By Damien James, an EO Melbourne member and the founder of Aged Foot Care Australia P/L.
I’m sure you’ve offered someone a job and it didn’t work out as planned, right? Well, have you ever made such a poor recruitment decision that it cost you your entire business, all the money you’ve ever earned and your reputation? I did, and it turned out to be the best professional decision of my life.
It all started in 1997, when I graduated from university with a bachelor’s degree in podiatry. I had always dreamed of running a successful company—just like my father—so I started a mobile podiatry business that catered to nursing home patients. Within three years, I was operating Australia’s largest podiatry service and treating more than 1,000 patients a week! Flushed with confidence, I launched a second business; a chain of sports clinics that boasted high-profile clients like Martina Navratilova and Lleyton Hewitt. As you can imagine, life was good! I was making money and living the entrepreneurial dream … and then it turned into a nightmare.