Andrew Herrmann
Company: Access 1 Security Systems, Gametraders Galleria, Orbit Amusements
Title: Managing director
Business: Specialists in all areas of security, franchising and an arcade amusement centre
Total employees: 14
Reporting directly: 11
Andrew Herrmann single-handedly developed Access 1 Security Systems while working full-time and adjusting to married life.
Mr Herrmann learned much from the failure of his first company, Silver Security Services, which had more than 50 staff. He had worked long hours, to the exlusion of his personal well-being and personal relationships.
He has been managing director of Access 1 Security Systems since 2002 and before that general manager of Australian Protection Services from January, 2000. During this time he has developed a high level of understanding of the security industry.
Career guides
* Personal commitment to quality service that is fully accountable.
* Allow managers to settle into their roles and ensure business values and visions are upheld.
* Look to the future: Where can I go or what can I do next?
* Regular family and personal time.
* Hard work, loyalty, integrity and honesty.
Personal/community
Mr Herrmann holds regular personal growth and business development sessions with managers and also with work experience students to help them understand the business world.
He also financially supports the McGrath Foundation, Canteen WA and Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders).
Top tips
You can achieve anything you want in life if you have the courage to dream it, the intelligence to make a realistic plan and the will to see the plan through to the end. Take chances, learn from mistakes and never stay stagnant.
Greg Hutchinson
Company: Prime Health Group Pty Ltd
Title: Chief executive officer
Business: Provider of health, safety and training solutions
Total employees: 300
Reporting directly: 7
Greg Hutchinson looks back on four significant business achievements: establishing Advance Phsyiotherapy Services Pty Ltd (APS) with wife Lisa in 1991 at the age of 23; growing that clinic into a network of local and interstate practices; becoming CEO of Prime; and being able to work alongside Lisa (a 40under40 winner in 2007 and now deputy CEO of Prime).
His entrepreneurial flair developed through his business experience at a relatively young age, when fear of failure and risk aversion had not yet had an opportunity to arise.
Mr and Mrs Hutchinson set up APS in 1991, growing the business from one small practice to 14 clinics (including clinics in Melbourne and Sydney) and 80 staff. APS became part of Prime in July, 2007.
Since then, Prime has expanded from six Perth-based clinics into regional WA and internationally, with new clinics in Bunbury, Karratha, New Plymouth (New Zealand) and Dubai.
Career guides
* Respect for all.
* Integrity at all times.
* Leadership through inspiration and passion.
* Enterprise and dedication.
Personal/community
Mr Hutchinson graduated from Curtin University in 1989 with first class honours in applied science (physiotherapy) and then completed post-graduate qualifications in sports physiotherapy in 1996.
Through Prime, he supports the Leukaemia Foundation, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Cancer Council and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.
Top tips
Business is a reflection of life. It’s not how well you deal with triumphs, but how you deal with the set-backs that counts.
Hanif Ibrahim
Company: Frontline Financial Solutions and Oceanlink Aquariums
Title: Founder & managing director
Business: Integrated financial services provider and custom-built aquariums
Total employees: 16
Reporting directly: 16
Coming from a working class family of 12, Hanif Ibrahim created Oceanlink Aquariums on a shoestrong budget of just $40 in 1992 and developed it into a million dollar company. It now creates and installs custom-built aquariums in offices, stores, hotels and homes. It has a unique partnership with Sydney’s University of Technology, working on numerous marine research projects involving coral reef bleaching, growth and water quality.
Mr Ibrahim established Frontline in 2006 and has overseen an accelerated growth program, which has resulted in the company doubling in size each year in terms of staff numbers and turnover. It is on target to achieve transactions worth about $180 million this financial year. He subsequently started Frontline Top Gear, following his wife’s difficulty in buying a car.
Career guides
* Be determined. Admit to your mistakes and learn from them.
* Be passionate about what you do.
* Love people -- it makes doing business much easier.
* Communication is key.
Personal/community
After consulting Frontline staff, Mr Ibrahim dispensed with Christmas gifts last year and put the money towards the provision of food for underprivileged families in Sri Lanka. The initiative bypassed the large charities, with the food purchased directly and taken to the families in need. This program will be continued in coming years.
Top tips
There’s no such thing as ‘it can’t be done’.
Do what you are passionate about, treat people with respect and success will follow.
Chris Jenzen
Company: Custom Quip Engineering
Title: Managing director & founder
Business: Design and manufacture of heavy transport equipment
Total employees: 20
Reporting directly: 18
As an apprentice motor body builder, a brash young Christopher Jenzen told his boss that one day he would be in competition with him and to “look out”. A decade later, Mr Jenzen walked into the (by then) ailing business and made an offer his former boss couldn’t refuse. He chose not to remind him of his earlier “threat”.
