Find a mentor, says Saleduck MD for Asia, Copier
THIS week we catch up with Netherlands-based online deals technology company Saleduck managing director for Asia, Sjoerd Copier
Q: How has your life experience made you the leader you are today?
A: From the age of 18 my parents introduced me to Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) this became for me the first real step in starting to understand who I am as a person and who I wanted be. Over the years NLP teached me to understand my own actions and responses better. But also to analyse behaviour better whether it's in a business meeting or talking to colleagues or friends.
Q: What traits do you look for in your talent or how do you decide who is right for a job?
A: At Saleduck we would always look for somebody that is eager to learn and able to be proactive. Or somebody that brings something else to the table with his or her personality. I like to work with people that know what they want in life and are able to set goals for themselves.
Q: What advice can you offer those looking to start their career/own business?
A: Find a mentor! Pick the right boss that is willing to teach and share responsibilities with you. Learn from your mistakes and don't be afraid to fail. Better yet, share your mistakes with your peers along with an solution on how to do it better next time. And ask for feedback on a regular basis.
Q: How has mentorship made a difference in your professional life?
A: I was blessed to start my carrier in a startup with four great mentors that all had different qualities of running an online business. We often shared ideas and blow them up as big as we could, where nothing was to crazy. Of Course maybe only one percent of these ideas got developed. But it made me learn on how to think big!
Q: What do you want to accomplish in the next five years?
A: I want to make Saleduck.com.my the biggest online platform to go to for price comparison in Malaysia and continue our current expansion drift. (We are currently in six markets in Southeast Asia) Being the brand where people can filter and compare products & services and find the right products at any time.
Q: Best piece of advice you ever got on your career?
A: Do not care what other people think or say about you. People are always going to have an opinion. Seek feedback but stay true to your core values. You are not too young or old to start something new. Like Marcus Aurelius said "Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact" Don't let how other people see you get in the way of reaching your goals.
Q: How do you stay abreast of issues affecting your industry?
A: Our industry is changing really fast. So we need to stay up to date with all new techniques and changes for example in search engine optimisation or affiliate marketing. I try to implement and test as much as possible and really try to understand the data. Don't just copy what you have heard or read but really test and look at the data in as many ways as possible.
Q: What are the top three factors you would attribute to your success?
A: Understanding of both technical and marketing aspects, setting personal goals for myself and self reflection!
Q: Tell us a joke.
A: Not much of a joke maybe but being Dutch I had to laugh real hard the first time I came across the brand Dutch Lady in the supermarket. We know the brand under a very different name in The Netherlands.