Meet Eddie he helps deliver peace of mind
Creative Folk, Entrepreneurs | April 26, 2018We are on the quest to interview business owners over the age of 60. This week we head to New South Wales Australia and chat with Eddie Lees founder of Now Sorted which is a estate-planning application.
Can you tell me a little bit about your business and what you do?
The business that a team of experts and I run is called Now Sorted. Those two words sum up our mission: to enable people to immediately organise the large amount of information and documents that comprise our lives – and to make that information available instantly whenever needed by loved ones.
With one click, a Crucial Facts Report & Directory is produced that integrates everything into an easy-to-read document that can be shared with trusted others if desired.
My personal role is to develop Now Sorted in line with client feedback and latest research so that we always deliver a positive and rewarding experience to every User.
What motivates you to keep working after 60?
It beats the alternatives. And, with a lifetime of learning, there is so much to give back, to share, to pass on.
What do you like most about having your own business?
While its a lot less rosy than people think, the ability to exercise patience while developing a top-flight service is something that a profit-seeking employer would never allow; when you own your business, you can deploy patient capital.
Having one’s own business demands integrity, belief and strength of purpose, you can’t hide from reality and all these factors build character, even when you don’t realise it’s happening.
What have been some of the struggles you have faced with running your own business?
The main challenges are implementing a good idea, getting funding for its implementation and then getting reliable people to deliver it in the way it is intended.
Cash flow within a business is the same as blood flow within the body without it, everything struggles and eventually dies.
Once a business is up and running, its success and growth depend upon good people, those who will challenge the boss and tell him or her when they are wrong.
What are some of the most important lessons you have learnt in life?
The single most important life lesson I ever learned is summed up in three words that drive a profound truth: Perception governs behaviour. It took me 20 years to realise just how significant those words are and how essential it is to understand their true meaning – but once done, life became very simple, manageable and enjoyable.
Not with standing all the books by all the gurus, two notions underpin all aspects of life: saying, meaning, and implementing ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you’.
The single most important component of any business is the customer. The founder of Walmart wisely stated “There is only one boss-the customer. And she can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending her money somewhere else.”
No good deed goes unpunished.
What advice would you give to the younger generation?
Take a tip from an impulsive man: life is not a sprint, its a marathon. Decide you are going ‘to get there’, wherever ‘there’ is, even if it takes far longer than you initially thought.
Whatever you do, no matter your destination, be determined to enjoy the journey.
No matter how dark the night (and I’ve had many), the sun will come up the next morning and, with it, hope and opportunity are renewed.
If you could jump into a time machine what era would you visit and why?
OK, I’m in the machine and I’m turning the dial to 100 years from now.
The reason is that, while I have no idea what new technology I’ll find, I can guarantee that human nature will not have changed.
And, above all, I’d like to see if my descendants turn out to be happy and fulfilled, no matter what course they take.
Anything else you would like to add?
Only that this questionnaire has been helpful in distilling thoughts.
Thank you for the opportunity to do so.