Australian CEO Reveals Why People With Online Shopping Addictions Make Better Entrepreneurs

Like nice things? You could have latent entrepreneur potential.

Australian CEO Reveals Why People With Online Shopping Addictions Make Better Entrepreneurs

Is there such a thing as a ‘good’ financial mistake? Does being a capricious spender make you a better entrepreneur? Can you spot a bad deal from the ‘vibe’ of a person?

We recently caught up with Patrick Kidd — an entrepreneur whose luxury hair salon Patricks went from startup to multinational brand quicker than you can say ‘mousse’ (well, almost) — to understand what makes a successful entrepreneur in 2019.

Fortunately for your waning interest, Patrick has never been one to follow conventional LinkedIn wisdom, immediately taking us into unconventional — and enlightening — territory, admitting that thinking long term, being thrifty, having great attention to detail and making your coffee at home will never make you a millionaire.

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In fact, according to Patrick, there’s a reason the stingy spreadsheeters often end up working for Society’s Most Fanciful: and it has little to do with luck.

“I think in business it is necessary to be a capricious spender. Especially for start-ups and high growth companies, there needs to be flexibility in financial spending and risk taking to take advantage of new opportunities.”

Shove that up your budget and highlight it.

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Kidding. Sort of. In all seriousness, Patrick told us that, “Sometimes difficult financial decisions need to be made that can result in huge spending with little short term ROI — but are part of a long term strategy.”

“For example scrapping less than perfect products, delaying launch dates, choosing a much higher unit cost for slightly better finishes etc.”

He then added that, in his experience, there is a link between “liking nice things” and having the cojones to quit your day job and sell them: “Most of my network of entrepreneurs enjoy the finer things in life.”

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“I think this creates a successful business for two main reasons,” Patrick told us. “Firstly, these people strive for financial success to afford the lifestyle they desire, taking risks to build a successful business. Secondly: having a taste for the finer things in life would ensure their businesses provide high-quality design and innovative implementation.”

As for the difference between a worthwhile financial loss and a regrettable financial loss?

“You can’t regret anything you’ve decided to do in business — unless you invent a time machine.”

However, he has found that “something that costs you a lot of time and money, in the beginning, can make you money in the long run if you execute it well.” Of course, in order to achieve this, you need to know how to spot a good deal, of which Patrick says is all down to ‘reading’ people.

“If I don’t like or get a good vibe from the founder or creators I won’t go near it! People make the business.”

“Most of our investors told us they invested in Aimee (Patricks’ real CEO and my wife) and I as much as the products or gap in the market because they knew we’d get it done.”

That they did, with Patrick telling us how they once scrapped a two year in the making, US$100,000 hair product mould because “it had eight ejector pin marks on the inside of the packaging that looked really cheap and nasty.”

“Seems crazy, but looking back we made the right call. Quality will always give your brand product or service longevity.”

So, to all you budding entrepreneurs out there, don’t feel bad about your sneaker habit; see if you can turn it into a side hustle.

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