00:00.00
calltocourage
Hello and welcome to the quarter courage podcast I'm Gareth and my guest today is war kens hazard warwick ks.
00:08.88
Warrick Kernes
Gareth Gareth Pickering all good on my side. How are you.
00:13.00
calltocourage
Golden. Thank you? Um, oicaf early to be able to chat to you in South Africa that um, it feels good to connect with you again. How things going how so you recently lost your grand I'm my condolences us.
00:25.89
Warrick Kernes
Yeah, thanks, yeah, we just came back from the the memorial yesterday the it was the day before and yeah, so she was 91 and a big part of my life I'm very um, very lucky to have grown up with a lot of my grandparents still around until I was like mid to late 30 s and um.
00:40.38
calltocourage
The.
00:42.50
Warrick Kernes
Sadly now my last grandparents has passed but um, she had a good innings and she was quite sickly at the end so in a way. Um, nobody was sad. It wasn't sad to see her go was more of a relief for her. But um at the same time. It is always sad to lose anybody like that in your life.
01:00.59
calltocourage
Um, and she got to meet miles before she transitioned.
01:03.90
Warrick Kernes
Yes, and no so miles was but my little boy was about eight weeks when she when she passed on. But um, she was in icu in hospital and although we were trying to find a way to put her in a wheelchair take her outside the hospital to meet the kid. Um, that wasn't allowed.
01:11.10
calltocourage
Okay. Okay, okay.
01:19.43
Warrick Kernes
Wasn't wasn't reasonable or sensible and at the same time. The doctors just said. It's not a good idea to take a young baby into an icu board. So she kind of saw him on video calls and saw lots of pictures and um, but sadly they didn't meet that would that would have been great.
01:25.58
calltocourage
Rat.
01:36.48
calltocourage
How's that adventure been being a dad. It's your first.
01:40.36
Warrick Kernes
Yeah, so it depends like um when people ask me this question depends like that my minds are changes all the time like sometimes I don't sleep much and I'm very cranky and I say it's horrible other times he's ah screaming his head off and inconsolable and I say it's even worse and sometimes like today he just.
01:52.97
calltocourage
Um.
01:57.95
Warrick Kernes
Smiled at me and giggled a little bit and then I say it's actually amazing.
02:04.18
calltocourage
How's that been for you and um for cambo. How's the journey of parenting together been.
02:09.70
Warrick Kernes
Yeah, interesting. Um, it's already teaching us a little bit about about ourselves that we didn't know. Um you know you know us both quite well and and I reckon that we pretty chilled and relaxed people. But it turns out that we do have a breaking point and um that we're not as patient as as I'd like to say but I think any parent would.
02:22.51
calltocourage
Um, ah.
02:27.11
Warrick Kernes
Would have felt that test you know, um it definitely challenges you but and it's not all smooth sailing but it's been cool and like this week with miles. He's been really cool. So it's been a joy.
02:41.44
calltocourage
So good if ah can I just said imagine what that adventure would be like like we've just taken on the parenting journey of 2 cats and a dog and it's like ah every time I interview someone that's a father. It's like ah there must be a new level of just surrendering and acceptance and. Recognizing that it's going to be imperfect like it's got to be the most like humbling journey and and I know your early early stages. But yeah sending you qdos brother.
03:05.58
Warrick Kernes
Yeah, thanks and I suppose it's all new and it's going to continue to be new In fact, we just had um this morning here. We had a um, a parenting like expert come and do a consult with us just sit with us and just share some insights and and mostly Mike when I asked. To come round I just said like help us to manage our own expectations like what's coming next because we just have no idea what's around the next corner or when that corner is and um and one thing that was like the big takeaway from now is that the kid is he's just like a little baby like he's got no self-regulation and and.
03:23.62
calltocourage
Um, yeah, ah.
03:31.80
calltocourage
Are.
03:38.95
Warrick Kernes
Right now. It's actually just about managing ourselves. So like when he's upset or screaming or something like just try and be calm and just accept like don't don't get too worked up about it because then that also works him up and um, it's just about about kind of being present and just trying to chill a little bit and understanding that.
03:44.68
calltocourage
Are.
03:57.44
Warrick Kernes
He's just a kid like he's just a little baby So he's not doing anything wrong.
04:04.30
calltocourage
Ah, how is life having left Johannesburg and moving to the lowfelt when we met you were living in Jahannesburg and now where you seem to have uprooted your life. How's that feeling living where you live.
04:15.75
Warrick Kernes
Yeah, so it's about a year and a half since we moved um out of the big city down to to um to near the kruger national park which people might recognize as being like 1 of the biggest or best Safari destinations in the world and.
04:26.29
calltocourage
Are.
04:28.90
Warrick Kernes
A lot of a lot of south africans have an affinity for going on Safari going to the Bush as we say and um, you know, being able to work online these days and having the flexibility to be able to have a home office and just jump on the internet and work with my team all around the country. It gave us a flexibility to be able to make that shift and. Yeah, now we're just surrounded by nature I think a lot of um, international people think about people living in South Africa and think that maybe there's like giraffe and zebra walking around the house and and snakes in the back garden and most of the time that's not true, but with us it is entirely true. So we we're kind of living like.
04:59.16
calltocourage
Um.
05:01.50
calltocourage
Well.
05:05.29
Warrick Kernes
It's It's really quite magical and we're very blessed like our beautiful views and it's just nature all around us and um, it's really really quite special.
05:12.57
calltocourage
I can't wait to come back there and experience it with you. It looks like you can mountain bike and trail run all around your estate and in a couple of minutes you're almost in the krieger national park route.
05:21.36
Warrick Kernes
Yeah,, that's right, Yeah so from like a lifestyles lifestyle point of View. It's been really Cool. You know, just being able to go like if if I want to go for a walk or take my bar car to go for a run.. It's just a case of just opening the door and stepping outside and you're on the trails like you're in Nature. You don't have to go anywhere. And um and the place where we live is nearly 800 hectares of wilderness and there's a whole bunch of wild animals with the odd um I don't know like things cruising through like we found some um dropping some some poop of a leopard the other day So I'm hoping to see that at some stage. But um, yeah, they stay around and we've got like.
05:53.71
calltocourage
Wow.
06:00.55
Warrick Kernes
All kinds of animals just like always around the house and always around like in the Bushes. So it's really quite a different way of living.
06:05.60
calltocourage
Um, and so before miles how often were you getting into the national park Would you go for like a morning or how often did that happen in your world.
06:15.26
Warrick Kernes
Yeah, so the nice thing from where we are is like um we used to previously we lived in Joburg and Johannesburg and and it was like ah a trip to go on Safari was ah we would have to make it at least a couple days hopefully a week or longer. But now it's on our doorstep so we can just pop in.
06:29.56
calltocourage
Um, yes, ah.
06:32.11
Warrick Kernes
And when we first moved down here. We would um would do kind of like what what most people do is like you you go there as early as you can such. You can go in just off to sunrise and that's when like a lot of the animals are active and you you have better chance of seeing stuff and you spend the entire day driving around looking for wild animals and. Eventually at the end of the day you fall into bed and you exhaust it but now with it being on our doorstep so close and being able to go whenever we like um before miles then it means that we we have the flexibility to kind of like wake up on a Sunday and say ah, let's go to the let's go on Safari let's go to the park and we can drive in and spend a few hours and come back like.
06:51.12
calltocourage
Are.
07:05.30
calltocourage
And.
07:09.22
Warrick Kernes
After lunch and um, it's really really quite cool. But now as you kind of alluded to with the the young baby. Um, it's not as easy I don't know many new parents who would want to load their their young newborn kid into a car for for 8 hours or multiple hours. Um, if they have to if they don't have to.
