Jo Burston

Jo Burston was working in a corporate role before she had an idea for a business which could provide services for payroll packaging and outsourcing, among other contractor services.

There was one problem – Burston had no way to pursue her idea. But through her job she found herself at a meeting with successful entrepreneur Phillip Weinman and before long, she had $200,000 for a start up and a new mentor for her brand new career as an entrepreneur.

How did you come to pitch your business idea to Phillip Weinman?

I was working for a fairly large organisation in a corporate background, and they had a similar product structure to Job Capitol. There was a lot of room for market growth, expanded scope and services, but the company was not really open to those ideas.

So then I was put into a position where I had the opportunity to meet a potential client for this company. I flew to Melbourne, and met with Philip at the recruitment company Rosch.

But during the pitch I realised this man was expressive, and very intelligent, and had a great scope for new ideas. So I just talked about my ideas for the future.

I simply threw the ideas out there to see what would happen. In one sense it was a manufactured opportunity, but at that stage I was going to start my business.

How did you become so confident so quickly?

The funny story is that I walked into his office, and he was trading on three or four computer screens and was very manic. He told me to take a seat somewhere, so I took a seat behind his desk.

I said to him, “I’m going to sit here one day, so I may as well start now”. He laughed, and that broke the ice a little bit because he saw I had a sense of humour, strong qualities and didn’t take things too seriously.

What drove you to just suddenly make a pitch?

I saw an opportunity. His background, and successes, made him willing to listen to that. We got on very well from the start and I actually just asked him straight away.

After that presentation I asked him if he was interested in mentoring people in business. I recognised there was so much value I could take from him.

What should entrepreneurs look for in a mentor?

The biggest thing is that Philip has never actually told me to do anything, but he’s always pointed me in the right direction. It was never, and is never, about making things easy for me. It’s all about working hard to achieve what I want.

I’d be presented with a problem, or a growth pain, and I’d explain that to him and talk about my plans and how I anticipate coming over it. But he would slightly suggest things, and say, “have you thought about this aspect?” He doesn’t give me the solution.

What advice would you have for others looking to find a mentor?

You need to be able to identify qualities, and the successes of the person you’re asking. You need to just ask up front if they’d be interested in doing something with you, and I was always cautious about who I asked.

Entrepreneurship is not a one-time business. A mentor needs a record, a proven track record of success. They need to be well respected in their market, and respected by the staff and team around them. Not just financially successful, but also successful with a team of people.

Any last advice for pitching?

Don’t be shy – the worst thing they can say is no. You need to show your tenacity, and belief and confidence in yourself to the person who’s listening.