The Deep End 2.0

THESE EVENTS TOOK PLACE ON THE 19TH OF MARCH…BETWEEN 5:14PM AND 5:24PM

“SIT DOWN!”

“In the next 10 minutes i need five different ideas for what you want to name your company” - my mentor, business coach and now great friend directed me , as he sat at the other end of his office, organising the week to come.

I had worked hard, dreamed and visualised for the last two years about the day i would get to open the doors to my own company…so of course the one thing i didn’t want to fuck up in my own eyes, was the name and the identity of what i basically viewed to be my “child” that was about to be born.

I feel like about 1.27 seconds went by when my mentor razzed me once again…..how many have you got…..I had one

MLT Sales Solutions…..

And I hated it…but it was all i had, and the clock was ticking…

to come over the next 6 minutes where as follows…

Groove Marketing (Music is a big part of my life….that’s all I got to explain away this one)

JET Marketing (May have watched Top Gun at the time, cannot confirm nor deny)

MT Marketing (Unoriginal…think I was just trying to have something to bring to the table)

I sat, racking my brain for something that sat right as i listened in on a recruitment call my mentor was having with a potential candidate for a direct sales position within his own company.

I listened to him explain the role….”we manage pop up stalls and events” and for some reason the pop really stood out. POP worked on multiple levels, It had relevance to my daily operations, it was fun, light and explosive.

POP Advertising was added to the list and resonated well. Finally something I actually liked…didn’t take long for me to pull the trigger after that.

The meaning of POP was the next part…I wanted to choose some words around it that best described the vision that I had in my head and what I was looking to achieve with the business. But for now my business baby had a name, and something I could stick on the wall and be proud of.

WHATS TO COME…AND WHY

In later posts I want to unpack a lot more about POP and what the intentions are of my business, its vision, mission and goals for the months and years to come. I haven’t always been someone who would vocalise or publicise my goals and it’s definitely something that I’m working hard on doing!

I feel as though taking on the responsibility and pressure of running my own business, going through the highs and lows of getting things off the ground…..and trying my hardest to keep them in the air (maybe i should have gone with JET marketing after all!) have really opened my mind and changed the way I think and perceive the world and business, relationships and people.

My intentions for this blog have a few levels, primarily it is to help me document some of my leanings and thoughts in a way that can hopefully bring value to others and inspire discussion and networking around matters of business and social change in the world, innovation, collaboration and the dreams you feel a little to shy to share. I’m only here today thanks to the coaching and support from people around me, and if i can use this channel to give back even a shred of what they have given me over the years, weeks and days just passed, I’m hoping that will be enough to help somebody else out there achieve something great of their own.

Further than that its a new challenge for me personally. I’ve never seen myself as a great writer…but as I look in retrospect at my development over the last few years, I wasn’t very good at sales either….That is until I just jumped into the deep end and thrashed around until I worked it out.

Even when it felt uncomfortable or awkward…honestly much like it does now sitting here and writing all this, through perseverance and grinding through the challenges, and coming out the other side of it all achieving things i never thought i could…felt amazing.

So i’m going in again guys…. Welcome to my deep end 2.0.

AND WHO AM I?

My name is Mitch, I’m 28 and am the managing director of a sales and marketing company, POP Advertising, currently operating in Sydney NSW. As well as my business and all things work, I love music, have an addictive personality to collecting all kinds of shit and love a good whisky.

I worked full time within the hospitality industry for 6 years after I left school before I was introduced to sales. My first ever job though, was waiting tables on a Sunday while I was still at school at a tiny cafe called ‘The Cinders Lane Cafe” - it still exists, you can find it in the rural town of Armidale - now called “Bistro Cinders”.

I’m annoyed at myself that I cant remember the name of the legend that employed me those many years ago, but he was so forgiving an patient. I was young, probably about 14 or 15 at the time, and had no idea how to do any kind of work that wasn’t farm related. This guy literally put an L plate around my neck (i’m not even joking) and showed me how to take orders, run plates, and even got his hands in the sink with me to wash some dishes. He made me a delicious lunch every day and sent me on my way with a few bucks in my pocket! I wasnt there for very long, I probably did no more than ten shifts in total, but i loved the idea of financial reward for my efforts (even though i’m pretty sure he was employing me for $3 and hour, you live and you lean!)

After leaving school I jumped straight into full time work! (A massive shout out to Caitlin McNamara - who helped me get my first proper job and for so much more that you helped me with! if you follow this blog, so much of what iv done is thanks to your kindness and help you gave me, both you and your family!). I started as a delivery boy at a small cafe and took on some restaurant work as well. Looking back my time in this industry, it helped to grow my basic communication skills and work ethics.

My opinion is that waiting tables and managing restaurants is definitely not a career path that will be able to build or sustain the lifestyle goals most of us have (unless you own the business), but however, I do believe that hospitality and customer service work do serve their purpose in crafting a foundation for crucial values and attributes that are required in any role, especially in the sales industry.

From there I tried the university thing and eventually found may way through a good friend into the sales and marketing world. I worked hard and had plenty of ups and downs, but those stories are all to come!

There are many of people that taught me some valuable lessons on my journey towards opening my own business, it will be fun to look back in retrospect, and hopefully reconnect with those that gave so much value to me over the years!

Well there we go guys, we’ve kicked it off!! Let’s continue to share some life, some love, some business advice….and our plans for the years to come!

But I think that’s enough thrashing around for now, its time to come up for some air,

See you all soon

Mitch