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How an EO New Zealand member showcases the Southern Lights By Flight

19 October, 2022

Is seeing the world-famous Southern Lights phenomenon on your bucket list? The Aurora Australis—also called the Southern Lights—is the southern cousin of the Northern Lights. To witness this breathtaking spectacle, you would need to go as far south as Tasmania—but even then, the chance of seeing the Southern Lights is spotty at best, with only a 1-2% chance on any given night.

For those who want to ensure that they’ll see the Aurora’s spectacular light show, Rachel Williams of EO New Zealand has the solution. Rachel and her company, Viva Expeditions, created a service called Southern Lights by Flight. It flies guests from Christchurch, New Zealand down toward Antarctica and through the Auroral zone and back—all in one unforgettable night!

We asked Rachel about Southern Lights by Flight. Here’s what she shared:

Is it true that Southern Lights by Flight was your Covid pivot?

Yes. Pre-Covid, we specialised exclusively in travel to Latin America and Antarctica. The pandemic was a terrible time as all business ceased, followed by repatriation, refunds, redundancies and pretty much every cost-cutting thing we could do other than complete hibernation. We needed to do something to generate revenue until international travel resumed and Southern Lights by Flight was our solution. Not only have we filled the gap, we have also created a quality sustainable product that will continue into the future.

Is your company the only one offering this unique opportunity?

We created the service and are the only ones running it in New Zealand. I reached out to an astronomer who I knew had organised a similar experience for his friends and followers but it had never been commercialised. I asked him to help me, and he agreed. So we went to the airline, chartered the plane, and brought our own astronomy team onboard to assist the pilots with navigation.

Our business partners in Australia subsequently launched similar flights. However ours is different in that:

New Zealand is further south than Australia, so it takes us less time to reach the active Auroral zone, and we can stay there much longer. We have an exclusive contract with Air New Zealand, so replication is not possible at this time.
The International Antarctic Centre is located next to the airport in Christchurch. We have enhanced our guests’ experience by including an inspiring pre-flight mission where people learn from astronomers and NASA educators about the Aurora and can join photography sessions prior to the flight. (See our guests’ in-flight photos in our Facebook Group.)

What challenges did you overcome around organizing flights to see the Aurora?

We coordinated with Greenpeace—they worried about unnecessary burning of carbon—so we have a thorough carbon offsetting programme in place.
We had some upset families of the Erabus disaster (when a plane full of New Zealanders crashed into Mt. Erabus in Antarctica 43 years ago). We don’t go to Antarctica but there was still a lot of push back.
We have dealt with aircraft availability restrictions, rescheduling flights due to Covid lockdowns, and navigating constantly changing rules about gathering sizes, vaccination status, etc.
We had to reschedule eight flights due to Covid lockdowns and have managed to get three away, with lots of people still waiting for upcoming flights.
We have done it all with a team of four (we were 14 pre-Covid)

Though there are no safety issues around flying through the Aurora, we also manage things like:

All cabin lights are turned off when in the Auroral zone, so we provide everyone with a red light torch that allows them to see without impacting their night vision.
We have special permission to turn off the plane’s outside safety lights (wingtips and roof lights), but this is done on the basis that there are no other planes within 3,000km of us at the time of flying.

How are you increasing environmental awareness?

At our pre-flight mission at the Antarctic Centre, we do a great presentation about the environment and how important Antarctica is in environmental protection and the work being done by aerospace experts in the field. We find that people who have a passion for Antarctica are more likely to help protect it, so we aim to transform our guests into Antarctic ambassadors.

What does the total experience entail?

The flights itself is 10 hours, departing Christchurch at 7pm and returning to Christchurch at 5am. So basically it’s:

3pm – International Antarctic Centre pre-flight mission experience
5pm – Check-in and welcome drinks
7pm – Boarding
Dinner on the plane before all lights are turned off and Aurora viewing begins
Lots of fun throughout the night, approximately 6 hours of Aurora viewing
3am – The lights come on for breakfast
5am – The plane lands and everyone disembarks feeling tired but completely thrilled

What entrepreneurial lessons have you learned from this experience?

To think outside the box.
How to market with a zero dollar marketing budget.
How important it is to look after yourself in order to run a successful business.
How important relationships are, and why working collaboratively is often a better approach than straight out competition.

What’s next for you?

I’m going to Antarctica in November, so I released a MyEO trip to see who wanted to join me. I now have 66 EO members coming onboard—which is fabulous.

We have just launched a 2023 Epic Antarctica MyEO Event and will have two very special guests joining us: Professor Mike Stroud OBE, the first man to walk unsupported across Antarctica and the Right Honourable Sir John Key, former New Zealand prime minister and businessman.

Categories: BUSINESS GROWTH Entrepreneurial Journey Member Spotlight WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

Tags: Aurora Australis entrepreneurs' organization eo new zealand International Antarctic Centre Rachel Williams Southern Lights by Flight Viva Expeditions

EO members share 9 lessons learned from childhood entrepreneurship

14 October, 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, how EO members define success, the impact of core values, lessons learned from their best and worst partnerships and the best advice they’ve ever received.

A different perspective can uncover value and opportunity

My first entrepreneurial venture happened during childhood when my mom used to take us skiing in the United States. On these trips, I purchased baseball caps to bring back to Canada. I learned that I could sell them for the same price that I bought them, but thanks to the US/Canadian exchange rate at the time, I would make a 30% profit. That was my first lesson in arbitrage.

