January 27, 2025 • 30 mins
Join us for an inspiring conversation with Canberra's broadcasting icon, Cam Sullings, as we trace his journey from a budding news cameraman to an influential radio personality and successful entrepreneur. Cam takes us through his adventurous career, detailing his experiences from Broken Hill to Canberra, and sharing unforgettable stories from the vibrant pub rock scene in Sydney. We dive into his transition from radio to launching his own business, Present with Impact PTY Limited, where he reveals his passion for creating meaningful experiences and his aspirations in the business realm. This episode is a captivating exploration of Cam's resilience and adaptability, offering valuable insights into the art of reinvention.
This episode is supported by CareSuper.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
I'm Greg Harford from the Canberra Business Chamber
and this is the CanberraBusiness Podcast.
Today I'm a little starstruckbecause we have in the studio
none other than Canberrabroadcasting legend Cam Sullings
.
Now, if you're living here inthe nation's capital, you will
know Cam.
He's hosted Breakfast on ourleading commercial radio station
.
He's still on air on Saturdaymornings for Mix 106.3.
He's a ground announcer andon-screen host for the Canberra
(00:33):
Raiders and, more importantly,he's the founder and managing
director of his own business,present with Impact PTY Limited.
Cam, it's great having you here.
Welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Thank you so much.
And when you use words likelegend and starstruck, I tend to
look over my shoulder and say,right, who's he speaking about?
I mean, come on.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Those are very kind words though, but certainly
you're really well known inCanberra and it's great to have
the opportunity to have you hereand have a bit more of a chat
and learn a bit more about whatyou do.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Well, thank you for having me.
I've been here since the year2000 and, as you know, worked on
104.7, mix 106.3,.
Continue to do the real estateshow and the event show on Mix
each Saturday, so I just love it.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
So how did you get into radio in the first place?
I mean, you've basically spentyour career in radio before
branching out into business, buthow did it all get started?
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Yeah, so I grew up in the southern suburbs of Sydney.
Originally, when I was atschool, I wanted to be a news
cameraman and I was lucky enoughto go off and do work
experience at Channel 7 inSydney for a couple of weeks.
Sadly, my talent never allowedme to realise that goal, but
what it did give me theopportunity to do was then
(01:48):
continue on to do workexperience at Channel 7 through
years 11 and 12, and then comeout of school and I was able to
get a job at a small productionhouse and I did assistant camera
, I did sound and assistantsound, I did videotape editing,
I did producing.
I did all sorts of amazingthings as a youngster.
So I did that for two or threeyears.
(02:11):
I'd always been able to stand infront of people and I enjoyed
doing that and always enjoyedtrying to provide and create
great experiences for people andaudience, if you like.
And so I decided that I wasgoing to do a radio course, the
very famous Max Rowley MediaAcademy, and I was there for 12
(02:32):
months and then I was offered ajob, my first job after again
going out to Broken Hill in thevery west of New South Wales.
I went out, did two weeks ofwork experience out there and
then a week later they offeredme a job.
So I packed my whole life upand off.
I went to do nights at Broken.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Hill.
Fantastic, and look for thosewho might not be familiar with
Broken Hill.
Obviously it's a fairly remoteplace, but what was it like
living there?
It was an incredible place.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
I mean it was very different from where I grew up
in the surf, I can tell you thatmuch.
It was a real time of changeout there.
When I was there as well, thePasminco mine, which was the
main mine, they put off around500 people in one day.
And so it was a time then whenthe town decided it almost grew
up, or decided to grow up.
(03:21):
It decided that it needed tochange the focus from mining
into tourism.
And so that's the very earlystages of when Broken Hill
became a tourist destination.
And I haven't been back, I'veflown over it on the way to
Adelaide.
But I mean, you know, I stillspeak to people out there.
I know a Canberra local who'sgone to be a police officer out
(03:45):
there, work in the New SouthWales Police Force, and I have
really fond memories of BrokenHill.
I'll give you my radio careerfrom there.
I came in from Broken Hill andwent to Port Macquarie.
So back on the coast and in thesurf, absolutely love it.
Port Macquarie down to Lithgow,lithgow up to Darwin, darwin
down to Newcastle, newcastle, upto Mackay and then, as I
(04:08):
mentioned, mackay down toCanberra in the youth 2000.
And there was at one point.
We always laugh about this.
