Yesterday I had the good fortune to hear a talk from Mark Wright and was totally inspired so inspired I thought I’d share my inspiration with you.
Firstly he turned up despite collapsing on stage 2 days earlier due to an as yet undiagnosed health condition- ‘blood sugar issues.’ He said he didn’t believe in cancelling arrangements so was determined to turn up and deliver as best he could- hence he is seated rather than standing (picture below).
His story of becoming an entrepreneur is pretty amazing. From a small town in Australia, that no one ever leaves, he had few qualification due to dyslexia. (Even now he finds reading difficult but look how far he has come!) Instead of staying put he headed for the big city and started a new life as a personal trainer.
His ambition was always to make money and he soon realised that wasn’t the way- so he changed tack and got into websites and digital marketing.
Mark applied to the Apprentice because he truly believed he could create a great company that offered great value to businesses, which he is now doing with Climb Online, which has 4 regional offices across the UK. None in Wales yet.
So what did I take away from Mark about business?
1. The value of a good mentor. Alan Sugar sounds like a pretty cool guy and has given Mark golden nuggets of advice that has shaped his business ver the last 2 years. Welsh property entrepreneur Kevin Green was also mentioned as one his first mentors.
2. The power of learning. ‘Reading a book a week can triple your income’
Mark’s current favourites are ‘Think and Grow Rich’ by Napoleon Hill and ‘The Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho
3.Set daily, weekly, monthly goals and be meticulous with your time
4. It’s okay to get sued by a competitor! In fact it’s a sign you’re doing well- you’re a threat. Put your reputational stake in the ground and fight it
5.Focus on your current customers rather than always chasing new ones. Provide great value and they’ll refer you
6. Take the risk away and you’ll ‘get shed loads of sales’
7. If most people over here then go over to a different space and do things differently
8. Be genuine and offer a service that you are proud of
9. Use ‘growth hacking’ as way to increase business significantly
I’m sure there were other nuggets but these were the ones that resonated with me. Hope they will be useful to you too. As well as signing up to Audible I’ll be working on how I can build in a ‘no risk option’ into my work. Any ideas- welcome.
Let me know how you implement any of Marks suggestions too!