John's Community of Experts
John Denton
I have over thirty experts in my personal business community and this number is growing all the time! These fantastic people make themselves available and offer their expertise by joining me on webinars, podcasts or presenting to my Business Owners Taking Action (BOTA) groups. I know and trust all these people to be experts in their field who can help my members and clients.
I created the BOTA mentoring group process in 2008 as an effective, affordable, and results-oriented process for small business owners. I offer 'in person' membership in Perth, Western Australia, as well as "virtual online" for people outside of Perth. I also provide private one to one mentoring and coaching services. For details of memberships go to BOTA LEVELS.
Amy Bett
Amy Bett is the founder of Lady Without Limits, co-founder of new kava-based beverage company Drink Melo, a Profit First Professional & co-host of the 'Lady Without Limits' podcast. Amy failed in her first business because of a cash flow problem and when she learned that "More than 80 of business owners who don't succeed, don't succeed because of a cash flow problem," she set out on a mission to reverse that awful statistic.
As a Profit First Professional, Amy discovered the only two numbers that matter in business and the formula for actually reaching financial freedom. And since she knows the financial struggles that business owners are facing right now, she's not about to slow down teaching business owners how to effectively manage their money and master their mindset. She's walking the talk and documenting her journey of creating her beverage brand with these financial principles.
Steven Brown
As a principal of Lynn & Brown Lawyers, one of Perthâs largest suburban law firms, Steven's focus is on providing commercial law and litigation advice their clients. Having worked with multinationals, Australian listed companies and small family owned businesses, Steven has been able to provide a service that makes a difference to businesses of any size.
As a graduate from the Univeristy of Western Australia (Bachelor of Laws) Steven was admitted as a barrister and Solicitor in Western Australia in 1997. This, along with over twenty years of legal experience has enabled him to set up a Quality Assured Practice which provides superior service levels to an ever growing client base.
Keith Millar
Keith Millar is a business growth specialists working with mostly Australian companies, and works with the CEO/ Founder and their leadership team across the continent.
He is certified in scaling up businesses and is a member of the global thought leader group run by Verne Harnish, author of top selling books "Rockefeller Habits" and "Scaling Up 2.0". Keith is one of 200 to certify with the world coaching group.
Keith has worked with hundreds of companies over 30 years, additionally starting and successfully exiting 3 businesses- in the professional services area. Some well-known brands he has successfully consulted to include Kubota, endota spas and MUK hair care.
Keith has family in Perth, based in Melbourne, follows a boutique football club, the Kangaroos, plays the guitar for an audience of one, and reads addictively non-fiction books.
With over 25 years' experience, Liz Hurst is a Business Process Specialist, who helps businesses develop and document practical, repeatable business systems.
Since starting Well Written in 2005, Liz has worked on a broad range of projects including business and project plans, service area reviews, operations manuals, policies and procedures, communication strategies, and tender/grant submissions.
Through her work, she helps improve efficiencies and profitability, reduce confusion, achieve better engagement, and attract more high-quality clients.
Liz loves making things work smoothly, and is there to make the process of developing and documenting business systems easy and enjoyable.
James Hannan
James has more than 25 years of experience in the sales process, storyteller marketing, analysing sales funnels, scripts, brand strategy and marketing strategy. He coaches clients all around the world on business success and is certified in Donald Miller's Storybrand Framework.
James owns multiple businesses in various sectors and understands the power of systems, company branding, processes, and what makes marketing work. James presented to the group on "How to stand out from the crowd using story teller marketing".
It's all about having a competitive edge, getting more leads and making more sale.
Charlie Gunningham
Founder & Principal, Damburst. Charlie has spent more than 20 years in Perthâs tech, property and media sectors, firstly as a tech founder himself, through to exit, and more recently as an advisor, investor and writer. Originally an Economics teacher from England, via Singapore, he arrived in Perth in 1997. Graduating as top MBA student from UWA Business School in 1999, he co-founded property listings site aussiehome.com in Perth, which was acquired by REIWA in 2010. He ran reiwa.com, was CEO of Business News, and then worked on the federal government's Accelerating Commercialisation fund. Charlie is a tech business consultant with his own company 'Damburst', and in 2021 helped launch an Australia-wide property media business, The Property Tribune as Managing Editor. He also runs Startup News, is co-host of the Startup West podcast and sits on boards of Rise Network, WAITTA Advisory, WA Leaders, West Tech Fest and BinSense.
John Broons
John is an educator and consultant, to and for families in business, working with them to understand the intricacies and dynamics at play in a Family Business system which differs greatly from a corporate structured business.
John works with decision makers in family businesses of all sizes to get clarity and focus around family relationships and business success, and mentors and coaches business owners and executives in creating, challenging and focusing their business strategy.
John's Centre For Families In Business provides information and online courses designed specifically for family business owners.
Dave Clare
Dave works with leadership teams on HOW TO hack culture and strategy, build invincible cultures, develop leadership strength and drive profitability on purpose. Building an invincible culture that unleashes creativity and innovation is paramount for continued success. Leaders who Dave works with understand that they are responsible to create more leaders, not followers.