On reflection, the key lessons I learned from that venture are:

Sometimes, one needs to look at opportunities from different perspectives to uncover value and opportunity.
There are advantages in providing products to people that they cannot normally find for themselves.
Store your inventory in a safe place—a hard lesson I learned when my dog stumbled upon my baseball hat collection and bit the tops off all of them.

— Ron Lovett, EO Atlantic Canada, founder of Connolly Owens and VIDA, author of Outrageous Empowerment

Success doesn’t come by choice—it comes when we have NO choice

I was 14 years old, and my first entrepreneurial project involved selling cookies, that my mum baked, at school. Years earlier, my parents had separated, and the income that dad supported us with was never enough. So I told my mum that I wanted to help.

Selling cookies in school wasn’t easy. My friends didn’t have enough money to buy an entire box, so my teachers bought the cookies in support. Knowing that I couldn’t rely on just my teachers’ support, I floated the idea that my friends could buy an entire box—if they pooled their funds.

Unfortunately, soliciting sales at school was frowned upon, and I was called up to the Headmaster’s office a total of five times. I consider myself blessed to have been let off the proverbial hook with only warnings. I can only assume that the Headmaster understood my intent behind this venture.

There were three key lessons here:

Acceleration of success doesn’t come by choice, but rather, it comes when we have no choice. It’s during times of crisis that we are pushed to move. And so we move.
If you find a way for people to get what they want and make it easier for people to get what they want, they will buy. My friends could not afford an entire box of cookies, and if I had fixated on my go-to-market strategy, I would never have sold any boxes of cookies. It was when I educated my potential customers that they could pool their funds, the deal was done.
Finally, if you ever get caught selling cookies at school, a good story will help.

— Raymond Chou, EO Malaysia, founder and CEO of Infront Consulting

Market your products in interesting, unique ways.

When I was 8 years old, there was a girl in school who always had extra pocket money to buy treats at the canteen for herself and all her friends. The treats included Sunnyboys—a gift from heaven on a hot day, frozen oranges cut in half that felt like the first taste of water after a long day exposed to the desert sun and heat; salt and vinegar crisps that we would squash into crumbs so that they would last longer as our fingers grew tainted with salt and grease; Red Skins that would glue your teeth shut and colour your tongue a velvet red; and irresistible sherbet lolly bags known as Wizz Fizz that would send you to the highest peaks of happiness known to children ages 6 to 8.

Oh, how I envied the power she wielded every time she walked around the schoolyard with those golden $1 and $2 coins!

I decided then and there that I, too, wanted to be drunk with power.

At home, I discovered towers of paper—white, beige, granulated and patterned—and spent my recesses and lunchtimes selling these sheets of paper to my classmates at 50c — $1 a pop, depending on the perceived “rarity” of the paper in question. My first entrepreneurial venture lasted just under one week, and I had secured enough funds to make me king of the playground indefinitely until I was called into the principal’s office— promptly putting an end to “Kym & Associates Paper Co.”.

I learned a few things:

Your world changes when you have resources at your disposal, and sometimes, the resource is a lot closer within reach than we think it is.
People purchase based on relationships and whether or not they like you, even if the product is widely available.
A sale depends on your ability to market the product in a way that makes it interesting and unique.
Business longevity is a concern when the business is built on foundations that are contrary to rules and regulations #outlawlogic.

— Kym Huynh, EO Melbourne, founder of WeTeachMe and Executive Assistant Institute

This post originally appeared on Kym Huynh’s Leadership Toolkit blog and is edited and reposted here with permission.

For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog.

Categories: Entrepreneurial Journey Lessons Learned members

Tags: Connolly Owens entrepreneurs' organization EO Atlantic Canada eo malaysia eo melbourne Executive Assistant Institute Infront Consulting kym huynh Outrageous Empowerment Raymond Chou Ron Lovett VIDA weteachme

In-person vs. virtual onboarding: Which is best for your team?

12 October, 2022

When the world largely shifted to remote work as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, almost no one could anticipate all of the changes the shift would bring. One of the biggest changes occurred in onboarding. Now that a growing number of companies across the globe are fully remote and businesses are hoping to increase new hire productivity, it’s critical to have an established onboarding process for new employees.

Whether in-person or virtual, entrepreneurs at all levels must think holistically through the new-hire experience. No matter what, the path we take must be easy for the new employee to understand. The last thing we want is to leave our new hires guessing “what’s next” — especially in this new frontier of remote work.

To build that level of trust and transparency, it’s important to create a comprehensive onboarding plan and know which type of onboarding experience maximizes productivity, furthers cross-communication, and helps to reduce the risk of turnover. After all, you wouldn’t want to bring on a new hire only to lose them in onboarding.

Remote onboarding vs. in-person onboarding: A comparison

There are several benefits of virtual onboarding for new employees:

Convenience
Quick and efficient training
Structured training schedules
Opportunities to record training calls for easy access
Provides a high-quality experience that is scalable for the organization

Meanwhile, the benefits of in-person onboarding are also notable:

Employees gain a better sense of company culture from the start
More opportunities to bond with coworkers
The ability to ask additional questions by simply walking over to a colleague
The company being able to physically see how the onboarding process is going

While both remote and in-person onboarding have distinct benefits, they also have distinct challenges. The challenges of a virtual onboarding program can include the following:

The possibility of feeling distanced from company culture
Risk of lower engagement
Fewer opportunities to make connections
Difficulty for remote hires to pay attention in every meeting
Managers may not be prepared to onboard virtually in this relatively new landscape

In-person onboarding also brings a number of challenges, including but not limited to:

A potentially less-structured training schedule
The potential to go off-topic
Frequent interruptions
An interactive work environment that may also hamper productivity

Regardless of the type of onboarding your company has in place, here are three best practices that ensure new hires feel at home more quickly:

Provide documents to help new hires understand their roles and expectations; all members of the onboarding process should have access to these documents to aid knowledge sharing
Equip new hires with an onboarding schedule; 30-, 60-, and 90-day goals; an organization chart; and a list of vendors and tools they will use
Schedule regular meetings to check on the status of goals and to see how you can help employees get up-to-speed and answer any questions

How to determine which type of onboarding is right for your business?