After five years of schooling and then an appenticeship, Mr Jenzen started Custom Quip Engineering – designing and building agricultural equipment. It was when he was looking for land to lease in Perth a few years later that he discovered his old boss was struggling to keep his business going. Challenges after the takeover included managing staff he had originally worked under as an apprentice a few years earlier.
Career guides
* Learned all about hard work from his father on a 13,000-acre farm at Cunderdin.
* You cannot succeed in either your profession or your personal life if you are not passionate about your work.
Personal/community
Knowing the importance of community support in country WA, Mr Jenzen assists the Cunderdin farming community to raise money for those who have not benefited well from the environment.
He sponsors a race at the annual Bulgin Bush Race and also local clubs.
Top tips
Ask the question, regardless of your nerves or the potential of rejection from the answer.
Work hard but smart and find a balance between work and play.
Aimee Johns
Company: Keith + Lottie
Title: Founder/owner/manager
Business: Retail/gallery space, art supply store and distribution company
Total employees: 6
Reporting directly: 5
Aimee Johns opened the Northbridge retail store Keith + Lottie in October 2004 at the age of 22 after formulating the concept during her second year in fashion design at Tafe. But starting the business was anything but easy.
After failing to obtain credit from a bank or supplier, mainly because of her age and perceived inexpereince, Ms Johns opened the doors to Keith + Lottie on a budget of $20,000. She had to be creative with every cent and to support the business she became a tiler by day and an interior designer at night.
The business enterprise has since grown to include a gallery, secondary retail outlet ‘The Butcher Shop’ and a distribution aspect ‘Smallgoods’.
Career guides
* Determination to keep going.
* Pride to stop giving up.
* Creativity is a skill to be cherished.
* Attention to detail makes you stick out from the crowd.
Personal/community
Ms Johns has taken an active role in Northbridge community projects and is chairperson of The William Street Collective Inc. She is also Northbridge Festival Project co-ordinator, Alphabet City Festival associate producer at Artrage and general manager (Northbridge and Barrack Street branches) of Utopia and design manager of all its stores.
She has strived to see Perth’s creative industry grow and to promote and develop Northbridge as a place where creative businesses can flourish.
Top tips
Business is something to be enjoyed. If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life.
Mitch Ladyman
Mitch Ladyman has twice been awarded (for two different companies) BHP Billiton Iron Ore’s long-term contract to undertake biological surveys and he regards these contracts as his more significant business achievement.
Career guides
* R.E.S.P. E.C.T – that is it in a nutshell. Respect everyone whose path you cross . Nobody is transparent or not important, no matter what role they fill.
Personal/community
Passionately wants to change public’s perception of venomous snakes and other “less well-loved” fauna.
Also involved in motivational speaking to young adults trying to find their way into a fulfilling or rewarding career.
Top tips
When I was 12 years old I started my first day of work at Dial-a-Dino’s pizza. I remember my dad said: “If you run out of things to do, pick up a broom”.
Darren Lee
Company: Market Creations Ptd Ltd
Title: Managing director
Business: Market creation specialists
Total employees: 37
Reporting directly: 10
Market Creations’ success in winning a MYOB category at the 2007 Telstra State Business of the Year awards was Darren Lee’s most significant business achievement. The Geraldon company’s success reflected well on the local community, the local chamber of commerce and its members, as the award spotlight was very much on people, processes and relationships, he said.
Career guides
* Treat each project as if it involved your own money.
* Never, ever, miss a deadline.
Personal/community
Based around opportunities in regional development (education, infrastructure development, business retention and expansion).
Top tips
You have to give yourself permission to make mistakes. Allow yourself...to think, create and innovate.
Georgiana Lenzo
Company: Atlas Linen Services Pty Ltd
Title: Managing director
Business: Commercial laundry
Total employees: 70
Reporting directly: 70
Georgiana Lenzo bought Atlas in 1997 and, as managing director, has assumed a hands-on role. Initiatives include the relocation and major refurbishment of the factory floor and buying state-of-the-art commercial batch washing and drying machines from the US. In 2006, Atlas won the PVS Work Find Employer of the Year award.
Career guides
* Confront the brutal facts, yet never lose faith.
* Strive to preserve your core values.
Personal/community
Through Atlas, Ms Lenzo has supported World Vision, the Riverview Church and Riverview Children’s Foundation for the past five years, and encourages higher learning among families of staff with annual scholarships and awards.
