From tea towels to TV dreams: Live painter Sarah Rowan asks how sole traders can scale without losing their magic. Her energy is infectious and her questions apply to every creative entrepreneur.

From tea towels to TV dreams: Live painter <a href="https://www.instagram.com/artistsarahrowan/?hl=en">Sarah Rowan</a> asks how sole traders can scale without losing their magic. Her energy is infectious and her questions apply to every creative entrepreneur.

Handpicked with Naomi Simson is a short podcast delivered each Monday which is just like having a mentoring session with one of Australia's most successful entrepreneurs.

In this podcast Naomi takes questions from business owners that might need help growing starting or saving their business.

Each guest is handpicked by Naomi as she shares stories, ideas and advice that might help them and anyone that has ever wanted to start a business.

Naomi Simson is an entrepreneur who founded RedBalloon in 2001. She has been blogging for a decade at NaomiSimson.com, is a professional speaker, author of Live What You Love & Ready To Soar, and a “Shark” on business reality show Shark Tank Australia.

Handpicked with Naomi Simson is a short podcast delivered each Monday which is just like having a mentoring session with one of Australia's most successful entrepreneurs.

Handpicked with Naomi Simson

Paintbrush to Platform

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/c5543048-3582-4d2d-9dd2-b32300227113/transcript

What's slowing your business down could become your biggest competitive advantage. James Yang, founder of Kaizen Solutions (a productivity suite for remote teams), asks Naomi Simson the hard questions every Australian startup founder faces: why do our businesses fizzle while American companies scale globally? How do you shift from selling to individuals to landing corporate clients? When do you stop competing and start acquiring? 

Naomi delivers game-changing insights drawn from 20+ years scaling RedBalloon: stop buying customers one by one and build distribution partnerships instead, transition from throwing people at problems to building platforms that scale, and most powerfully—identify your biggest constraint and weaponize it. She shares how 1-800-GOT-JUNK cornered the market by pre-buying their truck supplier's entire production, preventing competitors from copying them, and how RedBalloon locked up Australia's best experiences before a billion-euro competitor could enter the market. 

If you're struggling to scale, burning cash on customer acquisition, or wondering whether to compete or consolidate your market, this conversation offers brutally practical frameworks for turning limitations into competitive moats.

Thank you to Deel.com for supporting Australian business owners through it's sponsorship of Handpicked Season 6 for more information about Anytime Pay click here

What's slowing your business down could become your biggest competitive advantage. James Yang, founder of Kaizen Solutions (a productivity suite for remote teams), asks Naomi Simson the hard questions every Australian startup founder faces: why do our businesses fizzle while American companies scale globally? How do you shift from selling to individuals to landing corporate clients? When do you stop competing and start acquiring? Naomi delivers game-changing insights drawn from 20+ years scaling RedBalloon: stop buying customers one by one and build distribution partnerships instead, transition from throwing people at problems to building platforms that scale, and most powerfully&mdash;identify your biggest constraint and weaponize it. She shares how 1-800-GOT-JUNK cornered the market by pre-buying their truck supplier's entire production, preventing competitors from copying them, and how RedBalloon locked up Australia's best experiences before a billion-euro competitor could enter the market. If you're struggling to scale, burning cash on customer acquisition, or wondering whether to compete or consolidate your market, this conversation offers brutally practical frameworks for turning limitations into competitive moats.
Thank you to&nbsp;<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.deel.com_blog_deel-2Dredefines-2Dglobal-2Dpayday-2Dwith-2Danytime-2Dpay_-3Futm-5Fsource-3DNaomiSimsonSocials-26utm-5Fmedium-3DOranicPosts-26utm-5Fcampaign-3DDeel-2BHandpicked-2BS6-26utm-5Fid-3DHandpickedS6-26utm-5Fterm-3D6-2Bmonths&amp;d=DwMGaQ&amp;c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&amp;r=Nki3aE5yDhIS3-0gK4PiTaUqx1wMnxRwcF2tFXezqgU&amp;m=vsfjcNfcDbat3ef6eFbMRUTIAWr2sy9RfbBwPC9oAI_olf4hiCmLiBfy5ymBAHcY&amp;s=sSoTm4Z0U4GMmL6qP2OWwu-z7nbnhwG7J6Xni2O3uSY&amp;e=" data-outlook-id="b8ce7650-def5-4457-827d-dc646a8452cd">Deel.com</a>&nbsp;for supporting Australian business owners through it's sponsorship of Handpicked Season 6 for more information about Anytime Pay <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__bit.ly_4qnEjcs&amp;d=DwMGaQ&amp;c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&amp;r=Nki3aE5yDhIS3-0gK4PiTaUqx1wMnxRwcF2tFXezqgU&amp;m=vsfjcNfcDbat3ef6eFbMRUTIAWr2sy9RfbBwPC9oAI_olf4hiCmLiBfy5ymBAHcY&amp;s=G3YHwZ5ysnIRybXf9GeAv8Va2wjsD65HXUCS8Aco12M&amp;e=" data-outlook-id="76de825c-8e1e-45fd-b0ca-e1a892a36803">click here</a>