You could map out my radiocareer simply by looking at the
bumper stickers on my parents'car.
All the radio stickers werelittered around, brilliant
brilliant.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
So back in Canberra since the year 2000,.
You obviously you're almostlocal now at this point.
Not a lot of surf here, though.
Are you coping with that?
Speaker 2 (04:36):
So, yeah, I mean, I get back to the water.
I grew up in the surf, playingwater polo, swimming, just
having that amazing beachculture style life.
I was amazingly fortunate to bein Sydney at a time when pub
rock great bands that went on tobe international superstars.
(04:57):
They were playing to audiencesof 500 and we were in those
audiences.
And so I look back on that andI've had the opportunity then
through my radio career to go onand interview some of those
amazing popular superstars, rocklegends of Australia, and being
in rooms with just one or twopeople when they're warming up
(05:20):
with an acoustic guitar and it'slike oh my God, I can't believe
I'm here experiencing thisLittle moments of clarity like
that, yeah, and those areamazing experiences to have, I'm
sure.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Now, look, let's talk a little bit about Present with
Impact.
Now, everyone, I think, inCanberra knows Cam Sullings or
has certainly heard you on airor at an event, but people
possibly know a little bit lessabout the business that you run.
So what is it that you actuallydo?
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Yeah.
So I decided at the end of 2012that I would leave radio full
time, with the plan of going outand, in a five year space,
learning how to run and operatea business.
Now I didn't know what thatbusiness was going to be like,
so I left radio, I went down,worked at Actuagel in their
sponsorship and events team,over at a federal golf club, and
I was the assistant generalmanager, where I got really
great marketing andcommunications sponsorship
experience.
(06:14):
I got to experience a lot ofboard-level activity as well,
and then into, as you well know,the Canberra Business Chamber,
where I ran a couple of programsas well, which I absolutely
loved doing, where I ran acouple of programs as well,
which I absolutely loved doing.
While that was going on, in thebackground, I was developing
the business what it was goingto look like, what could I do,
what could the business be?
So presenting was always goingto be one part of it.
(06:36):
And then the idea of trainingcame along and it's like, okay,
so can I show people how tospeak and present?
Well, I don't know.
So I developed some programsand I got some people in,
unpaying customers and unawareof what they were getting into
as well, and so we ran someprograms and it's like, oh, I
can do that and you know what Ireally like and enjoy doing that
(06:57):
.
So we got everything organizedin the background business plan,
marketing plan, mapped out whatwe thought might happen.
It was all ready to go.
A couple of events in 2018 meantwe hit the go button for the
very early part of 2019 and wewere off.
And so I like to talk about thekey services of the business.
(07:18):
So, number one, service numberone presenter for hire.
And so that's all the thingsyou've mentioned, the stuff that
I do, the amazing stuff that Ido at the Raiders that's so
great.
I think I'm into season number15 this year.
Fantastic, the work that I doon the weekends and periodically
with the breakfast show on Mix106.3, plus then conferences,
awards nights, anything that yousee me doing that's under that
(07:41):
umbrella.
Then there is the training ofspeaking with impact.
So I show CEOs and executivesand anyone how to stand in front
of a group of people, anaudience or a lens, speak and
communicate well.
And then service number threeis the media training, and so
that's where we show CEOs andexecutives how to stand in front
(08:01):
of the media and either statethe case or tell their story.
And, interestingly, when wewere setting the business up,
media training was never reallyon the horizon, it wasn't on the
radar.
But it became very, veryapparent very quickly that it
was going to be something.
And so I went out, purchased anews camera, so I did get to be
a news camera operator of sorts.
(08:23):
And then we develop the programsand we have a crisis media
strategy with an operationsmanual that I created and
developed.
And then we come in and we do agap analysis.
So you know, media crisismanagement is something that you
hope you never have to use, butit's like an insurance policy.
You do the training, you puteverything in place in the
background and then, if you doneed to use it, you're you hit
(08:45):
the go button and it just allrolls out and then you navigate
it, and so we come in and do agap analysis.
And then the third part, andit's the most fun part that's
where we get the CEOs and theexecutives, the spokespeople,
and we put them in front ofcameras and we come up with
hypotheticals and then weabsolutely torture them, we
break them down so badly andthen it's all recorded and then
(09:06):
we build them back up.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
It's all recorded and then we build them back up.
