Starting a new business from scratch is harder than I expected, and I thought it would be tough, but I still underestimated it. One thing I always knew and has played a huge part in the whole thing is relationships. Over the last few decades I’ve been making connections, all for different reasons, but you try to maintain these relationships because you just never know.
If I go back over 20 years to a business dealing with real estate, Liz Spooner and I bought a unit in New Farm from this small boutique agency in West End, Brisbane. Leon Iconomidis and Michael Kazoullis were really nice guys. Over the years they helped us buy and sell some properties, they were always there for us and always treated Liz and me like we were important. Then a few years ago after moving back from the US, we needed a new accountant, I went out to a few connections, and Michael and Leon from Property Inc came through once again.
Our new accountant was the first person I called when I was going to leave Caterpillar and head out to the wide world, Peter from Ace Tax Professionals helped set up the business, get registered, and do everything we needed to get started. He made it easy and helped guide us so we didn’t miss anything.
So now we need a solicitor, someone who could help with business law. Hang on, I met this lovely lady on a flight from Melbourne to Brisbane over 4 years ago, we connected on LinkedIn, so I remembered I’d seen she was out on her own and doing great things. A couple of days later called her, hey, it’s Rob, we met on a flight, she cuts me off and says “hi, I remember, how are you going?” One thing leads to another, next thing Farrah M. is helping us navigate what we need to have in place, helping us look over what we can and can’t do, and how to structure some things to make sure we don’t get ourselves into any trouble.
Andrea Taft points me to her insurance broker in Melbourne and the next thing we are sorted with insurance after having a few false starts with some other brokers who were just not interested in helping out.
Rachel Smith is a long-time friend we met racing canoes, and she is doing graphic design, focusing on Brand. Boom! Now that is coming along, it’s a long process, but Rach helps steer us and we navigate what it is that we are trying to do and how to position ourselves.
Now I’m second-guessing myself, am I doing the right thing, I’ve been at Caterpillar for 17 years, and now I want to walk away, what, am I crazy I ask!!?? I give Scott Lidster a call, we talk a few times over this period, and he tells me something that resonates. The relationships I have with people are not because I work for Caterpillar, it’s because of who I am, and what I bring to the table.
So, I guess all I’m trying to say is take the time to get to know people and take an interest in what they do, you never know where it is going to lead, and you never know, you may be the one helping someone else make a start, or finish something off.
