October is New South Wales Small Business Month, which provides assistance on how small businesses can strengthen their skills, as well as offering a large range of events to attend.
The Western Sydney Startup Hub, powered by Spacecubed will be taking part as an innovative space supporting small business owners from a range of industries. We recently sat down with one of our newest members, Christian Smaragdis who is the founder of Nation Finance Group to learn about his experience running a small business.
Christian’s drive for setting up his own business came about during his university days, when he was inspired by the entrepreneurs he surrounded himself with.
“Despite witnessing the stress that came with this, I quickly became attracted to the responsibility and flexibility that running your own business offered and was determined to one day set up shop,” he shared.
Christian told us how the Covid-19 pandemic gave him the push to start his business, due to being forced into working from home and having so much time on his hands. Identifying the opportunity to open his own finance company during a time where connecting with one another became easy and convenient, allowed Nation Finance Group Pty Ltd to be born.
Small businesses face many challenges in getting started, with many never making it out of the startup phase. In Christian’s experience, the biggest difficulty at the beginning is making sure you have enough cash flow.
“This means constantly being on the lookout for your next client, building a brand and employing a marketing strategy in a genuine attempt to deliver consistent results,” he added.
Christian pushed through the challenges, going above and beyond for every client resulting in Nation Finance Group blooming into a successful business.
Recently making the decision to base the business at the Western Sydney Startup Hub means Christian is surrounded by other like-minded entrepreneurs in an environment tailored for small businesses to grow, and we asked about his experience so far.
“Spacecubed has helped me achieve a healthy work life balance by allowing me to separate my work space from my personal space,” he replied.
Christian also gave us an insight of his plans to expand, stating “in 5 years, I envision the business to have an array of support staff with additional brokers hired in order to help as many clients as possible.”
Christian concluded with some advice for other aspiring entrepreneurs. “If you don’t try, you will never know how well you could have succeeded and you will only learn through failure.”
If you would like to get involved with NSW Small Business Month there are plenty of events taking place, including a special edition of Spacecubed’s end of month Networking Drinks.
We invite you to join us at the Western Sydney Startup Hub on Friday 27th October to enjoy an evening of networking with the small business community. This event is free and you can RSVP here!