Creating High Level Opportunities with Kathryn Porritt

Awesome, everybody. Welcome to another amazing episode of the opportunity makers podcast, we're so excited to have you on the journey, where we are freeing you, from fear, doubt, uncertainty and showing you all the possibilities that exist, whether you're somebody who was already living in the land of opportunity creation, or somebody who was feeling really called to be stepping in, we want to be your copilot, and your navigator on this journey so that you can step up. Because when we know that when we are in our full measure of creating opportunities, which means we're solving problems for the world, the world is going to change, we've become the ones making the difference. We're not relying on corporate, we're not relying on Wall Street, we're not relying on the politicians in the White House or any other government, we're the ones taking control and bringing solutions to the world and turning things around so that we can make things happen. So we just heard the formal introduction of Katherine for it. But Katherine, why don't you introduce yourself in your own words why you're here?

Jim, thank you so much for having me. I just have so much respect and love for you and everything that you're you've achieved and everything that you're heading towards that it's just an absolute distinct honor to be here and to speak with your audience. So who am I I'm, as you can hear the Australian accent. I had a very large e commerce company here in Australia as my backstory, one of the largest women's lifestyle stores in the country. And I sold that off to nine and a half years. That was 17 years ago. I know that because I started at when I was on maternity leave with my first baby Penny, who is now 17. And so I took that experience of exiting that company and really took a moment to reflect on what did I want to do. In my second career, I didn't want to sit on the beach and drink my tires, I really wanted to create something that was quite significant and joyful and filled with passion. And when it came down to it, what I really, really love, is I really love supporting extraordinary people to help them bring their vision to life. And so I effectively without really thinking about it at the time in terms of a strategic sort of organizational structure, I started what became a portfolio of clients that I support from a personal brand perspective. And I, the thing that distinguishes me as an agent or representative in the market, versus what most most others do, is that we work on a luxury brand, strategy. So what that means is most of my clients are incredibly good at what they do. And so we skip the line. There's none of this nonsense around, you know, needing to run a mainstream strategy. What we do is we go straight for the top. And we aim for really big numbers and really big deals. And so I'm having the time of my life, I'm representing some really cool people created some really cool concepts right now. And we're setting a ball, there's so much opportunity in the market, which is why I'm so happy to be here and share that with everyone to show, I think to show the world that we don't need to listen to that mainstream media nonsense. Really, when you do things in an innovative way, there is an enormous market potential. And I think Jim and I both show that.

Amen, amen. And for those who are watching, on the video, I make this relevant, I want to share this because you can see that Kathryn is she's a beautiful, successful, intelligent woman and just, they're just, she embodies what she does. And she actually she's had a permanent impact on me. And I've shared this with her before, because she's a former client he hired retained our services at the outsource sales component. And when we first started talking, we spent about six months dialogue and before we would pull the trigger to work together, and everything about her just embodied excellence. You know, just for me, it's very simple. It's not overstated, overproduced, she's authentic, but with Intel with intention. Right. It's I it she puts forth a very specific, intentional brand. And it always made me feel like you know, we people, we make a lot of money, clients pay us a lot of money. And when I looked at her and she's, again, a authority brand, a luxury brand, I felt everything about her says, Yeah, I can give you a lot of money and feel trust that you can handle it. And so put that impression upon me. It's like, I want to make sure that I always show up in a way that somebody can say yes, I feel good spending the amount of money I'm spending with you because you look the part you represent the brand and I feel like I can trust you based on that. And that's part of that's part of being an opportunity maker. It's like showing up as the mission showing up as the anchor of the movement and the problem that you're solving. So when people look at you Yep, that's it.

I am so grateful to you for saying that it's one of the loveliest compliments that I've ever had Jim and it's reflected to me in so many ways by so many other people. But the way that you articulate that is, is just so beautiful. And you know if anyone ever questions the idea of why brand and why is brand necessary, because there's a lot of people out in the marketplace who say, you can launch without a brand, you don't need a good website doesn't matter if your Facebook feed looks like rubbish, you know, you can dance around on Tik Tok. And it doesn't matter about consistency. I would say that's totally true for the mainstream. But if you really want to build as, as you might as the term you used and authority brand in the market, if you really want to be an iconic brand, as we would say, you need to have some personal style, you need to have an articulation of excellence, you need to be world class, and you need to care about the way that you show up. So it is it's one of those things that I spend a lot of time on with my clients that it makes a really vast difference to the sorts of deals that they can achieve.

