Anything you do that is customised and not stock standard, the better the business
• Challenges: You lose security of salary and bills. It all comes down to how much pressure you put on your deadlines.
• Measure every single dollar. Be careful with your spending, it can be over 6 months before you see a dollar come back into your business.

Building a Start-Up Company

• Do not underestimate research; invest into testing and prototyping all possible combinations of products, brands and names you want include. Your product must be suited to different consumers and markets.
• Anyone can do what you want to do. You must decide how you want to distinguish your company from others.
• Business plans. Everything you learn in planning your business is valuable. Revisit your plans every few years if for no other reason to look back and laugh at how off the mark you were. But often, you'll refocus on something you saw worked quite well.
• Follow the 80/20 Principle – 80% of your outputs come from 20% of your inputs. If you invest 80% of your resources into what is working

Arrange The Best Flight Before Flying

• Pick your seat carefully; an exit row seat is always more worth its weight in gold than a back-end seat. Using apps like SeatGuru allow you to see what passengers say on certain seats.
• While setting your watch to your destination's time-zone may seem like a good idea, but without twenty cups of coffee, you're not going to make it. Instead, choose an evening flight for long-haul destinations so you don't disrupt your body's natural sleep cycle.
• If you're the last row in economy, chances are you're ending up with cold last-choice leftovers. Pre-ordering your food before the flight easily avoids this problem.

Sponsors & Offers

ENKE CO – If you are looking for business advisory, accounting and taxation packages, head to www.enkeco.com.au

Cloud Nine Global – Receive 25% off all their stunning luxury packs by visiting www.cloudnine-global.com and using the code 'starterpod'

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Warwick Levy - Communications Degree at UTS - Worked as the E-Commerce Coordinator for Ecco Shoes and launched their website - Founder of Lonely Kids Club - a gender neutral clothing brand - His brand designs, drafts and concepts all their own goods - Warwick and Lonely Kids Club are both proud supporters of mental health awareness and Australian mental health initiatives

Selling your product - E-commerce - Retail and office space initially found by reaching out to Brand X - Initially an online brand while studying communications at University (part-time) - E-commerce means using online systems to sell, market, take payment, shipping coordination - Recommended E-commerce platforms: Wordpress, Shopify, Big Cartel, Magento, Squarespace, Wix, Demand (suitable for larger companies only) - Shopify is specifically designed for retail and provides highly analytical insights - The space has changed dramatically over the past decade and business owners should take time to find the most appropriate product for them

Getting into the retail space - Inevitable risks are faced due to the subjective nature of the design process - "Keep paddling…eventually you'll release you're closer to the shore than you think" - Have reasonable time-frames for success! 18 months-3 years is a reasonable timeframe for growth - Try and find what works for you, and push this as hard as you can - What you expect to work may not and that's okay as long as you adapt! - Small business has so much that big business just can't achieve

Digital marketing and what works! - Don't underestimate the power of common tools - social media platforms like Facebook can be relatively low cost for high rewards - Using account managers and then learning how to use the product yourself from them can be a great way to gain insights - Split-testing ads is an optimisation tool where you test variations of different ads to determine which engages more users, and diverts ad budgets towards more popular versions more money - Available on Adespressor or directly through Facebook - Starting with low or no cost can work! - Consider things like guerrilla marketing e.g. presenting yourself on the street, stickers, free online ads - Start small and expand gradually - consider only investing more money in when you are making more - "it's not about what you spend, it's about how you spend it" - Social media can also be used to defend your own brand if another company/brand attempts to steal or rip off your products/designs

Top tips for a new entrant considering entering the retail/E-Commerce space - People wanting to buy from you are buying from someone else right now - think past your first concept! - Why should your customers buy your product - find a niche - Put yourself out there and push hard - Try lots of things - When you're ready to quit, try that much harder

Products discussed - Brand X - a not-for-profit focused on transforming urban spaces into cultural hubs for the community https://www.brandx.org.au

Recommended E-commerce platforms: - Wordpress https://wordpress.com - Shopify https://www.shopify.com.au - Big Cartel https://www.bigcartel.com - Magento https://magento.com - Squarespace https://www.squarespace.com - Wix https://www.wix.com - inDemand (suitable for larger companies only) https://www.indemand.com.au - Hootsuite https://hootsuite.com - Adespresso https://adespresso.com

- To find our more about Warwick head to thestarterpod.com

Sponsors A massive thank you to our sponsors ENKE & Co., if you are looking for business advisory, accounting and taxation packages head to https://www.enkeco.com.au

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Choosing the Right Charity

• There are thousands of charities and getting behind a single cause may be a bit harder than you think. Be selective in choosing the right charity.
• Don't choose what's convenient for you, choose what's important to you. A charity that is close to your heart and values leaves you more supportive in making a real impact.

