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Inspiring People: Dean Salakas, The Party People
A passion for parties lead to the creation of The Party People. Thirty years later, the business is still going strong, and growing thanks to the two sons of founder, Mala Salakas. The journey hasn’t been easy, but here’s how they got to where they are today…
1. Tell us your story:
30 years ago my mum was “Patches The Clown” catering for kids parties. Her passion for parties led her to start a small party store. In 2007 my brother and I took over the family business and its 2 employees so my parents could retire. We have approximately 40 employees and are the market leader for party supplies online. We are now in the process of getting investors on board to expand our retail store network.
2. How did you identify the goal/s you wanted to achieve?
We had a vision and that was the to be the market leader online in Australia. Everything we did was to work towards that vision.
3. How did you work towards achieving your goal – did you have a plan and a deadline to achieve your goals?
In the beginning there was no plan. Innovating online came easy to us with minimal effort so we just focused on meeting growing demand. Then as we grew we started running out of capacity and that’s when failing to plan really hurt us. We had a year where we were unable to cope with demand so my brother and I were working 18 hrs a day every day of the week with minimal sleep to keep up. Our social lives and health suffered and from then we learned how to plan better. From then on we have financial plans and forecasts which we catch up to discuss monthly.
4. What was the biggest challenge you encountered along the way?
Our biggest challenge was the number of hours we were working to keep the business running. It was at that point we realised we needed to delegate more, but it wasn’t possible with the systems and processes we had in place so we had to improve our systems and processes to ensure things could run without us.
5. What inspires you and keeps you going when you encounter obstacles?
I love what I do and we have an amazing opportunity to create a national chain of party stores. Our vision to achieve this is what keeps us pushing towards our ultimate goal.
6. What advice do you have for anyone wanting to achieve a goal?
Set goals you’re passionate about achieving. People are rational and they will not put up with constant setbacks to achieving goals unless they are passionate about the goal.
7. What are the next goals you hope to achieve?
We would like to open up one party store next year and two the year after that.
Dean Salakas is the Chief Party Dude of The Party People. He previously worked at Woolworths as a Business Analyst before taking on the challenge of creating Australia’s go to party store chain. Learn more about what The Party People do at www.ThePartyPeople.com.au
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Inspiring People: T.S. Krupa, author
Anyone can write a book. The key to success, explains author T.S. Krupa is writing a little bit everyday, and not getting overwhelmed by the bigger picture.
1. Tell us your story:
In the summer of 2013, I was working on my dissertation for my doctorate degree. I had no plans of creative writing at that time but I had this story bouncing around in my head that I couldn’t get rid of, the characters would keep me awake at night. So finally, one night when I had enough I sat down and just started writing. I didn’t know where it would lead or what I was doing but I was just letting the characters out. This would later become Chapter 23 in my novel, Safe & Sound. After that night, I wrote every night after working and doing edits on my dissertation. Then in six short weeks I had written a novel and I had no idea what to do next.
2. How did you identify the goal/s you wanted to achieve?
After writing I wasn’t sure what I was going to do but I soon developed a plan that I wanted to publish the novel and continue to write. The process had been so freeing and really ignited a passion inside. So the first goal I set out was to learn as much as I could about the process of publishing, self-publishing, social media, website design etc. From there I set small goals working up to a much larger goal of a sustainable business model that worked for me as an author.
3. How did you work towards achieving your goal?
I knew I needed help so I hired Caitlin from Royal Social Media to help me with my social media platforms. She didn’t just do social media but she taught me social media which is a big difference. From there I had a goal to produce a book or new content on a yearly basis. A year is a long time and a lot happens but this gives me the flexibility to work on content and still be able to coach field hockey and work full time and have time for family and vacation. I say this but I also say I work on my business or writing daily – I do at least one thing for my business whether it’s sending a tweet, checking email or writing 5,000 words. All these small things add up and help me with the big goal.
4. What was the biggest challenge along the way?
My first novel was supposed to release in March of 2014 but it released three months early. So I didn’t have anything ready – I barely had my website up and running. So for the first release I felt very unprepared and lacked a clear plan and direction. I eventually caught up but it was a challenge to start already feeling behind.
5. What inspires you and keeps you going when you encounter obstacles?
I love what I do and that passion keeps me going – I do what I do for me, it provides me sanity and a huge creative outlet. However, with particularly bad days or big obstacles, I go for a run or workout and clear my head and try to start over or tackle whatever it is after that release of energy.