Amen, and Amen. So let's talk a little bit about opportunity creation, opportunity making. And, you know, you are somebody who is your, your, your the connective tissue for a lot of people success. And so by definition, you are launching opportunity makers who are creating opportunities for others. So you're the goal is to create an endless cycle of people who are teaching other people how to also create opportunities so that they can win. What how do you see that as not only a role you play but a responsibility that you have?

Ah, that's a really good question. I don't necessarily see it as a responsibility that feels very heavy. But I definitely think that there is a difference in the way that I that I show up with this career, as opposed to my first one. So the first business that I created was all very frenetic and hectic and, you know, it was all very volume based, and I was really looking, when I, when I look back at it, I was looking for the external validation from the market that this girl knows what she's doing. She's good at what she's, you know, the awards, the media, the books, the things, right, was all really based on this was really ego based, if I'm, if I'm honest about it, you know, and it's solidified me in the market in terms of Yes, she does know what she's doing. When I created this one, I think I'd become, and certainly in my 40s, I've become much more mature in my attitude, and it definitely there is a an angle to this, that is about significance, I've taken a really good hard look at myself, and realized that I'm never going to retire, I'm never going to be that person who's going to, you know, down tools and, and sit on the beach drinking might, I'm going to be that person who is going to add value to the world in even the smallest way throughout my entire existence, because that's the way that I'm just driven. And so I can either use that ambition, and that the the that sort of innate sense of competitive edge, for good, or for self serving purposes. And so I've made the very distinct and precise and intentional decision from here on in that what I'm doing is for impact and of course, it's for building wealth for my family, of course it is. And of course, it's for building wealth for my clients, of course it is. But on top of that, the people that I choose to, to connect with, to co create with to represent in the market, they all have something really exciting that they want to bring to the world, they all want to impact the world in some different way. They all want to create a legacy. And so I feel like not that it's my responsibility, but that this is the thing that I can bring to the world from an impact perspective that is going to be the most significant change that I can make in my lifetime with the skills and the gifts that I've been given is to play, play things this way. And use those skills in a way that really creates significant impact from here and I hope my my children and my family and my you know, my clients, children's children and families are all very proud of what we've been able to create off the back of the work that we do together.

You know, is it I get a lot of interesting responses around this but as somebody who is in in the forefront well can say the forefront of business, you're leaving a lot of people and Do you ever feel like opportunities that bypass you ever look back and go, Man, I just wish I would have taken advantage of that one. Or Darn, I wish I would you know, somehow I missed that opportunity. But I won't miss the next one. Is there any specific example or story you you share around any of that?

Yeah, it's funny, I was thinking only recently a way, way back when I was at university, I had an opportunity to move to so I'm in Australia, there, most of my clients are in North America. Now. I went to university here in Australia, and I did very well. And there was, I had a lot of offers, and with what I wanted to do with my career and where I, I made a decision to actually stay in the local area and work for what is the shopping mall, you would call shopping mall, which really catapulted my career into sales and marketing and brand and community and those sorts of things. But I was offered a really big opportunity to join a very large PR firm in Sydney. And I just, I really, for whatever reason, didn't want to leave where I am, which is in Queensland, best part of the world to move to Sydney and and take up that take up that opportunity. I was only thinking the other day to wonder what would have happened if I'd gone to Sydney rather than doing what I did what the pathway might have looked like. But look, I think we we, I'm accepting of we make the best decisions that we can in the moments with the eggs with the information that we have. And I don't regret anything even. I mean, obviously not. It's not been a linear, fabulous journey. There's been lots of risk and failures along the way. And I wouldn't give up any of that for for anything. I think it's made me who I am. And I'm better at what I do. Because of all of those things.

You know, it's so interesting, because that is a very consistent answer. When I asked similar questions like that to anybody who I, you know, again, you know, I consider an opportunity maker, because they're everywhere, it's like, there's, you might miss one. And if you just stay open to them, they're the next one is right around the corner, if not right in front of you already. Right. And, you know, make the decisions, best decisions in the moment with the information you get, you can you can always make another decision tomorrow. Cindy says that all the time, as I

add a percent that's open. Yeah, if your eyes are wide open, I mean, they'll be there'll be endless opportunities. So it's, it's okay. It's cool.

