Business Chicks’ Emma Isaacs and entrepreneur Toby Heap reveal successful business tips

HOW do entrepreneurs not only get to the top but stay there? It’s not easy, but the rewards are unlimited. Here’s how to cash in on other people’s success.

Toby Heap has revealed what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur.

ASK any entrepreneur how they got to the top and stayed there and most will probably say it involved a lot of risk, a heap of hard work and probably a bit of stress.

But ask the same entrepreneurs if it was all worth it and you’ll get a big, fat smile.

The rewards of running your own show and being your own boss are worth it for those lucky enough to get to the top and stay there.

But before you go ahead and start up your own business there’s a lot you need to know.

News.com.au spoke with two successful entrepreneurs about the secrets behind their success.

Emma Isaacs, CEO, Business Chicks

The organisation produces a national events program of 80 events a year and is seen as a safe space where women can network in a relaxed way, with like-minded people.

The mother-of-three has grown Business Chicks from an organisation of 250 members to one which boasts 31,000 since taking it over in 2006.

“I could see that there was a massive opportunity that no one was taking advantage of,” she said of buying the business.

“The sentiment for women’s issues (the gender pay gap, board representation, attracting and retaining executive talent, etc) was gaining a lot of traction in the media and the time was right for a strong women’s movement with a strong brand.

“Up until this time, there had only been activism groups and associations with no solid infrastructure or significant financial backing. I saw the gap for a well-funded and well-resourced network and got to work developing it.”

Ms Isaacs began Business Chicks as a way of empowering and drawing together women in business.

Here are the secrets of her success:

1. Learn resilience: Being an entrepreneur requires the ability to cope with being knocked down, over and over again. You have to learn to keep getting up. I believe there’s a difference between being just a business owner and being a true entrepreneur. It’s about having a level of confidence and above all, it’s about being resilient.

2. Be obsessed with your cash position: This is a habit I practice every day — checking our cash position and staying close to our cash flow even though as a business this size I have an entire finance team who manage our finances. Knowing your cash position dictates your strategy.

3. Dance with fear: One of my favourite thought leaders, Seth Godin, says that the question is not “how do I get rid of fear?” but “how do I dance with the fear?” I love this, because as an entrepreneur there are always going to be difficult times and the fear is never going to go away — you’ve got to learn to be comfortable with the discomfort.

4. Let go of perfection: It’s ingrained in a lot of us (particularly women) to strive for it. But perfection is never achievable. Still be critical and aim for a product that’s great, then continue to work on it and adapt it until it’s even better. There’s always room for improvement — stay open to that, but let go of the need to be perfect.

5. Be a business with a higher purpose: It’s possible to turn a profit and make a difference too. Business Chicks has raised over $5 million for charity and has still achieved a growth rate of over 40 per cent for the past two financial years. Being a for-profit business with a heart and soul is good for yourself, your business, your brand, your community.

The Business Chicks CEO knows what it takes to make things work.

Toby Heap, Head of AWI Ventures

AWI Ventures is a subsidiary of Australasian Wealth Investments, an ASX listed company and was formed earlier this year to make early stage investments in the financial services industry.

Mr Heap has been an entrepreneur for several years and now runs an accelerator program for start-ups in the financial services area.

According to him, being an entrepreneur is the best job in the world but he warns it’s full of hard work.

Here are his top pieces of advice:

1. Be prepared to endure a lot of losses: But each win, small or large, is extremely emotionally rewarding.

2. Have a one sentence pitch: Be able to sum up your business in one sentence that clearly articulates your product without further explanation. This is important for marketing your product, raising funds from investors and keeping you focused.

3. Be prepared to wait: Smart investors rarely say they are not interested, they like to keep their options open so you may have to wait until the time is right and go at them again.

4. Momentum is critical for start-ups: Consider closing rounds quickly even if it means slightly lower valuations, so that you can maintain the momentum you need to raise external capital from investors.

5. Challenge the status quo: My background in science taught me that you should question everything, come up with potential alternative solutions and test them.

Toby Heap has revealed what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur.