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Staff post about: John Ilhan Become an Author

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"I know it sounds silly, but I was always confident of where things would end up," Ilhan once said. "It was almost like, though I was not in control of my destiny, I knew where I would end up." Where Ilhan ended up is where most only dream of. From being ridiculed as a young immigrant boy to becoming the wealthiest Australian under 40 years of age, Ilhan turned the tides of fate in his favour by creating a network of mobile phone stores that would take the nation by storm. How did he do it?

Integrity: Ilhan established a reputation for himself as someone of integrity, someone who refused to break the rules, someone who did not take advantage of his customers. Because of that, he established trust and generated customer loyalty, keeping people coming back for more.

Equity: Throughout his career, Ilhan was looked over for positions and promotions due to his lack of formal education. So, when he got the chance to run his own company, he decided he would do things differently. Ilhan installed a democratic corporate culture in Crazy John's, and looked for potential in people even where others might not have seen it.

"Everyone should be allowed to try their own style," he says. "There are these key principles or values but anything outside those - do what you want. I don't care what you do as long as you can demonstrate you are growing the business and the numbers stack up."

Risks: From the very first day Ilhan opened up shop, with just $1,000 in his pocket and no phones in stock, he knew he was taking a risk. But, he also knew that if he did not take a risk, he was not going to get anywhere. His risk paid off, and from that day on, he encouraged his colleagues to think ahead of the curve and take the risks they needed to push the company forward.

Diversification: Ilhan learned the hard way what it meant to rely on one sole supplier. He had the carpet pulled out from underneath him and vowed never to let it happen again. To other aspiring entrepreneurs, Ilhan's lesson was to always be wary of those you enter into business relationships with, and make sure you are never too trusting or too dependent on them.

Marketing: If there is one thing Ilhan had no problem spending his money on it was advertising. He was an expert marketer, using his image as a crazy businessman to entice people into his bargains. He also traveled the world to keep abreast of new technologies and consumer behavior and made sure his company was ready to adapt.

"When I look back on the decisions I've made in my life it's easy to see the junctions, those pivotal moments that changed the future," recalled Ilhan. "For me, the first one was managing the Brunswick store. I had no management experience, but I knew how to sell and taking that chance was the first step. Once I had proven I could manage a store and make it profitable I knew that there was no limit to what I could do!"

At the time of his death, Ilhan was worth over $300 million.

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