By Bonny Burrows
“Find something you love.”
Pakenham’s Roy Dunn has some simple advice for those considering starting their own business.
The father-of-four, who is leaving behind full-time employment and his home for self-employment and life on the road, said if you don’t love something, you won’t succeed.
Roy would know – he openly admits his had his share of unsuccessful ventures before finding his niche building websites.
Now, he loves his work so much, he and wife Deb are travelling around Australia for two years to focus on growing their many businesses in web design, essential oils and dog breeding.
The hope, Roy said, was that at the end of the trip, “the businesses will be better than when we started.”
The couple are confident the businesses will go to a level they will make the equivalent of full time wages, “because we genuinely love what we do”.
“We tried Amazon, and it didn’t work. We weren’t excited about the work,” Roy said.
“You’ve got to enjoy what you’re doing. That’s what creates the drive to build it up.”
There was no point, he said, in getting into a business that didn’t suit, no matter how much money was in it.
“That’s the main challenge – to find something that suits your personality and lifestyle. Something you’ll be happy doing,” he said.
“Don’t buy a gym if you don’t like getting up at 5am – you’re not going to fully commit yourself to it. And that commitment is key to whether you will succeed.”