By understanding some of the benefits and drawbacks of remote and in-person onboarding, you can figure out which type of onboarding works best for your organization. Here are three ways to choose the right type of onboarding experience:

1. Review on a case-by-case basis.

Deciding which type of onboarding process to use largely depends on the role and what’s best for the organization. For example, the onboarding plans for a salesperson and a customer service representative may differ significantly. It’s important that the plan adequately supports the new hire and aligns with the company’s goals.

2. Create an onboarding process that is training-based.

Every onboarding plan must address what the new hire needs to learn and detail specifically how they should function in their role. Which tools and programs will best support a new hire’s training? Are there ways for the new employee to provide feedback to improve their experience during the training itself? These questions should be answered prior to the new hire’s first day.

3. Clarify what will be needed from the new hire.

A successful in-person or remote onboarding process requires managers and company leaders to set expectations at the beginning of training. More often than not, we hire someone whose skills we need immediately. As a result, we detail what other employees may need from the new hire right away. This helps to manage expectations and avoid overwhelming the new hire upfront.

Contributed to EO by Jim Hardwick, a chief community officer at Sales Xceleration, a firm specializing in assessing and implementing sales strategy, sales processes, and sales execution to drive growth. For over two decades Jim’s leadership expertise has helped sales teams from small organizations to Fortune 100 companies maximize revenue goals.

For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog.

Categories: Best Practices Company Culture PEOPLE/STAFF

Tags: entrepreneurs' organization in-person onboarding Jim Hefty onboarding remote onboarding Sales Xceleration virtual onboarding

EO Australia Members Give a Helping Hand

7 October, 2022

Contributed to EO by Peta Strachan, Operations Manager at Free 3D Hands, a mission-based charity in Australia that designs and 3D-prints prosthetic hands and assistive devices for free.

Earlier this year, EO members from all around Australia attended EO Ignite – Reignite Your Passion, a regional event at stunning Hamilton Island, located in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef. Mat Bowtell, the founder and CEO of Free 3D Hands, was invited to deliver the keynote presentation at EO Ignite.

At Free 3D Hands, we design, manufacture and provide quality hands and assistive devices to people all around the world for free—we even pay the postage! We use 3D printing technology and advanced CAD design software to produce quality, functional designs for children and adults who often have no commercially available option. We freely share our designs under an open-source license, so that others can make their own devices and as a way to encourage further innovation in the field.

Globally, the World Health Organization estimates that over 35 million people require prosthetics or orthotics, but only 10 percent of people can access or afford these life-changing products. The goal of Free 3D Hands is to significantly bring down the cost of assistive technology to help those who currently cannot access or afford it. We are developing a low-cost, multi-grip Bionic Arm, and we are making exciting progress with the latest prototype. Our goal is to make the equivalent of an AUD $60,000 Bionic Arm—for under $60 in parts!

Mat Bowtell was honoured to deliver the first keynote presentation of the EO Ignite event and received an absolutely overwhelming response from EO members after his talk. Mat, a former senior engineer at Toyota, was made redundant during the closure of the automotive industry in Australia in 2017. He turned down lucrative consulting jobs and international offers to pursue his passion for making hands for kids, and he wanted to do it for free. Using his redundancy payout, he worked for two years as a volunteer before formally establishing Free 3D Hands as a charity supported by public speaking, donations and corporate sponsorship.

We were incredibly moved by the emotion and support from EO members, many of whom were in tears after hearing Mat speak about his journey to help others. A number of EO members got together and, after consulting with the group, got on stage to announce that collectively, the EO members in attendance were able to pledge nearly AUS$50,000 to our charity! Every cent has been received and will help support our global design hub to continue to release free designs and collaborate with volunteer groups in developing countries to establish 3D printing clinics and make low-cost assistive devices available to those truly in need.

Shivani Gupta, an EO Queensland member and Engagement Expert for APAC, shared her response to Mat’s presentation:

“Mat’s presentation on his WHY and dedicating his work and love to a greater good had me in tears. The stories he shares and the passion he exudes are what every entrepreneur needs to hear.
I was moved by his presentation and got up to ask anyone else who was moved whether they would like to join me and make a tax-deductible donation—over 50 people said YES. That made the conference for me!
I would encourage other EO chapters and members to hire Mat as a speaker, be inspired by him, implement his ways into your business, and if you can donate or link him to others who can—do it!”
Shivani Gupta, EO Queensland

Mat and I stayed on for the next few days, and we were wholeheartedly embraced by the EO community during our visit. We absolutely loved getting to know everyone, hearing about their individual business journeys, and discovering what EO is all about. Since our talk, we have had members from around Australia come and visit our Design Centre and continue to offer support.

We just want to say a huge “Thank You” to the EO members who welcomed us, cared and truly understood the ethos of Free 3D Hands and will continue to help us grow and support others. We hope to have the opportunity to meet some international EO members in the future!

For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog.