How To Manage & Scale Your Business Systems

• Put key people in each area, don't mix and match your staff between divisions. Work ethic is key to keeping your systems working, and the right person can make your business click into place.
• Listen when it's time to listen. Your way may not be the best way of solving problems. You are given two ears and one mouth, so use it in that ratio.
• Constantly look at the big picture. Work out the pieces to move on each level of your business. Don't focus only on the day-to-day movements, otherwise you'll never see the significance in your work.
• When growing your business, take advantage of the digital resources you have. Don't keep your processes recorded solely on a physical handbook. Platforms such as Moodle can allow your staff can control their engagement with learning new systems & processes effortlessly.
• If something doesn't work, take it with stride. There is always a fall before the bounce back, don't expect constantly success. Richard's tips for dealing with a fall are:
  • No problem in the history of mankind is solved by worry and stress. Move past the issue by creating an action plan.
  • Know your own strengths and hire for your weaknesses.
  • Start with the end in mind. Consider what are you trying to achieve from the business. Work back from there on a daily or monthly basis to work out what you need to do in every point of time

How to Fundraise for Your Business/Charity

• Workplace giving is the strongest way to start. Create a vested interest in your charity with possible funders.
• Provide details to the purpose of your charity. Hone in on who's getting the funds, what the staff are providing and why you're proud of supporting the charity.
• Closing deals may be tricky, people pay attention to what's engaging. In an auction, only 5% of people are paying attention to a specific item. You need to buy the attention of the 95% so they don't overcrowd the room.
• Entertain and engage your audience with your skills. Know when to interject, keep the room focused on you and what you're selling.

How to Connect & Engage with People on LinkedIn

• LinkedIn is the most popular platform for raising awareness of your profile and business. As an employee, your profile is one of the only assets that you can transfer between jobs.
• Don't focus solely on what you're doing, give away the praise. Mentioning and tagging people that you work with harnesses a stronger relation between new and existing connections.
• Content can be oversaturated, but engagements aren't. Don't only post about your business every day of the week, otherwise your connections will treat your post like an ad.
• Post things that are relevant to you. Be authentic, don't try to be someone you're not. Australia alone has 9 million users, and with the right content & delivery, you'll always reach your target audience.

Links & Recommendations

• Helping Hand Group are donating an $8000 Bali holiday to any fundraising event that uses their no-cost services. Visit helpinghand.com.au
• Books
  • The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People – Stephen R. Covey
• Products
  • Moodle - moodle.com/
  • Etsy - etsy.com/au/

Sponsor

ENKE CO – If you are looking for business advisory, accounting and taxation packages, head to www.enkeco.com.au/

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Partnering with Others

• Partnering with others may be difficult. It doesn't matter who you're going into a partnership with, but the mindset is that you are both your partner's employee and boss.
• Respect the partner's goals and wishes, don't remain in charge all the time. Cooperate with one another, and make sure each partner is putting effort for the other.
• A partnership can get you through difficult times with the addition of a larger buy-in group, and gives you someone to lean on.
• Make sure your partners have a set of complementary skills you don't have. If they are the type of person you can catch up with an outside of business hours on social level.

• Your team must want to work for you. 90% of success is about turning up; if people keep turning up, they keep their jobs.
• Staff aren't a part of your business; they are your business. Going the extra mile for your team makes all the difference. If you treat everybody like you have an interest in them, it makes a big difference.
• Everyone tires out of doing the same thing over and over again. Keep your team challenged, looking for new ways of doing things differently.
• When developing a team, allow your staff the opportunity to cultivate the store into their own collective style. Know when not to be there, and let them make their own decisions.
• Everyone needs to feel like they are a part of something bigger than themselves. If your staff can answer what they do with pride (without the simple "I'm just a hairdresser"), they're much more likely to stick around.

• "The day you quit learning is the day you hang up your scissors"
• Your business has to be the perfect environment for what you want to create. Run a business you want to work in, but also, run a business you want to be a customer in.
• Create a space & culture you live and love.

• Working with a disability no matter the load makes business harder. Building a cooperative team therefore becomes increasingly important in maintaining efficiency.
• Parkinson's comes in different types and stages, not everyone has the same diagnosed symptoms. Make sure you accommodate for the differences, and respect their effort.
• When interacting with people with Parkinson's, make sure you give them a chance to talk if they have trouble.