07:18.36
calltocourage
Ah.
07:24.78
calltocourage
Right.
07:28.87
Warrick Kernes
But also you know down there is malaria there so we we're up on a mountain range which is quite a lot higher in in elevation. So we don't have Malaria Mosquito there's mosquitoes here but not malaria mosquitoes but down lower elevation just down the hillbark route by the safari area then that is malaria so.
07:33.57
calltocourage
Ah.
07:38.35
calltocourage
Okay. Okay.
07:46.68
Warrick Kernes
Taking a young kid day. You know a lot of people do it and it's everybody's choice but it's it's a risk and we would rather kind of not expose him etc until later on until he's a bit bigger.
07:59.62
calltocourage
Um, I'd like to chat about your entrepreneurial success. Um, you've been pretty successful in the companies that you've created in the time that I've known you and I think ah we are second cousins. What is our relationship? Forget I Always forget we share.
08:16.41
Warrick Kernes
So not through B Yes, your cousin married my late godmother who's my aunt. So my dad's sister married your cousin so we are related not through blood but through some way and um, yeah, we can call each other cousins.
08:16.43
calltocourage
Like a my cousin married your cousin.
08:24.53
calltocourage
That's right? Yes, yes, it's easier. So when I met you, you were running a business called action gear share what that was about and some of the like.
08:33.41
Warrick Kernes
Back.
08:39.88
calltocourage
Adventure that you had creating that business. What did you love about it. What were some of the challenges with it and then we can move from there to what you're creating at the moment.
08:45.94
Warrick Kernes
Yeah Thanks, so it was a big chapter of my life because um, it kind of started in like that journey began in 2008 where Camilla who was at the time my girlfriend and our wife who and I wanted to go from South Africa go up to see a first world country and experience like. Ah, different life so different life some travel and get some work experience and earn some foreign currency. So we ended up in London and when I got there I didn't have a job and the rent was coming up and kind of needed to get a job to pay the rent and so like as you do you're kind of hustling to try and go to as many interviews as you can and. The 1 job which really appealed to me was this ecommerce job because it was like a small team of people where I would work closely with the founders and I could learn from them. The 1 challenge was that I didn't know the first thing about ecommerce. But when they interviewed me and and asked me I was kind of like talk myself up a little bit.
09:38.21
calltocourage
Um, okay.
09:43.90
Warrick Kernes
And maybe they just liked me but they they did offer me the job and very quickly found out that not only did I not know about ecommerce I didn't even know how to type so it was a bit of a problem that ah but they they they saw past that and thankfully they kept me on. And through those 2 2 wonderful guys who became mentors and are still friends with friends of mine today I learned about ecommerce and selling online and importing and distributing and um, digital marketing and what it takes to build and run a successful online business and through ah that journey of working.
09:59.57
calltocourage
Ah.
10:17.99
Warrick Kernes
Kind of very closely with them and that business overseas was just exploding that was just doing so well like the perfect time with the products that they were selling and also perfect timing with ecommerce across europe just expanding and that was like 2008 2009 early into 20 but throughout that journey.
10:32.20
calltocourage
A.
10:35.33
Warrick Kernes
Was kind of looking back like we were never going to stay there permanently and I was looking back at my home country of South Africa and knowing that the market was wide open for the taking like there was very few players. Um and the ones that were active were not really doing it as well as what i're seeing overseas and so it kind of ah.
10:49.73
calltocourage
Are.
10:53.69
Warrick Kernes
Teed me up to be able to move home with the experience that I'd gained and still having access to those old bosses who remained mentors to me and being able to launch my own online business which was originally called action Cameras ah it later changed to action gear and there was an online retailer of Sports electronics. Um. Gora Cameras Sports Watches binoculars drones and all kinds of fun things like kind of things that I just wanted to have and play with myself which maybe is partly why I loved it So much.
11:19.79
calltocourage
I could dream was that what you're selling in the Uk was that the original input were they selling that type of that content as well that gear and stuff in the u k.
11:29.45
Warrick Kernes
Absolutely so that company before the gopro camera was really on the market we together with them. They had this idea to sell helmet cameras where originally when I started with them.
11:42.66
calltocourage
Um, okay.
11:45.10
Warrick Kernes
Stockroom was a giant mess because it was a whole bunch of cables and battery packs and literally we were taking these little bullet-sized camera they were called Bullet Cams with a cable running into like a transformer into a battery backpack and then a recording device and so we were setting this as a pack.
11:57.84
calltocourage
Okay.
12:01.19
Warrick Kernes
Together with the backpack because guys who went Marta barking or skiing with it had to carry like extra batteries and cables and all kinds of stuff and and that was the original kind of what became gopro and then when the gopro came out and became so popular.
12:06.14
calltocourage
Want to hear the yeah.
12:16.89
Warrick Kernes
This very small company in the Uk secured the european distribution rights because of its positioning in that market already and that company just exploded. So when I joined there was joined that Uk company. It was the 2 founders and 1 crazy french sky who was like a big freestyle skier and smoked a lot of weed.
12:22.80
calltocourage
Okay.
12:36.74
Warrick Kernes
And and there was a team then the day that I joined they hired me and this other guy from Brazil the the 1 founder was punjabi indian but um, educated at Oxford in England and the other guy was Dutch also educated at Oxford so it kind of sounded like a joke where the 5 of us would go to Aba and it was like.
12:47.26
calltocourage
I get.
12:54.45
Warrick Kernes
And indian no dutchman a frenchman a brazilian and a south african walk into a bar and um and it was a really fun time but that team those original 5 we like called ourselves like the the originals and and the team just exploded like.
12:58.48
calltocourage
Ah, ah or be recorded.
13:13.89
Warrick Kernes
By the time I left off to turnoff years think was like close to 30 people in the company and the the revenue was exceptional and it was such a profitable business that we were going on like um, we were going to retreat to to Colorado then like a few weeks later we'd go back and go to Vegas and we go to Hong Kong like a trade show and um, it was a really fun time just to see a business thriving and to be able to um, kind of be very close to the founders and and just be able to discuss things so big decisions that they were making I was able to just be part of those conversations and it really gave me a lot of confidence to be able to do it myself. And that conference was bolted by the fact that in 2009 while still in England um, one of my bosses actually entered me into the hsbc business awards and I ended up winning the the prize for being London's ah outstanding young business person of the year for 2009 and hsbc business awards which was pretty cool and that together with my new experience kind of gave me a lot of confidence to come back to South Africa middle 2010 and start my own business selling gopros and the other cameras any other products that I'd seen being successful and yes I had the blessing of my old bosses so they knew.
14:08.54
calltocourage
12 Ah.
14:26.99
Warrick Kernes
That I was doing and they supported me and and yeah, that was a journey that kind of teed me up nicely to be able to do it on my own and to grow that business but I had the 1 challenge that between leaving england and arriving back in South Africa Camilla and I went backpacking and we spent all of our money around the states and.
14:43.49
calltocourage
Echo.
14:46.30
Warrick Kernes
All these travels having a wonderful time. But that meant that instead of arriving home with a whole bunch of foreign currency to be able to start a business I had like next to nothing and cam Camilla had to go and move in with her parents I had to move back in with my parents and and that's where our kind of luck in their spare bedroom would.
15:00.27
calltocourage
Ah, okay.