Categories: Entrepreneurial Journey Inspirational Make a Mark members

Tags: entrepreneurs' organization EO Australia EO Ignite EO Queensland Free 3D Hands Mat Bowtell Peta Strachan Shivani Gupta

Be who you needed when you were younger

5 October, 2022

One important question every successful entrepreneur can ask themselves is, “Who taught you what you needed to know to get where you are?” Another interesting question you might consider is: “Who had the tools or knowledge you clearly needed but for whatever reason did not offer it to you?”

At some point in life, almost everyone has collaborated with people who don’t share knowledge, don’t give advice, and don’t help others out with their experience. These people might have been our colleagues, our managers, our HR business partners, or even an intern or a consultant. Someone who, with just a couple of words and no more than a few minutes of their time, could have made our life so much easier or even helped to solve a long-standing, troubling issue we weren’t yet experienced enough to solve.

Of course, when we deal with people like that, we tend to get mad and call them selfish, mean or—what else—our era’s favorite term: toxic.

It’s not that we’re necessarily wrong in our view of their behaviour; it’s just that a judgment like that is oversimplified.

People are scared. They are scared that they might lose what they built and what they worked for; they are scared that they might become irrelevant and forgotten, replaced or overshadowed. And can we really blame them?

How many times has a new director changed loyal members of the team for a fresh start? How often does an employer promote “generous” exit packages to older staff members so that the company can cut down on its labor costs? How rare is it really for the student to become the master?

When resources are limited, people get competitive—and surprisingly enough, instead of questioning the system that limits their resources, they turn against each other. Does this mean they are excused for their behaviour? No. It does mean though, that they can be understood.

Breaking a pattern of pathogeny is not an easy thing. In a world that perpetuates individuality at the expense of community, stepping up without allowing your worst inner instincts of survival to take the best of you and actually do the right thing—not for yourself, but for someone else or the organization’s good—is a literal psychological breakthrough, a next-level example of internal growth.

Giving, when we have only been taught how to take, is not something that happens on its own. It’s a decision. An active decision that we all must start making because we need to do better. Better than our parents, better than our teachers, better than the generations before us.

In his book, Giving, Bill Clinton said that he’d rather be wrong for trusting people than for distrusting them. That means that the burden of not giving someone the opportunity they deserve should be heavier than giving it to someone that misuses it or disrespects it by being ungrateful or forgetful.

The all-too common vicious cycle of useless competition and passive-aggressive conflict must end with us.

We must commit ourselves to mentor and coach younger or less experienced people, even if we are young ourselves. Provide them with every little piece of information that would have made a difference in our life, had we found it sooner. And if we are afraid, we should still do it, despite being scared.

The fact that we had it rough and pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps doesn’t mean we should consciously make it rough for the next ones as well. Not being part of the problem is simply not enough anymore—we must speak up and engage.

We need to be part of the solution. Reset our mindsets and start taking conscious, active steps. Are you in?

One active step you can take right now is to become a mentor. EO’s chapter-based mentorship programme fosters relationships aimed at high-level leadership and personal development within a structured timeframe. Throughout the mentorship process, mentees work toward goals and establish personal accountability, while mentors support them through experience-sharing and engagement. EO’s mentorship relationships drive transformation by fostering strong, long-lasting connections that improve members’ lives and businesses, and provide valuable solutions that help foster and maintain positive mentor and mentee relationships.

If you’re interested in becoming an EO mentor or mentee, contact your EO chapter’s Mentorship Chair and start getting connected with the wealth of experience EO members have to share.

Contributed to EO by Zoe Fragou, an Organisational Psychologist with an MSc in Human Resources Management, a clinical psychologist license, and a diploma in Business Coaching & Mentorship who focuses on the psychometrics of corporate culture. She manages projects that include culture transformation, employee training and development, business coaching, personal branding, public speaking, and writing, for both private and corporate clients globally. She is a mentor for Women on Top, a feministic organization trying to bring equality in the workspace, a senior member of the Hellenic Institute of Coaching, and was voted best career coach in the Global Coaching Conference of 2021.

For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog.

Categories: Best Practices Inspirational Mentor Mentorship WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

Tags: best practices entrepreneurs' organization EO mentorship Hellenic Institute of Coaching Women on Top Zoe Fragou

Q&A with GSEA ‘Together We Grow’ Award Winner, Arnold Shoko

30 September, 2022

The EO Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) is the premier global competition for students who own and operate a business. Nominees compete against their peers from around the world in a series of local and national competitions in hopes to qualify for the GSEA Global Finals. GSEA delivers on its vision to empower student entrepreneurs to become the world’s most influential change makers by supporting student entrepreneurs who require much-needed mentorship, recognition and connections to take their businesses to the next level of success.

Arnold Shoko of Tanzania is the CEO and co-founder of Samaki Farms, a company that transforms food waste into protein feeds. In the 2022 GSEA Global Finals, Arnold Shoko won the Together We Grow Award for his collaborative spirit. We asked Arnold about his GSEA experience. Here’s what he shared:

Tell us about your company, Samaki Farms.

At Samaki Farms, we produce alternative protein feed ingredients using black soldier fly larvae. We are an Insect-Tech startup. We offer larvae as an alternative protein feed ingredient, and we also offer consultation services to fish farmers around the country. We transform organic food waste into richly nutrient insect protein feed for fish. We make sustainable feed for a cleaner world.

I started my business following my long-term commitment and passion for fisheries and agriculture—two things that define me. My team and I identified a big opportunity in fish farming. We realized fish farmers needed good options to lower production costs. That sparked the idea to produce alternative protein feed for fish farmers and fish feed manufacturers. I thought, “We have a lot of food waste; how can I use this waste in growing feed?”

