GETTING TO KNOW YOU
Getting to Know
Alan Manly
What inspired you to start
your business? What are
your goals and values?
I suspect that I was like so
many others. I really felt that
I could do things better. An
opportunity came to work for
myself and I took it. My goal
was to do better than simply
working for someone else.
Better rewards I guess crossed
my mind.
My Values. I am convinced that
a quality product or service
is an investment that will pay
dividends.
What was the driving force
behind your decision to
specialise in this area of
business?
Our goal is to create the
business model that enables
leaders and teams anywhere in
the world to apply the Think One
Team method and tools in their
day-to-day business.
What process, services and
support do your clients
receive?
The success of any business
will always depend on the
owner/ operator. Offering
encouragement to the owner
leveraging off my real life
32 ModernBusiness
February 2016
experience as an entrepreneur
can assist refocusing energy to
working on the business more
than working for he business.
What challenges did you
face in setting up your
business?
The first challenge is mustering
the self- confidence to actually
take to opportunity. Then the
lack of real entrepreneurial
experience to plan a start up
from the ground. Capital is
usually tight with start- ups.
Mine was no different. It sounds
easy but maintaining focus on
the goal of the business being
getting and keeping customers.
Tell us about some of the
expectations that you had.
Have they been met?
I thought a business plan would
address the issues. I learnt
that the Robert Burns poem
addresses that delusion nicely.
“The best laid schemes of mice
and men often go awry.”
I found that all estimates should
be assessed with the thought
that any given task will take
twice as long, be twice as hard
and cost twice as budgeted.
The initial plan was to survive.
Not glamourous but at least it
was credible. Later we become
more sophisticated and took the
business into a wider range of
products.
What types of services do
you offer?
Education ranging from
Certificate in Business
to a Masters in Business
Administration (MBA)
Do you provide services
nationally?
The business I manage has a
large campus in Sydney. The
opportunity to open in other
states is always under review.
Do you have any plans for
overseas expansion?
We recruit from 20 plus nations
using our Sydney based
campus. We have recently
established a partnership in
Thailand. This should be the
first of several.
What would you say to
someone looking for a
business consultant and
what advice would you give
them?
Enter all contracts with your
eyes wide open. It is purchased
advice and you are the customer
therefore the advice must add
more value to your business
than it costs. It is your business
and will be your success.