15:05.20
Warrick Kernes
Wake up in the morning make the bed and then start packing parcels on the bed from our online orders that have come in through the night at a little desk in the corner and it was just me and like processing like trying to arrange imports and um, getting things cleared through customs receiving the stock breaking it up trying to put it in the cupboard next to my underwear. And then I'm kind of taking it back up the cupboard and packing orders in the afternoon and meeting the courie and sending it off and making sure that everything was done but those early days because I knew which products would sell well having seen it overseas and I knew how to market it. It just accelerated my success like exceptionally to the point where as. In in not too so short a space of time I was able to have built a team moved out of ah out of our parents house came in our bought our own place and um with the team that I had we moved into a new office building and we were able to build like quite a big successful ecommerce business. For our country which continue to grow over the next couple years
16:04.38
calltocourage
So good. So when you're off back and your you're bootstrapping this company. Do you get any investors. Do you go so low. How did you manage to get it going I know you kept your costs low but to buy that stock and to get that all going. Did you take a loan or did you get some investors or how did you flow and grow the business.
16:20.54
Warrick Kernes
Yeah, so at the time I um I didn't even look for investors because it was like I didn't have much credibility then um, maybe I could have but I also wanted to do it organically and and I was confident that I could so after the backpacking expense and just having a great time. Overseas. I had um, a little bit of Eight Thousand Rand which meant that I could buy 4 gopro cameras with import tudes and I could bring those 4 in and my goal was sell those 4 and then I could buy 6 and then sell those 6 and I could buy 10 and then sell those 10 and then I could buy 15 and that was literally what I was doing is just kind of rolling it back into inventory.
16:42.10
calltocourage
Can.
16:53.12
calltocourage
Um, again, wow.
16:56.22
Warrick Kernes
And also I had no marketing budget. So even though I knew how to do digital marketing my money that all the cash was going back into inventory. Thank goodness I didn't have rent I wasn't paying myself or anybody a salary. So my only expense back then was um, literally a few website fees and my cellphone ball.
17:14.54
calltocourage
Okay.
17:15.88
Warrick Kernes
Everything else I was just doing advertising like going into forums online joining Facebook groups relevant to it and just connecting and trying to do word of- mouth and going to any market that I wouldn't have to pay for and um and just just doing it. Ah, kind of what I suppose what them kids are calling the hustle.
17:26.56
calltocourage
Okay.
17:33.63
Warrick Kernes
And um.
17:37.75
calltocourage
Ah, kids yeah a good one.
17:38.87
Warrick Kernes
Yeah, and just great organically thankfully I was able to do it that way with arts having me to take investors but later on um I did end up 1 of my first employee actually ended up becoming a partner in the business and he bought in and he was a great asset to the team and later on like many years later like 15 16 17 then that's when we started selling shares and taking on various different investors from different reasons from expansion reasons from capital reasons and that's where it's kind of like became much much more like a proper more established business before. I eventually sold my final shares um, 2017 and kind of um, saw myself exit out of that business.
18:19.58
calltocourage
What were some of your challenges in that business. What what was the hard part for you there as that started to grow.
18:25.15
Warrick Kernes
So what I enjoyed the most was selling products and dealing with our customers and I suppose that came down to the fact that I really enjoyed the products that we sold like I loved them I wanted to play with them ourselves myself and then our customers were similar to me like they. They came in to buy a gopro or a set of binoculars or something that we sell and then we'd end up chatting for an hour about like where they're going on. They're going on a football 4 safari trip or they're going mountaineering or they're doing something and everybody's just everybody that I deal with was just really my type of person. So I really enjoyed that and as a business crew. Ah, started having less exposure to the products and to the customers and I started doing more like team management and people management and ah hr issues and ah financial stuff and I found that weeks would go by without me playing with a new with a new product that came in or. Weeks will go by without me engaging with the customers that I really enjoyed because of the fact that I was like stuck at a desk looking at spreadsheets and that became an issue for me like it. It took the the fun out of it like this was I suppose work isn't supposed to be fun, but it can be fun and I really like that about it and it it really took that that.
19:35.72
calltocourage
Right.
19:39.50
Warrick Kernes
Ah, kind of took the the joy out of it like um I was just stuck behind a closed door dealing with hr issues and financial spreadsheets and that wasn't too much fun for me.
19:49.93
calltocourage
And that growth path required growing a team. How was that journey for you luck had you had any experience I know you've been part of a team had you properly led a team before luck. What has that journey been like because I recognize that in I think as many many of us get this opportunity to we're called to lead. When when we're doing something and I think recognizing that we are leaders is a skill that we can develop and our success in the area that we've chosen to stand up and say yes is a function of our ability to be able to connect with and motivate people. So how was that journey for you in the early days of action gear.
20:25.24
Warrick Kernes
Yeah, so that's always been a challenge and I think it it is the same for everybody. Um for me more. So just because ah my my my style of leading is more. To converse with people and to kind of work with them and and I'll see other leaders kind of want our people to stand up and chart commands and and to kind of motivate people that way and I don't know if 1 way is better than the other. But um, this is how I do it and. For me, it works really well with like a smaller team where I can actually get to know people and understand that when they're talking to me I can hear the tone in their voice. Maybe something's wrong or I need to pry a little bit more or um or something's going right? and I can hear it in their voice and having that personal connection for me is really good and with my previous company. As a team got bigger and bigger I felt that that was also disconnect like I didn't like sometimes like people would come in and it was ah like I didn't even know who who that person's name was I was like when did they get you because like the team was growing quite rapidly I was like I should know who these people are but um, so that was quite fun at 1 level. But.
21:27.10
calltocourage
Ah, yeah.
21:28.91
Warrick Kernes
It also meant that my style wasn't aligned to that So I suppose one takeaway that I saw was that I needed to learn and adjust but also that was as as kind of like um, my time and that company was coming to an end so it was an interesting journey to kind of see where my own shortfalls are or. Where my strengths are and to kind of know which way to lean in that regard.
21:52.20
calltocourage
So your your sweet spot for leadership is a smaller team where you get to know people directly. You would say that would be the your style if you were to yeah.
21:59.83
Warrick Kernes
Yeah I would say I would say and and I suppose as my current company grows like being aware of that the way that I want to expand it is to have people where I so to have levels not not in a hierarchical way but to say that as people come on that. If They aren't working directly with me then they aren't working directly with me then somebody else must look after them and ah then don't feel the responsibility to to need to get to know them because I would trust that the person who is my point of contact is is stronger stronger in terms of relationship with that person.
22:21.22
calltocourage
Okay.
22:33.23
calltocourage
Okay.
22:34.44
Warrick Kernes
So then it kind of works in my favor where I have my core and those are my people and then everybody else kind of like is not kept at arm's length from me by by any means at all, but rather in terms of playing to my strengths I'll ball it out like that.
22:48.39
calltocourage
Interesting and how how big was the team at action gear at the time of your exit was it how many people were part of that crew.
22:58.49
Warrick Kernes
So they ended up. Ah, we ended up having a few other businesses that were kind of like in ah in a group so we had a drone repair company. We had a drone training company and a drone servicing company because drones really became a big focus towards in the later years of that business because we had the import routes for it for Dgi. Which is like 1 of the best drone brands in the kind of in the world and um, so across all of those different things I think we were looking at about 25 to 35 people depending on the on where it was on the journey. But um, it was ah, not ah, not a massive team by any means but it's a.
23:27.64
calltocourage
And.
23:33.50
Warrick Kernes
Good group of people.
23:33.32
calltocourage
And how did you manage that did you have this like layered structure there nor were you just running around. How would you say that you managed that team because you were actively part of most of those businesses right? I.
23:44.27
Warrick Kernes
Um, not actively part of them. So some of them I had no pots at all apart from mar shares. But um, my partner David who he would. He was a great ideas guy and created execution so he would just like have an idea we would kick around the idea of a cup of coffee and then he would run with it. And I really loved that about him because he could really just like make something happen and so um I felt confident in him to just like kind of take the lead on those projects.
