On Episode 46 of the “Future of Australia” podcast, I speak with Ieuan Williams, the Director and Co-Founder of Mane Consulting, which grew 57% last year, to do over $5.3 million in annual revenue.

This made Mane Consulting, on the Financial Review list of 100 fastest growing new companies in Australia, one of the FASTEST GROWING new businesses in Australia.

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We Discuss…

• Not knowing what he wanted to do growing up, bouncing between different ideas and jobs, constantly moving to bigger cities and opportunities
• Coming to Australia for the 2010 Ashes, booking tickets with a return flight before visiting, applying for roles, landing a job in Australia, and never needing the return ticket
• Enjoying being in a smaller business, rather than being in large company, losing the personal side of it, not liking daily activity KPI metrics
• Leaving the UK austerity measures, seeing a scarcity mindset, trying to save their way out of the great recession, versus spending their way out like in Australia
• Running lean as a private equity business, being taken over again, not liking the work environment, deciding that it was time to leave
• “The autonomy was what we wanted” and deciding they could do it better
• Setting up Mane Consulting with the idea of putting the customer first and front.
• “Every idea is good on paper” and why there is a whole industry of ideas that only sound good on paper
• Bringing on 15 new clients last year due to word of mouth, and knowing that “you only get one reputation”

• Becoming a 100% work from home business, and decided to not renew their office lease
• “It’s all about choice” for work-from-office versus work-from-home, and why it is hard to hire for clients who have a prescriptive model for how they want their staff to work
• The tangibles and intangibles that you learn in the office, especially when you are young and new to the work world
• Losing the international market and international students, which especially impacted the finance and IT sector
• “Give yourself a break” when you are young, enjoy it, and don’t have a lot of pressure