Turn Constraints Into Weapons

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/7e3377e6-2669-41d3-b853-b3ef000b4d75/transcript

Strategy is easy. Execution is where most businesses fail. In this episode, Naomi Simson sits down with Mat Wilk, founder of Ballast Point Construction and creator of the Inner West Tech & Startup community, to tackle the challenges every entrepreneur faces: how to move from planning to doing, how to build partnerships that actually work, and whether being a polymath helps or hurts your business growth.

Mat shares his belief that businesses spend too much time perfecting strategy when they should be building their execution muscle and creating feedback loops. Naomi counters with practical frameworks including the one-page strategic plan, how to work backwards from big goals to daily actions, and why focusing on one hard thing makes everything else easier. 

If you're juggling multiple projects, struggling to get others committed to your vision, or wondering whether your diverse interests are diluting your personal brand, this conversation offers honest, actionable advice for finding focus and getting things done.


Thank you to Deel.com for supporting Australian business owners through it's sponsorship of Handpicked Season 6 for more information about Anytime Pay click here

Strategy is easy. Execution is where most businesses fail. In this episode, Naomi Simson sits down with Mat Wilk, founder of Ballast Point Construction and creator of the Inner West Tech &amp; Startup community, to tackle the challenges every entrepreneur faces: how to move from planning to doing, how to build partnerships that actually work, and whether being a polymath helps or hurts your business growth.
Mat shares his belief that businesses spend too much time perfecting strategy when they should be building their execution muscle and creating feedback loops. Naomi counters with practical frameworks including the one-page strategic plan, how to work backwards from big goals to daily actions, and why focusing on one hard thing makes everything else easier.&nbsp;
If you're juggling multiple projects, struggling to get others committed to your vision, or wondering whether your diverse interests are diluting your personal brand, this conversation offers honest, actionable advice for finding focus and getting things done.
 Thank you to <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.deel.com_blog_deel-2Dredefines-2Dglobal-2Dpayday-2Dwith-2Danytime-2Dpay_-3Futm-5Fsource-3DNaomiSimsonSocials-26utm-5Fmedium-3DOranicPosts-26utm-5Fcampaign-3DDeel-2BHandpicked-2BS6-26utm-5Fid-3DHandpickedS6-26utm-5Fterm-3D6-2Bmonths&amp;d=DwMGaQ&amp;c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&amp;r=Nki3aE5yDhIS3-0gK4PiTaUqx1wMnxRwcF2tFXezqgU&amp;m=vsfjcNfcDbat3ef6eFbMRUTIAWr2sy9RfbBwPC9oAI_olf4hiCmLiBfy5ymBAHcY&amp;s=sSoTm4Z0U4GMmL6qP2OWwu-z7nbnhwG7J6Xni2O3uSY&amp;e=" data-outlook-id="b8ce7650-def5-4457-827d-dc646a8452cd">Deel.com</a>&nbsp;for supporting Australian business owners through it's sponsorship of Handpicked Season 6 for more information about Anytime Pay <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__bit.ly_4qnEjcs&amp;d=DwMGaQ&amp;c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&amp;r=Nki3aE5yDhIS3-0gK4PiTaUqx1wMnxRwcF2tFXezqgU&amp;m=vsfjcNfcDbat3ef6eFbMRUTIAWr2sy9RfbBwPC9oAI_olf4hiCmLiBfy5ymBAHcY&amp;s=G3YHwZ5ysnIRybXf9GeAv8Va2wjsD65HXUCS8Aco12M&amp;e=" data-outlook-id="76de825c-8e1e-45fd-b0ca-e1a892a36803">click here</a>

