14 year old entrepreneur Alex from Queensland
A short mentoring engagement that quickly resulted in a good outcome for all
Review by Kristy and Alex Richardson
I contacted Paul at Regional Rising when I discovered that my son Alex had essentially started a business unbeknown to me. He had set up a website, shopify account, and was selling products. To be completely honest I panicked, as I have no business experience and had no idea of how to help him, the records to keep, tax implications etc.
Paul assisted greatly by giving us clarity, and identifying and prioritising different parts of a business. He also gave us "homework" after each meeting with him, which helped keep us on track and accountable.
Paul helped Alex to "pressure test" his business, and really looked at each element in detail from different perspectives. It was great to be able to use him as a sounding board, and for help in "untangling" our thoughts and ideas.
In the end, we decided that we currently don't have the time, finances or energy to launch and run the business in the way that was needed. We decided to call it day for the time being. Although Alex is no longer running the business, we consider this whole exercise a great success. He has learnt what is actually required to set up a business, and what the potential implications are of not doing things correctly. He has also learnt the value of careful research and planning prior to starting.
Alex would love to be an entrepreneur in the future , and the skills and knowledge he has acquired from Paul will hold him in good stead for his next business venture.
Thank you Paul!! :-)
From Kristy and Alex
My response to Alex and Kristy
Hi Kristy and Alex,
Thank you so much for leaving such a thoughtful review.
While it's disappointing that our relationship is coming to an end it has been extremely successful in such a short time.
It's important to acknowledge in entrepreneurship that developing an idea, pressure testing it and then, perhaps, shutting it down early, for whatever reason, is a good outcome and not a failure as long as everyone learns from it. Persisting with the wrong business idea for months or years and then get tripped up later and having a big emotional and financial cost because of an unidentified risk can be catastrophic. I think it is worth celebrating that Alex has an entrepreneurial flair that should be encouraged and nurtured and that this idea, his first, was the wrong one at the wrong time.
I do hope he continues with his entrepreneurial thinking and behaviour in the months and years to come and I hope we can reconnect for his next idea.
Thank you again for the review and good luck Alex with your studies for the remainder of the year.
