Career questions: you asked, I answered.

One of the most rewarding things for me as a business owner is helping others along their entrepreneurial journey. The path of an entrepreneur can often be a lonely one and it's important to have mentors and peer to peer support. Part of my purpose is educating others with what I've learned along the way, that's why I created an education program called 'Building Your Business Brand'.

You asked me your career questions, here's what I had to say...

How do you know whether or not you should turn your great idea into a business, and what's the first step in moving away from the idea into action?

Many people have an idea for a business and this does not necessarily mean it's going to be a great business. There's a difference between an idea for a product or a service and creating an enterprise. They're not the same thing. People often think of a perfect app or a perfect piece of software or say "we just definitely need left-handed doodling devices." But, is there a market for it?

If you do have an idea, the first thing to do is to research it. Who would be your customers? Is there anything like it in the marketplace? Where would you find those customers? Are there a lot of customers out there? And that's all before you even consider whether it would make a business.

The second thing is to consider, are you the right person to run a business? You might be better off being the designer, the creator, or the inventor, and having somebody else build an enterprise. Being an entrepreneur is not for everyone. It can be a very lonely journey. There's some statistics about, for every business starts and successful, there's 10 that don't.

Business ownership might not be for you. Having that commercial pressure might not be for you. So think about what is it that you want to do, and where are you in flow? Know your strengths and choose powerfully. And find yourself a partner if you don't think that is your journey. But don't give up on your idea.

When and how should you ask for a raise?

It's interesting to think about when is the right time to ask for a raise because as an employer I might say "never". The most important thing to ask yourself is 'what is my contribution?' If you want to present your case to your employer, know the value that you're adding to the business and the role you're playing.

Years ago, when I was young, I went to ask for a pay rise. I was working hundreds of hours a week and my boss said, "How do I know what you do?" When you can equate the value that you deliver to the business to a material outcome and demonstrate your ability to learn and grow, and what you're delivering, it will become a fait accompli.

Don't make the conversation all about you. When somebody says, "I need," "I want," "Housing prices are expensive," or "Rent's gone up”… that doesn't really work for an employer. Employer is looking at the commercial outcome from all of its available people. So talk about commercial outcome, the value add, the passion you have for the business, and like as not you'll get a good hearing.

How do you stay resilient and motivated in a tough economic environment in small business?

It can be difficult to stay motivated and resilient in small business. I often think that big business thinks small business is a bank and they deliver their services and they might not get paid for 30, 60, 90 days. It can be a very, very difficult space. Cash flow is essential, as a lot of stress just comes from cash flow.

There's two things that I know that business owners want. They want more customers. They want to get more from those customers, and they also want to have thriving teams. So if you look at those two particular areas, you'll see the source of success for business owners, which will come through growth and resilience. Business ownership can be a lonely journey. I suggest for anybody in that game to make sure you surround yourself with advisors, peers and mentors. It doesn't have to be a lonely journey. Feel free to join my business community here which brings like minded individuals together.

What advice do you have for aspiring female entrepreneurs in male-dominated industries?

For years, people have been looking at the question of, "Why are there not more women in male-dominated areas?" My own mother worked in the very early days of computing. In fact, in those days, computing was 50/50 male and female. It wasn't until some years later that they made computing a prerequisite of computer science at University, was to have maths, and at that point women seemed to disappear from that framework. So it's not to say they couldn't, it's about aspirations and it's a two-way street. The question is, do we feel that we can be ourselves in the work environment? And secondly, is that where we aspire to be?

There is no doubt that there is an unconscious bias when it comes to not just women, but diverse groups in workplaces. So, it's gonna take two to tango, but in terms of sheer advice, if you want something then chase it, and ask the questions. Stay curious. People are very interested in interesting people who ask questions.

I think the source is to make sure that you are relentless in pursuing what you want to do. If your calling is maths, if your calling is computer science, if your calling is engineering, make sure you fulfil on your dream. Don't give it up because somebody can't see you. Make sure you're seen. Life may have a glass ceiling, but it is full of sliding door moments. In that moment, you get to choose what you want to make happen.

What advice do you have for people who want to be a speaker, motivator and/or mentor? What would you suggest to help/guide them to take it up as a career?

