Here is another story of an international entrepreneur. Sean D’Souza is a marketer and runs PsychoTactics from his home in New Zealand. He runs both a very successful and very efficient international business with clients from all over the world.
There are three main reasons why I like checking out what Sean is up to:
- Sean has a unique approach to marketing and, as a former cartoonist, he has a rare ability of explaining concepts that turns on light bulbs.
- His business model is fascinating and inspiring for anyone in business.
- He helps small businesses throughout the world
Follow Sean on Twitter @seandsouza
An easy first step for small businesses to learn more from Sean is to meet up with him in his cave on 5000bc. But this is not what I would like to talk to you about today. Instead, today I would like to go back to the very beginning and look at one of the first major turning points in Sean’s story.
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I posted this video on Facebook first before editing it for YouTube and here are Cherida Fernandez’s comments:
Maybe sometimes people don’t need a business plan they just need an inspiring story like this to get them to take a new step.
Cherida is right. Sean’s story is inspiring. Please leave a comment below and let me know what you think.
Stuck In Dreams
Many readers contact me to share their dreams of international business… Well, to be honest, they do not usually talk to me about their business. Their conversation is usually restricted to the romantic notion of foreign places or of being known outside of their own boundaries. There is rarely a clearly identified product involved and never a real business plan.
Very few of the people who share these stories with me actually get beyond their dreams.
An Example Of How To Get Beyond The Dream
Sean is an example of doing what it takes to succeed. Have a look at this video. I was lucky to have the chance of meeting up with Sean and his wife while they were in Paris during their 3-month annual vacation. This video was taken while we were having a drink in a Parisian café on a cold spring day. Sean and I had just met, so I was asking him about his life. In this video Sean tells the story of:
- Why he wanted to move to New Zealand
- Why it was not an easy decision
- What it cost him to leave his native country
- How he did it
- What he did when he got there
- The good breaks and the setbacks he experienced when he got there
Claim Responsibility For Your Dreams
When you listen to this 10 minute video you will hear Sean relaxed and happy with a successful company behind him. Sean’s life is a dream to many people. When I met him he had just:
- Finished giving a presentation at the System 2009 Seminar
- Come from vacation in Italy, invited by a client
- Traveled to Spain
- Spent almost all of his annual 3 months vacation traveling
Do not listen to this video and skim over the essential parts. Don’t assume there was luck involved. Or some talent you could never attain.
It was not all easy. But Sean did have something up his sleeve that made his move successful.
- Sean took full responsibility for his dream and he was willing to do everything it took to achieve his goal.
And that is the difference. He got up and did it. He left his home willing to anything he needed to do… even work in McDonalds if he had to.
- One of Sean’s dreams is obviously to have long vacations. He set up his life and his business to take 3 months off every year.
Your dreams are in your head. And so is what it takes to achieve them. You have to be willing to do what it takes to attain your dreams and then get up and just do it. I am sure this will be a common trait in all of the people in this series on International Entrepreneurs. It was with Fabrice Grinda.
Sean started his professional career at a Leo Burnett agency.
Interestingly enough Leo Burnett started his company during the Great Recession. His peers laughed at him and jested that his company would not make it and that he would end up selling apples in the street to survive.
His company became one of the greatest ad agencies of all times where you could pick up an apple to eat. He gave away the apples instead of selling them, proving the naysayers wrong.
What are you willing to do to attain your international business dream?
More On International Entrepreneurs:
- Fabrice Grinda And A Free International Web Marketing Strategy
- Sean D’Souza – International Success Through Total Commitment To Do What It Takes
More In These Get International Clients International Sales Road Map:
- Connect With Your International Markets
- Run Your International Sales Strategy
- Cross-Culture Sales
- Cross-Cultural Negotiation
- International Lead Generation
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