John Wood
John Wood, Founder and Executive Director of National Lifestyle Villages presented to 40 John members and guests on the topic "From Delivery Boy to Young Entrepreneur of the Year to creating and selling National Lifestyle Villagesâ.
It was a fascinating story of success, failures, learnings, laughter and personal growth.
John's first step in his entrepreneurial journey was his evolution from delivery boy to owner of a retail bedding chain in WA in his late teens. He was the Young Entrepreneur of the Year and was a young face recognised on TV. Unfortunately, it came crashing down and he had to re-invent himself and start again.
John is a great inspiring leader, who was so willing to give of himself during the presentation. Click the YouTube icon to view John's tips for business owners.
Mike House
Mike House spent 20 years as a leading survival specialist. He now works with leaders and teams who want to âThrive and Adaptâ in uncertain times. His tools are described as tactical with âreal worldâ applicability. Mikeâs insights explain human behaviour and blindspots, while giving useful âhacksâ to deal with pressure and shift ineffective thinking. Having observed himself and countless others in extremes of deprivation and duress, Mike is uniquely positioned to offer profound and practical insight into effective and sustainable action under pressure.
By observing and leading people in complex situations of extreme deprivation and duress, Mike has developed keen insight for how humans either panic and suffer or adapt and thrive. He sees the same behaviours in ordinary workplaces and shows people how to view their work, daily tasks, relationships and opportunities through new eyes.
Click the YouTube icon to see Mike's presentation to the Business Owners Board.
Rosemary Dugan
Rosemary uses an integrative approach through fitness, nutrition and lifestyle changes to improve health and well-being.
With over 18 yearsâ experience as a fitness professional, 14 years as a health & fitness lecturer, a qualified Neuro Linguistic Programming Master Practitioner & Coach and a Master Reiki Practitioner; there is no shortage of knowledge, experience or expertise when it comes to an holistic approach to mind, body and spiritual wellness.
Her many years of living and working overseas in South East Asia and Japan have provided an abundance of personal wellness experiences which have been shared through several wellness e-books and articles.
Today Rosemary offers a wide range of programs and services â from individual coaching and corporate wellness programs to seminars, training workshops and keynote speeches. Click the YouTube icon to see Rosemary's presentation to Business Owners Board members.
Jurek Leon
Jurek Leon is a Perth based storyteller, trainer and customer experience designer. His entertaining, energising seminars and workshops are filled with practical tips, ideas and down-to-earth examples. His company, Terrific Trading, focuses on service excellence as a way of assisting companies to get a better result from their sales and marketing and greatly enhance teamwork and motivation.
Jurek and his team deal mostly with retail and tourism businesses particularly in regional areas though they also work on the customer experience with professional and technical businesses including accountants, medical services ad IT specialists.
Jurek has twice assisted with the judging of the Australian Customer Service Awards, has been a WA judge in the Australian Council of Shopping Centres Awards for Excellence in Marketing on seven occasions and a Gold Plate Awards judge.
Jurek regularly conducts Customer Experience Audits for the many SMEs he deals with. Click the 'vimeo' link to watch Jurek's presentation to the John board members. Click the youTube icon to watch Jurek's presentation.
Suzzane Laidlaw
Suzzanne is one of the most recognised and successful business coaches in Australia, with over 25 years' in key business management roles and multiple award winner in Business Planning.
With extensive experience working with a range of businesses, her coaching and engagement programs have been shown to make a big difference to performance and profitability. Suzzanne knows what it takes to âwalk the walkâ and has a strong passion for helping business owners to achieve their goals.
As a speaker and adviser, Suzzanne draws on her life's challenges and personal experiences to motivate others to live an authentic, fulfilled life. Nominated as one of WA's most inspiring women, Suzzanne has a positive & engaging outlook on life. Having faced many adversities, she inspires people through her personal and professional journey.
Nigel Dennis
Nigel is a director and co-founder of BidWrite, a niche consultancy he formed in August 2008 with long term friend and colleague David Lunn. BidWrite now has offices in Perth, Brisbane and Melbourne and more full-time specialist bid consultants than any other organisation in Australia.
Nigel is a leading tendering and proposal management consultant in Australia, offering a unique blend of strategic, business, marketing, technical and persuasive writing skills.
Since writing his first proposal in 1994, Nigel has helped organisations win thousands of bids and billions of contract dollars across most industries. He knows what it takes to win.
Tamara Callaghan
A widely experienced coach, facilitator and professional and personal development trainer since 2002, Tamara Callaghan delivers Professional Development Training in a range of areas. She helps business owners, managers and supervisors do their jobs better and staff members communicate with each other more effectively. Tam also helps individuals improve things like their self-management and resilience.
With a Grad Dip Coaching from Curtin University Tam is qualified as a professional coach. She works with individuals in businesses and organisations with goal setting and problem solving, and believes coaching is also an excellent follow up to training to best embed new skills.