So what about being in a, in a time like right now where there's, you know, what you pick whatever word you want recession, inflation, retracting market, there's all kinds of labels for it. Bottom line is gas is a lot. Eggs are a lot. Life is very peculiar at the moment. What would you recommend to people in terms of being staying available to the opportunities that come even though you may be concerned about saving money and not not risking?

Yeah, it's, I really feel for people who are struggling right now. And there's no, you know, it's a sad time to many, many people in the world. Having said that, I would say that there are a lot of people who are not hurting. And there are a lot of people who are seeing a moment like this as the most exciting opportunity that ever existed. There is this incredible space that's being held right now, for people who are open to taking a bit of a risk, and being incredibly innovative, and being very maverick in their approach to things and not being put in a box or a hole. You know, I've, for the last four or five years, while I've been running this business have been very focused on a luxury business strategy and working particularly on deals with ultra high net worth individuals, or companies that really deal in that luxury part of the market. And right now, Jim, that industry is booming. People who are, you know, worth a significant amount of money, yes, they're taking a little bit more time to make decisions. And potentially, they may not have as much money liquid, because they've got, you know, got it in various different places. But ultimately, that part of the market is investing. They're hiring. They're growing. They're looking at, you know, this whole moment as a significant opportunity. And I suppose you can either throw stones at them and say how opportunistic and awful and capitalist and all of those things, or you can say these are the people who are actually going to be the change makers over the next five to 10 years. I've put my bet on some pretty exciting things coming out of this moment. And so the me, I think, really be open to doing things differently seeing the world differently stop. I mean, obviously, we need to be observant. And we need to be educated about what's going on with the economy and politics and all of those things. But equally, don't go down that rabbit hole, and then fall into the trap of that is doom and gloom. And there's no opportunity because I can tell you I have clients that are, you know, that have a lot of money. And right now, they are spending, they are hiring, they are growing. And so am I. And I know you are as well, there are opportunities everywhere. If you look at this outside of the box, and you see it as a time for change, and a time for innovation, and a time to take a level of risk, the level of risk that you feel comfortable with, push that a little bit, push it a little bit up into the we call it the vomit no matter how, how much fear can you take on just push the vomit? ometer? Just a little bit a little bit to that uncomfortable stage?

Yes. You know, and you say it was such simplicity. You know, sometimes I know I frustrated people, because I spent a lot of time with very successful people like yourself. Yeah. And, you know, I'm a leader and a mentor and a role model to many. And a lot of times they give feedback like, Well, yeah, it's easy for you to say, but you have resources, you know, I can be as risk taking. And like, I just disagree, if it is so simple to create opportunity, as long as you have a mindset and unbelief, that opportunity is everywhere, and that you are the solution to many problems. How do you How would you guide people to determine how they make a decision about what opportunities to take advantage of?

Hmm, good question. I think it's very important to have someone in your corner, if not multiple people in your corner who can see a bigger play than you can, I think that's that that's a significant part of the success that I've had is always investing in great mentors, whether they are people like you and I have that kind of relationship, I enjoy the conversations that we have. And I've got a peer group like that, that I can always come to with an opportunity that I trust, who has, you know, experience beyond mine, and who can see things differently to me, I think, number one focus on that get you network and your peer group really well honed, don't listen to let alone hang around with if you can help it, people who can't see the big sphere, that would be a really big part of it. The second because, you know, if people are going to drag you down, then obviously you're going to miss significant opportunities that are right in front of you. Because you'll be Oh, can I do it at the moment, all that stuff, just lose that BS. I would say the other pieces then also invest in great mentors. So people, you know, great strategists, great mentors, great people who can look at you see the bigness in you and then allow you to, or expand the vision of possibility for you. Because sometimes we can't see what's just sitting in front of our face. And that's okay. But as long as you are brave enough to really own your genius, and you're brave enough to really say, You know what I'm I'm, I'm good enough to take this on. I want abundance, I am here to take advantage of opportunities and change the world in the most significant way. Then if you've got a good team of people around you, who can expand the vision of possibilities and help you execute that and keep you on track. I think the world is your oyster. Yeah, really, lots of opportunity right now, that's for sure.