Now I work with a team of six people on a mission to build scalable and innovative solutions for providing alternative protein ingredients for fish feeds in Tanzania. I’m fulfilling my childhood dream!

How did you discover the GSEA competition?

I saw an ad for GSEA on Instagram. I thought, “What is this? Is this for me?” Then I found EO Tanzania and learned that they were hosting a GSEA competition for the whole country. That’s where I met my friend David Denis—the 2021 GSEA global runner-up. He encouraged me to apply. I knew I had to go for it.

Are you a student entrepreneur who is ready to take your business to the next level? The 2022/23 GSEA competition season is open. Apply today!

Did EO members help you hone your GSEA presentation?

Yes, I felt so lucky! I found four amazing mentors from EO Tanzania: Baraka Mtunga, Miranda Naiman, Emir Karamagi, and Sabrina Othman. They helped me improve my presentation. I would send the presentation for their feedback, and they asked about a lot of details. So I would work on it again and repeat the process.

The GSEA competition process helped me realize that what I’m bringing to the world isn’t just a presentation—it’s a company.

My mentors helped me realize the potential of what I’m doing. As a student, I didn’t dream that big. The time I spent meeting them was so valuable. My mentors encouraged me and advised me on how to reach out to other companies in the industry.

We are now marketing, branding, and using proper Samaki Farms packaging for our feeds. We are no longer a mediocre business— we are now a proper business with huge potential!

You are the 2022 GSEA Together We Grow winner. How did you earn that award?

I was honored to receive the award, which goes to a student who fosters community and demonstrates concern for others while fully engaging in and contributing to the GSEA programme.

I have always had a strong sense of bringing people together and involving others. There were over 60 student competitors in the GSEA Global Finals. As student entrepreneurs, we all face similar struggles in our individual companies. We had a sense of belonging together and a feeling that no matter who won, our common bond would remain after the competition. I made many new friends from other countries, and even now, after the competition is over, we keep on communicating.

I received a US$4,000 grant as the Together We Grow winner. My EO mentors advised me to use 90 percent of it to increase production and put 10 percent toward operations. While the amount of money may seem small to some people, to us, it is huge. Because of that money, other investors are more willing to invest in our company. It is a huge advantage that the GSEA award has provided to us.

How has your business changed since the GSEA competition?

We have doubled production and now have two proper breeding houses. We are also running operations quite differently. This expansion would not be possible without the funds.

Through GSEA, I connected with people in different parts of the world who encouraged me to explore additional food wastes such as those from fast food, grab-and-bites, and vegetable markets. Now we’re expanding with a plan to build capacity; we see our target production as 1,000 tons. I got all of that motivation from GSEA. It’s quite a new mindset for me.

What were your takeaways from GSEA Global Finals?

My most significant takeaway from GSEA is that I need to think big. And then, even bigger!

I had never entered any other competition before GSEA. It gave me so much motivation. I didn’t even know I could do all of this expansion and attract investors. My business will be a big thing in the future because of GSEA and everything I learned from the programme.

My EO mentors still encourage and advise me. My background is as a scientist, not a business person. I recently met with some potential investors. My EO mentors graciously advised me how to behave, how to interact, and afterward, how to proceed.

GSEA is not about the prize money (although that is significant!). It’s about growth and learning. The EO mentors I connected with really want and wish for me to grow; they are with me throughout the process.

What do you say to student entrepreneurs who may consider entering the GSEA competition?

I’ve already spoken about GSEA to many people, including a group of students who run startups in Dar es Salaam. I told them to apply. I am a full-time GSEA alumni and ambassador–encouraging others to experience what I’ve experienced.

Participating in GSEA is a great way to understand business, learn how to run a company, and build communications skills. All of these things are far more important than the funds alone. Everything that our company has grown into is a result of GSEA—I feel so lucky that I found it!

You can view the 2022 GSEA Global Finalists’ journeys by subscribing to the GSEA YouTube channel and watching the #STARTITUP miniseries, which details the 2022 competitors’ journeys.

If you are a student entrepreneur who is ready to take your business to the next level, the 2022/23 GSEA competition season is open. Apply today!

For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog.

Categories: GSEA

Tags: Baraka Mtunga David Denis Emir Karamagi entrepreneurs' organization EO Tanzania gsea GSEA Global Finals miranda naiman Sabrina Othman Samaki Farms STARTITUP student entrepreneur studentpreneur

7 Questions to Ask When Facing a Cash Crunch

28 September, 2022

Contributed to EO by Brooke Lively, an EO Fort Worth member who is founder and president of Cathedral Capital, which provides strategic financial advice to drive profit. By creating customized teams of financial professionals to analyze data trends and guide entrepreneurs through their numbers, CathCap serves as support to predictably scale and grow businesses.

When is the best time to plant a tree? Ten years ago. And when is the next best time? Today.
Confucious

I agree with this age-old wisdom, which also applies to cash crunches. The best time to avoid a cash crunch is well before you find yourself in one. But how do you know one is coming? Most small companies just check their bank balance and figure out they can’t make payroll. But there isn’t a lot you can do about it at that point.

It’s a best practice to have a Cash Flow Forecast that tells you how much money you are projected to have at the end of each week, and which extends to encompass the next six to eight weeks. That way, you can make plans and avoid a cash crunch that may be looming.

A few years ago, I was going over a Cash Flow Forecast with a client in Oregon named Dan. We looked out seven weeks and saw a big red negative number. Dan (understandably!) started to panic a little, but once he calmed down, we systematically went through all of his options.

