Luke Goodwin is a Melbourne based Entrepreneur, Business Owner, Physiotherapist and Start-Up Motivator. At the age of 24, he set up his own Physiotherapy practice. Two years later he set up a brand new Clinical Pilates exercise studio called Pilates @ Brighton.

His entrepreneurial flair led him to invent, design, manufacture and market his own new product called GripSox™. These are non-slip anklet socks that were initially designed for his pilates clients. Luke’s marketing expertise has helped the GripSox™ product grow quickly into an international success story.

Luke is now a business mentor and motivational speaker and helps educate other budding entrepreneurs to develop their own personal entrepreneurial flair.

Your background is in physiotherapy, yet you have become an international business success. Do you believe that people require formal business education to become successful?

Absolutely not! Mine is the perfect example as I’ve never studied any type of business course or degree. I simply had an idea and decided to jump straight into the deep end and have a go. Having completed my physiotherapy degree I had been running my own physiotherapy business for several years so I guess I learnt many of my business skills by running that business. The GripSox™ project was great because it was totally unrelated to my health background and therefore required me to do a lot more research into an area in which I was totally foreign.

What do you think the single most influential contributor to the success of GripSox™, both within Australia and internationally has been?

It would have to be my passion and determination to see my product succeed. If you don’t believe in your idea then you are doomed to fail. Even though you may hit hurdles along the way, you simply need to see them as challenges and think of a way to overcome the situation and turn it into a positive.

You are now available as a start up motivator and mentor for entrepreneurs; what is some of your most frequently given advice?

My first piece of advice is don’t start a new business venture unless you are totally committed to it. Some people have a “brain wave” and decide to start a new business, only to see it fail soon afterwards because they were never really committed and passionate in the first place. So whatever you do in life, give it 100%.

Secondly, I tell people not to over complicate things. I’m not saying you shouldn’t plan things, but I find that in some instances, people get so caught up in the minor detail that they miss the big picture. This often leads to procrastination and the likelihood that your new business venture never gets out of first gear.

Finally, I tell people to read, read and read some more. I am always on the lookout for new markets to tap into or new ideas on how to improve my business. Even reading things totally unrelated to your particular product or industry can often throw up fresh new ideas.

Was there ever a time when you doubted the viability of any of your business ideas? If so how did you get beyond that stage?

Whilst I’ve never doubted the viability of my ideas, you do often ask yourself “how long before my ideas come to fruition?” Again it comes back to believing in your ideas and your reasoning as to why you decided to go with your “gut instinct” in the first place.

A number of clinical trials are currently being conducted upon GripSox™, do you feel this is an important step business owners can take to enhance the credibility of a product?

Most definitely. Many of my GripSox™ buyers ask questions about the product before they purchase them so by undertaking clinical trials, you can then say “look here, the results speak for themselves”. It also gives you an advantage over competitors who may not see the importance of justifying their product’s benefits.

You have achieved recognition with GripSox™ on an international scale.
Do you believe businesses ever reach a stage where they can be allowed to coast, or do you feel the need for constant expansion and development?

I think any business that decides to coast along is asking for trouble. There is always someone out there trying to overtake you and claim some of your market. This is why we continue with things such as clinical trials and venturing into new markets for GripSox™. Occasionally you may find that new markets may pop up in front of you, but more commonly it is you who needs to do the seeking and find new clients, markets, ideas etc.

Interviewed by Nicholas - entrepreneur and founder of Nimbler Website Design and Development

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Posted on January 21st, 2009 by Nicholas