Top tips
“You can accomplish anything in life provided you do not mind who gets the credit.” (Harry S Truman)
Michael Little
Company: Michael little Designs
Title: Director
Business: Commercial and residential design specialists
Total employees: 6
Reporting directly: 6
The establishment of own his design company in 2004 is considered by Michael Little to be his most significant business achievement. The decision to branch out on his own was influenced by a large client base he had built up while working for a number of companies as a draftsman. His home-based business quickly grew and won awards, including the 2006 HIA spec home award for buildings valued at $350,001 and over.
Career guides
* Honesty, loyalty and hard work.
* Efficiency and innovation.
Personal/community
Mr Little is a regular supporter of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, Breast Cancer Foundation, Crohns and Colitis Foundation, and World Vision.
Top tips
The key to success is organisation.
John Martinazzo
Company: Tom’s Cranes (WA)
Title: Operations manager
Business: Mobile and tower crane hire
Total employees: 32
Reporting directly: 32
John Martinazzo has played a central role in bringing the business to its current position as a provider of short- and long-term mobile and tower crane hire to construction sites, and more recently expanding into specialised transportation of long and heavy loads.
Tom’s Cranes has expanded its business into the eastern states and Malaysia, and into associated business areas.
It also is now an agency for Tower Cranes in Australia.
Career guides
* Have a strong work ethic.
* Be open to new ideas and think outside the square when it comes to growing the business.
Personal/community
Mr Martinazzo sponsors a variety of local community and charitable organisations.
Top tips
Work hard to succeed.
Brett Quinn
Company: QFS Australia
Title: Managing director
Business: Recruiting, training and consulting
Total employees: 15
Reporting directly: 15
Established by Brett Quinn and business partners in June 2005 with $75,000 in start-up capital, QFS Australia achieved turnover of $1.5 million in its first year.
Mr Quinn was the driving force behind the development of the Indigenous Work Ready program. QFS Australia reached a turnover of $10 million in 2006-07.
Career guides
* Perseverance – keep pushing through the everyday challenges.
* Customers are the lifeblood of the business. Never neglect them.
Personal/community
Mr Quinn has been a mentor for young indigenous people in WA’s north. He has also worked as a volunteer ambulance office with St John Ambulance.
Top tips
Have a vision, plan the goals and complete the actions.
Justin Robinson
Justin Robinson and his brother, Norman, founded diversified financial services firm Sentinel Financial Group in October 2003 at ages 25 and 26 respectively.
With little business and management experience, and no pre-existing infrastructure or legacy to build upon, Mr Robinson and his brother set up Sentinel in a hugely competitive market, going head to head with the well-established and well-funded stockbroking firms.
Since its inception, Sentinel has grown from focusing purely on stockbroking functions to now incorporating a range of product offerings, and now has an annual turnover of more than $300 million.
Career guides
* Reputation, morals and ethics can’t be recovered once lost.
* Know your own strengths and weaknesses.
* Enjoy what you do or don’t do.
* You can learn something from everyone.
Personal/Community
Mr Robinson regularly provides advice and support to individuals such as graduates, immigrants and other business owners, who are either looking to get into the industry or require a confidant to speak with. Sentinel is also a major sponsor of the Subiaco Marist Cricket Club.
Top tips
No-one has ever succeeded without the help of others.
Always ensure there is a long-term alignment for everyone in the firm.
Norman Robinson
Company: Sentinel Financial Group
Title: Chief executive officer
Business: Diversified financial services
Total employees: 14
Reporting directly: 5
AT the age of 26, leaving behind a secure job and knowing the consequences of failure would be enormous, Norman Robinson established Sentinel Financial Group with his brother, Justin, in October 2003.
With his brother, Mr Robinson has built a successful enterprise that has grown to become a recognised name in stockbroking.
Achieving a more than $300 million stock market turnover for the 2007 calendar year after successive years of revenue growth, Sentinel is on target to more than double its turnover this calender year.
Sentinel has expanded to encompass divisional branches in Mandurah and Myaree. Mr Robinson is also a regular media commentator on stock market issues.
Career guides
* Having strong ethics and being able to hold on to the ethical ideas as you go through your career is most important.
* Having high standards and creating and driving the company culture of honesty and integrity through leading by example.
Personal/community
Sentinel is a gold sponsor for Mr Robinson’s local cricket club, Subiaco Marist Cricket Club. Within the financial community, he also provides coaching and support to up-and-coming stockbrokers.
