Kaizen Entrepreneur

May 29, 2015

“Little strokes fell great oaks.” –Benjamin Franklin

 

The history of “Kaizen”, can be traced back to America and the great depression of the 1920’s and laterally introduced and adopted into Japanese business culture to enable the rebuilding of the country after the end of World War II. You can find a great insight into the history of Kaizen on the wonderful blog, Art of Manliness

Kaizen is the combination of two words – Kai, meaning Change and Zen, meaning Good – in essence; making good change on a continuous basis:

 

Kaizen Meaning

 

 

Not to be confused with theoretical self-help or personal development that is continually pushed down our throats. Instead of you looking to make radical or large changes over a short space of time, you simply look to make small improvements each day, with each changing moving you closer to your goals.

 

“It is as equally applicable to you if you are looking to turn around a business (or grow one), become an startup entrpreneur, as it is to more personal objectives such as losing 10lbs

 

Each day you just focus on making a small improvement – whatever your objective is – It could be as simple as looking to make 1% improvement each day, or running an extra 100 meters each day – Neither may sound sound like a lot, but those 1 percents and 100m’s will quickly add up over a very short space of time.

 

 

“When you improve a little each day, eventually big things occur. When you improve conditioning a little each day, eventually you have a big improvement in conditioning. Not tomorrow, not the next day, but eventually a big gain is made. Don’t look for the big, quick improvement. Seek the small improvement one day at a time. That’s the only way it happens — and when it happens, it lasts.” —John Wooden

 

There are many examples of how adopting the Kaizen approach can benefit your life, both professionally and personally, and we will look at wide variety of topics covering Lifestyle, Mindfulness, Productivity, Entrepreneurship, Growth (personal and business), and Innovation over the Kaizen Entrepreneur.

Click below to join my journey as the Kaizen Entrepreneur.

kaizen

And where does the “Entrepreneur” part come in?

 

The definition of “Entrepreneur” can be traced all the way back to France around 1875-80 and the word “prendre”, to take or undertake action.

Dictionary.com describes it thus:

“1875-80; < French: literally, one who undertakes (some task), equivalent to entrepren (dre) to undertake (< Latin inter- inter- + prendere to take, variant of prehendere) + -eur -eur.

 

The term “Entrepreneur” is more commonly described as;

“a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk.

 

And it is the historical and literal definition of “Entrepreneur” that the spirit of the Kaizen Entrepreneur places its inspiration. Whereby much of what we discuss on the Kaizen Entrepreneur can and will be applicable to business leaders, startups and founders (something I am personally passionate about), I strongly believe that that the principals that we will share can be applied to creating positive change, innovation, fulfillment and success in all areas of your life.

 

Click below to join my journey as the Kaizen Entrepreneur.

kaizen

Green Island

Life Goals

May 28, 2015

One underlying motivation behind the building of this website was the desire to create the life I truly, deep-down, always wanted to lead.

One filled with family, adventure, and experiences.

One that gave me fulfillment, reward and, ultimately, allowed me to live how I wanted too, and work when and how it best suited me;

I wanted to challenge what I felt was impossible, open myself up to opportunity and achievement, whilst also putting my skills and experiences to use and giving something back along the way.

I decided that it was time to take action and if I didn’t do it TODAY, then I never would.

The below list is a culmination of a lot of deep thinking and introspection, coupled with considerable inspiration from a variety of sources. Three of which, in particular, I would like to call out here:

 

  • Joel Runyon and his “Impossible” website – a true inspiration to us all on what is possible if we truly put our mind to it

 

  • PersonalExcellence.co – A awesome website, one I return to regularly if I’m ever in need of boost of motivation or inspiration

 

  • Chris Winfield –  a recent addition to my reading list, however, it is already had unbelievable impact of my working behaviour, mindset and productivity

 

My bucket list, life plan, list of impossibles, call it what you will – but here it is:

 

It’s never too late to be what you might have been – George Eliot

 

Give Back

 

  • Change 1 Person’s Life For The Better
  • Raise A Significant Amount Of Money For A Chosen Charity
    • More to follow shortly
  • Be A Mentor To Somebody
  • Help 100 Entrepreneurs Improve Their Life Through Micro Loans at Kiva.org

 

Personal Achievement

 

  • Learn A New Language
  • Learn To Play Mahjong
  • Own My Own Business
  • Learn How To Sail
  • Own A Racehorse
  • Write A Book
  • Own My Own Home
  • Own Homes In Two, or More, Countries
  • Become Financially Self-sufficient
  • Learn Capoeira
  • Be A Seed Investor In A Company
  • Be An Investor In A VC Fund
  • Start A Business Incubator
  • Have Something Named After Me
  • Live In A Foreign Country (France 2001, 02, Cyprus 03, Australia 08 ongoing)

 

Adventure

 