• Check out Gary and his amazing team at www.wildlifehair.com
• Support people with Parkinson's https://shakeitup.org.au/
• For more about Gary head to thestarterpod.com

ENKE CO - If you are looking for business advisory, accounting and taxation packages, head to www.enkeco.com.au

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Today's digital marketplace is all about succeeding with simplicity. But how do you create conversions without burning through thousands of dollars? Skypoynt Director, Tom Pritchard, returns to the studio to talk about your spend, structure and customer experience.

Timestamps:

9:16 Working with Keywords and Google Ads

13:44 Getting More Clicks on your Website (ft. Butter Chicken)

19:11 How To Get a Good Return

23:11 Best Tools to Use for Your Website

Recommended Digital Tools

Google Analytics - https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/

Hot Jar - https://www.hotjar.com/

Top Tips for User Experience & Conversion

1. Simple is Key - Keep your website's experience free from clutter and distractions.
2. Don't Be Close-Minded - Different people respond to different interactions. Don't offer one answer to what you think is right, provide your market with different ways to reach out to you.
3. Keep Testing - Conversion rates depend on how you interact with your market, no one technique will remain the same. Stay up to date and stabilise your conversations by continually testing your approach.

Sponsors & Offers

ENKE CO - If you are looking for business advisory, accounting and taxation packages, head to www.enkeco.com.au 

SkyPoynt - Visit skypoynt.com/analytics for a list of 10 Free Tools to measure website analytics and marketing analytics. Mention 'The Starter Pod' to receive a free installation of Google Analytics!

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Ever wondered about the power of personal presence? Coach extraordinaire Ondina from Ondina Studio joins The Starter Pod to talk about how self awareness, mindset and setting intentions can help you grow your business.

Recommended Books

• Super Natural Selling for Everyday People - Danielle Kennedy
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen R Covey
• The Artists Way Morning Journals - Julia Cameron

Course Recommendations

• Mastermind - 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Ondina Studio) 

Sponsors 

A massive thank you to our sponsors ENKE & CO, if you are looking for business advisory, accounting and taxation packages head to www.enkeco.com.au 

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Guest Summary

• Brandon Martignago - https://www.instagram.com/brandyboy/
• Active Social Media Influencer over two accounts
• Passionate about fully immersive hospitality linked to locality
• Psychology Graduate
• Started Own Business – Dulcie's Bar Bohemia, located in Kings Cross, inspired by the 1930's Kings Cross and Dulcie Dreamer

Reach of social media, working with influencers and building an online brand

Influencer

• Started as addressing his self-worth and promoting his confidence on a mass public scale
• Became about showcasing their (the photographers) work featuring himself
• Selling products is not all what social media is about; users need to find the drive that pushes them to create personalised content
• Instagram is about keeping you on the platform for longer, the algorithm has changed in regard to user activity
• Partnering with brands can cause changes in authenticity such as promoting products you previously opposed to
• Using Instagram to address issues which you are fighting within as a form of expression, so followers can relate

There is a certain key to Instagram:

• Good quality photos that convey a meaning
• Obtaining a quality and meaningful posting scheme to keep followers intrigued
• Relatability so followers can compare themselves to their influencers

Business Perspective

• Build a personal brand, create a reason to exist (attract people's attention)
• Building stories through your content (more than just a day to day basic post, need to convey a stronger perception and meaning)
• There is a whole variety of people/businesses that are the same as you, so show that you have something to offer or show something that others don't
• Brandon opened a business and used his social medias to publicise his business which had a positive impact on his clientele
• Instagram is a snapshot of your life, fragments of time displayed in photos and videos, therefore show how these moments are important through relatable commentary and taglines.

Building Your Following

• Never buy followers/likes, it removes authenticity
• Using the platforms to make connections with your suppliers such as alcoholic suppliers
• Taglines – this will enable Instagram users to post photos and tag suppliers who can repost their content
• Business profiling allows you to see when people check your Instagram, what to post and how to engage with the content
• Instagram has become so intrinsically linked to the day to day life of users
• You can buy clothes through Instagram through the "shop category"
• You can fake it by buying followers and creating standard content, but the ability to be creative and unique content is diminished

The Specialist

• You need to be on top of that person in regard to research in order to find the right people to promote you
• Try and find your niche in order to find something that you are passionate about
• Hashtags are a key way to find people who are keen on your company
• People want a connection with you, therefore the products you promote need to be tied with your key ideas and values
• There are followers over a range of markets
• 2% of followers to a page are usually involved with that person they follow
• 8-10% of followers like your photos on average
• You will never get authenticity if you fake it
• Find an interesting location and use it to get in with a certain area
• YouTube is a good way to get an understanding of content
• Play around with filters, apps, to see what you want to do and how to use your equipment

Top Tips:

