Tina, tell us about your business?

Reach Education Centre is a combination of children's services built with the notion to 'Play with Purpose'. We have a wide range of educational toys to help children have fun while learning. We also do pre school classes, tutoring and birthday parties. All about us can be found on our brand new website www.reacheducation.com.au. I started REACH in my third year of uni. I was getting a little bit bored, so I thought I would start a tutoring centre. I realised that I wouldn’t make any money doing that, so I introduced educational toys. I finished my teaching degree last year and now I get to tutor children struggling with their schooling, which is very rewarding. There is always a lot happening as we do a lot of different activities, craft classes, kids cooking classes and science where the kids favourite thing to do is make slime and blow up volcanoes. It is certainly a nice place to be every day, always lots of smiles.

I understand you're featured in Dale Beaumont's new book ‘Secrets of Small Business Owners Exposed’- Congratulations! How did this come about?

I was very very lucky! I had just read ‘Secrets of Female Entrepreneur’s Exposed’ and thought what a fantastic, exciting and inspiring book. So I wrote to him telling him what a fantastic, exciting and inspiring book I thought it was. He did some checking around and rang me shortly after and invited me to be a part of the ‘Small Business’ book. Initially I was going to say no as I was only 22 years old, a full time uni student and hadn’t even been in business for two years. But I thought it was such an awesome opportunity and even if I could help any young person start a business doing what they loved then that would be a great thing. The opportunities that have come since have been so fantastic. It is such great exposure and something that I am extremely thankful for!

What has been your businesses' toughest challenge and what steps have you taken to counter this?

I have had two significant challenges in my business so far. The first was through no fault but my own. When I opened REACH I had $8000 in the bank and thought I was the wealthiest woman in the world. In my mind the retail business would be simple. I would buy a toy for $6, sell it for $10, and I had just made $4. I didn’t understand the magnitude of other costs involved. Three months after I opened, I went to my first trade fair. It was the most fun I had ever had! Toys everywhere! I bought the most fantastic educational toys for my shop, but it took me till October that year to have everyone paid. After that I got myself a really good accountant to set budgets and make up for the common sense that I lacked. It has also taken me a while to gain the credibility of my suppliers back. It made it very clear to me how important a good business plan is, and not just to write it, but use it and stick to it. The second happened six months ago when a chain toy store moved into the same mall that I am in. A lot of people assumed that I would not be there for much longer after they opened. But that gave me the opportunity to invest more into our services and unique market and we have now definitely come out on top. I used to think that whoever had the most money would win, but a lot has to do with attitude. I believe that as long as you have a good attitude and believe you can, you can achieve your dreams.

What business books would you recommend to other entrepreneurs? I love to read! At the beginning I had all the enthusiasm and youthful passion but I severely lacked the business knowledge, so I have tried as much as possible to bridge that gap with lots and lots of books. Some of my top books are:

• All of Dale Beaumont’s ‘Secrets Exposed’ series. My favourite is Secrets of Female Entrepeneur’s Exposed but everyone can find the one they want to relate to best.
• 100 Great Businesses and the minds behind them by Emily Ross and Angus Holland. Every time I read this book I get a new idea, it makes you want to just shoot to the moon.
• Purple Cow by Godin. All about standing out and embracing change.
• Advance to Go –Collect $1 million by Kirsty Dunphey. This book makes me believe I can. The day after I read it I went to my shop and changed everything around, it made me want to be better and strive for more.
• My all-time favourite business story is, One Minute Millionaire by Mark Victor Hansen and Robert Allen; it is written with a story on one side, and the business principles on the other. I think a business book that can make you cry is a great one! Every woman should read this book.

My biggest role model is my mum. She worked hard to raise four children and we can always feel like no matter what happens, she will be there for us.

In a business sense, I have role models who would have no idea that I admire them! I know this is terrible being on Kirsty’s website, but Kirsty is definitely someone who I look out for and read possibly everything I can get my hands on. There is always an insightful opinion and different point of view that is wise beyond her years.

Suzi Dafnis is another woman who is remarkable. At the moment I am doing the Australian Business Women’s Network Mentoring program and Suzi joins our webinars every week on her computer from a different place in the world. I have heard people say that the 'successful' people got lucky, but from what I am learning so far, they all work REALLY hard to get there, and stay there.

How do you stay motivated?

I am lucky that I have always been pretty self motivated. If ever that fails and I need some motivation there are three things that always work for me. I read Fish! For Life by Steven Lundin. It can be read very quickly and always fires me up. The other is really sad to admit, but going for a drive in my car with all the windows up and Celine Dion’s Power of a Dream blaring with me singing at the top of my lungs –gets me every time! I think it is also very important to keep the balance. If I am working too much, it is easy to lose focus and get caught up in everything that goes on in a business. I find taking a walk with my husband and my dog reminds me why I am doing what I do in the first place.

If you could go back to the start of your business - what three things would you tell yourself then?

1. Don’t sweat the small stuff!
2. Budget before you buy. Write and use your business plan.
3. You don’t have to pretend to be older or wiser to fit in, in the business world; it is ok to be the little girl. Being yourself always works best.

Is there a motto, quote or saying you live by?

There are loads of quotes that I have on my walls, in my notebooks that I just love. Justin Herald has a whole book filled with quotes, my favourite definitely being 'A big shot is just a little shot that kept on shooting'.

If you had to give 5 pieces of advice to other young entrepreneurs what would they be?

• Have a go, the advantage of being young and in business is that we have very little to lose. We can afford the luxury of no fear.
• Business is personal. One of the things I dislike about common attitudes of successful business people is when they day that ’business isn’t personal’. To me, something that you pour your heart and soul into, holds your future and takes time away from your family, is definitely personal. I think making it personal makes you more passionate in your business.
• Find ways to disconnect. It took me long time and put a lot of pressure on the relationships with people I loved at the beginning because I could not talk or think about anything other than my business. I still dream about it! But, I have other things I can focus on now.
• Read as much as you can. Young entrepreneurs don’t have the years of wisdom that many of the people we work with do. Learning as much as we can about business and our industry can help us play on a level playing field. Knowledge is they key. There is no need to completely reinvent the wheel. There are fantastic people that have paved the way, broken barriers and done an awesome job. Find your mentors and catch their bug.
• Network. I felt so isolated in my business until I started to network. It’s amazing the advice that beautiful people are willing to share. The opportunities that arise form networking are amazing, you get the chance to share what you have learnt, and if you have a problem there is always someone to help guide you through.

What are your future hopes for you and REACH?

I would love to have four REACH centres. It has been very important for me to learn to design and implement the right systems and procedures, and now I need to expand our team. Finding the right team has been one of the hardest things for me. I now have awesome people that I work with, but definitely need more of them! I would love to learn to speak more, helping parents help their children. Speaking terrifies me, but it is something I would love to be better at. I would love to write educational books and design games that are more fun for children to learn with. I would love to be in BRW magazine. I could go on for pages and pages about my dreams! As long as I am enjoying my days as much as I do now, I will always be in business.