ROSS SCUTTS- ENTREPRENEUR- INTERVIEW

Last week when explaining to a PR manager what my blog entailed, I was so happy to say that my blog is one of motivation and inspiration, not one of gossip and slander. When the words came out of my mouth I was shocked and proud all at once! That is something I had worked really hard on, keeping my blog motivational and inspirational, and to be able to say that and the blog be tangle proof of that made me so proud! Recently I made the decision to write more motivational and inspirational pieces as I want to contribute as much as I can to our magnificent world and I am lucky enough that I can write a blog from my little corner and have a couple of people read it and hopefully motivate them to go for their dreams!

One of the best ways to help motivate people is to show you that there are people, just like you and I, who are striving for their goals and dreams and are successful at doing so! Success stories are mind food and motivate us to go for our dreams... because if they can do it... so can you! 

Ross Scutts is a perfect example of what I am talking about. Ross, a Brisbane man in his early twenties, not only understands the importance of setting goals, but for taking action! Which in turn has created the success he is after! On the 26th of March I will be attending a workshop which Ross has put together for young entrepreneurs to arm them with the best artillery you will ever have in your inventory- KNOWLEDGE. You can never ever stop learning and if you want to be, do and have what YOU want then I suggest you constantly seek out such events, books and CD's to help you on your journey! I am so excited to be attending this work shop and I will be blogging all about it for you so keep an eye out!

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ROSS SCUTTS

Ross Scutts

When did you decide you wanted to become entrepreneurial?  

To be honest, I don’t believe I ever made the conscious decision to become an entrepreneur but I do recall the time that I decided that I wouldn’t settle for less than what I want and what I know I can become which was when I was 18 and I opened my first personal development book (also the first book I was to read cover to cover, including books from school) Awaken the Giant Within By Anthony Robbins.  

What have you done so far to realise your dream of becoming an entrepreneur?  

To date I have started 4 businesses and sold them, sold over 35 franchises either for my own business or for other companies, I have started and currently own Australias first and only Luxury supercar rally (Auzrun) held every year and have also secured a deal with a long term mentor to purchase 50% of the soon to be American arm of Auzrun.

How have you educated yourself? 

From books, to Seminar’s to DVD’s to CD’s to even cassette and VHS tapes and most importantly surrounding myself with mentors and role models.  I find out of all of the learning I have done, the best is from the group of people that I surround myself with as they are the living and breathing evidence that you can be, do, see or feel whatever you desire, you just need to DO.

What do you think the most important steps to becoming an entrepreneur are?  

That’s a challenging one and I am not 100% sure if this is the most important step but it’s the one that I have recently learnt (in the past year) that I believe is at least one of the most important steps, and that is Delivery.  What I mean by delivery is simply delivering on your promise, your product, your service or even your own personal goals and dreams to the level that you originally set out to do.  I have found that a lot of people who fail in life simply don’t deliver and those who are role models, leaders and a success in their chosen fields are those who simply deliver. Another major step that I can honestly say has helped me achieve the majority of my business success is (provided the first is being done and can be done) selling your story and make it inspiring so that you make people want to be a part of it.

Ross Scutts

Who are your inspirations and why?   

I have a number of inspirations in my life, some I am close friends with, some I haven’t met and some are even fictional characters.  Some of the people that I am fortunate to call my friends, mentors and roll models are Phillip Di Bella from Di Bella Coffee, this guy started Di Bella Coffee 8 years ago and was last year awarded QLD young Entrepreneur of the year, he has built his company up from $5,000 to a $65 million empire and is now expanding internationally.  He is a true inspiration that I get to have regular contact with and am truly fortunate for it as the guy is a true example of what it means to be an entrepreneur! 

Another mentor and role model of mine is Bradley J Sugars.  He started the company Action COACH (formally Action International), the worlds largest business coaching company.  They have 1,200+ Business Coaches world wide and are regularly rated in the 100 best Franchise systems in the world as well as a number of times cracking the 50 top fastest growing franchises world wide.  A great inspiration to have around and be able to give a call and ask a questions.

Ross Scutts with Mentor Bradely J Sugars and partner Ellie Gonsalves.

 Others who I have only been able to connect with through their books and seminars are Sir Richard Branson and Donald Trump.  Both of whom have been on the verge of bankruptcy and have bounced back impressively to have net worths in excess of $2.5 billion.  They both do business differently to one another which just goes to show, there ARE many ways to succeed in business, it all comes down to how YOU want to succeed in business and the type of person you want to be.

Some of the fictional characters would include Bruce Wayne and of course Tony Stark (Iron Man), probably not so much from an entrepreneurial or educational point of view, clearly, but from an enjoyment and fun point of view. Knowing how to reward yourself for your hard work is just as important as working hard and succeeding, you need to enjoy life and embrace your acheivements 

What are your plans for the future?

  In the short term, my partner Ellie and I are moving to the US to set up the American arm of Auzrun and for us to pursue our goals and dreams which should see me hit the BRW Young Rich list by the time I am 30 (6 years).  As well as the constant development and running of the Young Entrepreneurs Club and expanding that internationally. Business wise I plan on constantly learning, growing and educating myself from those who have done it bigger and better than what I have so that I can become all that I can enabling me to share even more with people who also want to learn.

Where do you see yourself in ten years? 

In 10 years time I see myself living in the US, retired (or be in the position to be able to retire) and starting a family with my incredible partner Ellie.  In reality this is the number one driving force for me in all my business endeavours, to be in a position to provide for my family, that I do not need to work and don’t ever need to work, I like to make work a choice and not just a necessity.  Like anything in life that you invest a lot of your time in, you should be doing it all for worthwhile and predetermined reasons that are set by you (meaning you are the driving force behind what you are doing, not what others have told you or are making you do and you know why you are doing it) and this is one of my major goals.  Realisticlly, I personally don’t think I will ever be able to fully ‘retire’ as keeping your mind active is like going to the gym for your mind.