6. What advice do you have for anyone wanting to achieve a goal?
Start small. With writing for example if you don’t feel like you have time or it’s too overwhelming – write a page a day or write a 1000 words. Then in a year you will have 365 pages and have just written your first novel. Don’t let the big picture overwhelm you – focus on something tangible and work from there.
7. What are the next goals you hope to achieve?
As a writer there is always another book on the horizon. However, there are other goals I have as well. I’m starting to speak more at conferences and to groups on writing and my novels, so I want to continue to connect with people in that way. A dream goal is to see one of my novels adapted for TV or a movie. I always have big goals in mind – I never thought I would write a book and now I have four books so you just never know…
T.S. Krupa was raised in a Polish household with a blended American culture, she is fluent in Polish. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and two dogs and loves to write and play field hockey. In 2014, T.S. Krupa published her first award-winning debut novel Safe & Sound. To learn more about the author and her novels visit www.tskrupa.com.
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Inspiring People: Lynn Anderton, The Compassion Trap
“My goal was to start my own life coaching business but an unexpected turn in my circumstances in terms of a relationship coming to an end became the catalyst to me changing my behaviours which in turn transformed my business and myself,” says life coach, Lynn Anderton.
1. Tell us your story:
My name is Lynn Anderton, I’m 54 years of age and I live on The Wirral in the UK.
I’m a trained life coach and movie therapist and I coach people to learn to react differently to others so they meet their own needs and ambitions by using the movies they watch.
2. How did you identify the goal/s you wanted to achieve?
I struggled when I came out of a long term relationship with self-esteem, but didn’t know what I was feeling and how to deal with it. I’d become uncomfortable in my own skin and with being on my own, therefore my initial goal was to recover but I didn’t want to use conventional therapy.
3. How did you work towards achieving your goal – did you have a plan and a deadline to achieve your goals?
I watched certain movies over and over again, ones that showed characters with the same behaviours and worked out how the characters had to react in order to get a result. I then used this knowledge to go back into the dating arena in order to test myself and gain confidence.
4. What was the biggest challenge you encountered along the way?
Self-control was my biggest hurdle. Sometimes I just wanted to be with someone, but I knew that some people were damaging to me and therefore this was like a self-sabotage.
5. What inspires you and keeps you going when you encounter obstacles?
My inspiration comes from feeling confident enough to demand that people accept me for who I am and not what they want me to be and visa- versa.
6. What advice do you have for anyone wanting to achieve a goal?
Think carefully about your expectations of others. They are usually what you need to do to yourself or for yourself first, this will challenge you to focus wholly on your goal.
7. What are the next goals you hope to achieve?
My goal is to use my new found self-control to negotiate myself the challenge of a new connection I have found that will allow me to feel cared for but independent.
Lynn Anderton is a qualified life coach and mentor with specialist qualifications in movie therapy, positive psychology, assertiveness, self-esteem and confidence building. Lynn has developed and delivered workshops and coaching programmes to individuals, mental health, housing and social enterprises with the support of The School for Social Entrepreneurs, from which she graduated as a fellow on the Social Innovation for Health Programme. Learn more about what Lynn does at www.thecompassiontrap.com.
Ten things to do on a cold winter’s day
Winter is the one time of year that we shouldn’t feel guilty about enjoying indoor activities. Cold, wet weather and reduced hours of daylight make if challenging to get outside as much as we would like. Sure, it’s great to stay active where we can, by going to the gym or for a swim in an indoor pool if the weather is miserable, but there are also plenty of other fun things we can do to while away winter days.
1. Get creative
Winter is a great time of year to indulge you inner-creative. Perhaps there’s a craft activity you’ve being longing to try, an adult colouring image you’d love to colour, or a picture you’d love to draw or paint.
ACTION: Make a list of some creative activities you’d love to try and aim to do one a week. You’ll get an enormous sense of satisfaction from creating and making things on a regular basis, plus using your hands is great therapy and mindfulness practice.
You could use ‘the fruits of your labour’ as gifts for friend’s birthdays, or put them away as Christmas presents, which will make you feel organised and save you some money at Christmas time.
2. Read a book
I have a never-ending list of fiction and non-fiction books I’d love to read. I try to schedule some reading time every day (even just a few minutes/pages of a book) so I feel like I’m slowly making progress to finish a book. There’s nothing more discouraging than having five books that you never seem to finish on the go at once. Reading multiple books at once is totally fine, but just make the effort to finish one every now and again to feel like you’re moving in the right direction. During winter, it seems even easier to snatch a few minutes here and there to read.