Now, speaking in front of anaudience and indeed, speaking in
front of the media, two sidesof the same coin, potentially,
you know, come easily to a lotof people, or seem to come
easily to a lot of people, butsome people are really nervous
about it.
Do you think it's a skill?
And I guess your whole businessis revolving around this but is
it a skill that can be easilylearned if you're not used to it
(09:30):
or you're a bit nervous?
Speaker 2 (09:31):
So it can't be easily learned, but it can be learned.
And this is what we do.
We put a whole range and wehave a whole range of exercises
and different modules that we gothrough.
Number one we look at whypeople don't like standing in
front of an audience or don'tlike standing in front of a lens
, and there's a lot of sciencebehind that.
So we've done a lot of researchinto the science behind the
(09:54):
speaking anxiety.
So we have a look at that andthen we start to give you some
tools to help you begin tomanage that anxiety.
And so that's the very firstpart.
And then from there we go intowhat we call effective practice
and rehearsal.
And so there is practice andrehearsal, and that's amazing.
(10:16):
But I have an effectivepractice and rehearsal method
that if you do on a regularbasis, you will gain that
confidence very, very quickly.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
So a lot of it is about confidence and just your
general self-belief.
Yeah, so 100% self-belief.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
What do they say?
Attitude and self-beliefoutweigh everything.
But we also talk about theexposure hierarchy, and so the
more times you expose yourselfto these situations whether it's
sitting here doing a podcast,whether it is standing in front
of a small group, larger groupaudience, large audience or in
front of the media the moretimes you do it, the quicker
(10:57):
that your body will feel asthough it's in a safe place, and
then all the result of thatanxiety, those mental and
physical effects of that, allstart to go away.
They'll still be there a littlebit, and that's a good thing
that they're there, because thatmeans it matters, but you'll be
able to manage it a lot better.
It won't get in the way of whatyou're doing.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
So what kind of customers do you have?
Are they small businesses,large businesses or a mix?
Speaker 2 (11:23):
When we hit the go button in 2019, if you had have
said you're going to be trainingthis person or that person or
this group of people, I wouldhave said no way.
And so it starts.
I have a federal politician whoI provide media advice to and
media training to, so she was afirst-termer this time around.
I've helped people withdisability be able to go into
(11:44):
the media and talk about theirvery important causes.
I've helped one-star brigadiergenerals with their media and
talk about their very importantcauses.
I've helped one-star brigadiergenerals with their media and
also speaking training intogovernment officials who are
going overseas on mission rightinto then.
I talk about one particularstartup who I helped last year
(12:06):
in 2024.
And so they have thisincredible product that they've
been spending a huge amount oftime on developing and they were
then seeking venture capital.
So they came to me and they hadthe makings of a pretty strong
pitch, but they came to me atthe last second and said we
don't know how to present it.
We don't know how to do this.
(12:26):
So in after hour sessions abouta week and a half out, we did a
whole range of training.
We tweaked the, the, the pack alittle bit, and so off they
went and they came back withthree million dollars that's a
pretty good return on a coupleof nights training right, and I
wouldn't.
I sit here and I still getgoosebumps when I talk about
(12:49):
those sorts of situations,because I'm making a difference
in people's lives and thisproduct that they have will make
a huge difference.
It can save people tens ofmillions of dollars and that's
really important for allbusinesses to be thinking about
right.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Yes yes, yes, so without giving too much away.
I mean, what's the sort of thetop trick of the trade that
you're offering?
Speaker 2 (13:10):
No, no, no, no.
So a lot of people say what'sthe one thing that you tell
people?
And so there's many, manythings that I tell people, but
the number one piece of advice Ilike to offer is don't
overthink it, don't overthink it.
And so then we go into the ideaof developing patterns and
routines of effective practiceand rehearsal, and then we're
(13:34):
back to self-belief.
You know belief and attitude.
Self-belief and attitudeoutweigh everything.
So, number one don't overthinkit.
Number two create yourself anopportunity and a routine of
effective practice and rehearsal.
And then, number three,self-belief.
Have a crack, just go out anddo it.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
Because what's the worst that can happen, right?
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Well, the yes, you say that with a smile on your
face.
Plenty can happen, but it isall about the work in the
background.
A lot of you know with the TEDTalks, right?
So the huge, amazing, beautifulpresentations that they do at
their annual conferences every12 months.
So you, let's have thisconversation.