Definitely, you know, something that's been coming a lot more available. And once you start experiencing success, and actually I will change that and rephrase that. Once you start presenting the image of someone who is experiencing success, opportunity start coming because people are confident that you can help them with their opportunities. And I've become a bit of an opportunity magnet. A because I'm looking for them all the time. I believe they're everywhere. So they just show up. But I have also learned that you don't have to be the expert of anything in order to capitalize on an opportunity. Yep. Do you have any examples of that you would like to share?

Yes, yes, yes. Yes. And can I just dig into something that you just said that I think is really masterful and that is that opportunities come to people who have certainty You and I exude a level of certainty in what we can create. And you know, you can trust us we do a really good job, we're world class, they just you could take one look at us and know that that is the case. And so I think beyond confidence, there is this level of certainty that a person who has an opportunity maker really brings to brings to the world. And that's very mesmerizing, and quite magnetic for lots of incredible opportunities. So I just wanted to dig into that, because I think that was that was really cool thing that you just said. And so in terms of the opportunities that are around at the moment, I just, I think they're, they're everywhere, Jim, I'm really excited about. I'm really excited for a lot of the people that I'm working with, they're really looking at the technology piece at the moment, they're looking at social media, they're looking at content creation, they're looking at the way that you know, media is becoming fragmented, and it's not being advertising is, is becoming fragmented, the whole media space, the whole, everything is becoming an opportunity for me at the moment where if you've ever had an innovative idea on how to shift a paradigm, or an industry standard or a norm, now's the time to get that extreme pioneering hat on and kind of go for it, because the weirdest, the wackiest, the most innovative, the craziest ideas are probably the ones that are going to make it right now. And I would also say, I would also say that a lot of my clients are also harking back to the old fashioned way of doing things. And that is feeling quite innovative and quite different. And you know, the old fashioned way of outbound sales, for example, to me, that's how I've always sold it. So I feel the most comfortable and yet, it's like this, all this new thing that everyone's discovering, like, Man, my dad did this. When he left university, he was on the road salesman for a sellotape company for crying out loud. I mean, that's the way that sales used to be. And so I feel like there's also this piece where there's, there's a bit of tradition, that's, that's seeping back in. And I feel like there's lots of opportunities there. If you can really harness that and do it in a, in a really exciting way as well.

Yeah, you know, and something that I've been in discussion with a lot of people about lately is, first, you can look at what problem can I solve, and jump in and solve it? Yeah. But to get beyond a quickly is, what problem can I facilitate? Right, because there's, you know, Cindy, and I were coming home from store the other day, and we pulled up and there was a pickup truck that had been I shared this on the last episode, last interview as well. But there was a pickup truck that had it was full of wood, like they had just gone cut some wood. And we just have to do that stuff. When I was a kid, my stepdad would drag us up in this foothills and the chainsaw and haul stuff down as a teenager, you hate that stuff. But as an entrepreneur, I'm like, you know, if I had to write now, if everything well, I could literally get a truck, get a chainsaw, get a splitter, go open the foothills, cut up some, some trees that are down, split them up and start selling wood. And I wouldn't even have to be the one doing it, I can facilitate it and put somebody else in charge of it. So then now I can get as much wood as I as I can, because I'm doing it through other people, all of a sudden, I have a revenue stream that isn't even requiring my efforts. Right? You know, same thing with a pressure washer, right? You want to do their driveways across the street, you want to pressure wash somebody's driveways, go pre sell a few deals, you don't even have to fund it your own self, go find a few people who will prepare you for the deal, go buy or rent a pressure washer and then go do their driveways, and then hire somebody else to do the same. So again, now these things are happening, and you're making revenue without you having to be the one that's putting out all of the effort. Yeah, I'm so with you. Opportunities are everywhere. You just really see them and go seize it.

Right, exactly. And take their, you know, to actually go and do it. You don't have to be the smartest, you don't have to be the most genius. You don't have to be the worst, most well funded. All of this so many stories of great companies that are like that i Richard Branson is a really good example of that. And I was talking to one of my clients who is actually very well connected to him yesterday and they were at a lunch where Branson was doing this big multi billion dollar deal and he kept having to excuse himself to go and do some negotiating. But he was just giving the yes and no on the phone and then coming back to the table that he reflected and I think it is another public call There's something like this out there that he said as well. But it was reflected as he sat back down, that he is not the genius of negotiation. He's not the most genius person in his company. He's not the most intelligent, well educated all of the most articulate, he just keeps showing up, no matter what. And he has the risk profile of being brave, just keep showing up, be brave, and then hire great people and solve really exciting problems. So I think there's probably no better person in the world to, to confirm or validate what you were just saying then they're incredible. So Richard Branson, right?

