#muru-d

I recently wrote an article inviting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians to attend a 2-day workshop that could teach them about entrepreneurship and I just wanted to follow that up with a highlights package of things that made me say "ah ah!" and admittedly "hey, which way?".

BACKGROUND

The workshop was hosted at the Indigenous Digital Excellence (IDX) Hub, which is a space you can hire out in one of the heritage listed buildings on the grounds of the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence (NCIE) here in Redfern.

It was held over the weekend of the 25th and 26th of July and went for two full days, so it was quite an effort for us all to attend, especially the people who flew in from far away places like Perth, Broome, Jabiru and Cairns. Thank you guys!

MURU-D AND POLLENIZER

The workshop was led by the smart, genuine and patient people from both Muru-D and Pollenizer and I would like to say a big shout out and thank you to you guys for pushing me to learn. It was totally worth it and I am glad to have been a student to your teachings. You guys rock.

So. Five things I have learnt.

DIVERSITY, DIVERSITY, DIVERSITY

I have learnt that diversity is an advantage. It is with diversity that we have the ability to look at problems we are trying to solve through many different perspectives.

To really highlight this, I reflect on the people attending the workshop. We had a range of ages with roughly an equal gender, all from different parts of Australia, all with different types of skills, from art and film, to legal services, to design and technology (sorry if I missed anyone). Thank you guys for helping me see the world a little differently.

FLEARNINGS

I have learnt a new word. Flearning. It means to embrace your failures positively and to learn from them. All too often we can get caught up with the negativity that hovers around the word failure and having new words like this helps to make it okay if something does not turn out right.

I will also mention that part way through the workshop Natalie Walker from Inside Policy was kind enough to share a few of her tips and this was one of them. Natalie quoting the words like a mantra "I am completely okay with being wrong" really hit home with me.

DISCOVERY NOT RESEARCH

I have learnt that the earlier you learn your idea is not viable the less money and time is wasted. And to do that you have to get out of research mode and into discovery mode.

Accompanied with the workshop came a book called "Startup Focus" written by Mick Liubinskas and Phil Morle. In this book the guys explain that discovery is about creating value and strength of want or need and you should start asking yourself the questions "can I create something of value" and "how much does someone want this thing". They also talk about research too, and research is about gathering data and interpreting it, which is all still relevant, but it is just not needed right now.

Traditionally, I have been a research guy and have always been happy with looking at information that made me feel like I could justify what I was doing was right. I think that discovery is a real breakthrough for me and I will definitely be applying it to new projects.

LEAN CANVAS

This one is big and it probably needs a blog post of its own. But in short, I have learnt that business plans are good for the bottom drawer of my work desk and not much else right now. So do not do one. Yet.

A significant part of the workshop was spent learning about the lean canvas and in a way it is your business plan. It is a one-pager that I can reference to connect the dots about what problem I am solving, who my customer is, and what I think my solution is. It is not meant to be a substitute for your business plan, it is your business plan for right now.

PITCHING

I have learnt that it is important to pitch regularly and to anyone who cares to listen. Pitching is a way to refine and internalise your vision and to understand the different audiences you need to frame your pitch for, for example, the way I would pitch my idea to a customer would be completely different to the way I would pitch to an investor.

On the last day of the workshop, we were all asked to pitch our ideas and I enjoyed listening and watching everyone play out pitches. I must admit, some of us got into it more than others, but overall I think everyone learnt something.

TAKING IT HOME

And lastly, I think an important part of this journey for me is sharing this new information with my family, relatives and community. You never know, there might be someone out there who needed a little nudge, just like I did.