Dr Simone Ryan is running a $4.5 million business, with more than 100 staff, and a huge ambition to take on Asia.
But as what appears to happen a lot with many female entrepreneurs these days, they’re so busy we don’t always get the chance to learn much about them.
I got to hear more of Ryan’s story from a video interview she did with communications coach and consultant Andrea Clarke, kindly shared below.
Ryan’s the founder of One Life Live It, providing corporate wellness programs for major Australian organisations including airlines, insurers, banks and law firms.
And she’s got huge plans for the future. Already in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong, she wants to expand in Asia and is looking to secure a $20 to $40 million dollar business within three to five years.
It helps that she picked an area that’s in serious need of services: corporate health. Stress claims are significantly higher than they were a few years ago, according to Ryan, and companies are waking up to the direct affect on costs.
“This is having a significant impact on absenteeism, workers compensation, sick leave and the like,” she says. “They’re just the seen costs. Think then of the $34.1 billion in unseen costs of presenteeism, where people are turning up and just going through the motions.”
Ryan’s start in business is extraordinary. A trained doctor, she recalls working 105 hour plus week in the public health system. On one particular day, she woke up ill with fatigue and exhaustion and called in sick for the first time in seven years.
Overwhelmed with guilt, she got out of bed, got dress and went to work anyway. While operating in theatre, she suffered from a seizure and fainted, breaking her nice and slicing her face open as she fell to the floor. While still recovering, she resigned.
The experience inspired Ryan to see how she could help others whose work is affecting their health, something she says she’s always wanted to do.
In her discussion with Andrea Clarke, Ryan shares how she managed to end up with just 17 cents after her first year in business – she blew $400,00 on an over-the-top office fitout that, “No one turned up to because we were a start up”.
Ryan went bust within 12 months, and had to start again. She realised companies weren’t looking for a “million dollar” office, but rather an excellent service that would improve the health of their staff.
She shares more on her story in the video below.