Top tips
If good men do nothing, that is evil enough.
Belinda Russell
Company: Advanced Technology and Manufacturing
Title: Director
Business: Support services to electronic manufacturing industry
Total employees: 22
Reporting directly: 6
Setting up and running a company that has continually increased sales and improved productivity is considered by Belinda Russell to be her most significant business achievement. Her success is based on communicating with clients before and during the manufacturing process and providing feedback on ways to improve productivity and establish trust with the client on reliability and service.
She continually invests in new equipment to keep abreast of current and future manufacturing technologies.
Career guides
* Use the same values and guidelines in your business life as you do in your private life.
* Treat everyone as you would like to be treated.
* Learn more from listening than by talking.
* Treat customers with honesty, integrity and respect.
Personal/community
Ms Russell, who has a bachelor of commerce degree from Curtin University, has a keen interest in assisting groups and charities and as her company grows it is putting more time, effort and funds towards local community groups. The major fundraiser this year is the Channel Nine Variety Club Bash.
Top tips
Add new clients and look after them, but not at the expense of old clients.
Make sure growth is controlled and managed.
Romano Sala-Tenna
Romano Sala-Tenna wears many hats – retail and corporate adviser for one of Australia’s largest stockbroking firm Bell Potter Securities Ltd, investment manager for Katana Capital Ltd, and co-founder of InterStaff Recruitment Ltd. But he rates his greatest business achievement as being his work as a stockbroker.
Commencing in 1996 with total turnover for the year less than $4 million, during calendar year 2007 Mr Sala-Tenna co-led a team that was responsible for transacting in excess of $950 million.
In October 2005, he also co-founded migration advice and international recruitment firm InterStaff Recruitment, which currently employs 30 staff.
Career guides
* Find what it is that you are passionate about – otherwise you will fail.
* It is often our own self-imposed ceilings that limit what we can accomplish; the battle to succeed begins with setting a vision that is so often above what we believe we can achieve.
Personal/community
Mr Sala-Tenna has established a series of charity and not-for-profit investment accounts in an effort to create funds that might be sustaining over time, with a total of more than $1.2 million worth of funds.
Top tips
“If you are patient in one moment of anger you will escape 100 days of sorrow.” (Chinese proverb)
Sonya Smart
Company: Southern Cross Care WA Inc
Title: Chief manager, residential care
Business: Not-for-profit aged care provider
Total employees: 575
Reporting directly: 10
IT was with a mix of naïve confidence and enthusiasm that Sonya Smart set out to establish a new community care service within an established organisation, Southern Cross Care (WA) Inc.
Today, Southern Cross Care (WA) Inc is recognised as one of the leading community care providers in WA, caring for 1,200 older citizens. In six years, the service has grown to reach an annual turnover of $10 million.
With commitment and a clear vision for quality service, Ms Smart identified the needs of groups that were getting left behind, developing innovative programs to assist people with dementia, challenging behaviours, mental illness and indigenous Australians.
Career guides
* Honest communication with all people, from clients, stakeholders, colleagues and employees.
* Have an open mind and be non-judgmental.
* Honest self-evaluation. Take time to look at your motivations for wanting to do something and make sure they are in line with your ultimate goal.
Personal/community
Ms Smart has been an active director on the board of Alzheimers Australia WA for three years. She is also the president of the Parents and Citizens Association at her children’s local school.
Top tips
Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today, and think of the big picture.
Matt Sullivan
Company: L7 Solutions Pty Ltd
Title: Managing director
Business: WA-based IT solututions company
Total employees: 86
Reporting directly: 8
Matt Sullivan has been involved in the IT industry for 14 years. He established the L7 group in 2003 and became managing director in 2004. In the past three-and-a-half years, L7 has doubled its staff and annual revenue each year and is hopeful of achieving $24 million in 2007/08. Career guides
* Put together the right executive management structure and key personnel.
* Develop deep and narrow focus relationships with key clients.
* Market the key success of the business to the target market without perceived arrogance.
* Ensure strong corporate governance flows from the board (or management) down through the organisation.
Personal/community
Has a bachelor of engineering degree (e-comms) from Curtin University.
Has been involved in the Lifeline Youth Group, was a part-time announcer at Sonshine FM, has provided musical entertainment as a DJ at weddings, 21st parties and school functions and has financially supported Opportunity International, which seeks to eliminate third world poverty by supporting entrepreneurs in under-developed countries.
Top tips
The biggest risk to anyone’s success is themselves – identify immediately your weaknesses and the areas that cause you pain and then surround yourself with people with skills in those areas.
