Daniel Franco, Managing Director of SynergyIQ and the host of the Creating Synergy podcast, shares the top tips he’s learned from his chats with brilliant entrepreneurs over the years.

It’s no secret that businesses need to look for new ways to grow. If you’re not growing, you’re either plateauing or in decline.

There’s a steady stream of advice out there on how to grow your business but it can be hard to find what works best for you – especially when you have limited time to invest in your business.

6 entrepreneurs share their business success secrets

I’ve been fortunate enough to sit down and interview a number of successful business leaders on my podcast, Creating Synergy. It’s like a business coaching session with some of Australia’s brightest and most successful leaders, without the price tag.

I wanted to share my favourite six tips from some of Australia’s brightest business leaders and entrepreneurs to help you grow your business, and you can check them out below.

David Fogarty, founder of The Oodie on building a community

“Social media is incredibly powerful,” says David Fogarty, founder of The Oodie.

“Youtuber Mr Beast just opened a restaurant and there were 10,000 people who stormed the mall to be first to get a taste, with some people camping out for 24 hours – that’s the power of community. He did $100 million in his first year without opening a restaurant, these communities are so so powerful. In the future, the biggest direct-to-consumer eCommerce brands will have that sense of community and following behind them,” says the entrepreneur.

“Kim Kardashian’s recently launched fund is another example. If you think about a value proposition for someone like me, Oodie is in its early stages. If I go to one of the venture funds that have a bunch of investments and some strategic advisors, or I go to Kim Kardashian and she can post and annihilate the competition and capture all the market share in a week, it’s a no-brainer. Community is good and digital channels are the way to do it.”

Andrew Nunn, South Australia’s Chief Entrepreneur on starting small

South Australia’s Chief Entrepreneur, Andrew Nunn, took on a non-frills approach to starting his business.

“It’s always revenue, revenue, revenue. At the start of my business, we didn’t waste money on flashy offices and we didn’t have a lot of support staff; we didn’t have the best of anything. All our money went into the products and product development … If you want to grow, consider the merge-to-grow model. Ask yourself, who’s got a vision similar to yours in a different market?

“If you’re a smaller company, realise it’s hard for big businesses to hire smaller companies, so be relentlessly client-focused and innovative. Also, speak to your clients each week to stay front of mind–regardless of whether you’re working on the job.”

Michelle T Holland, Executive Director of SynergyIQ on finding and retaining the right staff

Executive Director of SynergyIQ, Michelle T Holland, says the cost of someone leaving is about six times their salary. So, if you have an employee that you pay $100,000, the cost of them leaving is $600,000 to your business.

“We know this through direct costs such as the productivity lost during the time of absence, and the direct cost to the business as far as opportunity costs. Leaders will be focused on the absent person rather than what they should be delivering. So, we can’t keep treating culture as a nice-to-have or as separate from the business; it actually is the business. It’s the biggest lever you have to drive productivity, engagement, innovation – and ultimately, growth.”

Anton Andreacchio, founder of Convergen Group and co-founder of Jumpgate on three important questions for entrepreneurs

Founder of Convergen Group and co-founder of Jumpgate, Anton Andreacchio, says if you have a business idea, you should ask some simple questions.

“Entrepreneurs should ask themselves three simple questions when evaluating their ideas:

• Do you have an idea?
• Do you believe it’ll work?
• Are you willing to go after it?

It’s that simple. If you have the answers to these questions, then you’re on your way to success.”

Anton also argues we spend too much time on the ‘theatre’ of entrepreneurship. We focus too much on signalling, raising investment and making a show of our businesses instead of actually growing them. For Anton, the entrepreneur has one job: to create more value.

Simon Hackett, founder of Internode on finding a leader with the X factor

Can one person exponentially grow your business? Internode founder, Simon Hackett thinks so.

“Hiring the right CEO took our business from 15 to 500 people. That was the difference. I’m very strong on the notion of delegating everything that you’re not passionate about to someone else. If you delegate – you find the right CEO and you build enough culture around what you’re doing – you can grow. That’s the key.”

Dr Gemma Munro, speaker and transformational facilitator on finding your lane

Dr Gemma Munro puts her business growth down to picking the right lane and sticking to it.

“I’d found what I call my ‘almost lane’ … it was so close. We grew it into a multimillion-dollar business, and it felt good but I needed to find my own lane. Over time, you hone your strengths, passions, and what you think you’re here for, [and] the lane gets narrower and narrower. And I know so many people who are in their ‘almost lane’ and it feels good enough, but they know there is something more they are meant to be doing. It’s a big jump to go, ‘I’m really good at this, I’ve got success through this’; and it is a bigger jump to say, ‘This is still not quite my lane’.

“Making that brave choice and then going for it – for me, that’s made all the difference in my happiness, fulfilment and even financial success. That has all come from going, ‘This is my lane, and I’m unapologetic about that.”

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