Mike O'Hagan

Mike O'Hagan's Biography

MiniMovers, has been the recipient of a number of high profile awards including the 2000 Queensland Medium Employer of the year, 2000 Australian National Training Authority’s Australian Excellence in Training, 2003 Telstra and Queensland Government’s Small Business of the year and 2005 Queensland Government Office of Fair Trading – Inaugural TradeSmart Consumer Award.

After being raised on a Dairy Farm in New Zealand, at the age of 18 Mike arrived in Australia with a few hundred dollars in his pocket and a pack on his back. Over the next 8 years he worked for 35 different employers. In his words "I'm a product of the many really bad, and the few good, employers I worked for".

This background helped to influence Mike to "do it differently" in business.

His business career started with buying and selling goods as a second-hand dealer. Four years later the entrepreneur in Mike surfaced when he launched a short distance furniture removal business. This evolved into MiniMovers.

MiniMovers has evolved into an innovative market leader, growing from an initial investment of $200 and a Ute, to an annual turnover exceeding $23 million with over 320 employees. Now 22 years old, MiniMovers currently moves over 1200 homes and offices a week in Southeast Queensland, Melbourne and Sydney.

Through various government sponsored assistance/mentoring programs Mike has helped many hundreds of businesses. As a result Mike has developed some very alternative views of the success factors that drive people and businesses. Mike sees his strengths in his basic commonsense approach - "out of the box" thinking, leadership, systems, marketing, people management skills, workplace culture, innovative products, and creative customer service strategies.

Mike talks from practical experience by either telling the MiniMovers story or sharing from recent experiences involving the latest trends and business opportunities.

In short, Mike will adjust his presentation to suit the audience.

Being successful means Mike rarely charges for speaking. He has an immense passion for creating entrepreneurs, believing the future of all Australian lifestyles comes from entrepreneurship.

Mike can be controversial. He has a lot to say around the inadequacies of our education system, how entrepreneurship is not actively encouraged in Australia and how we are rapidly falling behind due to our critical culture and lack of advanced learning. He notes the vast majority of Australian business owners have a "manager" mindset that leads to them owning a job. This he believes comes from the wrong way "business" is taught and encouraged.

Takeaways include:

• Practical tips and ideas to build a growth culture

• A change in mindset/view of business and what everyone can get from their business

• An insight into the opportunities technology and globalisation are creating.

• Less emphasis on "money" and more on product and delivery, including outstanding customer experiences as the key drivers to wealth.