• Find your niche
• Ask questions to other influencers
• Engage with the people in your market
• Try and get collaborations with strong influencers
• Reach out to a PR agency

Products Recommended

• Instagram
• PR Agents
• Analytic Tools such as "Instagram Business"
• Hootsuite - https://hootsuite.com
• Libsyn - https://libsyn.com
• Q83 - https://q-83.com
• Dion Nucifora - https://www.instagram.com/dionnucifora/
• Josh Raymond - https://joshraymond.com/
• Dulcie's Kings Cross - https://www.dulcieskingscross.com.au/

Sponsors 

A massive thank you to our sponsors ENKE & CO, if you are looking for business advisory, accounting and taxation packages head to www.enkeco.com.au 

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Guest summary

• Practicing psychologist for + 7 years
• Child protection, forensics, forensic disability protection
• Started own business – executive coach AND psychologist
• While therapy is future focussed, executive coaching is more about pursuing your goals (what can change)

Determining who to bring into the business – finding the right fit

• Analysing who you might work on – using positive psychology and coaching skills 
• "A) their values are in line with the business and B) I want to have a look at their meta-capabilities... is this person a flexible person, an adaptable person, what are their analytic skills like"

Health and wellness

• How to manage your own health and wellbeing in a high-pressure – "I'm strict with my self-care"
• Recognising your own emotional exhaustion, stress management
• Business owners need to prioritise themselves too
• Recognising the importance of pursuing good burnout/stress
• Employee hotlines like Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which employees can call for free when stressed/overwhelmed or just wanting to talk
• Note: ongoing clinical support is for psychologists (maybe include a disclaimer at the bottom of the show notes)

 Marketing and growth in a non-testimonial business

• No one has a thought-out marketing plan when they started – but it can take years to develop and implement
• Networking is key and word-of-mouth 

Executive coaching and burnout

• "Dynamic space"
• Executive burnout has been added to the International Classification of Disorders by World Health Organisation
• People in the field of psychology or have had other clinical roles may be more suitable/have more experience
• Psychologists tend to use evidence-based models and research
• Goal-setting and meeting your goals
• Holistic service based on the needs of an executive
• Keeping a separation between clinical/mental health (psychologist) and goals (executive coach)
• Investments in self-development only better your skills and increase your effectiveness

What should you look for in an executive coach?

• Somebody that doesn't give you advice…looks at where your strengths lie and replicating your previous successes in this new problem situation
• "people have these things inside them, it's about supporting them to bring it out"
• Having a support network

Other:

• Experience vs. education – depends on the person
• "I'm a digital nomad" – utilising technology to create flexibility in your working life

Products Recommended;

1. - Sykpe 
2. - Zoom
3. - Employee Assistants Program - https://www.eapassist.com.au/faqs

Sponsors 

A massive thank you to our sponsors ELEV8 Business, if you are looking to hire a podcast studio head to www.elev8business.com.au

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- Getting out on your own - when it's time to take the step - "The reality is, until you're absolutely invested it's not going to shift"

- Culture and building what you want as a boss - and moving from a "dictatorship type relationship with their boss" by showing employees are valued can create loyalty - Boss can define their own culture - Culture is facilitated by open communication and knowing the values of your staff - Embracing different cultures across countries

- Technology creates massive opportunities for SME's - Automation & animation of technology is huge - shifts being seen currently & many people are panicking - BUT overlooking massive opportunities that exist - Small and micro-business owners far too often too busy to educate themselves about how technology can support them and this is part of the problem - Aren't aware of amazing platforms available for SME's at a low cost or free - At the 3-5 year window, see a massive increase in business failure - because people don't reinvest on ways to stay in the game & educate themselves on the changing landscape in their field (almost always tech-driven)

Systems in the workplace - Management and interviews can occur via technology like zoom - used to connect with staff and potential employees + customers - Systemisation and business management tools create transparency about what people need to be doing, are expected to do etc. - Huge shift in accessibility for SME's - Productivity hub does "productivity audits" to assess how effectively systems are being used within a business vs. how they could be used - "if it's working we don't need to change it, we need to enhance it" use your existing tech & utilise it to it's full capacity - "5% at a push are using their tech to it's best" - need to educate people on what the tech they currently use is actually capable of - Tech products endorsed by Debbie - zoom, active campaign (CRM & digital marketing platform - intuitive to use)

Top 3 things businesses need tech wise 1. CRM 2. project or task management platform e.g. Asana 3. Email client - that allows plugins e.g. g-suite, office 365

Products discussed/recommended - Zoom - G-Suite - Asana - Productivity hub - Hubspot - Canva

A massive thank you to our sponsors ELEV8 Business, if you are looking to hire a podcast studio head to www.elev8business.com.au

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