(14:14):
You give me what's the timelinethat you think that someone
from signing on the piece ofpaper to say, yes, I'm going to
present at TED, to walking onthe stage and delivering the
18-minute presentation, have acrack.
What do you think?
That might be Three months.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
No, no, no, six months.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Right, Right.
So all the work is done in thebackground.
Yet all we see is that amazing18 minutes and you go whoa, that
person is amazing, they'reincredible.
It comes so naturally.
It's just like no, no, no, no,no, the work is done in the
background.
It's like the iceberg, right?
You only get to see the fancybit at the top.
Everything's underneath.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Yeah, so obviously you've been running the business
now for a number of years.
How's business going?
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Yeah, I like to say it's a roller coaster and I'm
hanging off the back, beingflung around and the ups and the
downs and the ebbs and theflows, and when an email comes
in from and this only happenedthis week, it happened twice.
Yesterday, in fact, I had areally great training
(15:11):
opportunity, a media trainingopportunity from a national
organization that I've workedwith here in Canberra.
But they have some New SouthWales executives that now need
some media training as well, andso they've come back to me and
they want me to travel to Sydneyto do that.
And I go, I think to myselfthat is amazing, because they
placed great value on thetraining.
(15:32):
They must have had excellentoutcomes and experiences.
And so when that email pops upand they come along, you know,
at a reasonably regular time, Ijust love that.
And then the second part tothat is with the presenting, and
this same thing happened.
We had an external eventsorganisation outside of Canberra
(15:52):
came in, recommended throughthe Canberra Convention Bureau,
and so they contacted medirectly and now I'm hosting an
event it's a national eventthat's going to be held here in
Canberra, and so when thoseemails come up, you just go wow,
all the hard work, all themarketing, all the thought the
4am starts, all of that is justworth it.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
And again, all of that background work is not what
we see when we see you proceed.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
No way and that I would put it to you that for
most small to medium businessesand you will know this,
definitely the work that happensin the background, you know the
family and friends around you,the support, those big moments
where you've got to go, they'resliding door decisions.
You've got to go left or you'vegot to go right and that can
(16:40):
have huge implications.
But again you just got to backyourself and go right.
I'm doing it this way and if itsucceeds, I'll have had a great
experience.
I'll have made a little bit ofmoney amazing, we get to eat
tonight and then I'll be able touse those experiences.
Or if it doesn't work, then youstill have a lot to draw from
and you'll be eating two minutenoodles.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Hopefully not.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
No, no, no.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Now it's interesting that you're doing work out of
state going up to Sydney and Iguess you've worked all around.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Australia right.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
So do you think that there are differences between
doing business here in the ACTcompared to other places in
Australia?
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Yeah, I'm not sure that I'm in a position to answer
that, because while I'mdelivering the work outside of
Canberra, most of it isdeveloped here in Canberra.
I'll just fly in and fly outand what I have found and again,
this again is warming out.
And what I have found and again, this again is warming.
(17:38):
So organizations come intoCanberra and they'll host an
event or they'll do sometraining or whatever the piece
of work is, and then 12 monthslater, if they have another
conference and it was inCanberra in 2024, but it's on
the Gold Coast in 2025, thenthey ask me to come and do that
Now.
Again, that's just the sign ofa really good service that I've
provided.
It shows that I've understoodwhat the event is.
(18:00):
I've added my little flavor toit as well.
So I've got a range of clientsnow.
I mean, I've delivered trainingin Tasmania, sydney.
I've been all over Australiadelivering events, playing host
of conferences and awards nightsand all sorts of things, and
it's kind of cool.
You get to have a plane rideand you roll on in and you get
(18:21):
to work with the team that's putso much work in the background
and then you get to go and holdit all together.
I was only having aconversation yesterday online
with a very, very top levelspeaker from the Professional
Speakers Australia Association.
So he's an internationalspeaker and he doesn't like
doing emceeing.
(18:42):
And we're talking about myemceeing role and we both agreed
that the emcee, or theconference host, at whatever
event, it's the most importantrole on the day or night,
because that is the differencebetween having the flow and the
energy and making it engaging,but not over engaging.
(19:04):
You've got to be very careful.
You're not the star theaudience is, so you have to.
It's got to be a real mix andthere's some speakers will go
over time, some speakers will gounder time, and there's some
speakers will go overtime, somespeakers will go under time.
