Chapters

Summary

This episode invited Jesse Emia to talk about expanding your business. KeepSpace was looking to expand to the east coast during this time. Jesse shared his insight right after coming back from Melbourne to explore its ecommerce landscape.

Jesse showed his excitement when describing the difference in ecommerce between the west and east. He saw a shared office space where each ecommerce business had its own space. It was like a cohort of ecommerce businesses.

There was a photography booth for them to take pictures of their products. People would gather in the big kitchen area to talk about ecommerce and their business. They would share a pickup location for Australia Post and have all of their products collected together. Jesse was amazed at how this allowed people to start their ecommerce business and not be alone. It was a community.

Simon then changed the topic to business expansion for KeepSpace. He asked Jesse what is involved in the process from a leader’s perspective. Jesse started by saying you need a strong vision. Once you got a vision, you need to backtrack the steps to make it a reality. Especially take notice of your numbers when planning.

The next topic was about personal development. Simon said you would want to be learning all the time during growth. He asked Jesse what it might look like for a business. Jesse answered it is helpful to look at businesses that are in your desired situation. You get inspired and encouraged by seeing a hypothetical future for your business. Simon also added that taking on challenges is a part of the journey.

Jesse admitted that the thought of expanding was scary. He was afraid when he had to go and scout the landscape in Melbourne. He thought that there was already enough to do in Perth. He thought expansion might be too early for the company. However, Jesse concluded that committing to your vision and following it through brings better rewards.

Simon and Jesse briefly talked about competitors. Both agreed that it is wiser to not bother with competitors. They will exist regardless of your situation. Yet, they won’t help you with anything. It is much wiser to focus on your customers. Therefore, make sure your services are of high quality.

The last topic of this episode is perfect timing for expansion. Simon asked if such timing exists. Jesse shared his thoughts and said no. You can still gather some data about the best season. However, you will never have a complete data set. Therefore, Jesse concluded that you just need a little bit of faith and take a leap of courage.