After a decade-long absence, the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) made a triumphant return to Melbourne on Wednesday, 13th November 2024. The event brought together some of the brightest young entrepreneurial minds from tertiary institutions, all competing for the prestigious title and the chance to represent Australia at the APAC finals in Japan next year. The evening, hosted by EO Melbourne Chapter Strategic Alliance Partner BlueRock, offered a unique blend of intense competition and camaraderie within the vibrant, creatively designed spaces of their venue.
Member Focus Series: Graham McNicol
EO Melbourne welcomes one of the latest additions to its chapter — Graham McNicol. He is the CEO of MSP Photography and an experienced Project Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the retail industry. Graham is a strong sales professional with a Bachelor of Business focused in Human Resource Management from the Swinburne University of Technology.
How Melbourne Business Owners find opportunities in difficult situations
“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” — Maya Angelou
Successful entrepreneurs get to where they are now because of their determination to reach their goals, which includes braving the odds and overcoming hurdles. The recent global scenarios in the past two to three years have been very challenging. Many business leaders have looked into finding opportunities under tough situations. But how do you do it?
Member Focus Series: Michael Lattouf
Michael Lattouf is the Managing Director of Mikado Group. Michael has over 15 years of experience in senior and executive roles in Infrastructure, Railway Signalling and Telecommunication project planning and delivery in both the public and private sectors. He is a Chartered Engineer, Fellow, and EngExec and also holds a business degree majoring in financial management encompassing both technical and commercial expertise.
Data vs gut-feel in decision-making
The importance of innovation in business
Competition is getting fiercer, technology is advancing faster, and market preferences are leaning towards newer products and services. For enterprises to have a continuous upward curve in their performance and remain relevant to the changing times, they need to look for ways to constantly innovate themselves and consistently improve their business.
The value of training in organisational development
How do you nurture your organisation’s human resources? Every member of your team is valuable on how to bring your business forward and achieve its goals. But as you take in new challenges, aim for greater heights and expand your horizons, how do you equip your people to ensure that you can all move towards the same direction and at the same speed?
Corporate values and nurturing them in your business
Corporate values are important in every organisation because they provide a strong foundation for decision-making, team building, customer relations and driving your business forward. It is your company’s compass that directs you which way to go and the backbone on how to run your business successfully.
Dealing with burnout and work fatigue
When your days are filled with tonnes of emails to check, meetings to attend, fires to put out, and many responsibilities to take care of, it won’t be surprising to find yourself feeling weak, tired, anxious, irritable, exhausted, drained, depressed, forgetful and the list goes on. How do you manage burnout and work fatigue so that you can sustain yourself for the long haul?
Discussing business and work with your life partner – how much do you reveal?
When it comes to your business, how much do you share about it with your life partner?
The life of an entrepreneur is a challenging one. The demands and responsibilities at work may often be overwhelming that you will sometimes feel the need to be supported at home by your spouse or life partner when it comes to your business endeavours.
Realising true entrepreneurial freedom
by Jamie Lingham
As an entrepreneur, I want the benefits of not only being my own boss but also having the ability to do what I want, with who I want, where I want and when I want. After 20 years of running my immigration business, dealing with staffing issues, long nights, long weekends and time away from my family, COVID was the one to push me to take on the ultimate travel, work, and family adventure around Australia.
How do you communicate bad news to your clients?
In every business, there are times when things take a different turn and projects can often head south, may it be due to human error, unforeseen circumstances, or uncontrollable situations. When things go awry, how do you break the bad news to your clients?
There are different approaches to it, depending on your client’s characteristics and your relationship with them. A few entrepreneurs share with us their experience and how they tackle the problem when the situation calls for it.
Budget-saving tips for more cost-efficient work operations
In business, it is important to note the resources coming in and the resources that are going out and being used – may it be in the form of cash, goods, time, and other things. Keeping up with your day-to-day operations may quite be a handful, but with a few tips, you may just be able to have a more cost-efficient day-to-day operation in your workplace.
We gathered some amazing ideas from entrepreneurs on how they budget their resources, lower their spending, and save money, time, and effort.
3 different ways innovative entrepreneurs use cryptocurrency for their business
As the online space and financial world merge more and more and break boundaries, the interest in cryptocurrency is increasing by the minute. People looked into it as a way of boosting their financial resources. As its popularity rises, cryptocurrency has become an option for entrepreneurs to use in their business. How can it be done?
While many cannot still wrap their heads around this new concept, we tapped into the expertise of EO Melbourne Member and Nugget’s News Executive Director Ben Simpson, who shared with us his thoughts on the subject matter.
The path of entrepreneurship through acquisition
When we talk about entrepreneurship, the first thing that comes to mind is starting a company from a garage. However, there are various ways towards a successful business journey, and one of these paths is entrepreneurship by acquisition. Top-level universities and business schools like the Harvard Business School, Columbia University, The University of Chicago, and Duke University, among many others, even offer Entrepreneurship by Acquisition in their curricula.
What quirky hobbies do entrepreneurs have?
Hobbies can help an individual learn new things, acquire additional knowledge, declutter the mind, bond with people who share the same interest, and warm the heart. Hobbies are beneficial to the physical, mental and emotional well-being of a person, especially to entrepreneurs and business leaders.
Intriguingly, some entrepreneurs have quirky hobbies that show us their fun side that we do not get to see most often. EO Melbourne members share their interests when they’re not on their laptops immersed in their business.
5 books every entrepreneur should read
Crowd Culture Director Blake Brunne and Orange & Green Founder and Executive Director Rudi van der Vlies share the books that have helped them navigate through the business space and understand their market better.
Music Makes Better Entrepreneurs
How has music played in your personal and entrepreneurial journey? For some, it helps relieve them of stress while others use it to pump some energy into their day.
Entrepreneurs live busy lives as it is, which are often filled with stress and pressure from various angles. With the challenges that the current crisis brings and the uncertainty that the future beholds, they need more than ever to turn to methods and solutions that can contribute to their mental health. Music is one tool that brings energy to a lethargic mind and respite to a weary soul.
Let’s get a closer look at WeTeachMe Founder Kym Huynh, Koh Living Director Tui Cordemans, Liston Newton Advisory Director John Liston, and Marketing Melodies CEO and Founder Dean Cherny on the role music has played in their lives.
Tech brands that made it big
Most companies and businesses nowadays do not have a physical product to sell. With information and transactions mostly done online, many brands that we have come across offer various services through websites or phone applications. From photo sharing, social networking, email marketing to buy-and-sell, there are plenty of industries that now rely on the internet to push their businesses forward.
How entrepreneurs can spend their weekends in the new normal
Restrictions have eased up after the quarantine, but movements are no longer the same as to how it was before COVID-19 hit the world. People are still advised to observe distancing as much as possible. Some companies have opted for flexible work arrangements with their people where certain staff members work from home. Many events and activities are still held online. As long as no vaccine is available, precautions are still advised to be taken to avoid a similar occurrence in the future.