The Accidental Entrepreneur
by Janine Allis

Business
Ashto = 4/10
Jonesy = 4/10

The Accidental Entrepreneur – by Janine Allis

Janine Allis is not only the author of The Accidental Entrepreneur but co-founder of Boost Juice, which grew from her kitchen table to 500 stores and $2b in sales across the world. But Janine wasn’t always destined to be an entrepreneur. She tells ‘The Juicy Bits’ in this warts-and-all book about her journey to success. When Janine was in the twenties, all she wanted to do was travel; she left on a six-month trip and came back seven years later with a two-year-old child.

We learn that Janine didn’t really even think about running her own business until she was thirty. Boost Juice was founded when she was in her mid-thirties, and she was awarded Australian Business Woman of the Year in 2004 when she was 39. Janine is one of the five ‘Sharks’ on the Australian version of Shark Tank.

The Accidental Entrepreneur (dot point) Summary

Part 1 Surprise Entrepreneur

370 stores around Aus and the world
Did not complete year 12
Often people are afraid to make mistakes – and they live a life half lived because of it
A story about an ordinary girl from the ‘burbs to marrying her soulmate, so starting Boost and Retail and becoming a shark on Shark Tank
Started boost from her kitchen
‘Making an error will not be the end of your career or business, you need to step up to the plate and have a swing to hit a home run. The key learning is to have a go’ Face your fear

Beginning

Sensing there was more to life, I worked 3 jobs to save for a traveling adventure. Telling my mother I would be away for 3 months, she returned 6 years later with a 2 year old
Grew up as a ‘bitter disappointment’ to the teachers who had taught my
Tried modelling
Worked in advertising
Started working at night clubs
Worked overseas on Canary Islands nearly got raped
At one stage was in France with 40$, 2K credit card debt
Ended up landing a job in yaughts
Fell pregnant with someone she didn’t love
She was 27 going home to live with her parents with a kid
Finding a secure job was her biggest priority

Back in Aus and getting her shit together period

Frankston cinema she got a job at
Place was hopeless so she had free reign and permission to do things
She made that a success so was sent to Singapore to work
Landed a job with a United International Pictures

Part 2 Natural born leaders

What does it take to succeed?

Marry well
Huge care factor
Tenacity to keep at it
Quick learner
Common sense
Impeccable integrity
Work really hard

Attitude Matters

In business she doesn’t like the VERB mentality

Victim – poor me

Entitled – entitled to receive rather than driven to achieve

Rescue – expect to be rescued when things go wrong rather than find a solution

Blame – blame others instead of taking responsibility

Her fav is the SOAR approach

Solutions

Ownership

Accountability

Responsibility

Integrity

Words integrity and values mean nothing if they are not backed up by hard work and the right decisions

Avoid people who have low standards of integrity

Motivation

To succeed you must unlock the deep personal energy

You must find out where your passion is

Her earliest motivation was fear, as she had everything on the line

At 3 she had everything to lose, the business had to work no matter what

Passion

People are attracted to them and believe in them, people want to be them and invest in them. You cannot train passion it is like gold

If you can identify your passion and make it your life’s work, you can’t fail. Can you imagine a better feeling that being paid for what you will do for free.

Confidence

Self-doubt is your greatest enemy, confidence is everything. If you believe in yourself others will too. Even if you have doubts, hide them! Confidence is your shield against the disease of defeat (different from pretending you have all the answers when you don’t)

Growth Mindset

Most people in business had an academic background and knew a lot more. She started asking questions even if it shown how little she knew. By asking questions she found out the experts also make mistakes.

Discipline

The most important trait of successful people

Do not drink and work…

Work smarter not harder

Listening Skills

No one learns anything while talking

Email the people you admire, find out how they got started

Usually, you will find the start point was a very basic opportunity, perhaps something available to many – only successful people have the foresight to grab opportunities with both hands

Generally most people like helping others

Don’t assume you have all the answers ever in a situation you are familiar with. Make it a goal to find out one new thing about another person each day

Solution Focused

Albert Einstein

“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer. You may not have all the answers to every problem you face. You have to believe you have the resourcefulness to find the solution to any problem – rather than asking your boss or mentor to come up with the answer”

Honesty

Is lying putting your relationship at risk worth it
The more honest the better you sleep
Gains from dishonesty are short lived
Don’t be afraid to admit your wrong

Fighting Negativity

Working too hardcore and was fully stressed

The more you focus on something good or bad, the more likely what you focus on is going to happen
Conversations With God book was given by a healer
Didn’t want to read but pushed through the dip

Key Learnings

Don’t try and be better, just be better
There is only love and fear, if you live in fear this is what you will manifest if you are grateful for what you love then that is what you will manifest
I believe books and people come into your life and different times for a reason

Part ii Finding a Partner in Crime

The Winning Formula

Goes on with her story
At the start they bought their first store in Adelaide and she worked from Melbourne. This allowed her to work on the business rather than in it

Mix of Team

The leader – ambitious confident inspiring
The thinker – analytical concerned with detail
The doer or worker bee – gets the job done without fuss, but are easily manipulated
Emotional creative – social energetic and competitive

Hiring People Smarter Than Yourself

Once you totally commit yourself to the idea to hire people smarter than you then the rest is easy

Relationships

The higher up the corporate ladder you go, the fewer mates you will have in the office

Proteges

Train people so your out of a job
Encourage them with training and counselling and occasionally throw them In the deep end

Part 3 Getting Systems in Place

Vision to Fruition

Biggest mission was the customer experience
From the beginning they were not happy with one boost store, they thought big from the very start
Knew less than 50% of what she was doing most of the time
According to Jess in 2002 the company needed a leader and she moved out like a scared little rabbit into the spot light

CH6 Structure for Growth

To Franchise or not to Franchise

Jeff one day signed a 18 store deal with Westfield with 5million liability, mid thirties with no money and had to find this money in 18 months
– Do not franchise if only a little bit of profi

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