24:11.64
calltocourage
Good if you were to describe what? Ah what made that business Successful. What were the things that you did that made that business Successful action. Yeah, like what are the things that you would pinpoint as like pivotal moments attributes that you embodied or decisions that you made that saw that Business. Succeed the way that it did.
24:30.68
Warrick Kernes
Yeah, cool, nice question actually um so I think you know what I think people might have heard is that I had a passion for those products and now I know what gets us in a bit but I teach E comments and I tell people like it's so much easier to be successful with a range of products that you are passionate about yourself.
24:48.60
Warrick Kernes
And's ah beyond just wanting to play with the products that you sell like seems a bit um, kind of basic but the thing is that when we are like in an ecommerce world with that action gear store in your my students today you are in a world that you're competing against some of the biggest retail giants in the world and. More and more of the big sophisticated retailers are making a bigger and bigger play into ecommerce and so I really feel that the success of that company came through the passion of myself and my colleagues for the products that we sold and that was clear to be seen when customers were coming to us because they were looking for a product. Let's say like a gopro camera.
25:24.71
calltocourage
This can.
25:27.40
Warrick Kernes
Where you could have bought that at any high street shop Any of the big retailers had them on their shelves but the customer has some questions they want to know like is it suitable for what I want to use it for what accessories do I need like do I need a spare battery Whatsar's memory card. What size speed memory card like all these intricate questions where those big retailers. Had training but the training wasn't at the depth that we had and because we were so teaching ourselves through playing with the things and so customers would come to us and they would ask all those questions and we could give them answers and not only would we answer their questions we would say well you know Geez if you're going to use it for your reason you probably also want to get this thing. Which is going to make it so much cooler for you and we would like get so excited and people would love it and they would walk out the door with exactly what they need as well as a whole ton of advice and they've kind of had a good experience in the meantime and that's passion for your products.
26:15.82
calltocourage
Um.
26:18.51
Warrick Kernes
Was I feel what made that company successful and I feel for anybody selling anything online like sometimes it's not everybody knows what they're passionate about or maybe they can't see how they could make money of that. But it is so much easier to do that and going back to the fact that you're competing in a world where like all the big retailers are selling. Mostly what everybody else is selling So Why would a customer choose my store or your store over it over over a big retailer and the answer is that they come to a smaller store for product expertise and guidance on what they want to buy like if you I know that you love your photography and.
26:50.75
calltocourage
Are yeah.
26:55.75
Warrick Kernes
If you're looking to buy a new like big digital camera in a lens like it's tempting to go to Amazon and to go and look for a good deal but in that purchase process you probably have some questions of like um like what's ours lens on e um is it mirrorless um mirrored camera or.
27:08.10
calltocourage
Like.
27:12.54
Warrick Kernes
Um I didn't even know the questions that you would ask but you would have questions and go to Amazon and find a deal like that that doesn't answer your questions so you might go to b an h or another like like dedicated camera store where you can speak to somebody or just look on their websites and read the reviews and stuff and find out through their guidance. What it is that you need.
27:12.69
calltocourage
Right? yeah.
27:31.56
Warrick Kernes
And that's where like product expertise and product passion really separated my business from the big retailers and led us to be like we were the biggest coprocela in the country and later we were the biggest drone saler in the country and it was really because people just loved dealing with us because we had the answers and we were passionate about what we sold.
27:41.82
calltocourage
Are.
27:49.22
calltocourage
So good. So why do you decide to get out of that business if it was doing so well. Where did you get to in your personal journey that made you want to step back from that business that you had created.
28:03.48
Warrick Kernes
So a couple things were going on there and one was that it was as um, like the team was expanding and and I kind of saw that my management wasn't like the best fit that I wanted and I was also being stuck into spreadsheets and hr issues. So I wasn't really loving it that much.
28:19.90
calltocourage
Management meaning your management style or the team that you had around you. Okay.
28:19.99
Warrick Kernes
Um, there was an investor that came for ah my management style. Yeah, but um, then we also had a a particular investor who came and into our company because he was making a massive play into the drone space.
28:34.95
calltocourage
Okay.
28:36.69
Warrick Kernes
And he was a very bullish guy who it seemed like a good idea to work with him in the beginning but very quickly like even though he wasn't a majority shareholder. He was making a lot of calls. Um as if he was the majority shareholder and I didn't quite enjoy that and so together with my financial spreadsheets and my Ai issues.
28:47.57
calltocourage
Okay.
28:56.67
Warrick Kernes
And this this individual who was kind of pushing the business in a direction that I wasn't that keen on. Um, it kind of led me to you know the the idea kind of popped into my mind that maybe this was time for me to move on to my next venture and um and it worked out well because Ac I ended up offering to take on my shares and and so.
29:15.60
calltocourage
Um, okay.
29:16.54
Warrick Kernes
As I was feeling a little bit uncomfortable and thinking about stepping away then at at just a line nastier that the scar wanted to buy me out and um and that was like the the sign for me to say Actually this is a right time to make that transition.
29:28.30
calltocourage
What a sweet exit I think I knew that but that sounds's amazing. So what do you do? then? you decide that you're going to travel the world for a bit or go on an adventure's the lady a fit question.
29:39.90
Warrick Kernes
Well um, no so I don't know like ah what I wanted to do at that stage was to get the next business up and running before going on another like adventure or going and and taking a lot of time off because um I'm not wanting to sit on my hands by any means. But.
29:46.58
calltocourage
Ah, and.
29:57.50
Warrick Kernes
Also there were there was something interesting that happened like actually with that company action gear. 1 thing I didn't mention was that in 2015 we we won quite a significant award There was an annual ecommerce awards which that was actually the last year that had happened to be honest, but it used to be every single year on the calendar as a big event in the ecommerce industry. And our business won the top award for best customer service in the country and that kind of speaks to what I was saying earlier like we loved our customers. We loved our products. We gave our customers a good experience and then we won the award of the back of that and the reason I'm mentioning that now is that when we won that award. We got um a lot of good publicity and press.
30:22.88
calltocourage
Um, and.
30:26.30
calltocourage
Wow.
30:35.75
Warrick Kernes
And off the back of that people started coming to me like friends and people that are kind of new as acquaintances they were coming to me and saying like okay worried like I see you doing what in ecommerce like how do I um, how do I take payments or which website platform should I use or like if I use a career like ah can I trust them and who should I partner with. And I recognized all the questions that they were having because these were the exact same questions that I had had myself when I started that company my parents pay bedroom in 2010 but now many years later like people still had the exact same challenges and it kind of frustrated me like well isn't there education or isn't there.
31:00.39
calltocourage
Threat. Yeah.
31:10.39
Warrick Kernes
Community or mentorship or training or support or anything to help these guys to make to to kind of make the right decisions and to not have to find out the answers to this question the same way that I did where it was like through trial and error and just figuring stuff out and trying different service providers and seeing which ones worked and which ones let you down. And um, and so that kind of planted an idea in my head and it was actually um I was actually you who gave me the idea or explained this idea of online education and I think we'll get to that in a second like how that happened but but with that idea in my head of this.
31:47.36
calltocourage
Um.
31:47.66
Warrick Kernes
That that people who have experience and experience and expertise in a particular topic could put together an online business and kind of take their best training into and put it into digital digital products that thought together with the the problems and the questions that I kept seeing from the ecommerce market kind of bubbled to the surface as this idea for. And academy where I can teach ecommerce to south africans people who are struggling to make it online or to get started even those who are already up and running like how do you improve your website, get more traffic and convert more traffic to paying customers and um and so that's where when I exited action gear 2017 then I immediately knew what I wanted to do. And got started straight away with building and launching the encika ecommerce academy where we have now grown over the last couple years to significantly be the dominant player in ecommerce education in Africa.