  • Try An Extreme Sport
    • Volcano boarding
    • Kite surfing
    • Sky Diving
    • Ice Swimming
    • Snow Mobiling
  • See The Northern Lights
  • Fly In A Hot Air Balloon
  • Climb Mt Kilimanjaro
  • Swim with sharks
    • Swim with one of the biggies – great white / tiger etc
  • Be An Extra On Screen In A Move / TV Show
  • Sail Around The World
  • Experience Zero Gravity
  • Learn To Scuba Dive
  • Create A List Of The Worlds Top 100 Scuba Diving Sites
    • Then Scuba at least 25 of them
  • Get To Space

 

Sport & Fitness

 

  • Runk 5k
  • Run 10k
  • Run A Half Marathon
  • Run A Marathon
  • Run The City To Surf (Sydney, Australia)
  • Run Tough Mudder
  • 100 Consecutive Pushups
  • 200 Consecutive Squats
  • 50 Consecutive Pullups
  • Be able to hold a Plank for 1 Minute | 2 Minutes | 5 Minutes | 10 Minutes
  • Give Up Alcohol
  • Give Up All Nicotine-Based Products

 

Travel & Experiences

 

  • Visit 20 Countries | 50 Countries | 100 Countries | 150 Countries | All The Countries
  • Visit Every Continent (North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, Antarctica
  • Create A List Of The Top 5 Sunsets In The World
    • Then Witness Them All
  • Fly First Class
  • Spend Christmas In A Winter Destination
  • Visit Argentina’s Iguazu Falls
  • Float In The Dead Sea
  • Stay In An Ice Hotel
  • Walk The Great Wall of China
  • Go to Antarctica
  • See A Tornado
  • Spend A Night In The Amazon Rainforest
  • Catch A Flight To A Random Destination
  • Explore The Galapagos
  • Take The Trans-Siberian Express
  • Drive A Husky Sled
  • Watch Mountain Gorillas
  • See Orangutans in Borneo
  • See Polar Bears in the Wild
  • Spend A Month At The World Cup
  • Arrive At A Destination by Seaplane
  • Live On The Beach In A Tropical Destination For At Least 3 Months
  • Do A Round-The-World Trip
  • Travel For At Least 6-Months Straight

 

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About Me

May 27, 2015

I am

 

Jonathan Roberts, Co-Founder, Startup Consultant, Entrepreneur, Global Digital Marketer, Emerging Market Specialist, Crowd-sourcing expert and Content Marketer

 

I love

 

  • My Family
  • Travel
  • Seeing and experiencing new things and places
  • Great Food
  • Reading crime novels and true stories
  • Working with and meeting Startups and Entrepreneurs
  • Passionate people
  • Working hard…but smartly
  • The Ocean
  • Scuba Diving
  • Nottingham Forest
  • Lifestyle design

 

“Learn more about my passions by checking out my life goals and bucket-list here”

 

I live life by these rules

 

  • Introvert Entrepreneurs rock!
  • Know that you do not need to be the ‘smartest’ person in the room
  • …Hard-work and continuous improvement will win every-time
  • The greatest asset of any business is its people
  • Pursue Passions, Not Pay-checks
  • Challenge the impossible
  • Take time to think
  • Take more time for family and relationships that matter
  • Invest in ideas that you believe in
  • Don’t take yourself too seriously
  • Read everyday, and a lot
  • Experience knew things and places, and do it often
  • Don’t be afraid to dream – dream big and then take the first step towards that dream
  • Give back
  • Find smart, amazing people – then learn from, imitate and copy these people with your own personal twist

 

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I have done

 

  • Worked with brands and partners in
    • UK
    • Europe
    • US
    • Australia
    • New Zealand
    • Singapore
    • Thailand
    • China
    • Hong Kong
    • Philippines
    • And other emerging markets
  • Co-Founded Croud Australia
  • Launched and grew a Start Up
    • Board member
    • 1 to 14 employees
    • Build annual revenues from zero to in the millions
    • High Triple digit growth every year
    • Supported tech development of proprietary software
    • Sat on the board
    • Secured international clients and partnerships
    • Created foundations for emerging market entry
    • Created and fostered a strong culture and loyal, dynamic and innovative team
    • Identified, launched and created new business units
    • Industry recognition – Finalist in 3 categories at the NSW Business Chamber Awards (Young Business Executive, Excellence in Business, Excellence in Innovation -2015)
  • Accelerated growth of a large global digital agency
    • Grew monthly billings from sub $1m to over $4m
    • Built team from 5 to 35 digital experts
    • Identified, launched and created new business units
  • Super Affiliate & Email Marketer
    • Built email lists from zero to 20k+
    • Generating 4 figure monthly revenue
    • Built and launched my own affiliate programs
    • Recruited affiliates for private network
  • Membership websites specialist
    • Launched and sold membership site for 5-figures
    • Launched two further memberships, making 4 figure monthly revenue

 

You can get updates & connect with me here

 

 

You can also find and hire me here

 

 

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Current Projects Include:

 

  • Kaizen Entrepreneur Business Weekly
  • Malkin & Toad – high-end independent fashion brand
  • Croud Australia – shareholder
  • Start Up Advisor & Mentor
  • Consultancy
  • Business Growth & Building Advisor

 

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