Interview with The District Mail over “Innovator of the Year” nomination

This is an interview that I did with the District Mail, a SA based Newspaper. To run next week I believe.

1) What qualifications do you have?
a. I have a high school matric. I did not gain high enough qualifications to get a matric exemption and therefore University was not an option for me.

2) Where did you study?
a. I was at high school at SACS

3) Where are you from?
a. Somerset West. I was born at the Hottentots Holland Hospital and lived in Somerset West all my life. My parents and sister still live there. Somerset West will always be “Home” to me.

4) What do you do for a living?
a. I have a number of different business interests. I teach people to trade the Stock Market but then also have a business coaching and personal coaching line to my business. The whole foundation of everything I do though is the MOBIvation sms business that I have that helps aspiring entrepreneurs, business owners and investors achieve their goals as quickly as possible. An example of this can be found at www.mobivation.com/offer

5) What company do you work for?
a. My own company, PH Financials. We do however do work for another company, Investment Mastery on a contract basis.

6) What is your current position in the company?
a. Founder and Managing Director

7) How long have you been in the business industry?
a. In the Business Industry? Well, when I first arrived in the UK, as I have no qualifications, I was working as a construction worker and working in a few nightclubs to make ends meet. I then wanted to get a job in the financial sector of London (the UK equivalent of Wall Street) so I tried to get a job as a very low level marketing assistant. The problem was though that I had absolutely no qualifications and also no “London experience” so for two and a half years I applied for around about 3000 jobs and didn’t even get an interview. Then I got a temporary position as a filing boy for a brokerage called Alexander Forbes. I was determined that this was my break and worked really hard, ending up 6 months later as a broker placing millions of pounds into the UK markets. I continued working in the position as broker for 9 years and then decided to leave the City and set up my own businesses. I have been running my own businesses for just over two years now and whilst it has been VERY tough to get to where I am, things are starting to look up. Any business owner will tell you that they first few years are always the toughest.

What interests you most about the business world?
a. So many things! I LOVE the competition. I love that there is no limitation on what you can build to help other people. I tend to feel that as I grow as a person, my businesses grow too and visa versa. There is nothing quite like going head to head with your competition and beating them into the ground but then also getting the joy of seeing our clients excel beyond their wildest dreams when they are using your product or service. That feeling of truly adding to someone else’s life is a feeling that is much more powerful than making money. Don’t get me wrong, making money is great but in my opinion, a business who is out there PURELY to make money, is not going to be around for a long time. A company who focuses on providing the best possible value to their client at the best possible price will not only grow but will flourish in whatever kind of economic environment we are in. In the business world, with the right kind of approach, there is absolutely no limit on how creative you can be. Truly, “If the mind can conceive it, the business can achieve it!” I honestly believe that!

9) What do you think led to you being nominated?
a. I am very honoured to have been nominated for this award. As any South African who has lived and worked in London will tell you, you HAVE to be an Innovator anyway as life is so different over here. Obviously, as with so many of us South Africans, I am deeply competitive and I have no interest in just being nominated for the award. I am focused on winning this award now.

The reason I believe that I was nominated is due to the incredible impact that the MOBIvation SMS service is having on so many people. Examples of their success can be seen here : http://www.mobivation.com/what-do-people-say-about-mobivation . We currently have clients in the UK, Europe and South Africa and how successful our clients are becoming due to the use of MOBIvation sms service is second to none. I am very proud of everyone involved with us.. Our clients, our employee’s , our contractors… everyone.

Also to be able to set up a membership group where people pay a subscription to get a daily text message that can change their lives, one day at a time, is pretty innovative – or so I am told ? Also, with using MOBIvation, there are companies who have improved their client retention rates, especially companies that have a membership business model to them. To the best of my knowledge, there has never been a product quite like MOBIvation.com SMS service.

10) What would winning this award mean to you?
a. A HUGE amount. It will mean that we have been recognised for the work we have done with MOBIvation.com SMS services and the impact that the SMS’s have on so many people. It would also be a victory for anyone who has once had a dream and is prepared to work towards it despite so many people saying that it will NEVER work. I hope that it will inspire others to follow their dreams and goals and never doubt what they believe in.

11) Any inspiring messages for others who aspire to make it in the business world?
a. YES! “If you have a dream, follow it! Don’t let ANYONE tell you it can’t be done. There will ALWAYS be people who are cynical about what you can achieve. People who would want to stop you… for whatever reason. The more crazy the goal that you have in mind, the more the cynics will try and stop you. I used these cynical people’s taunts and words as fuel for the fire. They say “You can’t do it … it’s impossible”, I say to myself “Just you watch me!” After all, a cynical person will never do anything great! Einstein once said something like “If an idea is not deemed crazy initially, then there is no hope for it!” If you have a dream, have the faith to follow it… and make it happen!

12) When will the winner of the award be announced?
a. 24th of November at the South African high commission.

13) How many other nominations are there for this award?
a. I am not entirely sure as there are still nominations going through at time of writing. I do believe however that the invites for nominations went out to more than 50 000 people in the UK.

14) How can people contact you if they have further questions or are interested in MOBIvation SMS service
a. Paul@MOBIvation.com or www.MOBIvation.com/offer

Tags: Innovator of the year, MOBIvation, Paul Harrison