32:40.10
calltocourage
It's been such a remarkable journey to watch I've really enjoyed yeah watching that business unfold and the success that you've had with it. So Let's let's talk about our javi Tekidi trip. Um, as the in-between it because that was sort of somewhere in between action gear and. Actually going sort of full time with with insaka.
33:01.28
Warrick Kernes
It it was kind of like towards my towards the end of my my time at action gear. So our ah cycle trip happened in 2016 so was at a cool time in that business actually where the team and the systems and the processes and the s sops were all looking after the business which gave. Ah, my and my wife the opportunity to say well actually maybe it's time to take a sabbatical and go and do something cool because there's so many people who do amazing things like climbing everest or rowing across oceans or even if it's just climbing your nearest mountain like even these microadventures. Um there's so many people who do cool things and I've had a. Great privilege of meeting many of them and any of them that give me a time or a chance I'll always ask the same question and I used to ask him like what makes you different like how can you do something like that. It's so cool. It's so ah out there like what's different between you and normal people. And every single one of them just looked at me and they're like I'm I'm not normal I just decided to do it and then did it and it was so simple and I was like okay okay, so so that means that if I decided to do something like I could do it and they're like yeah you could do that. So.
33:55.78
calltocourage
Right.
34:08.78
Warrick Kernes
Exactly? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, so so came and I kept trying a few ideas of what we could do like what if we were to to take on an adventure. What would that be and we had always wanted to do Kinamanjara But like it seemed a bit boring to kind of get in a.
34:09.40
calltocourage
Um, no one gives you a permission slip to do it right? No one's saying like you can across the ocean block.
34:28.90
Warrick Kernes
In a airline and fly from janisburg up to Kilomanjara and then climb in the mountain like the mountains challenging but flying there seemed a bit like everybody else is doing that so that's where we combined that with our love of cycling and decided to cycle singles speed bikes up Africa and that's where you heard about it and joined us ah joined in with us. As well as ah, your good friend who became our good friend also Derek who decided to ride with us and the 4 of us um to the end of June sixteen cycled our way out of Johannesburg heading north and kind of spent a good couple months on those bicycles going through all kinds of cool things. But I'm sure.
34:49.64
calltocourage
The F with.
35:05.37
Warrick Kernes
Many stories jump off you? Also so like what were some of your highlights from nat trip.
35:09.44
calltocourage
It was such a. It was such a remarkable time and it's like that it was such a big challenge in many ways like five thousand kilometers on a single speed bicycle was yeah the initial goal when ya first heard about it I think we had we had a. At your folks house having lunch I'd been there with my folks I was back in South Africa at the time and our lives had sort of crossed one another I bought an action camera from you a few years earlier and our worlds had sort of moved into each other's spheres but not necessarily spent a lot of time together I'd come back to South Africa to sell my stuff having been on a 2 year adventure and realizing I wasn't going to live in Johannesburg anymore and I remember you saying oh this is what we're doing and I was like I'd like to do that and in that moment of saying it I was like every part of me went no no, no, it's too far. It's too long. You haven't got ten weeks like there were all these reasons as to why. Ah, wasn't going to do it but it was such a remarkable experience. It was like a question of what is what is the most fun thing there was just so many things that we did then I think one of the things that stands out for me is just being able to sit around a fire every single night I think. We were on the road for like seventy five days or something and I think almost every single night. We met a fire and sat around it in a different location in Africa some of them super beautiful. Some of them lack on the side of the road or just maybe not so beautiful. But yeah, all remarkable in some way and just having.
36:42.40
calltocourage
Conversations with our team. There was you and me and cambo and Derek riding bicycles and the 2 support crew that were yeah, supporting us to be able to ride these bikes was just we got to see so much of Africa and something about driving in Africa subsequently because Derek and I drove back. But there's something about being on a bicycle where you're connected to additional senses of like the sound and the smell and the ability to speak and engage with people along the side of the road that you don't have in a car I think that was the highlight for me of that trippe just being so immersed in Africa.
37:14.37
Warrick Kernes
yeah yeah I love that because like you know when you're in a car you go through a village at like a hundred guys an hour and it's it's a blue and maybe you look out the window and maybe you don't but on the bicycle we would ride in would sit under a tree would try and find a coke.
37:22.79
calltocourage
Yeah, it.
37:30.74
Warrick Kernes
Most of the time the cokes were warm I don't know why they loved it like that or there's just no electricity. One of the 2 and yeah I'll get to meet some children like I remember you and I trying to shake hands with the person who'd never seen a a white person in their life and think I was terrified of us.
37:35.69
calltocourage
Ah.
37:43.65
calltocourage
Ah I was such a beautiful experience andm. Yeah I found the the killer magjara hack to be pretty tough on the morning of getting up to what woke up they like I was pretty like out of it. It was I think the altitude sickness got me a little bit but. Yeah, it was such a such a beautiful experience and I'm so grateful that you offered us the opportunity to come along and to have those nass sitting around the fire to get to know you and Camilla and the the crew that was on there was amazing.
38:15.21
Warrick Kernes
Yeah, thanks man I know um, we're really grateful that you that you asked to come. You know we were We were prepared to go on our own because we thought nobody else would be crazy enough to come with us and it worked out really nasty that you did and and of course kind of searching. Yeah so.
38:25.37
calltocourage
What are your allies.
38:31.40
Warrick Kernes
You know, also going into these random villages and like sitting up camp on the football field and watching these children like kind of Marvel at the fact that a bag which is on the ground can be unpacked and become a tent and they were just like they were in awe like their heads were just exploding there just and didn't know what to do.
38:45.27
calltocourage
Um.
38:48.84
Warrick Kernes
And to meet like you know in deep Tanzania like in the massar land to actually meet people who are like just living off the land and like those traditional guyss I think you see them like maybe everybody's seen them on tv or on a documentary like with a red um blanket over their shoulders standing on 1 leg with a spear and um and just. A big smile across their face like I was so incredible to to do that so to be a tourist but to not do it in a touristy way like we were not going to tourist markets and and experiencing it like that we were actually going into those places and also just how welcoming and friendly and generous. Those.
39:09.56
calltocourage
Um, and then.
39:18.82
calltocourage
Um, happening.
39:26.52
Warrick Kernes
People that we came across were um in Malawi which is one of I think is a third poorest country in the world and like often people would offer us food like god like we're okay like you have the food and they were just so generous like for them. It was an honor and a privilege to have guests in their town in their village and they wanted to look after us and it was just so wonderful. Um.
39:26.92
calltocourage
Right.
39:37.50
calltocourage
Rat.
39:46.44
Warrick Kernes
Like and their smiles are're just such a friendly group of people and um and also like conversations and having time just to talk in depth about stuff and I alluded to it earlier but that is where you around a fire one night just talking about online businesses and these course creating ideas and and that's where. Kind of the the idea planted for me to start the business that I'm in now. So like I'm very glad that you came on that cycle trip.
40:13.34
calltocourage
You've done lots of crazy stuff in your life like long adventure races and ultramarathons and this ten weeks on a bicycle that you and not been talking about now. What is that like how do you What makes those things doable for you? What are the. Characteristics that you need to embody to get a ah big adventure like that done and what do you do.
