Owner To Owner Podcast

@DebCurtis is on a mission to grow small business ownership. She has rich experience lending to small businesses. This experience spans big banks, regional banks, non-banks, and community banks. She's the founder of @curtissmallbusinessfinancesolutions  a @smallbusinessadministration lending specialist. The SBA loan guarantee scheme enables businesses to be purchased with finance against the cash flow of the business. It's an innovative scheme that makes small business ownership more obtainable and helps drive higher rates of business transition.    In our discussion we cover:how the scheme:helps business buyersallows existing baby-boomer business owners to more easily sell their business or retire by enabling a qualified buyer to take over without the worries of finding 'traditional' financing collateral i.e. personal real estateenables lenders to fund businesses that have variable cash flowthe application process for getting approved and criteria for getting qualifiedwhy it’s so challenging to fund small businesses in Australia due to feasibility differences compared with medium or large businesseswhat owners need to do in order to maximise their chances of successful fundingwhy we need to support small businesses as important factors in our local economieswhy with such limited options for cash flow lending and lending to small business generally there's a need for a similar scheme in Australiahow to promote an environment that enables individuals to buy an established business through government policy initiatives to continue to grow the next generation of small business owners Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au 

@KatrinaMyers is the co-owner with husband Tim and tribe of 4 children of @BarhamAvocados. It's a generational business that's deeply embedded in the local community. Katrina and Tim had successful professional careers and lived and traveled extensively overseas before the lure of returning to the farm became irresistible. Katrina and Tim also didn't want running a significant business to be a barrier to them and their children experiencing extended international travel. Katrina knew the business was there to serve the owners, not the other way around. They spent years planning for an epic family adventure. Listen in to hear Katrina talk about:moving away from the feeling of being trapped by your small business the importance of “living life for the moment”how putting further responsibility on staff allows for the business to develop - “when you’re not here, they figure it out”how to make a business more sustainable with long-term planning why "doing everything is not good for you as a business owner”the strong link between a business and its owner's identity - it's upside and downsidemaking the distinction between business and owner not attaching your identity to your business and understanding that “if our business fails, we are not failures”why it is so important to ask for help and advice for you and the businesswhat different models and planning can be put in place for your small business to assist with taking a break and coming back to itencouraging other owners to think about taking a breakensuring your goals, values, family and other life matters are included in your business planninghow they prepared the business to enable them all to go traveling, and then come back to the businessdealing with the pressures that all small business owners faceleaving successful professional careers for avocado farmingjuggling a family and small businessthe concept of a temporary exit from your business rather than exit planning for a sale and a break that may never happenthe importance of owning mistakes and responding to them openly as they are a part of the small business journey Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au 

@CarmenWilliams is the #founder of @GlobalTeams which has grown into a business consisting of 82 #VirtualAssistants. For Carmen (controversially :)) outsourcing isn't about businesses handballing a problem elsewhere for it to be “magically solved.”  At #globalteams they help client's get more from a fuller understanding of #outsourcing and how to best manage finding and working with #businesspartners.  In this discussion, Carmen shares more on how they support businesses through having a #va as a #teammember. We also cover;her own experiences starting various businessesquitting a ‘stable’ job to start a business from passion and interestHow #changingcareerpathways often brings invaluable experience, background and “transferable skills”the future of outsourcingthe different roles Virtual Assistants can play in your businesshow to get the most out of a Virtual Assistantthe need for a #collaborativeapproach and how that makes it easier for your VA to become a part of the teamthe importance of support to #growabusinessCarmen’s experiences of knowing what she needed to do verse what someone else could dowhy #outsourcing   is just as important for #smes as it is for #largebusiness getting to a better #worklifebalancethe importance of time and effort in the initial set up with a Virtual Assistant the steps to organising a #virtualassistantforbusiness  Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au 

