Earlier this year we interviewed a group of inspiring entrepreneurs, to find out about how they started their business, the challenges they faced, and their vision for the future.
One question we posed was:
“What does ultimate success look like to you? How will you know when you’ve achieved it?”
Success is something that many entrepreneurs have a strained relationship with. Is it possible to ever be ultimately successful? Or will you always be at least one step away from your next goal?
Here are some of the best answers we received. Let us know what you think in the comments.
Deb Hescott, J’espere
I think that success is ongoing and I celebrate every milestone along the way. The journey to continual success is measured through customer feedback, sales and building a brand that has community input. Success for me also includes the raising of awareness and funds to help find a cure for blindness – this is extremely rewarding.
Zachary Rook, Your Local Movers
I used to think it was money related, but in my old age (27) balance is a much bigger point for me. Working because I enjoy what I’m doing and being able to choose to spend time with people I am close to is my success.
Nick Raphaely, Assetline
We have clearly articulated our aims:
- To be the largest Personal Asset Lender across Australia
- To have a dominant market presence in NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, WA
- To develop and maintain industry-leading valuation and logistics expertise nationwide
Jason Smith, Back in Motion Health Group
Ultimate success for me is making a difference in the lives of disadvantaged people. Whilst every person matters, there are some who simply do not have access to the basic health services they need. Inequality is a great injustice and Back In Motion is determined to not just support those who can afford it, but also to work with those who can’t. We do this through a number of subsidy initiatives throughout our practices and also through the pro-bono charity that we founded called SOS Health Foundation.
It would be exciting to learn one day that when people reference the brand of Back In Motion they think of it in terms of being one of the positive ‘game changing’ influences in healthcare. I would be happy to remembered as a ‘innovative disruptor’ if it lead to our communities truly benefiting from better lifestyle health. Physiotherapy is a very traditional profession and we are really trying to break the mould with an integrative approach.
Benjamin Gross, Ben’s Antiques
For me, ultimate success would be having a decently profitable business for years to come. After college, I would like to have the luxury of making an extra thousand or two a month from my antiques business, while pursuing my goal of becoming a lawyer in Washington, DC.
Jarrod Morgan, ProctorU
Success is a journey more than a destination. As the years have gone by, I’ve come to appreciate that true success is sustained success. It’s one thing to pop up and win out of the gate. But can you do it over and over again? Success for me is reaching a point years from now and realizing that we are still working as hard as ever, and staying true to our principals. We don’t want to be a footnote in the history of the testing business, we want to fundamentally move the industry forward.
Fiona Anson, Workible
I’m not sure we believe in “ultimate success”. As the well known saying goes “success is a journey, not a destination.” We have successes every week – a new client, a new market and newly-released feature that our market loves. Ultimately to see Workible as the mainstream social platform, globally, for this workforce is something we aim for. You can never predict the future and that, like anything else, might change.
Jamie Lee, Kids at Switch
I actually placed this poem on my table and I think it sums up really well what success means to me.
Success
To laugh often and love much
To win the respect of intelligent people
And the affection of children
To earn the appreciation of honest critics
Endure the betrayal of false friends
To appreciate beauty
To find the best in others
To leave the world a bit better
Whether by a health child,
A garden patch, or a redeemed social condition
To know even one life has breathed easier
Because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
Declan Curran, HomeFix Direct
Impossible to achieve. Ultimate success, to me, is the realm of the likes of Howard Hughes, Aristotle Onassis, James Goldsmith etc. – people who could shape whole industries and rewrite the rules in their own image. People like that lived on a bigger stage than the rest of us; the best I, or most of the rest of us, can hope for (without sounding defeatist!) is to reach a stage where I can buy companies to bolt on to what we’re currently doing, diversify, add value to undervalued assets etc. That would be pretty amazing. And to do it all from somewhere stunning, like Avenue Foch in Paris would be rather excellent too!
Missy Cooke, Six Thirty-One
“Ultimate Success” is hard to define. I used to think I knew, but every time I meet a small goal on my way to that ultimate success, my vision changes.
So, to me, ultimate success would be the ability to love your life as it is right now. Whether you are exactly where you want to be, or striving for something more. I have found true happiness in my ability to appreciate the day-to-day. The rest is just details. By that definition, I have already achieved ultimate success.
Brett Birkill, Prime Mover Workwear
Prime Mover Workwear has a drive and passion to be part of the process that saves lives at the workplace. In order to do this effectively we need to distribute our product to as many end user businesses as we can via our distributor base. To date we still have more to do and many more workers to touch with our product. When we see Prime Mover Workwear in all areas and industry sectors, more so than any other brand, our task will be complete.
Paul Pearson, Alphatise
Our vision is a long term one and involves the connection of billions of people around the world in 160+ countries.
Llew Jury, Reload Media
Success to me is the amount of time I spend with family.
This is because when you have a management team sharing the load and pressures of the business operations, you can spend quality time with the people that need you most. I have an eight- and six-year-old and you don’t have many years to be part of their growth and development, so you have to make it count.
After this, everything else can come such as business success, personal branding and reputation… and at the bottom – money.
Mia McCarthy, Yummia
I try not to look at success as an ultimate goal, rather setting little goals along the way help the business growth incrementally. I’m definitely my biggest critic so don’t really ever see a time when I can feel like I have achieved success, rather will always be working to the next step.