You sometimes have to go outinto an audience with a
microphone and you know,continue on conversations, so
you've got to be across thetopic as well.
So there's all these thingsthat a professional MC knows to
(19:28):
do and the ones that do it well.
Just it helps.
Well, it doesn't help.
It makes the event.
It really does.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
So it must be really hard to get your head across all
the events and all the detailsthat you might need to know
about an industry or anassociation or whatever it is.
How do you go about doing?
Speaker 2 (19:47):
that.
Ask me anything about recordsmanagement, and I can tell you
so Rimpa is one of my clientsthat I do amazing work for year
after year, and we're going downto Melbourne at the end of the
year.
It's the work in the background.
So the Festival of Speed inCanberra is a big event, and I'm
(20:07):
lucky enough to work atSummonats, but I'm also lucky
enough to work at the Festivalof Speed as well, and there's a
whole range of different carsNow I'm a car guy, and there's a
whole range of different cars.
Now I'm a car guy, but there's awhole range of different cars.
I mean, they're going to haveone of Mario Andretti's Formula
One cars.
The Mach 4 is going to bedriving around the track.
They're going to have one ofKimi Raikkonen's Formula One
cars as well, and so I don'tneed to be an expert on those
(20:32):
cars, but I do need to go awayand do some research and some
reading and then just use my ownknowledge.
And so it's just that that mixof that and you talk about going
on plane rides you.
That usually means you'resitting in an airport, for you
know an hour, hour and a half aswell.
So if the time of the day isright, I'll usually sit there
with the night's crisp coldclass of beer researching and
(20:56):
taking everything in.
So it again.
It's all done in the backgroundand is it just you, kim?
Speaker 1 (21:02):
are you a you effectively a sole trader, or
are you?
Have you got a team and behindyou?
Speaker 2 (21:05):
yeah, so I started the business off as a sole
trader, uh, and then afteraround 18 months or so, I was
off the advice of a very, veryclever and great accountant.
Um, she advised me to change itinto a company.
So we did the whole bigchangeover.
So it's now a proprietarylimited company and all the
things that go along with that.
Essentially it's me running it,but I have a number of people I
(21:29):
surrounded myself with, a groupof people that I can draw from.
So if there's an event organizerwho comes to me and says we'd
love to have you host this event, but I'm already booked for
that, I'll be able to sayalready booked.
Apologies, but I can highlyrecommend this person to come in
and do the job, knowing that,number one, they'll do an
(21:49):
amazing job, which my reputationis staked on.
But, number two, that thesepeople are close to me.
They won't also then white-antme and get the work from the
next time.
And same with the speaking andmedia training as well.
There's a couple of people thatI can draw on that, if I need
to bring them in, I can do that.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
And what's the advantage of being a company
compared to being a sole trader?
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Oh well, that's a question for my accountant and
it really is Like I was.
You know, again in my researchsole trader looked like that was
going to cover all the boxesand for the first part, for the
first 18 months or so, it reallyreally did.
But then, off the advice ofpeople who know more than me and
(22:39):
I'm very, very happy to lean onexperts just by, just like
people lean on me as an expert.
If someone says, okay, we thinkwe need to do this and they can
show me all the reasons why andthat that, and answer that
question at the top why do weneed to do it like that, then
I'm all in.
So that's my answer and that'show I look at that.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
All right.
So what are the big challengesyou've encountered running the
business over the last couple ofyears?
Speaker 2 (23:07):
Yeah, so one of the big ones and this sort of reared
its head at the end of lastfinancial year was is as a
result of the, the big fourconsultancies and the way that
they've treated the Australiantaxpayer, and so then the way
the Australian government hasreacted to that, and so there's
(23:28):
a whole range of businesses, notjust in Canberra, around
Australia who have had to changebusiness models because the
work has just dried up.
And so from those massive bigfour conglomerates to the ones
that sit under just that, andthen smaller and smaller and
smaller, right down to sort ofoperators like me, there's
(23:49):
training work that has dried up.
And so I suppose what I've hadto do is, number one, recognize
that and recognize why it'shappened and how it's happened,
and accept it and then puttingto plan a process of okay, so
how do I get out there and wavethe flag a little bit higher so
people know what I'm doing, andif they have the conversation or
(24:12):
they've been asked to speak infront of others and they're
completely terrified, they knowto come to me to gain some
advice.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
And what's been the highlight for you of being a
business person rather than apresenter?