40:33.00
Warrick Kernes
Ah, yeah, thanks. So yeah I mean I've been a big fan of doing um, kind of the the bucket list event for each different discipline of sport that I go into so like for instance, ah, we got into triathlon and wanted to do an ironman so we took that box and I'm very proud of my time. Then we went into cycling and did very like did reasonably well in road cycling and still race mountain bikes. Um when I got into running we did the the comrades road marathon which is an eighty nine kilometer race through South Africa it's a very popular one here I've done that a few times and even. The trail running scene night got into you know, always want to go for the biggest so the biggest in trail running in our country is a race called skyrun hundred kilometerss through the mountain self-supported um and finished that in just under 25 hours so very happy with that too and I suppose with those things together with like planning ah the.
41:10.14
calltocourage
Are.
41:26.60
Warrick Kernes
Big cycle trip I Kind of always find that I need something big to look forward to and to train towards otherwise I just kind of get a little bit complacent. So I'm I'm forever trying to find the next big thing that's going to almost scare me into training and being fit and healthy and.
41:30.94
calltocourage
Again.
41:44.36
Warrick Kernes
Those things are also wonderful ways to meet people and to see different parts of the country or the world and it's just part of my passion.
41:53.18
calltocourage
So good and what do they give you? what is what is doing those things give you except a reason to train as they like ah do you see that benefit spilling across into other areas of your life.
42:02.22
Warrick Kernes
So to answer the question of what the event gives me um, like I'm I'm a big believer in in making memories, especially with like with people that I love and and friends and like you and I are connected forever because of that so that that thing we did right? and.
42:17.90
calltocourage
Um, right.
42:17.92
Warrick Kernes
When I did skyro and like the 2 mates that I ran with from start to finish we train together beforehand we travel down together. We travel back together like those are solid memories and I feel like that's it's a great thing for me as a gift but also in terms of building friendships I don't just go away like those that's there forever like that's what it gives me. But um, it also does kind of. Flow over into the rest of my life in terms of a lot of these events I do with Camilla my wife so that's really a nice bonding experience for us. Um, like she she was also on those single speed bike screening up Africa so kudos to her and um and yes, it's just I think it's also part of like just.
42:46.65
calltocourage
Yeah.
42:56.17
Warrick Kernes
It's almost got to the habit where or to the point where training and doing big races and entering races and looking for the next thing It's just part of who we are and I like that because it's not a decision of should I go for should I go for a run or should I go training. It's like am I going to run or ride So the habit is kind of entrenched and it's.
43:12.53
calltocourage
Um, okay yeah.
43:14.96
Warrick Kernes
Suppose if I even kind of take it at a level deeper. It's part of my identityity you know, um, it's like I am a person who does these big things or do those big races and I'm capable of doing it. So it's part of what I want to present to the world or what I like to present to the world and um and I get a lot of enjoyment out of it like being a footstrong healthy person who can compete at a good level.
43:26.84
calltocourage
Yeah.
43:34.71
Warrick Kernes
Not at a professional level but like at ah at a group level at an age group level. And yeah I Really I Really do enjoy it.
43:40.95
calltocourage
Which has been the toughest for you Where do you do you have a moment where you've suffered the most like being in the bottom of the pain cave the hardest which one is what stands out for you.
43:48.90
Warrick Kernes
Ah, the only time I've come close to pulling out of any race ever was in the last few kilometers of ironman so I had successfully some a good a good four point Two Kilometre somar did really well in that caught on the bike felt good through 100 and and hundred and eighty kilometter cycle and then got on the run which is 42 k is a full marathon and just towards the end. Um in the second half of that marathon I started drinking coke and anybody who does endurance sports you know as soon as you start having a sugary drink you need to keep topping up otherwise your sugar's going to dip really quick. And so I was having coke at every single water point which were coming by quite quickly and at the 1 water point I was I was tired and but offered me a potato covered in salt and I was just like I just marveled at how delicious this thing was and I was just jogging buying up and before I knew it I'd missed the table without having my little cup of coke. And I was like don't worry the next water points around the corner and that next Kiilometer and a half was probably the the hardest and longest kiilomere and a half in my life because my sugar levels did drop and I went hyperglycemic. So I had like it felt like I had lightning or electricity in my fingers my face everything and I just started. Soon as I could see the water point in the distance and I was walking at this stage feeling like I was going to have to go to hospital and I just started shouting ahead to some poor student who is manning the coke table I was just like shouting bring me coke bring me coke and this poor student was so nervous I like so ah.
45:08.22
calltocourage
Are.
45:17.69
Warrick Kernes
I off put that by the time you had run a cup of co to me. It was empty because he' had shaken all over the place like go get me more but um, that was like the deepest or the the toughest where I was at the end of a race which had taken me a good ah I was a good 11 hours into this but now.
45:23.40
calltocourage
Ah.
45:35.28
Warrick Kernes
And I was a few kilometers from the finish and I almost had to actually bail out and and I was thinking I need to go to hospital right now but thankfully a cup and a half of Coke and I was back I was fully back and I could jog myself to the finish line and um and claim. Um my ironman trophy there.
45:35.61
calltocourage
Um, ah.
45:42.67
calltocourage
Um, ah.
45:49.50
calltocourage
How was your iron man Tom what was it again.
45:53.95
Warrick Kernes
It was a 201120 not 8 Shes 1123 which um was for an age grouper I was very happy with that? Yeah yeah.
45:58.67
calltocourage
1123 Good time. Yeah Cool. So Let's take a step back into um to this next adventure that you take on the Insako Ecommerce Academy so filled with the the questions and opportunities of. People wanting to set up online stores and your skillsets of having built and now exited action gear you decide to start this this new adventure and where do you begin? You just build the website and start promoting it like how does that unfold into your life.
46:28.66
Warrick Kernes
So I am a big believer in working with coaches in in sport or in business on personal levels and I'm always in coaching no matter what and so when I came into this business. I knew that I knew a lot about my area of expertise being ecommerce but I didn't know too much around but launching an online education business and so I went on the hunt to try and find the best coach that I possibly could and so I found my coach James wademore who's based in the in the states and just.
46:48.58
calltocourage
Excuse. No.
47:01.37
Warrick Kernes
Devoured all of the coaching and training that he could share with me and um and I just used his programs to be able to build out a structure that I could then take to my audience or to my growing audience because at the beginning I didn't have a following in this in this regard and um, but I also learned how to do that.
47:14.11
calltocourage
Yeah, but.
47:18.63
Warrick Kernes
So How to get my messaging art to more people. How to attract the rights folks to what I wanted to share with them. How to structure it in a way that is going to have the biggest impact and be able to scale at the biggest level so that I can serve and help more and more people So. That's how I started went straight into a coaching program learned how it works. Take from the best. There's no no reason to reinvent the wheel and um and I just took the advice of somebody who knew what they were doing in this in this industry of online coaching and was able to just take their advice and execute on that.
47:52.90
calltocourage
It's such a powerful such a powerful lesson and I think I'm grateful to you for connecting me with James wedmore as well because he's been such an important piece of my journey as well to get clear on some of the pieces that I don't know what I got stuck into there was a. Ah, story running in my head that was like oh I've read these 2 books I'm good like I'm going to figure this out on my own and I I had spent way too long trying and figuring it out on my own instead of the short path which was like wrapped up in some story that coaching would be too expensive for me. And as a result I ended up taking a long time to get to a place where my business was actually getting to a place where it was profitable to keep going and um, yeah, I'm grateful for that is that how did you learn that is that just something that came into your reality or I mean it. It makes perfect sense I guess when I look back in hindsight but i. Some people don't do that I guess you see it in the online store spaces like now I don't need to invest whatever the money is to train with you I'll figure it out myself like what is that in people.