Yes. Agreed. Agreed. So, you know, just listen to zero this and a little bit more on you. And, you know, obviously, you're you're working with, you know, more affluent, wealthy clients, people who are, who are making exponential change in the world. How what, what encouragement would you give to people who are listening? There's because this, this particular podcast is speaking to those people, and people who are aspiring to be what would you say to those people that feel like that might be a far off outcome for them? And what encouragement would you give them in this time right now to be able to lean in?

Yeah, well, I would say that almost without fail, or me and all of my clients didn't start with privilege. I come from a very middle class family and a very small part of Australia. And here I am representing some of the biggest personal brands in the world. And I do it, you know, on Zoom, and doing really big deals for them. I mean, and a lot of my clients, even the ones that are now worth a lot of money, because of the things that they've been able to achieve in their career and the deals that we've been able to put together for them. They didn't start that way. So that they were brave enough to really understand what they're best in the world at and then have the, the wherewithal to then go, okay, you know, what, I've got this incredible genius, within, I need to hire a team around me to take me to that next level, I need to be connected to the right people, and that they're willing to do the work, they're brave enough to take that big step. And every single one of them, I would say, without fail, they are very confident, very certain about their genius. That is that is a common trait. They constantly work on their mastery, so that they are constantly world class, they don't rest on something that they've done 10 or 15 years ago, and then, you know, continue to leverage that they're, they're just really working on that mastery. I would also say the other thing that they're doing is that they, like we were just talking about with brands, and they keep showing up. So they're very, very hard workers. You can't just sit there and stare at your navel and manifest a multimillion dollar contract. It just it just doesn't happen. I know there are people out there telling you that you can manifest all sorts of wonderful things. But if you really look at the businesses, and I represent some of the biggest people in the consciousness space in the world, that really works. And so I would say as long as you are willing to accept your genius, you're willing to put some great people around you who can help you know the best that you can afford. And that could just be courses or listening to this and being you know, being really inspired by great people that Jim's bringing along for the ride here. Be inspired by that and do the hard work, don't, you know, sit around expecting to be 15 years into your career and have a multi billion dollar business without putting the legwork in. Because all of those people who have had the magical outcomes. They've done that they've been they've started, they've started from the ground up. And so just know that all of that is within your grasp ever. I truly believe every single person on the planet can choose that if they want to. They just can. But the hardest thing is to keep doing it. There's lots of people who have great ideas. But there's very few people who will continue to walk through the mud and execute it to the point that they ended up with a multibillion dollar company. That's rare.

So you are somebody who we would call an international global business leader, which I consider myself as well. What do you seen as the differences like is this does this only work in Australia or North America? Or what's the difference? What are more importantly, what's the common thread doesn't matter where they are, if you're a human being and you have these traits, you can make it happen. What do you see those commonalities?

Yeah, it's funny because when I first started this business, I didn't, I didn't try to set myself up, where I was an Australian working, you know, with a lot of clients in North America, that just I happen to go to a retreat to try and figure out what I wanted to do after I exited my company met some great people who became my first clients. And they all happen to be, you know, living in North America. And so they're this global company came to pass. I have clients now, all over the world, you know, in the Middle East and Europe, in Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and of course, North America, don't have any in South America at the moment, but have have done. And, look, there is no difference between any of us really, there's just everyone can do this, I think it kind of helps if you come from a smaller place, like his his two things, Jim, that I think are interesting. I think it's, it's played well for me that I've had to work hard to become successful, because I come from a smaller country. So Australia is a vast country, but we're very small, we have the same sort of population as the entirety of California. And we are very small in terms of market and opportunity and those sorts of things. So I have to work really hard to be a success here. And then to take that to the global stage, I think we've become more innovative and creative, but I've got no doubt, that's why we're really good actors and all of those sorts of things, great musicians, etc. So I have to work hard. And then, but and I think that that plays well, for those of you who are a little bit concerned about, well, maybe I'm not from North America, I'm not from the UK, or I'm not from Canada, I don't have the same level of opportunity. Well, I tell you what, it can play to your advantage that you've had to work harder, and you come from a place that has smaller opportunities. And I think on the flip side of that, what I love about all of my clients that come from, you know, where there is the land of opportunity, I would would call that sort of Europe and, and the the UK and Canada and America, there's this absolute acceptance of risk profile, you love people trying stuff, and then failing, I think that's extraordinary. You just grow up thinking that it's okay to go out there and give stuff a go. And there's so much opportunity to do it again. And again and again. And I think again, that just that mindset that is baked into the culture is just incredible for the rest of us to really lean into and learn from so. But the answer to your question is anyone anywhere with any background? can be it can have opportunities in front of them? There's no question in my mind.