Here are seven questions to ask yourself when you’re facing a cash crunch:

1. Can we use our line of credit (LOC) and transfer the needed funds?

Unfortunately, Dan didn’t have a LOC, so that option was out.

2. Are there any unnecessary expenses that we can cut that will resolve the problem?

Dan and I looked into this during previous cash crunches, and he was running pretty lean. There wasn’t anything he could cut that would solve this particular problem.

3. Can we move a big bill out a week and solve the problem?

Some big bills can be moved. For example, your landlord is usually fairly understanding if rent comes in a few days later than usual. That wouldn’t work for Dan—the negative number was too large. We would have needed to move payroll, which is typically the last thing you want to do. Your employees need to feel confident that they are going to get paid on time, or they will start looking for new jobs.

4. Do we have room on the credit card to just pay the minimum and try and catch up over the next month or two?

Dan’s credit cards were pretty much maxed out. Had we only paid the minimum, a lot of charges for services he needed to keep the business running would have been declined. So that wasn’t an option.

5. Can we apply for a line of credit in time?

We had seven weeks, which is usually enough time. However, he had tried applying for one a few months earlier and had been rejected because of previous situations that made his financials look unappealing.

By this time, my client was really getting worried. We had gone through all the options that involved expenses and credit. But the list wasn’t exhausted yet.

6. Can you, the business owner, forgo your salary or draws this month?

This is a radical, last-ditch option. At CathCap, we believe that if the owner of the firm doesn’t have enough cash at home, they aren’t going to make solid business choices. I consider this a last resort, as we had one other option to consider before it became necessary.

**7. Is there a new product or service that you can quickly start selling to balance the loss you are facing?**

This turned out to be the key question with Dan. He and his wife/business partner had been thinking about a new service. They had been keeping notes about it in a blue binder. They pulled out the blue binder, made some calls, finished building out a few key points—and then started selling!

A week later, the cash crunch had disappeared from his Cash Flow Forecast. The Blue Binder Project was a hit with his clients. What I love about this story is the far-reaching impact the Blue Binder Project had on not only his business but also on his clients’ lives and even the Oregon court system.

Dan’s Blue Binder Project was a program taught by a licensed counsel that helped people who had been charged with DUI (driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol) dig deep to find the reasons why they drink or take drugs and help them toward sobriety. These people are then able to take their graduation certificates to their sentencing, and the judges take that into consideration when meting out punishment.

What a great service to provide—for the clients, their families, and frankly, for all people on the road in Oregon. Dan took something that had been sitting on a shelf and changed lives—in addition to eradicating his cash crunch.

For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog.

Categories: FINANCES WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

Tags: Brooke Lively Cash Flow Forecast CathCap Cathedral Capital entrepreneurs' organization EO Fort Worth

5 Ways to Leverage Awards in Your Marketing Efforts

23 September, 2022

You work hard to make your business both a great place to work and a successful contributor to your community. Along the way, you might enter an award competition or find yourself as the grateful recipient of industry kudos or honors. While your humble nature might whisper “keep it quiet,” leveraging awards in your marketing efforts is one of the best things you can do as an entrepreneur. Any award—given or received—has the potential to bring incredible benefits to businesses of every size.

Publicizing awards and interacting with people on social media are two of the best ways you can leverage awards and build a reputable name for your business.

Here are five steps to maximize the giving and receiving of awards, both inside and outside of your company.

1. Brag about being a finalist

When one of your employees is named as an award finalist, it’s worth publicizing. Announce the news to let people congratulate them. Some followers might share the recognition in public posts, which is excellent for the standing and reputation of your company.

Here are some tips to share your news of being a finalist:

Post the news on various social channels
Thank clients for their support or vote
Include more information about your company along with the post

2. Promote when your company is a winner

Let your followers on social media know by posting the news and sharing exciting photos of the ceremony. Never forget to use the event’s hashtags to gain visibility and new followers.

But there’s more you can do with award wins. Often, award organizers provide the winners with award badges or logos for promotional usage. You can use these on your print ads, emails, company website, and other marketing materials. This type of promotion can help you gain more trust and goodwill from the public.

3. Celebrate the win with a customer campaign

Creating campaigns to thank loyal customers is a great way to leverage an award. You might offer followers a special discount code or arrange a social media competition. By thanking customers, you can announce your victory, acknowledge their role in your success, and garner positive attention.

Custom awards around growth, community involvement, or performance are great ways to add uniqueness and individualization.

4. Create a press release

An award shortlisted or won can become your story for press release marketing. You may be the only one from your area or country who got nominated, or maybe someone in your company was a first-time award winner. These headlines make great press releases! Captivating stories have a way of reaching many people.

5. Congratulate other award winners

Make an effort to appreciate other businesses that win awards, and congratulate them publicly on social media. Congratulating other companies creates a chance to build strong relationships with them that could be mutually beneficial in the future.

We’ve learned from experience that building solid relationships with other companies can expand reach in big ways. When other companies share our content, we gain exposure from unfamiliar members on social media in return.

Leveraging awards—is it worth it?

Winning any award—or even being nominated for one—is an honor. But the benefits of an award are not limited to the joy you get from winning. Being a shortlisted candidate can also bring many benefits. If you aren’t already doing so, it is high time for your business to take advantage of awards. Whether you are a startup or a seasoned industry player, awards are an ideal way to position your company as a leader.

Awards can give you a competitive advantage as well. Capitalize on every opportunity to include award mentions in your marketing strategy and leverage the many benefits they provide.