ACTION: Make a list of five books you’d love to read and stock up on Amazon, or visit your local library.
3. Get some fresh winter air
Nothing wakes up the mind and body like a few deep breaths of fresh winter air. Regardless of how cold it is, try to make the effort to rug up (with scarf, hat and gloves if necessary) and get outdoors. It’s a bonus if it’s a sunny winter’s day because you can top up your vitamin D at the same time.
ACTION: Step outside and take at least five deep, slow breaths. Repeat every time you step outside
4. Bank some sleep
Never underestimate the power of getting a good night’s sleep. I’ve always subscribed to the philosophy of “I’ll sleep when I’m dead”, but the reality is that if we don’t get enough sleep, we might be dead sooner! Shorter days mean that winter is a great time to catch up on sleep, or if the weather is really miserable, there’s nothing nicer than snuggling up for an afternoon nap. Unconvinced? Check out the benefits in Arianna Huffington’s new book, The Sleep Revolution. It will revolutionise the way you think about sleep.
ACTION: Record how much sleep you’re getting each night. If it’s less than 8 hours, aim to increase to 8 or 9 hours for a week and see how you feel.
5. Meditate
More time spent in doors also means more time for things like meditation. Meditation is a fabulous way of clearing your mind and relaxing your body. There are plenty of different types of meditation, such as: guided meditation, mindful meditation, transcendental meditation, yoga meditation, Buddhist meditation, Vipassana meditation, Chinese meditation, and even prayer. You might need to do a bit of research to find the best technique for you.
ACTION: Research different type of meditation to find one that suits you. Check out free mindful meditation podcasts such as Meditation Oasis from Mary Maddux, or Tara Brach’s podcast.
6. Binge-watch a box set or movies
Box-sets are a fabulous concept, created for impatient people like me who can’t wait a whole week to watch the next episode. A date with your doona, a box-set series and a hot drink (or a glass of wine) is a great way to spend a cold winter’s day or evening. If you want to be social, get some friends around and make a day or night of it. With most TV series now available as box sets, the hardest thing is deciding what to watch! If movies are more your thing, make a list of the movies you want to see and refer to it the next time you have a night in so you can watch something you really want to see.
ACTION: Make a list of the movies or box sets you’d like to watch and add these to your Christmas or birthday list.
7. Batch cook meals
We often associate winter with hearty foods such as stews, soups, and curries. These are all meals that can be prepared ahead of time, and cooked in big batches to make multiple meals to enjoy later.
If the house is feeling cold, flip on the oven (it will warm you house if nothing else!) and get cooking. Before you know it, you’ll have a hearty selection of dishes that are great to freeze and reheat the next time you can’t be bothered cooking (and want to save your wallet and waistline from another take-away meal). Take your batch-cooked meals to work, and you’ll save your lunch money too.
ACTION: Stock up on vegetables and cheaper cuts of meat (such as chuck steak) for slow cooking in your next grocery shop. Search the web for inspiring new stew, curry and slow-cooker recipes.
8. Host a dinner party
Whilst you’re in the mood to cook, why not host a dinner party? It doesn’t have to be fancy cuisine (who doesn’t love a home-cooked roast?!) and it’s a great way to connect with friends you haven’t seen for a while. If you can’t be bothered cooking, then get everyone to pitch in and bring a dish or order in take-away and split the bill.
ACTION: Get a date in the diary for your next dinner party. Quite often the hardest step is finding a date that suits everyone.
9. Get a massage
Forget what the weather’s doing outside by staying warm and cosy inside and getting a nice relaxing massage. Massages don’t have to be expensive – you can opt for a shorter one of 30 minutes or less and still get the relaxation benefits. Massages are also a nice treat after a tough workout session, so hit the gym first, and follow this up with a well-earned massage.
ACTION: Track down your local massage shop and make an appointment so you have something to look forward to.
10. Have a bath
There’s a lot to be said for a nice hot bath on a cold winter’s evening. To make your bath experience even more luxurious, add some essential oils, baths salts, or bubble bath. Grab a book, a glass of wine, apply a face mask and get ready to relax!
ACTION: Source some good quality essential oils, bubble bath and bath salts. Scents that include lavender are particularly relaxing.