Octane Results: WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

8 EO members share lessons from their best and worst business partnerships

25 March, 2022

Contributed by Kym Huynh, an EO Melbourne member, EO Global Communications Committee member, and co-founder of WeTeachMe. Kym is fascinated by entrepreneurs and their journeys, so he asked EO members from various chapters to share their experiences. Read his earlier posts on what EO members wish non-entrepreneurs knew about entrepreneurs and how EO members define success and the impact of core values.

Choose partners with opposite skill sets

The best business partnership for me occurred when partnering with people who had completely opposite skill sets.

I previously owned a construction company. My partner focused on construction, margins, operations and managing suppliers whereas I focused on strategy, business development, HR and finance. It worked so well. I’ll never partner with someone who has a similar set of skills to me.

— Ron Lovett, EO Atlantic Canada, founder of Connolly Owens

Depth has benefits over breadth

The most powerful gift my business partnership gave me was the experience of depth rather than breadth.

Because I had someone who both relied on me and gave me much, I did not have the option to jump ship whenever I wanted a new experience.

This partnership taught me that one gains the most out of life when one goes deep. Some of my learnings from this—resilience and how to live a life of meaning—are priceless.

—Tui Cordemans, EO Melbourne, founder of Koh Living

There is no blame. Only learning.

Nick Bell and I have been business partners for 10 years, and friends for much longer. The key to our success is that our friendship is stronger than our business partnership.

We’ve had disagreements, but:

We are prepared to not let ego drive our decisions
We are prepared to let the other take the lead; and
If one of us is wrong or fails, we consider it part of the journey.

Categories: Entrepreneurial Journey Lessons Learned Partnerships WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

Tags: Ai-Ling Wong Alex Louey Andrea Grisdale Appscore Connolly Owens david fastuca EO Atlantic Canada eo melbourne eo new zealand IC Bellagio Just Life Group Just Water Koh Living kym huynh locomote Ron Lovett The Decorateur Tony Falkenstein Tui Cordemons weteachme

Why it’s ok to ditch perfectionism and focus on GETMO to achieve balance

9 March, 2022

Contributed by Cindy Norcott, EO Durban, a motivational speaker, author, entrepreneur, business coach and philanthropist. She is the CEO of Pro Talent and Pro Appointment, as well as the founder and chair of The Robin Hood Foundation. In observance of International Women’s Day week, we’re sharing Cindy’s journey. She’s a woman entrepreneur whose second book, How Does She Do It? explores practical wisdom and a humorous take on the lessons learned from balancing business, life and family across her 28-year entrepreneurial journey.

How did you find peace with “the messy and very imperfect” aspects of entrepreneurial life?

I am grateful that I am not a perfectionist. Because I wear many hats, I soon learned that the quickest way to contentment is to lower my standards and not sweat the small stuff. I never aim for perfection. Rather, I focus on “GETMO” — good enough to move on.

I often joke that I am a terrible mother and that my children thrive on neglect. Running many businesses, projects and organizations simultaneously, I empowered my young daughters to be independent from a very young age. They made their own lunches from the time they started school. That horrifies most people, but it’s the way it was in our home. I cook badly, and that is ok. We have simple meals. I don’t have time to be a helicopter parent.

As an entrepreneur, there are often very busy and demanding seasons where work is the main focus, and other elements of my life have had to take a back seat. As a motivational speaker, the world always sees the end product — me on a stage, composed, serene and professional. What they don’t see is me at midnight, in pajamas with my hair tied up and glasses on, reading, writing and preparing speeches. I also host big, glamorous and fun events. But again, very few people see us setting up, packing goodie bags and clearing up afterward. For every success that any entrepreneur has that looks easy and shiny, there is a lot of hard work, mess and many unglamorous elements behind the scenes.

Categories: WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS WORK-LIFE INTEGRATION

Tags: Cindy Norcott entrepreneurs' organization EO Durban GETMO How Does She Do It? The Robin Hood Foundation

7 EO members explore the impact of core values

14 January, 2022

In this third installment of Kym Huynh’s Leadership Toolkit series, Kym asked successful entrepreneurs from EO chapters around the world, “How important are values? How do you bring them alive in your business?” Here’s what they shared:

Never underestimate the power of simple words and simple ideas

When I took over my family business at age 25, my father’s advice to me were these three ideas: honesty, hard work and integrity. At the time, I considered them “not profound” due to their simplicity.

However, I find myself referring to and using them when I conduct staff interviews as they encapsulate the qualities we look for in team members. Those who don’t conform to these values aren’t a natural fit, and leave accordingly. These values are our guiding principles. I discovered that as time progressed, they become embodied in our mission statement.

— Ai-Ling Wong, EO Malaysia and founder of The Decorateur

Values help clarify ambiguous questions

I refer to values whenever I have a question in need of an answer, whether personal or business. Asking whether the matter-in-question is aligned with my values has more often than not answered questions that otherwise I was unable to answer with complete conviction.

When I first learned about the importance of values in the workplace, I thought that it was OK if a decision ticked three out of the five values boxes. I soon learned that if something does not tick all five boxes (assuming there are five values), then the answer is no— no matter how attractive it may seem or how many people try to convince me otherwise.

The importance of values is a lesson for which I will be forever grateful.

— Andrea Grisdale, EO Italy, founder and CEO at IC Bellagio

Categories: Company Culture Entrepreneurial Journey PEOPLE/STAFF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

Tags: Ai-Ling Wong Ambisie Andrea Grisdale Connolly Owens david fastuca EO Atlantic Canada eo colorado EO Italy eo malaysia eo new zealand IC Bellagio Just Life Group Just Water keith roberts kym huynh locomote OAK Journal Ron Lovett The Decorateur Tony Falkenstein weteachme zenman

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Octane Results: WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

What I learned from marketing a product people are too embarrassed to talk about

1. Root the story behind the product or company in a personal experience

8 EO members share lessons from their best and worst business partnerships

Choose partners with opposite skill sets

Depth has benefits over breadth

There is no blame. Only learning.

5 ways founders and CEOs can diversify their leadership teams

3 Reasons to embark on the EO Path of Leadership

Share the mindset of success in EO Accelerator

Why it’s ok to ditch perfectionism and focus on GETMO to achieve balance

How did you find peace with “the messy and very imperfect” aspects of entrepreneurial life?

How PR and social media work together to amplify your message

3 ways the Olympics are similar to entrepreneurship

Courage is required.

7 EO members explore the impact of core values

Never underestimate the power of simple words and simple ideas

Values help clarify ambiguous questions

Women millionaire founders under 35: Three different journeys

1. Justine Tiu of The Woobles: $1 million in annual revenue at age 32