Contributed to EO by Mike Szczesny, the owner and vice president of EDCO Awards & Specialties, a dedicated supplier of employee recognition products, branded merchandise and athletic awards. Szczesny takes pride in EDCO’s ability to help companies go the extra mile in expressing gratitude and appreciation to their employees.

For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog.

Categories: PR/MARKETING Public Relations STARTUP

Tags: EDCO Awards EDCO Awards & Specialties entrepreneurs' organization Mike Szczesny

4 Financial Metrics Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know (To Grow Your Business)

14 September, 2022

Contributed by Shawn Johal, an EO member and former president of EO Montreal, who is a leadership speaker, bestselling author of The Happy Leader, and founder of Elevation Leaders, a business growth practice helping companies 10X their business valuation.

A whopping 77 percent of business owners wished they better understood the numbers within their business, and 82 percent of businesses fail due to cash management problems.

No matter your background, understanding the financial metrics that govern your business can be daunting. I know because I’ve lived it myself.

In our first business, a manufacturer and distributor of LED lighting solutions, we were committed to growth: we implemented the Scaling Up methodology and grew very quickly over twelve months.

Things were going great—until we realized there were key numbers that our business depended upon, which were not optimized. We didn’t know “which numbers” we needed to work on, so we tried them all. We systematically reviewed every financial and operational metric within our business until things began improving.

What I learned in the process: Profitable growth is entirely achievable for every company, and as entrepreneurs, we don’t need to know every number inside out. Four key financial metrics will contribute to major positive transformation within your company—learn, optimize and retain a bird’s eye view on them, and the sky is your limit!

Here they are:

1. Cash flow

Cash flow: The change in deposits plus the change in debt in your company.

It’s the first— and most important—metric to understand. In simpler terms, it’s the net balance of cash moving in and out of the business at a specific point in time. Many common business transactions fall into and affect cash flow. Purchasing inventory from suppliers and paying wages to employees count as cash moving out, whilst selling merchandise to customers and monthly subscriptions or monthly payment installments from customers count as cash moving in.

Cash flow is simple, but don’t let its simplicity undermine its importance: I’ve met too many companies that fly or fail entirely because of cash flow. Keep an eye on it at all times!

2. Operating profit

Operating profit: Gross margins subtracted by overhead costs in your company.

In my view, operating profit is the second most important financial metric to monitor. It helps a business understand the net profit the business is making from normal business operations.

This metric excludes negative variables such as tax payments or interest payments on debt. Instead, contrary to cash flow, it includes positive variables that are outside of the core products or services the business offers to the market. A profitable business has a positive operating profit, and also has a sustainable plan to keep it that way. Sometimes, this metric is also referred to as EBIT (Earnings Before Interest and Taxes).

The main purpose: Operating profit helps entrepreneurs, investors and leadership teams know how profitably the business itself is operating.

3. Working capital

Working capital: Receivables plus inventory minus payables.

Calculating your working capital will help you understand how much money is available to meet your business’ immediate and short-term obligations.

If your company does not have inventory, then the calculation is simply receivables minus payables. Obligations like paying off short-term expenses and debts require working capital. Positive working capital indicates that a company is able to sustainably support day-to-day operations, while simultaneously paying off debts or expenses the business accrues.

Working capital becomes particularly key if, for example, your business is a seasonal one: you’ll need more working capital available to operate in specific busy months of the year or to stay afloat during slower seasons. Working capital may also need an injection if, for example, you’re looking to take advantage of bulk discount purchasing from a key supplier.

Having a grasp on and being able to project your working capital becomes key in tons of scenarios that real entrepreneurs face each day. Keep your finger on its pulse.

4. Labor Efficiency Ratio (LER)

LER: The Labor Efficiency Ratio within your organization.

The fourth—and most difficult—metric to calculate. Many see this as an execution metric, but it truly is a financial metric. Labor efficiency ratio will not only directly impact profitability, but it may ultimately be the No. 1 driver of profitability within your company.

LER measures the productivity of people within your business. To calculate this, you take the expected direct labor hours of actual output, divide it by actual direct labor hours worked, and multiply it by 100%. A ratio above 100% indicates greater labor efficiency than budgeted and vice versa. Remaining efficient within a business is huge, but this metric is often ignored in comparison to profit and cash flow.

LER matters because very few (almost none) companies scale with a single person; our businesses need to hire in order to grow profitably. LER measures the productivity of each dollar spent on labor: it gives you a clear picture of how much your business is investing in labor and what the “return” on that labor really is.

Having a clear picture of your company’s LER will help you make key strategic decisions that will have a major impact.

As a business growth coach, I regularly meet entrepreneurs who (no matter how seasoned and smart they are) only review their financials once a year. Sometimes the reason is there’s a disconnect between understanding these numbers in a clear and easy way; sometimes, it’s because they feel overwhelmed by the numbers.

If you can’t envision yourself reading these key metrics each week, then ask these questions and make sure you get clear answers to them:

Is there enough money to continue operating while paying for debts?
Do we have a positive cash flow that can cover paying employees and bringing in inventory?
Is the operating profit high enough to allow the business to continue to grow?

Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, has an amazing quote I love: “Profit is what happens when you do everything else right.” Aside from bringing us genuine happiness, our businesses exist to grow profitably. Monitor these few metrics closely, and profit will come, I promise!

For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog.

Categories: Best Practices FINANCES

Tags: best practices cash flow Elevation Leaders entrepreneurs' organization EO Montreal Operating Profit Patagonia scaling up Shawn Johal The Happy Leader working capital Yvon Chouinard

3 Benefits of Establishing a Business Trust

13 September, 2022

Contributed by Kc Chohan, an EO Los Angeles member who is the founder of Together CFO, a financial strategy firm that helps business owners optimize their tax strategies so they can keep more of their wealth and focus on growing and scaling their business.