Yeah, and to carry that even further. I mean, you talk often about not just being best in class, but being a class of one, right being being the person who does what you do. And, you know, you don't have to be first to market to become best in class or to be an iconic class of one person. What what do you need to have to make that? Absolutely.

I think you have to have that incredible inner confidence. And I look, I often this is controversial. And I know I'm gonna upset some people by saying this. But I truly believe that you almost need to be arrogant. You need to have such certainty and being incredibly intentional in the use of that word. Because if I just said you need to have confidence. I mean, we can all turn up on any given day and have confidence, I'm talking about, like a quality that you know, you are the thing, right. And it doesn't have to be this great big thing as you were just talking about before it, it can be the smallest tiniest little niche of something or other. But you need to own it and and embody it and then there's a magnetic quality to people who you know, it's that, that charisma that Cluny charisma comes from just this absolute certainty. And then that mastery and then the knowingness that you are doing is that you've been called upon, you know, with this, whatever it is, and that you're putting the time and the energy into mastering it on a day to day basis and that that you're going to constantly be that world class figure. I think that that really is the key. So that arrogance that kind of you walk in any room and all eyes are on you. And a lot of people say you can't teach that tonight. I disagree. I think as long as you understand you've ident you Getting to the identification of what that thing is. That is the key here. And if you need to work with someone to enable you to see what you can't see, then by all means do that. But once you do it, own it, embody it. Turn up that way. I tell you what the the reason that you've got opportunities coming at you and you don't like there's so many of them right now is because you're showing up that way. And it is all about that there is a there is a knowingness, there's a mastery, there's a world class attitude. And there's an almost arrogance. Drop the humble at the door. Don't pretend you're not brilliant at what you do. Own it, embody it, and then all sorts of amazing things will start to happen.

Yeah, I love that drop the humble at the door that's gone. You know, I have this sign here that that I have in front of me every day is my badass. He has no limits. And yeah, you know, I believe it. But I also I mean, I look at it every day. It's a constant reminder. Because the moment the only limits. Somebody said this to me once and I've never forgotten, it said the only the resealing you've ever been under in your entire life, you've placed yourself there. Nobody has ever put a ceiling on you. If you walked into a room into a building and a roof on every single roof that has been over you you walked under. So you can easily walk out from under, there are no ceilings, except the ones who decided that.

I love that so much. And oftentimes, you're putting that ceiling there because you're chasing external validation. Right? And so if you can learn how to do whatever work you have to do to remove that roadblock, and then really believe in the genius and own it and embody it that's everything's possible. Yeah. Absolutely. Love it. Yeah.

So we got all of your information, guys go in the show notes. And there's all the ways to contact with Katherine and her team. Is there anything that you have that you want to share as a resource or an invitation for people to get a little deeper into your world?

Yeah, so we've got a lot of great things over at our website that will help you to get into that mindset of, you know, what am I really best in the world at. So I would say head on over there, we've got a couple of places that you can go, you can go to iconic influences.com. So iconicinfluencers.com is our main website, and there's all sorts of resources on there, that will really help. And then there's the Kathrynporritt.com website also that has a number of things on there, but it's more my playground. So I have another brand that we're just launching called Lux, systema, that's all about personal style. And so there's, there's some fun things on there that you'll see to get to know me a little bit better if if you're interested in sort of playing in that world where we're talking about luxury, personal style, branding, those sorts of things, all sorts of goodies there and on parked outside.