48:50.12
Warrick Kernes
Yeah, so I see that all the time like you know people look at a lot of my free resources which are super helpful and then they look at my paid program and they're like I know that that's valuable and that'll help me. But um I don't know if it's if it's too expensive and like I truly believe it when I tell them that this is an investment. Because its not only going to help you make more money and pay off what you paid for the program. But really what it's going to help you to do is just save time because there's a learning curve that you need to go through with anything that you do whether it's being a parent for the first time which is why I had a parenting consultant the other this morning. Um.
49:22.40
calltocourage
He up.
49:24.73
Warrick Kernes
Or if it is learning to build an online store or if you want to learn how to service your own vehicle or whatever it is. There's a learning curve and that learning curve takes time but you can shorten that timeframe by getting access to the best people's advice and you know if you look at bookshelves like my bookshelf. There's advice from some of the.
49:29.61
calltocourage
Red.
49:44.20
Warrick Kernes
Leaders in business in the world I've got like every single book from Richard Branson and so many others where they've sat down and they've like taken the time to take their best ideas and put it on into a book and then they sell that and you can buy like Richard Branson's thoughts. It's amazing and so that's really great and and online courses is like the next evolution of buying books.
49:56.92
calltocourage
Ah, yeah.
50:03.93
Warrick Kernes
Because you have these experts in gardening in parenting in online business in servicing your own car or in any niche or niche that you could think of that's imaginable and if you want to go through that learning curve. Why take the long route. Why not put some money down and accelerate your learning curve so that you save time.
50:12.61
calltocourage
Are. Yeah.
50:22.90
Warrick Kernes
And that's like the 1 thing that I just like we all know that that's limited so in businesses specifically where it's not just a hobby where this is your way of generating a revenue. It is an investment if you follow the steps and action it correctly and the coach is a good coach. Then you should see like way more income through your business in a much shorter space of time rather than kind of like limping along and and getting there in the end because I believe that even my students are saying like you can probably figure it out. It's just going to take you a long time or like I can tell you what hurdles to avoid and how to avoid them.
50:50.30
calltocourage
Right.
50:55.40
Warrick Kernes
And I can give you the best insights and I can tell you exactly what's going to work and exactly what's not going to work so you can figure that out yourself and you're going to pay a lot of school fees doing it that way whereas you can kind of invest those school fees into my training upfront and then you're going to see a success foster. So for me, it's like to say it's a no brainer is is often I don't like saying that because it's a little bit condescending.
50:59.52
calltocourage
Right.
51:15.21
Warrick Kernes
But I believe like it's a right decision to always be in coaching no matter what you're learning to do like just get advice from the best and accelerate your learning curve.
51:25.62
calltocourage
So good. So besides um, the branson books um, what else? do you recommend? What's what's a book that's really changed your life if you have 1 in business and one in personal if it if that comes up for you like what's what's been super relevant on your journey.
51:37.20
Warrick Kernes
Cool. It does help that my bookshelfs just over here. So I can glance across and see most of my favorites. Um, so a classic Tim Ferriss in the 4 hour workweek that was one that I read really early on. In fact.
51:44.21
calltocourage
And.
51:53.80
Warrick Kernes
Probably the very first business book that has to be mentioned. Yeah that I've read was when I was fifteen years old um my late godmother who married your cousin. Um, she gave me this book called Rich Dadd put it by Robert Kiyosaki and I was like a very.
52:03.56
calltocourage
Um, yeah.
52:09.44
Warrick Kernes
And like I was a fifteen year old who didn't know which way he was going to go in life and that book land in my hands and I was just like oh my gosh this sounds like a good idea and that kind of sent me both on a journey of business learning how how to do various businesses but also kind of seulion's continual personal development path. Now I've got like endless books. So from a personal development basis I think Richta put ad really teed me up and and kind of was a pivoting moment for me and from then on like some of my favorite books. Ah man. Yeah there's ah so many? Um, the one that's not yet which I'm just. Got to remember here the the 7 spiritual laws by Deepak Chopra deepak chopra. Yeah, that's that's one on a personal level which I just feel that I could read it time and time and time again. Um, and more recently I've been reading the conversations with god.
52:52.31
calltocourage
And.
53:02.83
calltocourage
Are.
53:04.40
Warrick Kernes
Which is a 3 parts book series. Um, the author can see from you but the conversation is with god and it's not a religious thing. It kind of is but it kind of isn't and I'm not a religious person but the messaging there is just so so good so good and
53:14.99
calltocourage
Um.
53:20.79
Warrick Kernes
Those are also books that I read the entire series and then started at the beginning again because it's just too good.
53:21.26
calltocourage
Um.
53:27.79
calltocourage
So I want to touch into something on ecommerce in South Africa before I come back to some of your personal practices like what we're talking about now how is ecommerce evolving in South Africa like you are like right at the front of understanding the ecommerce trends in South Africa um what I've heard I haven't been back to South Africa for a while but sounds like Amazon's coming to South Africa is that good or bad for your business I don't want to get a sense of yeah how you're positioning yourself over the next few years
53:53.73
Warrick Kernes
Yeah, so Amazon coming here is is not a deal for like small growing ecommerce businesses because there's another major competitor coming in but we already have another big competitor which is in South Africa which is called take lot and they are. They've kind of. In some ways replicated what Amazon's done they've just done that model here and now there's going to be Amazon plus take a lot plus ah bit buy which is becoming Bob group now and there's some really significant online players and the the ss mes and entrepreneurs are some of them are a little bit fearful of this big shift in the industry. Saying that there's more competition. But for me I'm saying like the pie is getting bigger. All you got to do is just make sure that you can get your piece of the pie and kind of my advice to them just kind of in the simplest form goes back to what I was talking about earlier where you focus on your product expertise your customer service knowing your niche and serving your audience in a passionate way.
54:35.90
calltocourage
Credit.
54:47.88
Warrick Kernes
And you will have your slice of the pie. So the industry is getting bigger and the fact that Amazon is coming here means that they believe they've done their research and they see that the industry is big enough for them to come and still be profitable over the next couple years and if it wasn't the case they wouldn't be coming here. The the interesting thing about our.
54:50.70
calltocourage
Um, erwin.
55:07.31
Warrick Kernes
Ecommerce industry versus the rest of the world is that it's still in its infancy like in the states right now ecommerce as a percentage of total retail 19% of retail happens online then eighty one is still happening offline and that's growing like in China that 45% is online 55 is offline.
55:17.70
calltocourage
Okay.
55:25.91
calltocourage
Okay.
55:27.32
Warrick Kernes
That's significant. That's that's pretty mind-blowing in South Africa we at four point five four point five percent of business retail. Yeah and we on the same growth trajectory but being here at the bottom tip of Africa we have like a crystal ball. Um not many people actually realize this but like we have this crystal ball.
55:31.15
calltocourage
So there's a lot of space.
55:45.79
Warrick Kernes
Whereby we have the ability to look at the european markets and the american markets and the australian markets and see what's working there because new trends always roll out there first before coming here. New products. Always become successful there before becoming successful successful here like where I was selling tons and tons of gopro in Europe with my previous employers. And I was able to come here and be 1 of the I think as the first in Africa to be selling gopro so there was that delay I could see that the product worked well there and I could come and execute it here and we have this crystal ball to not have to test stuff like if we want to try out a new marketing strategy. You don't have to test it yourself. You can go and do some research in the in the us market to see if somebody else has been doing it and if it's been successful for them. It's much like reading the books of these experts where somebody else has done it ahead of us and we can avoid having to pay those school fees ourselves by just doing thorough research and so. We're in an interesting space with Amazon knocking on our door. They're going to be launching later this year and in fact your question kind of circled to like how does this impact in sarka and my business. Well, it's very good actually because people are already asking. How can they learn to sell more on Amazon and we have the education that's coming up. So we ball in that education to serve them I've also created a community called Amazon sala South Africa which is nearly a 10000 members ready and they're not even here yet. So that is a great um community of people serving and helping one another also to be honest, it's also a great pool of potential customers for my training and on a different aspect.