I think it's wonderful when people have a calling that they want to help other people. To be a speaker, a mentor, a coach, a motivator, they're all things to support others and help them grow, but to be a speaker is to come from a place of experience and also authenticity, and if you're leaving high school and say, "I want to be a speaker," well you'll need to speak about something you really know about.

One great speaker I know who started his journey, must be in his late teens or early 20's, Peter Sheahan, he was speaking about Generation Y. He was one, and he was talking to corporates about what it was like to engage with the younger generation. It was relevant, insightful, interesting, but also he had authenticity in the space.

Speakers, motivators, mentors come with wise heads. How we build that wisdom is through observation, and sometimes that takes time. Speaking might be the outcome rather than the cause. I know I chose to become a speaker because I wanted to share what I'd learned with others, that maybe they could learn, adapt and not necessarily go through the heartbreak or some of the agonies that I'd been through. So great speakers have authenticity, transparency and authority.

What are your tips for achieving work/life balance?

To ask me what my tips on work/life balance might mean that I need to tell a few fibs, because it might be what I say rather than what I actually do. I find that when I'm filled with passion and purpose, work doesn't appear like work for me. I can work relentlessly because I'm looking for an outcome and I'm wanting to make a difference to other people... so it doesn't really occur as work.

But what I do know as being a mother and raising children is that I always included them in the conversation. They knew why Mum was doing what she was doing. I often would have them at the office. I would have them blowing up balloons before they went to school. I included them. There were many, many conversations around the dinner table about business. People say, "Will they be entrepreneurs?" I don't know, maybe they've seen just as much of the ups as the downs.

So, I don't necessarily know that I have work/life balance, but what I do know is I only have one life. I must choose really carefully where I spend my time, and if that's for work and for delivering and helping other people, well then that's what I choose in that moment.

Other times, it's about choosing my family and my children, but when I am with them, with my family, I'm truly with them. I put away my mobile phone, I listen to their stories, I play their games, and by the way, they've never beat me at Monopoly. I get down on the floor, and I play the games with them. They're now grown up. They're on their own journey, and if nothing else, I have been a role model to them. It's just as important as a parent to be a role model to show your children how society works.

What should people be doing, what skills should they be developing to make themselves marketable in an increasingly automated world?

I think any young person does need to consider their calling and what they want to do, and does it have life beyond their own realm? In terms of nurturing the skills to make yourself marketable or competitive, what we need more than anything is people's ability to build relationships. Business is a people game. It's people doing business with other human beings. So, I'm looking for people to join my team who are great with people. They understand them, they can communicate, they can nurture relationships, they have empathy, and they're also considerate in their approach.

If there's one thing you can really work on, it's your ability to build relationships. Computers are not going to take over the world. Business will always be a people sport. So nurture your ability to build relationships, and that will serve you. Have the ability to be in another person's world. If you're being interviewed, make sure that you're curious and interested.

As I like to remind my kids, to be interesting is to be interested, and that will stand you a good stead in any interview.                 

What's the best advice you can give ambitious young professionals to kickstart their career?

If I consider some of the great young people who've joined my businesses over the years, it's usually those who have done something outside the box. I was interviewing a young professional, a graduate. There were literally hundreds of applicants, but what she'd done was write a little blog while she was at University that said "21 Things I Want to Do Before I'm 21," and when I read that I had such a great insight into who she was. One of those things was to learn to change a tire on a car. They weren't all exciting experiences, they were just life lessons she thought she should know by the time she was 21. It gave me the ability to see who she was, beyond the interview.

If you can do something that allows you to stand out... It might be that while you're at college or Uni that you're joining a club, that you're doing something for other people, that you're volunteering, that you're learning. Being able to demonstrate you have an ability to learn, be curious and interested, will hold you in such good stead in any interview situation. I like to know who that person is, and I like to see more than just what is on the written page.

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Naomi Simson is the founder of RedBalloon and co-founder of The Big Red Group (BRG). She has been blogging for a decade at NaomiSimson.com, is a professional speaker, author of Live What You Love & Ready To Soar, and a “Shark” on business reality show Shark Tank Australia.

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