It’s hard doing business on the Gold Coast (and anywhere else that has great sun, beaches and lifestyle)...because it seems to be all about the $$$$
During this week, jam-packed full of meetings and networking and I found a common trait throughout all the conversations.. Many people were saying how hard it is to do business with Gold Coast businesses.
After all of these discussions, I now have a THEORY.
I believe that the Gold Coast is one of the best cities in the world to bring up a family, live a healthy life and enjoy a pretty decent standard of living. We have lots and lots of sunny days, beautiful beaches, transport & infrastructure, healthcare, education and daily access to some extraordinarily beautiful locations people pay thousands to come and visit.
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It’s a great place to live, you just need to figure out how to make enough money to stay here!
Many move here for the lifestyle and start a business in order to afford being here. That’s great for entrepreneurship and start ups, but as the wonderful Nick Bowden pointed out at the Authentic Business Exchange, 95% of businesses on the Gold Coast fail in the first year. Of the 5% remaining, 95% of those fail in the year after that.
Trouble is, starting a business with the sole purpose being to make money, is not a strong enough reason to keep going when the going gets tough.
When you chase the dollar and hit a brick wall, you are more likely to give up and change direction. Whereas if you have passion for what you do you will find a way over, under or through the wall.
Also, if money is the only reason you are in business, you are unlikely to ask for help, because you don’t want others to know you are in trouble. And on the Gold Coast, appearance is everything!
If you have passion for what you do, you will ask people to help boost you over the wall, building a strong team of mentors, helpers and associates to support you.
Because people give up when the going gets tough, it makes it very difficult to do business here, it's just so transient. One day a business looks like it’s doing great, the next it’s closed and the owners have moved away.
There also seems to be a reluctance to do more than is the minimum effort required. It’s almost too easy to live an nice life here.. As long as there is money for beer on the weekend, time at the beach, on the water at the footy or to have a BBQ with your mates, that seems to be enough.
The focus is on survival rather than positively impacting the community you live in.
If you have passion for what you do, you will reach out to others and help them, mentor them, guide them. Because you know what it’s like to need the help of others to achieve something extraordinary.
I am grateful to say that in the 4 years we have been operating our business on the Gold Coast, yes the ‘bullshit detector’ has become finely attuned, but more importantly, we have managed to hunt out and surround ourselves with people who are passionate about what they stand for, positive about helping others and totally immersed in the joy of seeing people achieve success.
We have found the pockets of excited, driven, passionate, honest and goal focuses go-givers. Now we have found them, it makes this an even better place to live. But there are some rules.
The lessons from living and running business on the Gold Coast -
- Ask “why”, don’t take anything at face value
- Trust in your own sense of integrity
- Keep focused and stay the distance
- Desire more than living just an ‘ok’ life
- Surround yourself with the right people
If you live and do business on the Gold Coast, do you like my theory or have another?
Do you live in a similar type of location elsewhere in the world, where the desire to be there is great but the ability to gain employment is limited?
I found this amazing short video all about a fantastically focused and driven woman who stayed the course and has been incredibly successful - because she had a purpose - and it wasn’t all about making money. Starting Business for a passion - it's worth watching.