I ACT. It’s the secret to success.
Myriam lives in Sydney Australia with her family, and enjoys travelling and living for short periods of time in exotic tropical destinations.
Her early career was as a corporate trainer where she excelled in teaching accredited business training for 10 years, leaving the corporate culture to start her own business. Her business model is portable, and run virtually- this was long before the word virtual became fashionable.
Having set up many startup businesses and trading them for profit, today Myriam runs Create Australia and teaches others how to set up startups and increase their chances of business success by assessing & eliminating areas of risk found in traditional business. Myriam is a vocal advocate of work/life balance and living a life of greater freedom and flexibility through owning a portable business. On her blog she discusses her views, lifestyle and tips to better living.
Where did the idea for your company Create Australia come from?
I launched into the business world 17 years ago, and I learned business in the real world. My current business Create Australia is a compilation of my learnings, knowing what works and what doesn’t, what I like and what I don’t.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
I wake up and prepare breakfast for my kids before they go to school, 9am I do a short commute from my living room to my home office where I run my business virtually. Online is my team made up of marketing, sales, IT & admin who are logging in and exchanging work.I like to go to the gym every other day and so I run my business via my smart phone. I don’t have a typical day or a typical structure, I live life and run my business while living it, often while travelling.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I ACT. It’s the secret to success.
What’s one trend that really excites you?
I love technology, and the freedom it brings the individual. My mother as a business woman, she baby sat her chemist shop 6 days a week to make a living 8am to 7pm she sat behind the prescriptions counter of her pharmacy – for 30 years of her life- that is harsh. By contrast, I run a portable company, which I run from Anywhere. My business has run from a catamaran while I cruised around 11 countries in the Caribbean, from a villa in a small hamlet in northern Italy, from my holiday home on a tiny island in Vava’u in the south pacific as well as a dozen other destinations. That is so exciting to me, I don’t believe we should compromise our lifestyle in order to make a living or to achieve career success!
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
I have a deep need to keep climbing up. It’s not so much a habit as it is a compulsion. I really get the quote about Alexander the great “And when Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer.” That compulsion to conquer and grow, you either have it or you don’t most entrepreneurs have that.
What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?
I did a short stint as a community officer in the worst housing estate in NSW. I was a socialist back then and wanted to save the world one man and woman at a time It made me into a hardened capitalist. I learned that a lot of people don’t want to better themselves, they simply want someone to empathize with them and reinforce their view of the world. It was where I lost a lot of idealism. I was 23 and the human condition was very confronting.
If you were to start again, what would you do differently?
I would take bigger risks in every part of my life, be more daring and impulsive, life is short; you have got to see how far you can go. I will regret the things I was too timid to do, not the mistakes I made, but I do find risk very exciting!
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
I am methodical about goal setting & have very clear targets- clarifying what my immediate goals are and the shortest swiftest way to get from A-B.
I think many people just exist, they don’t work from a clear vision, and do not work with exact targets and so never get to where they want.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business? Please explain how.
I believe that my staff are just as important as my customers, if not more so. They are the ones that allow your business to grow & flourish, they are your business family and I treat them that way.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
I am not thick skinned, I feel responsible for everything and tend to be hyper responsive. This can waste a lot of my time & energy.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Don’t buy into any business that is general or generic. When you get into business get into a very narrow niche that has high demand, that’s always where the money is.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
I spend 6 weeks in Koh Samui end of last year, I wanted to recharge and hang out with my youngest child. Part of my R&R was to have a one hour massage daily on Chewing beach or Silver beach where I was staying. I did that for the last 2 weeks of my stay and the total cost of 1 hour massage every day for 2 weeks AUD$100! Best $100 spent ever!
What software and web services do you use? What do you love about them?
I love cloud based services- they make our lives really workable, I can login to work from Dubai on my phone or free computer access centers just as easily as I can in Sydney. My staff access their work while taking their kids to school, or in between family commitments.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
I think “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kyosaki is a definitive book. It will get you clear on a lot of things, and certainly worth a read!
Key Learnings
- I believe that my staff are just as important as my customers, if not more so.
- I ACT. It’s the secret to success.
- I am not thick skinned, I feel responsible for everything and tend to be hyper responsive. This can waste a lot of my time & energy.
Connect:
Create Australia on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/createaustralia/
Create Australia on Twitter: @createaustralia
Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.