Since I started my business in 2016, I have always been curious to know the best way to protect my assets, both personal and business. The conventional wisdom of starting a company as a limited liability company (LLC) or S-Corporation was fine when we had minimal assets. However, my company quickly grew both in headcount and assets, so it soon needed more advanced financial protection strategies.

I studied the best practices of how elite and family businesses protect their assets and implemented these strategies in both my business and personal life.

I learned that it all starts with trusts. A trust is a fiduciary arrangement with three parties: grantor, trustee and beneficiary. In a trust, the “grantor” transfers the financial benefit of property—such as a company—to a “beneficiary.” The legal ownership and control of the property (or company) is either maintained by the grantor or given by appointment to another individual or financial institution, called the “trustee.”

Depending on local laws where you establish a trust, the grantor, trustee and beneficiary may be the same person or may also be two or three different people or entities.

When you create a trust, you enact a contract agreement that is much more powerful than an LLC, S-Corp or C-Corp. There are many different types of trusts, including simple trusts, complex trusts, real estate trusts, land trusts and charitable remainder trusts—the list goes on. So, it can get very confusing very quickly and you should consult your estate planning and tax teams if you are interested in pursuing this option for your business.

Here are 3 ways a business trust may benefit your company:

1. Asset protection

From an asset protection standpoint, a trust is a smart strategy. It’s important for the trust to own all of the company’s assets, which can then be leased or used by your main business. This gives you additional asset protection once the trust is set up accordingly with this strategy in mind. When a trust is set up and operated correctly, it can also offer tax benefits to help optimize your tax strategy so you can maintain more of your wealth to use to grow and scale your company.

2. Employee management

Did you know that a trust can help a business manage its employees? Sometimes the stress of W2 employees, unions and insurance claims can deter you from wanting to scale your business. Here’s how a trust can help in that situation: You can set up a company inside of a trust that hires and pays employees. Then, you can contract that new company to provide the workforce for your main company. This setup can protect your main company from any legal or insurance issues that could impact it.

3. Legal protection

When a company’s assets are held in the correct type of complex trust, the legal arrangement makes it increasingly difficult for people to sue the company or you as its trustee. Because the trustee of the trust is technically a guardian and not the beneficiary of the trust, people cannot sue you as a trustee. Similarly, as the beneficiary of a trust, if you are sued, the assets in the trust cannot be accessed by the party suing you because you are not due anything from that trust unless the trustee issues a distribution. When seeking this type of legal protection from a trust, it is very important and a best practice to keep the trusts’ beneficiary information private so that no one can conduct a search for the names of the trust’s beneficiaries.

The hardest part of this transition for me was learning how to properly administer the trusts after I opened them. First, you must learn a new set of rules when you’re operating in the trust world, which are different from the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles most business owners are familiar with. You must take steps to ensure not to comingle funds. There can be no mixing of your business or personal funds with trust funds. I treat the trust as its own company, with its own credit card and debit card, which makes it much easier to manage.

When your assets and wealth grow, it’s important to update your structure and setup so that you can protect your company and your family from unknown and unforeseen dangers. As you scale your company, you often outgrow your team and need to update processes and procedures. One of the key lessons I have learned is that the team, processes and structure that got you where you are is not the same team, processes and structure that will get you where you want to be.

For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog.

Categories: Best Practices FINANCES STRATEGY

Tags: business trust entrepreneurs' organization eo los angeles Kc Chohan TogetherCFO trust beneficiary

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Is it true that Southern Lights by Flight was your Covid pivot?

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What challenges did you overcome around organizing flights to see the Aurora?

How are you increasing environmental awareness?

What does the total experience entail?

What entrepreneurial lessons have you learned from this experience?

What’s next for you?

A different perspective can uncover value and opportunity

Success doesn’t come by choice—it comes when we have NO choice

Market your products in interesting, unique ways.

Remote onboarding vs. in-person onboarding: A comparison

How to determine which type of onboarding is right for your business?

1. Review on a case-by-case basis.

2. Create an onboarding process that is training-based.

3. Clarify what will be needed from the new hire.

Tell us about your company, Samaki Farms.

How did you discover the GSEA competition?

Did EO members help you hone your GSEA presentation?

You are the 2022 GSEA Together We Grow winner. How did you earn that award?

How has your business changed since the GSEA competition?

What were your takeaways from GSEA Global Finals?

What do you say to student entrepreneurs who may consider entering the GSEA competition?

1. Can we use our line of credit (LOC) and transfer the needed funds?

2. Are there any unnecessary expenses that we can cut that will resolve the problem?

3. Can we move a big bill out a week and solve the problem?

4. Do we have room on the credit card to just pay the minimum and try and catch up over the next month or two?

5. Can we apply for a line of credit in time?

6. Can you, the business owner, forgo your salary or draws this month?

7. Is there a new product or service that you can quickly start selling to balance the loss you are facing?

1. Brag about being a finalist

2. Promote when your company is a winner

3. Celebrate the win with a customer campaign

4. Create a press release

5. Congratulate other award winners

Leveraging awards—is it worth it?

1. Cash flow

2. Operating profit

3. Working capital

4. Labor Efficiency Ratio (LER)

1. Asset protection

2. Employee management

3. Legal protection

**7. Is there a new product or service that you can quickly start selling to balance the loss you are facing?**