Pete, you've been compared to a young Richard Branson - is he one of your role models and to whom else do you look up to and why?

Absolutely, I really admire what Branson has been able to do in the various industries he has tackled… He finds a niche within a niche and just takes it over. Other entrepreneurs I really admire are Steve Jobs of Apple – the way he has repositioned Apple is amazing. Robert Kiyosaki hasn’t only written fantastic books but built a great business around that. Donald Trumps for his ability to position himself and his brand in a range of areas.

You started your entrepreneurial endeavours young - if you could give 4 short tips or pieces of advice to other young entrepreneurs what would they be?

The first thing is that you have to necessarily invent something new, most people think they have to create something to be a success, but as Branson has shown us its about marketing and positioning. He hasn’t invented a thing in his life just found existing products or services and marketed them differently.

Secondly, don’t wait, take action TODAY. It’s an overused cliché but it is so true… No amount of market research, deliberation or education can outweigh what you will learn when you ‘start’.

Thirdly, make sure that your "pond is full of hungry fish"... By that I mean you must know that the target market for your product is large enough and has enough money to meet your financial goals. There is no point creating a product that know one wants to buy, or a product that solves a problem for people who can’t afford the solution.

Lastly, Network, a lot. It’s not what you know, or even who you know… but who knows you.

I loved reading your book How to turn your million dollar idea into reality and found you've packed in so much information that I think it is vital reading for anyone going into business or looking to improve their current business. Aside from your book, what others do you recommend people read?

Absolutely anything from the following authors Guy Kawasaki, Seth Godin and Scott Ginsberg. Guy Kawasaki writes about starting a business that makes a difference, Seth is one of the great marketing authors of all time and Scott is an expert on approachability and communication, two must have skills for any entrepreneur.

You've leveraged off your deal with the MCG remarkably well - what advice would you give to people wanting to improve their publicity and relations with the press?

In one sentence, “make publicity a habit”. The amount of credibility, pre-eminence and exposure you can get from free media exposure is priceless and you must make writing and distributing press releases on you and your ventures a regular occurrence. If you have the budget, hire a publicist as they have the networks and skills, but all it takes is a little creativity and a one page press release to get the ball rolling. Like your advertising, all a press release is, is a sales pitch to a reporter selling them on an interview with you – you must have a strong article/story idea for them that will match their readers interest and then simply position yourself on the expert on that topic.

Fear holds back so many people from doing what you've done, what do you think were the main factors that made you pursue an entrepreneurial lifestyle?

That’s actually a hard question… I am not really sure what made me purse this lifestyle, I have always had the passion for business. I have always lived my life with the philosophy that "if I have a crack at a business and it doesn’t work I can always get a job", and that’s given me the courage really.

I'm a big believer that successful people fail more times than most the defining characteristic being that they learn from their failures. What have been some of the failures or challenges in your business and how have you learnt from them and would you change anything if you could go back.

To be honest, with hindsight I would pretty much do everything I have done differently. Not that I wouldn’t have taken the first step on any venture, but the path I would walk would be different. In other words, I would have still started each of my businesses but I would have structured them differently, marketed the products/services in a different way etc.

Regarding failure, I have “technically failed” a lot, but everything I do is from a ‘test, measure and re-test’ stand point, so what some people might call a big failure I see it as simply part of the test/measure process.

What one statement best sums up your philosophy to life?

"Beware of the Dreamtakers"

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'.

Where to from here? What is the next big challenge for Pete Williams?

I have quite a few diverse interests at the moment. My regular bricks and motor businesses are mostly in the Telecommunications sector; On Hold Advertising is one on the countries leading on hold marketing/messaging companies helping companies educate and cross sell their clients whilst on hold. Infiniti Telecommunications is the phone system hardware partner of some of the nation’s larger telcos. Then there ae the various projects of the back of the book; consulting, speaking, coaching projects etc.