I’m 31, and I just received

the worst phone call of my life

Despite creating a $30 million business in less than five years, I instantly knew our whole world was about to come crashing down.

Our biggest supplier was about to have their manufacturing licence withdrawn, and we went from feast to famine overnight - suddenly having little to no revenue.

Within a few months, our losses quickly approached $10 million, and there was no end in site.

I Had No Idea How We Were Going to Survive,

But I Vowed to Find a Way to Turn Things Around

Truth is, I was born for this. I grew up in Marrickville, Sydney, with my brother and parents. Marrickville might be a middle-class, trendy suburb now, but it certainly wasn’t in the 1970’s. It was a tough neighbourhood. I was in fights all the time. My dad worked hard, but we were poor and always struggling financially.

It was my passion for the techie, shiny new toys as a toddler (including record labels and music) that led to my way out. By the age of 15 I was a DJ. As a university student, I became involved in politics because of my passion for free and accessible higher education for all (to this day, I still see education as the key to getting out of the working-class poverty trap).

I organised many events for students and non-profits (parties, conventions, lobbying and protests) including the biggest uni-student protest rally in modern Australian history.This gained the attention of several clubs and venues, who asked me to help them with their marketing.

Eventually, I built up the courage. I started promoting my own regular club nights. Before I could drive, I was running large events with 7-figure budgets. One thing led to another, and before long, I was consulting to Dyson Australia (1997-98) and Shell Oil Australia (2000, lubricant division), introducing direct-to-consumer techniques to their independent distributors, but for B2B.

I was on the Ropes After the Recall, But I came out swinging

I could have played the victim. There was a class action lawsuit against the government which vindicated Pan Pharmaceuticals and their clients. But I chose not to participate.

My mentality has always been to focus on the future and not let distractions get in the way.

It wasn’t easy. We consistently had negative revenue months, with the collapse resulting in losses of approximately $15 million, and the ship was sinking fast.

I dug deep. It was one of the greatest growth periods of my life, where I learnt about:

- Disaster recovery - all forms including IT/data; logistics; insurance

- Risk mitigation

- Supply chain redundancy

- Succession planning and identifying Key Person replacement

- How to raise funds from multiple debt and equity sources simultaneously

- Effective structuring and restructuring of businesses for asset protection in case of disaster

- Exit planning

Even though I had a good relationship with my bank, I needed a backup plan. So I learnt the M&A game, and how to raise money from professional investors.

During this period, I pitched to most of the major institutional investors.

I Even Ended up in Kerry Packer’s Office Negotiating With His Senior Team

Eventually, we consolidated the business.

We implemented systems and procedures and world-class IT systems. I even completed four end-to-end system integrations that tracked and measured performance and all touchpoints—which was extremely difficult and expensive in those days.

We scaled the company internationally, achieving distribution of the Skin Doctors brand to around 30 markets including Australia, NZ, UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Russia, Sweden, China, Singapore, Malaysia, USA and Brazil. We launched the Australian version of Trimspa (a $300 million brand at the time) under licence from the parent company, Goen Technologies, after consulting with the USA division and securing international distribution to several markets. In 2006, we began testing the market and preparing for an exit, and we managed to hit payday just before Christmas. What a sigh of relief… We almost went broke several times but managed to scrape over the finish line.

Selling My First Business for an 8 Figure Payout Really Put Me on the Map

I felt great. There was a lot of recognition from peers in the industry. I went on a holiday to Thailand, but before long I felt bored. I lost my purpose and felt empty inside.

That’s when I decided to start a new company called Bodytrim, where I devised a unique structure of using faces in a brand they didn’t necessarily create. It took off.

At one stage, we were generating $30 million+ per annum, and we did an email launch which brought in $470,000 within a week.

Meanwhile, I was consulting with Nude by Nature, Kate Hudson, and the cofounders of David Babaii Hair, a brand I was appointed international distributor of and ended up acquiring in 2009. I also launched Skin Physics in Australia and Europe.

I am a Guy Who Has Been Through More Ups

and Downs Than an Elevator in a Skyscraper

Since 1991, both formally and informally, friends and people in my network have constantly approached me for help with their businesses. I would get constant requests for support, however I was often too busy building my own businesses. As I’ve grown older, my focus is far more on my legacy.

I believe in equal opportunity and a fair go for everyone. As a university student, I was passionate about having free accessible higher education for all. And I bring this same passion to supporting ambitious entrepreneurs today. I see many talented business owners who are often constrained by 1 or 2 strategic skills that would allow them to thrive.

Success in Business Needs to be More Widely

Distributed, Not Limited to Private School Kids Born

into it as Part of the ‘Old Boys' Network

Growing up in Marrickville, a tough Sydney suburb during the 1970s, I saw firsthand the stark lines drawn by socioeconomic status. Having been in the entertainment industry from a young age, I also witnessed how the wealthy lived and how the rest of us struggled to make ends meet.

My family wasn't rich; my dreams and ambitions were not fed by an inheritance

but by a fierce desire to change my stars.

I realised early on that knowledge truly is power, and in today's world, this power must be shared more broadly than ever before. However, our current educational system leaves a lot to be desired. While tertiary education has grown immensely in recent times, it struggles to keep pace even with traditional fields such as medicine, law, and accounting. The gap widens further when it comes to preparing young entrepreneurs and tomorrow's business leaders for success.

Given the recent economic downturn and the widespread social unrest across the globe, it has become increasingly crucial to arm yourself with the knowledge to successfully manage and grow a business. This is essential if you’re serious about achieving the kind of financial freedom you’ve always dreamt of.

I Am Stepping Out of Semi-Retirement to Demolish the Artificial Boundaries Holding Back Entrepreneurs From All Walks of Life

I want to create a playing field where people succeed based on their merit, their drive, and their innovation—not because of the postcode into which they were born. It’s about enabling the talented individuals who just need that one strategic insight or piece of advice to transform their dreams into reality.

My mission is to provide you with these tools, knowledge, and systems to scale your business quickly - so you can turn your life and business around:

• From 80+ hour work weeks that lead to you becoming a stressful mess…

• Into a happy thriving business owner who has time to spend with family and friends

• and take holidays without fearing your business will collapse.

This has wide-ranging ramifications. Think about it: If your business fails, it affects more than just you. It impacts your immediate family and friends, your employees, your suppliers, and your customers. Yet most consultants are teachers without substantial real-world experience in business outside of their coaching and consulting business. They certainly haven’t founded and scaled 10x 8-figure brands (most of which were self-funded/bootstrapped) or been involved in successful exits and international businesses, together with a number of mergers and acquisitions as I have.

It’s Never Been More Important

to Have a Mentor in Your Corner

The 2020s have been the most transformative period since the turn of the century…

• COVID changed people’s buying habits and work routines forever.

• Online shopping now dwarfs brick-and-mortar retail

• There’s a super trend of SOLOpreneurs.

• And the past 2 years have seen another ‘gold rush’ with the emergence of Artificial Intelligence.

AI in particular has created massive disruption - and we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg.

For all these reasons, I’ve decided to step out of my cave and create a system to help ambitious entrepreneurs quickly identify and remove constraints so they can not only operate more smoothly but also improve their sales and marketing systems to drive customer acquisition and growth…

And most importantly, achieve true financial freedom by going from manager to CEO, to executive director/board member, to investor.

This goes beyond just business for me — it’s personal.

I derive immense satisfaction from seeing a campaign succeed, a brand flourish, or a business owner turn their precarious situation around because of the strategies we implemented together.

This success isn’t just measured in revenue but in the real, tangible changes it makes in people's lives and their communities.

Join me in this movement….