Question : Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business. Please include what your business is all about, in which city you are located and if you have offices in multiple locations/ cities.
Answer : Somxl was researched and designed in Christchurch, New Zealand. We began marketing via the internet 16 years ago, before Google was the market leader, in fact Yahoo was our first marketing avenue. We believed the internet was going to be great for educating customers who wanted to be informed about options for their health and treatments available. We manufacture and market Clinical strength Somxl for warts.
Question : Kindly give us a brief description about yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements).
Answer : Since leaving University with an honors degree in business management majoring in Organizational Change. I have been self-employed and involved in marketing on the internet. I have only ever worked for myself.
Question : What inspired you to (start a new business venture) or (to make significant changes in an existing business)? How did the idea for your business come about?
Answer : I have always liked to be in control of my own destiny and be responsible for what ever actions I take in my business life. I also like the flexibility the internet gives a person. When things arise that I would like to do or be part of I can make that happen with my business. The idea of Somxl came from thinking about customers, what type of products best suit the privacy of the Internet.
Question : What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
Answer : Try to think of an idea that won’t cost too much if it doesn’t work, the first idea doesn’t always work and if you lose a significant amount of money, it will take a long time to build it up again so you can have a go at something else. Test market your idea, a major advantage of the internet is that you can test different options. Try to look for things you would want in your life, chances are others are thinking the same thing.
Question : What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
Answer : Open minded, your business may turn out different than you imagine, go with it. Patience, most businesses take time to get to a level of success. Keep learning, things change quickly now.
Question : How many hours do you work a day on average?
Answer – About 5 hours.
Question : To what do you most attribute your success?
Answer – To see what the customer wants.
Question :How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
Answer – Internet advertising allows you access to niche markets.
Question : Where did your organizations funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
Answer : The business started small and was self funding.
Question : What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
Answer : Adapt to changing methods of marketing. In the age of Internet advertising, there are always new ways to attract customers, keep up to date with them.
Question : Where you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
Answer : If I’m true to my word I would have to say I don’t know. Things change so fast in this market. The only thing I could say for sure is that the business won’t be the same as it is now.
Question : Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most? –
Answer : I’m always impressed with Google’s ability to try anything, even if at the moment it doesn’t seem like it would make any money from it. They understand that things change so much that what may be of little use now could be indispensable in the future.
Question : How important have good employees been to your success?
Answer : Very, now that the internet has become so specialized, you need to have experts in certain fields to be operating at your most competitive.
Question : How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
Answer : It would depend on what it was, quite often though I try going in another direction quite quickly if that is what the market is showing me.
Question : What motivates you?
Answer : Something needs to be interesting for me and the results from that.
Question : What are your ideals?
Answer : Be open to new ideas and learn from others.
Question : How do you generate new ideas?
Answer : Usually I just notice things that other businesses have done and think that would work for us.
Question : How do you define success?
Answer : I only have to feel good in the situation I’m in.
Question : How do you build a successful customer base?
Answer : We tend to work with new customers all the time, so its more about how we keep finding those customers.
Question : What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Answer : Freedom to control your work life.
Question : What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Answer : The continued adaption and growth of my business in such a competitive and ever changing sector.
Question : What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
Answer : I think they tend to believe they can do something and that it will work without concentrating on why it won’t work and what the consequences of failure would be.
Question : What kind of culture exists in your organization? How did you establish this tone and why did you institute this particular type of culture?
Answer – I only have sub contractors working for this business, they work for themselves so tend to be highly motivated.
In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur. Interesting.
Question : If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
Answer : It would be nice to understand more of the practical side of website development, maybe some coding skills.
Question : How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?
Answer : I have more freedom to do things when the moment calls, flexibility is a big plus.
Question : What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?
Answer : Having to work in an organization without control. Keep my business running well.
Question : How did you decide on the location for your business?
Answer : A location isn’t required for an Internet business.
Question : Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?
Answer : I think you have to keep trying, even good ideas don’t work all the time, there is some luck but it wont happen if your trying.
Question : If you could talk to one person from history, who would it be and why?
Answer : Nobody really from a business point of view.
Question : Who has been your greatest inspiration?
Answer : Funny, its probably Del boy from “Only fools and horses” I liked that he was in control of his life.
Question : What book has inspired you the most? (OR what is your favorite book?)
Answer : The 4 hour working week
Question : What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve made?
Answer : I am where I am now which is a good place so everything got me here, so none.
Question : How can you prevent mistakes or do damage control?
Answer : Don’t invest everything in one idea, things change.
Question : What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
Answer : I mostly socialize because I’m not in a work environment when I’m working so its nice to see and meet others.
Question : What makes you happy?
Answer : Completing a project and seeing how it goes.
Question : What sacrifices have you had to make to be a successful entrepreneur?
Answer : Safety of a 9 – 5 job.
Question : If you were conducting this interview, what question would you ask?
Answer : This was pretty complete.