Laura Willis Dr Ariella Helfgott and Christopher Mardell are founders of @marinorockssocial owned by the Marino Rocks Community Coop.  In this fourth and final interviews with #coop owners brought to you by @bccm (Business Council Cooperatives & Mutuals) we talk about how the #localcommunity rallied to buy a long-standing local cafe (and building premises) from the original #businessowner. The #owner had attractive offers to sell the site to a #propertydeveloper but instead sold to the newly formed #coop which ensured that the #business stayed as a central #localmeetingplace.It's an inspiring example of #communitypower and taking the initiative to form the #coop and buy this critical local business. In our discussion we cover;  working with @bccmua and the process for registering the #coopwhy this #cafe and #meetingplace was so important in #marinorocks #southaustralia - without it the community wouldn't really have anywhere else that it can gather, to eat together and to have a glass of wine in the eveningshow they rallied #locals and recruited members who ended up being locals and visitors from further afieldhow they then financed and purchased the business and #businesspremisesthe history of the #café back (1961 ) and it's origins as a #fishandchipshop, then #caferestaurantwhy the #businessowner was so instrumental and passed over more money to be part of it#buildingcommunityfinding professional #hospitalitystaff#coopvalues and #coopprinciplesgenerative rather than extractive relationships#sharedpurposethe power of #sharedownership and #commonpurpose#sustainability #purpose #sustainableseafoodthe #founders practical learnings for aspiring #coopsand finally the big realisation - "If we don't do it, it's not going to happen" and away goes this business which was and remains a key part of the local commercial and social infrastructure Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au 

@MoiraWere AM is deeply entrenched in the #coop movement. She is currently founder of @Henhousecoop  which incubated @flockcoop.  Her career includes leadership roles in #startups, #businesses and #community orientated organisations. Moira received an Australian honour in 2019 (AM) for her significant service to the community of #SouthAustralia. She is passionate about #inclusion, #diversity and alignment with the #SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), bringing this perspective to the development of governance, engagement and reporting for impact.In this episode we talk about #startingup, why the #coopmodel was so critical in founding #flockcoop and;  the #hackathon that started it all  - they put a proposition to teams to ask the question "If there was an online platform, to support co-op creatives or people who are creatives, what could that be? What could it look like?"the #lawyers, #entrepreneurs, #investors, #community leaders and #techies who volunteered.building things on the flywhat it would mean to run a business and cross the digital divide@CodeLikeaGirl@StudioVeldthe #incubating role of #henhousecoop closing the #genderinvestmentgapstructuring #flockcoop as a non-distributing, not-for-profit co-op, with a goal to;#educate#advocatetest some models about how we can disrupt the #patriarchy - rather than giving my $10 subscription to Silicon Valley or a bunch of blokes in a boardroom in San Francisco, or London, or New York, why not give it to another kind of system?  And so that was part of the provocation. disrupt #colonisation through cooperative mechanisms and cooperative endeavorshow they plan to overcome challenges in the digital space so the #artists and #creators get better at putting their work into the worldsome inbuilt and equitable #tech processes e.g. a process where the content of the artisans gets completely refreshed every time you press it. So it's not just the ones who are making all the money that get up the top, which is what's typical in most of the other kinds of platforms like that#feministbusinessprinciples  and trying to build equity into the platform itself, as well as for the participantsthe incredible networks and fabulous people who have nurtured and supported #Flockboard members @KateSimpson and @PrekaVermontindividual women and non-binary folks who are really trying to change the world @Mondragonthe incredible support of @bccmhow communities work, how money flows through communities, and how communities and that economic base can create the conditions for more equitable or more just relationships how #firstnationspeople have been cooperative - there wasn't a legal structure around that but let's not pretend this is newit's always been the preferred model for humans to work together, and to look to First Nations for advice around that  Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au 