Build Your Execution Muscle

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/9f853797-09da-4178-bdd8-b3e80050fec1/transcript

Every successful business starts with a problem worth solving. In this episode of Handpicked, Naomi Simson sits down with Mark Woodland, founder of Kismet, who's tackling one of Australia's biggest challenges: the administrative burden crushing families caring for aging parents. After successfully building and selling Explore, Mark is now automating healthcare admin for the "sandwich generation"—those caught between caring for aging parents and dependent children. Discover why the biggest business opportunities lie in solving nation-building challenges in healthcare, education, and housing. Learn how to build thought leadership and authority in your industry, why celebrating customer wins matters more than self-promotion, and Mark's surprising next venture into solving housing affordability.

Thank you to Deel.com for supporting Australian business owners through it's sponsorship of Handpicked Season 6 for more information about Anytime Pay click here

 

Every successful business starts with a problem worth solving. In this episode of Handpicked, Naomi Simson sits down with Mark Woodland, founder of Kismet, who's tackling one of Australia's biggest challenges: the administrative burden crushing families caring for aging parents. After successfully building and selling Explore, Mark is now automating healthcare admin for the "sandwich generation"&mdash;those caught between caring for aging parents and dependent children. Discover why the biggest business opportunities lie in solving nation-building challenges in healthcare, education, and housing. Learn how to build thought leadership and authority in your industry, why celebrating customer wins matters more than self-promotion, and Mark's surprising next venture into solving housing affordability.
Thank you to <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.deel.com_blog_deel-2Dredefines-2Dglobal-2Dpayday-2Dwith-2Danytime-2Dpay_-3Futm-5Fsource-3DNaomiSimsonSocials-26utm-5Fmedium-3DOranicPosts-26utm-5Fcampaign-3DDeel-2BHandpicked-2BS6-26utm-5Fid-3DHandpickedS6-26utm-5Fterm-3D6-2Bmonths&amp;d=DwMGaQ&amp;c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&amp;r=Nki3aE5yDhIS3-0gK4PiTaUqx1wMnxRwcF2tFXezqgU&amp;m=vsfjcNfcDbat3ef6eFbMRUTIAWr2sy9RfbBwPC9oAI_olf4hiCmLiBfy5ymBAHcY&amp;s=sSoTm4Z0U4GMmL6qP2OWwu-z7nbnhwG7J6Xni2O3uSY&amp;e=" data-outlook-id="b8ce7650-def5-4457-827d-dc646a8452cd">Deel.com</a>&nbsp;for supporting Australian business owners through it's sponsorship of Handpicked Season 6 for more information about Anytime Pay <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__bit.ly_4qnEjcs&amp;d=DwMGaQ&amp;c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&amp;r=Nki3aE5yDhIS3-0gK4PiTaUqx1wMnxRwcF2tFXezqgU&amp;m=vsfjcNfcDbat3ef6eFbMRUTIAWr2sy9RfbBwPC9oAI_olf4hiCmLiBfy5ymBAHcY&amp;s=G3YHwZ5ysnIRybXf9GeAv8Va2wjsD65HXUCS8Aco12M&amp;e=" data-outlook-id="76de825c-8e1e-45fd-b0ca-e1a892a36803">click here</a>
&nbsp;

Where Pain Points Meet Opportunity

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/1b414a44-bbe8-40fa-a0db-b3e1002a8c17/transcript

Paintbrush to Platform

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