Mark Kostner
Mark Kostner is serial entrepreneur with a flair for online marketing, business systemization, importing, product development and investing. He has been running his own businesses since he was 16, and is now the owner of 3 different businesses. These include a number of retail outlets and online stores, a consulting business specialising in business process optimization and online marketing strategy development, and investment syndicate investing in technology and property.
Mark is passionate about sharing his business and online marketing knowledge with people. He loves helping business owners change the way they traditionally run their businesses. By implementing innovative strategies and tools, business owners enable themselves to step back from the daily grind of running their business and enjoy a more balanced lifestyle.
Click the YouTube icon to see Mark's presentation to the Business Owners Board.
Chris Griffiths
With over 35 years of experience in all facets of brand management and having worked with dozens of companies in Canberra, Perth and in Vancouver, Chris has become a leading authority in brand management.
Working in advertising, design and marketing Chris has distilled what it takes to create a brand strategy that speaks to your target market creating an emotional connection with your business and your client. See some of Chris' WORK HERE
David Deaane-Spread
David has been a leader in the military, law-enforcement and a discreet federal agency as a covert specialist. Also as a former CEO and director of both private and public companies he brings a wealth of experience in both winning and losing (he went bankrupt for $6.5 million in 1990), as an author, consultant and coach for elite leadership performance.
He has mastered dealing effectively with difficult people and difficult situations as a hostile negotiator and working with criminal sociopaths.
David is focusing his attention now on helping business owners with between 15 and 150 employees, who are frustrated by lack of progress, to achieve between 10 and 20% improvement in morale, culture and performance within six months, without having to use a big stick or burn big bucks.  The link between culture and results is indisputable.
Andy Buchanan-Hughes
Andy has more than 40 yearsâ experience in sales and customer service, having held a number of management positions within various industry sectors. Over the past 14 years as Regional Manager at Priority Management in Western Australia, Andy has built strong relationships with the business sector which has led to exceptional growth and long-term business partnerships.
Andy believes that business growth is down to providing excellent customer service by going above and beyond and doing what you say youâre going to do. Being a true connector of people by nature, Andy finds ways to bring together people of similar backgrounds and values to create new opportunities and strengthen existing and future business relationships.
Andrew Hagen
"High School Dropout To ASX CEO in 5 Years" was Andrew's topic for the John group.
As the previous CEO & co-founder of Cycliq, Andrew was responsible for making cool products that their customers across 50 countries love to use and building the team to deliver them. The HD camera and light combo accessories for cyclists work in all weather and capture some of the most amazing footage ever seen in cycling! The company is now listed on the Australian Securities Exchange ASX:CYQ
Having raised over $1,000,000 on Kickstarter and taken the company from an idea to products sold around the globe to IPO, Andrew knows the ups and downs of building a successful business and now works to pass on his experience to other business owners and start-ups.
Simon Frayne
Simon specialises in helping âBusiness Ownersâ reduce their âOperational -Timeâ IN their business to build a better business asset and make more money. He has a Bachelor of Commerce & studied CPA & post Grad dip in Finance. In Corporate Sydney he sold more than $20 mill in consulting Services; he knows how to generate revenue.
He was NSW Manager for Talent 2âs â âPeople Performanceâ Consulting arm; he has special expertise in getting people and âgroupâs to perform at their best. He Ran his own Management Consulting firm in Sydney focussed on Business Grow & Capital Raising. He understands intimately the measures and dynamics for âbusiness growthâ.
Hamish Jolly
Hamish head ups Australia's tropical marine research program from the Arafura Sea to Ningaloo Reef via the Australian Institute of Marine Science. Hamish has investment interests in diverse science and technology ventures include bioenergy through Biogass Renewables and commercialisation of marine biotechnology through Shark Mitigation Systems, as well as incubation of commercial ventures through investment company Dunbar Harper Pty Ltd.
One of Hanish's recent ventures is in shark mitigation and Hamish's TED talk on the commercialisation of technology for shark visual systems was featured on TED.com, curated in a TED top 10 list with almost 2.5 million views so far.
Jurgen van Pletsen
Jurgen is an entrepreneur from Perth, Western Australia. He was voted a Top 50 SME Leader in Australia by Inside Small Business Magazine and his entrepreneurial journey includes everything from music recording to smartphone app development, a multi million dollar consulting firm, filmography, digital product development, marketing & advertising, business development and SaaS (Software as a Service) products.
Jurgen is a management consultant at heart, with a background in Strategy and Operations consulting for Deloitte Consulting. He left Deloitte at 27 and co-founded a management consulting firm that returned an annual 7-figure profit during the first 5 years of operation.
For more than a decade he has helped business owners from diverse industries to extract more value from their operations. He is a mentor at Founders Institute (the worldâs largest accelerator program from Silicon Valley), UWA and Curtin Business School and works with business owners and startups to fine-tune their approach to marketing, sales and profitable business growth.