If you’re thinking of finally accomplishing that start-up idea of yours or buying a business or selling a business, then this episode surely got you covered. Today, Nick chats with Jeremy Harbour, an investor, author, and entrepreneur, to share his experience and some strategies on scaling-up a business. Jeremy will answer the following questions: How do we hone our entrepreneurial skills? What are the pros and cons of start-ups? What are the criteria of a perfect deal? Why do investors shy away from a certain market? Discover these and many more when you tune in the Scale Up Your Business Podcast. KEY TAKEAWAYS Entrepreneurs who begun from start-ups have the edge. They got more experience and have gained more knowledge. Being a big-time entrepreneur doesn’t just happen in a snap, after reading all the business books. Apply it and re-learn it. When people want to learn, they go to the internet. Though it offers enough information, make sure your sources aren’t biased. What you might read might be heavily influenced a by a certain individual’s or business’ objective, which is to sell. What is the perfect deal? It’s ‘not exposing your capital and not borrowing from banks’. It’s the deal that suits you and what you can get done. The best dealmakers are always overwhelmed with deals. You don’t want ‘deal heat’, the urge to close a deal and move on the next one, to happen you. You don’t want to look desperate. 3 reasons why a part can’t sell: Too risky Scale paradox – ‘you have to get big to get big’ Investing in small businesses is illiquid BEST MOMENTS “Start-up is the rite to passage. You have to do a start-up to fully empathise with the entrepreneurial experience.” “People who start businesses are not necessarily the best at scaling them.” “Everything’s hard until you figure it out the first time.” VALUABLE RESOURCES Harbour Club - https://www.harbourclubevents.com/ Jeremy Harbour Official Website – jeremyharbour.com Go Do! - https://www.amazon.com/Go-Do-People-Always-Business/dp/1536636789 ABOUT THE GUEST Jeremy Harbour Jeremy is a global leader in the field of small business Mergers & Acquisitions. Based out of Singapore, he owns investments in 12 countries, has bought and sold over 100 companies, and advised on more than 200 acquisitions. Jeremy has been a Chairman, director, senior advisor & mentor to numerous international companies throughout his career. A Singapore-based entrepreneur who has completed over 100 M&A transactions and advised on a further 200 deals in all major markets. Lectures globally on mergers and acquisitions. Advisory Director for The Mint National Bank and DBS Business Class advisor. Awarded Coutts Entrepreneur of the Year runner-up three times. With his expertise in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) for SMEs, Jeremy is CEO and Founder of The Unity Group of Companies, a private equity firm specialising in helping entrepreneurs grow their business and pioneering the Agglomeration™ model. Jeremy is also the founder & former chairman of The Marketing Group (“TMG”), the first global digital marketing network that is using the Agglomeration™ model, listed on Nasdaq First. Using the same Agglomeration™ model, Unity Group recently listed MBH Corporation in Frankfurt in February 2018. Jeremy founded “The Harbour Club” in 2009, a unique workshop which provides experiential training to entrepreneurs, where he lectures on real tactics and strategies for buying, fixing, and selling businesses. Throughout his career, Jeremy has been three-time runner-up Coutts Entrepreneur of the Year in the UK, provided mentoring to The Prince’s Trust, and has been invited to Buckingham Palace and The British Houses of Parliament, to advise on matters of business and enterprise. Jeremy has also been featured in The Sunday Times, Financial Times, and nu