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Life wasn't meant to be easy: have a go and do something great

Harold Mitchell

What do you do if you have a mortgage, two kids under six, a VW Beetle and $5000?

"Move home to mum?" Louise says.

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Well that wasn't an option for me in 1976, so I started a business and it was the best thing I did.

And while the digital world presents us with business opportunities like never before, the growth of new enterprises is surprisingly low.

More people are going to have to take this risk, because jobs can't be guaranteed, even with a degree. As I wrote recently, we are producing graduates not always fitted to jobs.

In a way I was fortunate not to have a university degree. I entered the workforce straight from school and by 33 I was well and truly ready to open a business.

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I also had a very clear idea about a new way for the advertising industry to operate.

Back in 1976, we were just beginning to get to know China following Gough Whitlam's ground-breaking visit. One of the things that inspired me was the Chinese five-year planning cycle.

I decided to launch and run my business the same way, with clear five-year plans that showed the way forward. "Planning, now there's a good idea," says Charlie.

But while the vision was big, the beginning was humble. I borrowed an office and a desk and then hired one staff member – a personal assistant, though she was called a secretary in those days. I paid her in advance with all the cash I had and told her that if the business didn't work that would be her last $5k.

And so we got to work. In the year that saw new Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, fresh from toppling the progressive Whitlam government, issue warnings about our rising wage costs and saying there were no "soft options" for repairing our budget. Sound familiar? Well, sadly the Fraser government failed to grasp the hard solutions – another familiar story, I dare say.

But there is no doubt that you try harder when the conditions are entirely unfavourable. I think many more people have the ability to do what I did. Certainly more than those who are currently attempting it.

"I don't think you would have done it if you had gone to university," says Louise. "You would be wandering the streets trying to find the perfect job to suit your degree."

True enough and of course it wasn't easy. And PM Fraser also saw the need to press on in the face of difficulties when he came up with his now legendary quote, "life wasn't meant to be easy".

But the truth is that I didn't realise it would be so hard. Many of the big operators in the industry turned against me by cutting me out from getting the big traditional clients.

But this was another benefit in disguise. I got the new kids on the block. Those like Craig Kimberley who had just started Just Jeans.

Another was Bob Jane and his discount T-Marts, which were taking on the establishment that had had the game to themselves for decades.

Kerry Packer was another ally who had no love for the establishment. He had just taken over Channel Nine and was sending shudders all the way to the home of cricket at Lords by inventing the one-day game.

We need that same spirit to re-emerge across the country. In my case I pushed it hard for 40 years. I started work at six in the morning. I used to have a bit of a sleep in on weekends, but essentially worked seven days a week. To remind myself it was the weekend, I started wearing red socks on Saturday and Sunday, a habit I still have today.

But I really wonder how much energy we have at the moment to build businesses in Australia. Most recent figures from the Bureau of Statistics confirm that we are close to stagnant.

For the year to June 2015, the number of actively trading enterprises increased by 1 per cent – that's below the population increase.

There is activity, the Victorian government and the big universities are really gearing up. David Thody in NSW is doing a great job.

But it's just not enough. So over the Christmas break, why not encourage the younger generation to have a go? You might even offer to invest a bit of your super with them.

Families over millennia have been the real security and energy behind countless great businesses of all sizes. In my case, 40 years realised a big payout. But the money is not and never was the most important thing.

The most important thing is having control over your life.

Merry Christmas.

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