@DarrinJohnson   is the #CEO of @KudosServicesKudos Services is a #disabilityagency that supports around about six and a half thousand children and young people living with a #disability to have an independent life and has expertise in the more complex and of disability.Darrin is the second guest in a four-episode series on #cooperatives and #mutuals brought to you by @BCCM (Business Council of Cooperatives & Mutuals)We talk about the heritage of Kudos, its history as a State Government Department, creation of the current employee owned mutual structure (non-distributing, employee-owned not-for-profit) and much more including;how the staff (or what we call members) own the business  and have a lot of say in direction but don't take a financial dividendhow a lack of commercial interest in the "business" led to a dilemma - who's going to provide the services to these complex case children and young people?the commercial constraints from specializing in complex clients where the #NDIS model doesn't pay any differently whether you're dealing with a complex case or a simple casethe #spinoff to a service owned by the staff in 2018the internal joke that we're 4 years old, but we've got staff that have worked for us for 20 yearsthe instrumental roles of the @NDIA and @BCCMthe power of a committed bunch of individuals that really wanted to work in the space and took the brave step of really electing to leave the security of public service and move to what at the time was regarded as a pretty risky move; a new sort of concept first in Australia, as a public service spun off mutualcreating an initial #foundingboardthe influence of Dr.GuyTurnbow who had established mutuals in the disability sector in the UKresetting the practical meaning of #workplacedemocracythe reality of also being a business and needing to be #agile and make decisionsemployees understanding how they exercise their right as an ownerthe flow - members appoint the board, the board appoints the CEO, the CEO appoints a management team, and the management team has to be able to managea #businessmodel that truly allows employees  participate in #managementDarrin's excitement for the model, particularly in #disabilitycare #socialservices #aged carethe models role in creating a DNA level of accountability to the teamhow @Kudos embraces complexity and why staff thrive being different to a traditional #notforprofitknowing that you're actually a part of something, you're actually part of building something, not just a cog in the wheelhaving a real clear sense of the purpose that will motivate people to work through a more unusual model, which these businesses are.  Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au 

@KateBiondo is the #CEO of @GalacticCooperative which is a #workerownedcoop.Kate is the first guest of a four-episode series on #cooperatives and #mutuals brought to you by @BCCM (Business Council of Cooperatives & Mutuals)We chat about the decision to start business life as a cooperative, what that involved and the different benefits.  In our discussion we cover;The decision to implement a #cooperativemodelBeing a #workerownedcooperative and giving #employees the ability to go with what works for themThe difference #cooperatives are making in #businesses and #communitiesThe need for #businessowners to come together to #collaborate for greater #supplychain efficiency and increased access to #export opportunitiesBuilding and growing via #umbrellabusinessmodel (with other businesses underneath)How taking on more responsibility brings about more benefits for a businessHow and why taking a different approach to business operations is beneficialThe #barriers you may face when it comes to making a business a cooperative#Sustainableapproaches to #businessmachinery and #equipment to create a #circulareconomy of #recyclingThe day-to-day challenges faced by small business owners and having they can be dealt withThe importance of meetings involving everyone, not just management, as “input is needed from everybody”Why it is important to plan an array of timelines for where you want your business at different stages in the futureHow #workerownedcooperatives allow for more open discussions and time for decisions about future plansHow #cooperatives see investments in the business relative to the people that make up the businessHow #cooperatives allow for other opinions and experts to join the team to help grow and structure a #smallbusinessThe future of cooperatives   Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au 

@danielneuhaus from @six8coffee and @traderandco in Yass shares his experiences of starting up an #ethicalcoffee #smallbusiness and his thoughts on where to next for the #coffeeindustry. In our discussion we cover;Starting a business with a clear #purpose from the confines of a small apartment and growing it to where it is today#coffeeindustryexploitationHow travels and experiences of #underdevelopedcommunities across #Vanuatu, #Thailand, and #Brazil (to name a few) drove the #motivation for creating more #ethicallysourced and traded coffee in AustraliaHow these experiences “have shaped #howwedobusiness” and see the businesses still giving back to organisations Daniel worked with on previous Christian missionsWhy Daniels “businesses are a force for good” and how they shape every decision and interaction#businessforgoodHow this creates a #culture between owners, staff and #consumersChallenges all #smallbusinessowners face when taking the big leap to startThe importance of #educatingconsumers about the purpose and reasoning behind a business as its own marketing tool; to create a cycle of #wordofmouthHaving a #mentor through any stage of your small business journeyUnderstanding how two businesses, although interwind grow at different rates, require different needs and employeesThe process of separating the 2 businesses to gain better individual insightsAsking the question “what kind of business do I want to grow?”Discussions of business models looking at revenue verses profit when giving percentages back to communitiesSmall businesses supporting causes they are championing for#Socialenterprise verse self-described business with purposeBusinesses with dual purpose; building a business that is scalable but also doing good along the way.  Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au 