Ross Scutts and Ellie Gonsalves.

  

Any advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?  

Surround yourself with other like-minded people who want similar things to you and then also surround yourself with people who are further up the ladder than you are.  This is one of the reasons why I have put together The Young Entrepreneurs Club.  It is the first club specifically aimed at under 30 year old aspiring entrepreneurs and current entrepreneurs who want to surround themselves on a monthly basis with other like minded, passionate and driven entrepreneurs meeting monthly in groups of 10 and having the confidence of sharing everything that is going on in their life’s knowing that it never leaves the room. I think these are the two most important things for aspiring entrepreneurs to follow. 


http://www.auzrun.com

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Thank you Ross! You are truly an inspiration!

Stay fabulous!

CLE

Interview with the owner of Fashion Television Oceania- Aaron O'Donnell

At the beginning of May this year I decided to start blogging and on May the 29th I covered my very first event! This event was Fashion TV's Full Moon Party at the Jade Buddha Bar in Brisbane. I had spent all afternoon researching information about channel 123 and the people on the guest list. Although I had watched Ftv on occasion for years I did not know much about it and when I found out that the owner of Ftv was going to be at the Full Moon Party I was so very excited! I had decided early on that if I was going to have the confidence to cover events I had to jump in the deep end and interview my 'Mount Everest' (the 'biggest name' on the guest list or the person I felt the most intimidated by) first and the theory is that the other interviews would get easier (it works!). That night Aaron O'Donnell was my Mount Everest! To be honest I didn't manage to interview him first as 1. I couldn't find him and 2. when I did I was waaaay too nervous so I picked my second 'Mount Everest', went to interview her and then finally after a 'pep talk' from my friend I bit the bullet and went and introduced myself. We have been friends ever since! He is so friendly, laid back and happy to meet new people which is not at all what I expected! I also assumed that he would be an older grey man that was a designer at some stage and lived in Melbourne... not a 35 year old, entrepreneur who lives on the Gold Coast! 5 months later I have covered numerous events, have grown in confidence and find myself sitting in the Ftv headquarters on the Gold Coast getting ready for my biggest interview yet!

Where did you grow up?

 I was born in Brisbane, grew up in Cleveland and went to school in Wynnum. I have only been on the Gold Coast for 9 years and I made the move for the opportunities in work and property and of course for the lifestyle that the Gold Coast has to offer!

Whats your favourite childhood memory?

One of my fondest memories is... when I was from about 3 years of age until about 12, we went to Hervey Bay every September school holidays and went fishing on the long Jetty. I also got my first kiss there!

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to fly F-111s and that was not going to happen for me so I thought I wanted to become an architect and then I basically decided that I wanted to be self supportive and entrepreneurial. 

How did you come to own Fashion TV?

I was sitting watching Fashion TV about 6 years ago and I noticed there was no Australian content so I made a series of enquiries and the lady who answered my inquiries, the Vice President of Fashion TV Asia at that time, had actually done business with me 6 years prior in China! So she knew who I was, my business ethics and so forth. I then spent two years traveling the world negotiating the deal as Michel Adams wanted too much for it. I kept negotiating until we both got what we wanted. He originally wanted me to take on a franchise and I said no, if I am going to do it I want the whole thing, I want to own it... the brand, the TV channel, the whole lot. So we are now the only ones in the world that are separate from him and can do everything ourselves. 

Who is your favourite model?

Tough call! In Australia... Abbey Lee Kershaw, Jessica Heart or Bronx Whitehorn. 

Overseas Isabeli Fontana, Natasha Poly.

What is your favourite fashion week? Milan because it has the best designers in the world, it's sexy, great people, fun and it's a good time of the year. In Australia I like Perth Fashion Week because it's fun, exciting, new and not pretentious like some of the others. Some of the best models in Australia come from Western Australia.

Where is Ftv Oceania heading?

My plans for Ftv are, basically, to expand the brand. The television is the television and we make good content. There is a lot of content that is yet to be made but where I am taking the brand now is the franchise systems, the licensing, the merchandise and the website stuff. We will have bars, cafes, restaurants, model schools, gyms, hair salons, vodka, energy drinks, champagne, jewelery, water, and clothing so the future is to have, in Australia, franchise systems in the market place so that anyone who doesn't know Fashion TV... will know it. The Vodka should be here before Christmas and the first hair salon will hopefully open early next year.

If you could go back ten years what advice would you give to yourself?

Have patience and believe in yourself. Go with your gut instinct. Don't bring family into business and don't rely on other people to do what you know you can do better, just go and do it.

If you could go forward ten years what would you tell yourself?

Where is my next pina colda coming from! haha!

Wow you did it....! Wow it's still exciting....! I don't know where I will be in ten years. I could still be doing this, I could be living on an island or I could be broke! I don't know! That's life... it has it's ups and downs. You have to go to the bottom before you can go to the top. I really believe you have to hit rock bottom in your life once before you get to the top. Not just money wise, it could be emotionally or anything. Look at all the most famous millionaires or billionaires, they hit rock bottom before they got to the top and they learn from what happened to them.

Any advice for emerging entrepreneurs?

Be yourself. Stick to the basics. You can go outside the box but how you approach business and deal with business on a day to day basis you really need to stick to the basics. To be an entrepreneur you have to be able to lead. So if you cant do something don't expect your staff to do it. Like being at work on time! Patience is a big one. Entrepreneurs are usually wanting to make a million dollars overnight. You just need to stick to it and keep going and keep going and never give up, eventually it will come.    

Aaron with Alex Perry at the Palazzo Versace on the Gold Coast.

Stay fabulous!

CLE

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