Blog Author Mellissah Smith - Page 37

I personally struggle with some millennials but like any generation, there are a few that make a bad name for everyone else. No doubt the same could be said for my generation. In general, millennials are paving the way for innovation and reshaping how we work, why we work and what we are capable of.

I was talking to some entrepreneurs last night, and we discussed issues surrounding what is a killer in an office or for an company as a whole. 

There are millions of articles on leadership, and equally as many on millennials and their sense of entitlement. Funnily enough the word gossip comes up quite a bit in many of these articles around employee dissatisfaction. If one employee shares a dissatisfaction, and shares it, then others start thinking about what they feel, and rather than focus on the positive, if they have stuff going on in their lives or may have had a request for something declined in the office, they too start to think.

Every day I sit at my computer early in the morning before the team arrives at work, and I think about how I can get the most out of my day. I have a 'to do list' like everyone else, but I always make that secondary to what the overarching goal is for the day that I am about to have.

I'm sure many of you are like me, and you ask yourself "Where am I going?". 

It's a common conversation that one has with oneself when you are looking deep within and trying to ascertain what it is you want out of life and how you are going to actually get there. It is when you don't have those conversations with yourself that you really have to worry.

As an entrepreneur, I have found that being a woman has been hugely advantageous to our business and continues to drive our business to new heights as it opens more doors than it closes.

While I have experienced inequality, and yes it has come from men, but overall, it is women that are more likely to hold other women back - and that is fact in today's society.

As a woman entrepreneur, giving it a go, it is very important that I empower other women to do the same and support women and men in their journeys as entrepreneurs and citizens of the world. Likewise, no person gets a job in my company due to sex, but rather ability to do the job and self-starting attitude. If they are not a self-starter, and prepared to work hard and learn, then quite frankly, they don't last.

If you look at Wikipedia, you can read his profile, and although it has some inaccuracies, it gives you a good understanding of the background of the person who I am about to write on, Jack Cowin.

I am in a privileged position to be mentored by Jack Cowin, and I don't say that lightly, as I know what an honour it is to have someone with his pedigree giving me important lessons and advice on business and life. However, the honour is not about who he is to the outside world that don't know him, as quite frankly, I couldn't give a 'rats ass' as to how wealthy he is or how much money he has made - and that is what most people tend to attach to his name. Those things lack importance in my life, and to his. I am certain that he would not care about how much money he makes, instead he is more interested in the journey and never having to work a day in his life. He genuinely loves what he does, and as a man in his seventies, to still love what you do is quite special.

Never want to work a day in your life, then speak with a passionate entrepreneur and you will fast realise that this is very possible.

Entrepreneurship may not be for the faint-hearted, but it certainly has a lot of pros and not as many cons.

I was shocked when a friend of mine told me that his house was broken into in Townsville. Yet another break-in that seems to now be the norm for a town that has 10.1% unemployment rate (Source: ABS Labour Force Survey) or according to ABC article in June 2016, a 13.9% unemployment rate. Townsville now boasts one of the highest jobless rates in Australia.

I came to work today realising just how extraordinary we all are as human beings particularly when we need to draw upon parts of ourselves that we didn't know exist.

Stress has never been my strength. I have never been able to handle it as well as I would have liked. I prefer to hide when I am stressed than to actually manage what I am going through. Life has many twists and turns and each of them has a lesson for us to learn. Sometimes, we don't want to learn that lesson, but don't have a choice. 

I was speaking to a journalist yesterday and was informing them of the speakers at the upcoming North Queensland Entrepreneurs Conference. While it may be branded that, people from all over the world are embarking on travelling to Townsville for this conference - that is how high the calibre of speakers are.

The main speaker is incredibly dear to me, as he has known me for a very long time. He has seen me transform from a young enthusiastic business woman (girl), to a woman that has more confidence and knowledge in so many different areas of business and industry sectors. At long last I can say that to most companies - I can add value. I think that transition is obvious in so many ways, and when you see someone on that journey, it is quite interesting to say the least.