@MichelHogan is a #brandcounsel. For her #brand is a result of the #promises you keep.She helps people in business to understand what they care about and how to put it to work. So if you actually do things and make promises that don't align with those things, it's a risk to your business. And it's not just the promises that you make to #customers - it's the promises you make to each other within the business, to your #stakeholders, across the board, including vendors and partners and #investors and all people of all stripes. There's no category of promises that don't matter!In our discussion we cover;how every organization, whether they are doing it deliberately or not, is achieving some form of brandthe fallacy of thinking about brand as this thing that you create,  an entity of its ownhow Michel instead sees brand as a container where everything that you do gets deposited - so it's literally all the actions and decisions of your organizationmissed opportunities from seeing #marketing as almost a de-facto for brand#pufferywhy the stuff that actually achieves brand and contributes to this store of value is really deeply boring, #unheroic #unsexy stuff e.g how do we answer the phone? how does our logistics process work?@unheroicwork the bookhow you make a difference every day as you go about your work and engage with customers and employ staffwhy nobody (customers that is) cares what your logo looks like and why most #smallbusinessowners waste of energy time and resources obsessing over your logothe #mythofwow - being (wrongly) convinced that unless we're absolutely wowing our customers all the time, then we're going to lose themwhy 150% is over-rated and 100% promised and delivered is just fine@harvardbusiness article "Stop Delighting Your Customers"#customerzillas - the godzillas of customers - every small business has a few and the sad truth is that about 40% of your time will get taken up by about 2% of your customers. So why keep them?@patagonia - unapologetic about who they arethis idea of #purpose, that every purpose needs to have some kind of a social impact component in order to be legitimatean alternative - #purpose = all that is needed to motivate you and your team and your #orgwhy #smallbusinesses actually have a leg up vs. large #multinational, multi-site, multi-culture, thousands upon thousands person organizations#customerengagement failsa survey from @auspost saying, how did we do? And my question to them is, did I get my parcel? Then, I'm good. You know if I got my parcel or not because you know. And so you're asking me something you know. It's not the right questioninformation you should already know Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au 

@RossCameron is the owner of Cameron Research Group who researches #smallbusinessowners. Since starting 30 years ago he's personally done a few thousand face-to-face interviews and more than 700 focus groups. He didn't set out to be a small business owner himself. He worked for a company that did similar sort of research and then went overseas. When he came back to Australia he had some bright ideas he thought would make a million bucks. They didn't quite play out so when he needed cash flow he thought  "I'll do a little bit of market research." Back then there was no one really focusing on small and medium-sized businesses (#SME). No one was really giving SMEs the time of day and he just found that completely bizarre. 97% to 98% of the businesses in the country had less than 20 people and nobody was actually interested in what they have to say! In this time he's marvelled at the unique personal motivations, #resilience and #wisdom of business owners. He's also heard some really funny stories. Here's some of what Ross talks about;why most SMEs don't actually want to growhow people who run a business can "take it in the ring" and when they get knocked down they'll dust themselves off  and bloody show up againthe feeling of being  "king of the world" one minute and then when things are down looking in the mirror and hearing that great song Nowhere To Run To Baby, Nowhere To Hideowners putting their #heartandsoul into itthe misnomer that business owners are risk seekers, that they're nuts - they're not that way at all - there was just an opportunity that made common sense17% of these businesses he interviewed actually want to grow and 83% are actually trying to achieve different things not about business growth including achieving and maintaining a particular lifestyle#lifestyleseekers#passionateprofessionalshow society puts a lot of pressure on these owners for not growingwhat a very lonely place it can be  and why it's so important for business owners need to stay connected with other business owners, because no one understands the blows and no one can really call it like another business owner@smallbusinessmentoringservices in Victoriathe difficulty for business owners in employing somebody else to truly run the business independentlythe tale of the customer who said  "if you don't sell that to me for 150 bucks, I'm going to put a spell on you." and the business owners response 'you're 25 years, too late. I had a spell put on me when I bought this bloody business 25 years ago." Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au