Founder of Wizard Home Loans and Yellow Brick Road Wealth Management and Celebrity Apprentice judge Mark Bouris, recently defined success as “your ability to survive in your environment as it changes and evolve with it”. You may find his techniques help you, whether or not you own your own business, and as you invest more broadly in your work and life.

At this Australia wide, business roadshow, Bouris entertained and captivated the audience with stories. Anecdotes of building his own business, his business philosophies, and the different way lawyers and accountants approached a due diligence matter – compared with Kerry Packer. 

His 3 techniques to survive and succeed in business:

1. Hard work. Once you choose the business or job you’re in, that is what determines how many hours you’ll have to work, and for how long, to succeed. On ‘work life balance’ Bouris says he enjoys working 16 hrs a day, 6 days a week; his choice and it’s up to you to make yours.
2. Attitude of commitment.  If everyone in the business has your mindset (the mindset of a ‘proprietor’) you’re more likely to reach your business goals and objectives.
3. Mindfulness of purpose. Step back and observe yourself, your business, what you’re doing, your staff, customers, product or service. Don’t just keep doing the same things. Develop a ‘common consciousness’ throughout your business and articulate it to everyone in it so you can deliver it – better than your competitors. [I heard Richard Branson once say that successful businesses are often built when you see something not being done well, and just do it better or differently].

Rather than recount Bouris’s stories (you can  read them in his new book ‘What it Takes’), I’ll mention briefly his views on Kerry Packer after finance negotiations and a protracted, expensive due diligence process for Wizard.  Bouris describes Kerry Packer as a “practical thinking genius”. Packer not only got to the core issue of what Wizard was to its customers, but cleverly negotiated a side agreement with Bouris, which truly tested his commitment and accountability.

Bouris joked that Packer may not have had a ‘feminine side’, but his ability to understand what customers really want from a business (the real  purpose of a business) and in the case of Wizard, not just home loans but ‘hopes and dreams’ – shows extraordinary empathy.

On the economy and growth, Bouris suggests consumer sentiment is crucial. It underlies when you (the government,  the Reserve Bank and others) interpret any trends and data, and make business and investment decisions. Whether or not there is, or will be, growth and opportunity depends on:

• activity
• jobs and security
• the wealth effect – feelings and perceptions of wealth. How much have you in savings? What’s your house or investment property worth? Is any price growth sustainable?

Wading through the media hype and fear on the economy, there are many things you can’t control such as interest rates, unemployment, retail spending,  manufacturing, house and share prices. But as you invest in your financial and personal life, you might use Bouris’s 3 techniques, be aware of your own sentiment, and that of your environment, and evolve with them to be ‘successful’. 

Enjoy too if you like, some of our other Investing Updates.