57:06.37
calltocourage
Wow.
57:14.46
calltocourage
Right.
57:17.86
Warrick Kernes
A new opportunity like another journey for me is myself together with ah an entrepreneur who's built a very successful digital marketing agency in Santon South africa him and I are are doing ah a joint joint venture where we are launching South Africa's First. Amazon ads expert agency and.
57:38.20
calltocourage
And an ads expert agency. So a social agency advertising specifically on Amazon.
57:42.79
Warrick Kernes
Yeah, so you know many entrepreneurs and many businesses will rush to get their products onto Amazon and once it's there then there's an opportunity to do Amazon ads to do ppc to improve your Seo on Amazon to get your products ranking higher and the goal with this new agency that we're founding is and it's already. Been founded is that my partner he's got the expertise and the experience and the team to build a successful agency and I have a big audience a big social following where I can take people's queries when people are asking me where can they go to get help with advertising on Amazon and I can say great to where he has this agency. They. Experts this is what they do and so together the hope is that we can build a wonderful wonderful offering that serves a bunch of businesses and we can really help people to have more success on Amazon.
58:31.74
calltocourage
So good is that's with Alan Ray I saw some photos of you on social with Alan. Okay.
58:38.21
Warrick Kernes
Um, that isn't with Alan but we're doing some other stuff with him. Yeah, always like working with that. He's one of the Africa's best entrepreneurs ever. Love the guy.
58:44.79
calltocourage
What are you guys doing together have you got stuff that you could share in this conversation about what you're creating.
58:51.30
Warrick Kernes
Ah, nothing formalized, nothing.. Nothing took to out there just yet. But um, always we're looking to work with him. You know he serves a wonderful vision of of helping people similar to what I'm doing through education and support and of course with them. They invest resources into a business as an incubator. And they are helping and facilitating the growth and success of so many businesses taking them from s andmes to very big successful businesses and where I can help him on and on an ecommerce level with the hundreds of businesses that he Owns. If I can help to inject some and ecommerce expertise into what they're doing then it's it's just going to help all of us to see our our join visions come come to fruition quicker.
59:31.80
calltocourage
So exciting and I can't wait to see what you what you unfold in the next few years the last question I want to ask you is what in addition to like your ability to recognize opportunities and to identify mentors and coaches to support you on that path. Um.
59:34.79
Warrick Kernes
Thank you.
59:47.60
calltocourage
Your personal fitness and health practice. What else do you have in your life as a personal practice that supports your success.
59:58.63
Warrick Kernes
So I'd love to answer that question with meditation because it has helped and served me so much in the past and but if I'm completely honest ah with the arrival of our um, young baby that that practice and that Habit has been a little bit kicked to the curb because um sleep is not.
01:00:13.84
calltocourage
Um, ah.
01:00:15.69
Warrick Kernes
As ah, as common as it used to be. It's not a good excuse but sometimes like meditating with a like meditating you know you get into your rhythm and then a crying baby in the background kind of might just break that rhythm. So it's been a bit disrupted but that in terms of answering a question that has served me so well over the over so long.
01:00:26.24
calltocourage
Ah.
01:00:34.27
Warrick Kernes
Just to be able to take some time out and to just kind of clear my mind and just kind of be for a while and just like open myself up to receive answers about things that are in the back on mind and I really actually now just talking about it just like I just feel that ah the urge to kind of get back into it as ah as a rhythm and as a habit.
01:00:39.93
calltocourage
Here.
01:00:52.83
Warrick Kernes
As I used to be.
01:00:56.16
calltocourage
So what's I mean maybe that's maybe the answer is meditation but where is there anything else in your life that you identify as ah as a growth area like where do you feel like you want to level up if you look at the various parts of your life right now is there anything that you like this is something that I could actually level up.
01:01:11.90
Warrick Kernes
Um, yeah, the 1 thing I think that stands off for many people is um, financial acumen so both in terms of business like running and growing the finances of the business understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the balance sheet. That's something like I've never really studied decounting and I know the importance of it.
01:01:20.95
calltocourage
I then.
01:01:26.94
calltocourage
Again. Okay.
01:01:28.14
Warrick Kernes
Like I have a pretty good idea but I could really improve that and I will um but also in terms of an investment point of view to understand more about personal finances and um, how to invest where to invest which country to invest which which vehicles to invest in and and how to manage the money So That's not. So that the day will come sooner again like shortening the timeframe of being able to um to be in a financial free situation where assets are are pushing our passive income in a way that I can choose what I want to work on instead of needing to do so in a way.
01:02:02.85
calltocourage
Who are you going on that journey with have you got some a team of people around you there that are supporting you on that.
01:02:10.72
Warrick Kernes
Yeah, so again I've you know mi and my coaches so um in there there is a is a south african lady who is from she's I think she's from ah Britain but she spent a lot of time in France and in Australia so her accents is all over the place.
01:02:13.14
calltocourage
Um, yeah.
01:02:27.89
Warrick Kernes
Ah, lovely lady called Annen Wilson who is known internationally as as the wal chef she has a hay house. Yeah, her book which is by the same name. The walsh chef is ah a beselling book by the hay house publishers. So it's ah she's ah she's the real deal and she's a wonderful woman and um, yes, so her program just began.
01:02:28.51
calltocourage
Um, the wealth shift.
01:02:47.51
Warrick Kernes
Financial freedom university and I've just enrolled into that and um yeahve we've actually done it before so we we entered we enrolled into it in 2020 and I was just refreshing and learning more about it because it's always a. It's never ending learning curve and evolution of what I need to learn and what I need to know.
01:02:49.86
calltocourage
Okay, okay.
01:03:06.55
Warrick Kernes
Also changes at different stages So that's where we're going on that journey for that.
01:03:12.34
calltocourage
And you say we are you doing that with Camillo you guys on that journey together. So good. Well bro, it's been so good hanging out and chatting. It's um, it's been a while. It's been connected in person and it's been ah great to be able to share your story with our audience. What's the best way for people to.
01:03:13.48
Warrick Kernes
Yes, yeah.
01:03:29.33
calltocourage
Get hold of you to follow what it is that you're busy with and if they have any interest in understanding ecommerce or getting set up in an online store I think it's pretty clear that you're the ones you connect with So how do people get hold of you.
01:03:41.25
Warrick Kernes
Yeah, thanks so to get hold of us or to see exactly what we're all about um our website. It's in saca.c today which is wwwwdotinaaka.co.zday or Za otherwise on Youtube just search my name or karns and um, find my channel subscribe and um. Pushing out a lot of fantastic education and content there and of course all the Youtube stuff is absolutely free.
01:04:03.77
calltocourage
Amazing bro. Thank you so much. Thanks for being part of my life and for supporting me on so many amazing adventures like yeah, the connections that you've supported me with in business. Obviously we touched a bit on our African adventures. But I'm looking forward to when we can. Sit around a fire and have another beer together in person bro.
01:04:23.71
Warrick Kernes
Absolutely, we've just um, we've just built in nice big fire pits outside. Yes, so you'll have to go and visit us sometime.
01:04:31.30
calltocourage
I've got Africa calling. It's been like probably about five or six years since I was back and something about coming back to South Africa is is deeply calling me so it might be ah in the naughty distant future.
01:04:41.69
Warrick Kernes
Awesome! Well hit us up or be great to see you Absolutely thanks for having me.
01:04:45.52
calltocourage
Last one bro. Thanks so much for hanging out today chaved.