Speaker 2 (24:28):
Yes, well, that's a big question.
I suppose the highlight is thatsatisfaction and, look, I was
able to do this on radio as well, and I think the term changing
people's lives that's bouncedaround quite a bit, but I
certainly have done that as apresenter on air.
We've done all sorts ofincredible things that have
(24:50):
changed lives.
There's no doubt about that,and I get to do that also with
some of the services that Iprovide through my training and
my experiences that I providethrough my presenting.
Just at the idea of standing upin front of others or going and
(25:15):
sitting in front of a lens,taking those people and showing
them how to actually get up anddo it, and when I stand back and
watch that play out and then Iwatch them do it, that's
incredible.
That's really very satisfying.
It's very satisfying.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
And that impact must be really noticeable, to you and
to them, I guess.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
Oh, it's very noticeable to them, because
before they couldn't do it andnow they can.
And for me it's just, I suppose, if you like, a vindication,
maybe that what I'm doing andwhat I'm showing people is
working.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
Do you think that people who go through your
training, or indeed people whodo this stuff all the time, is
there always a degree ofself-doubt, do people beat
themselves up about how wellthey did it and do they think
they didn't do it well enoughwhen actually they did, and kind
of, what's your take on that?
Speaker 2 (26:06):
Yeah, 100%.
So self-doubt and fear of beingjudged are the very basics of
fear and anxiety, and so everypresenter, including myself, my
hand is up so high here in ourlittle podcasting studio when I
walk off stage or when I walkaway from a screen or when I
(26:29):
walk out of a room that I'vebeen doing presenting in, I will
walk out of here going oh jeez,I said that, but I probably
could have said it a little bitbetter.
I won't worry about the 99other amazing things that I did.
It's just all, and that's humannature to always zero in on
that little negative piece.
But that just means that's howneuroscience is trying to make
(26:50):
us better at something, becauseit's like, okay, I did it, like
this, not quite sure.
So, yes, people definitely havethat self-doubt and you know
there's always going to be that.
But we try and make peopleaware of it and then again give
them the tools and show themways to work around it.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
Yeah, and my guess would be that in 99% of cases
the audience probably doesn'tever notice anyway.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
They absolutely don't know.
And so a very, very famousSydney radio presenter told me
and it was someone who Iabsolutely based some of the
things that I ended up doing onair off this person because I
just loved the way that theypresented in Sydney and I loved
the way that they made me feelabout living in Sydney and I
(27:36):
love the way that they made mefeel about living in Sydney.
And so I was able to meet thisperson sadly now passed meet
this person, have someinteractions on quite a few
occasions, and I talk aboutbeing starstruck, right, Like I
was definitely starstruck andI've met some pretty famous
people in this world, Don'tworry about that.
But he said, he said, Cam, it'snot how many mistakes you make,
(27:57):
it's how well you hide them.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
Very good advice.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
I think Best sage advice, best advice ever.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
And I guess Cam.
Just to close this off on thesubject of advice, if you were
talking to someone who wasthinking about starting their
own business, whatever thatbusiness is, what advice would
you give them?
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Research, research, research, find out, have a look
at the market.
So it's interesting.
Over Christmas, someone askedme exactly this.
They have an interest, they'revery passionate about something,
and they've watched me developmy business, hit the go button
(28:35):
and then roll it out and have areasonable degree of success.
They said how did you do that?
And I said there's two mainelements.
Number one you've got to have apassion.
You've got to have somethingthat just ignites you on the
inside, something that you justwant to sing to the world about.
So you've got to have that.
And number two and this iswhere the tricky part comes in
(28:56):
you've got to work out how tomonetize it.
And so if you've got thatbeautiful passion, if you've got
that, then you've got to workout how you can put it together
and make some coin out of it andthen do all the other things
that will flow on from whateveryou're passionate about.
So those are the two thingsthat I talk about.
(29:16):
When people ask me how did youstart it?
Are you enjoying the smallbusiness?
All those things are like okay,here's where it started.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
Yeah, Some really good advice there, I think.
Cam, thank you so much forjoining us.
That's Cam Sullings, theManaging Director of Present
with Impact.
It's been great having a chattoday.
I've really enjoyed ourconversation and if you do want
to know more about CAM or hisbusiness, check out
camsullingscomau.
Now this podcast has beenbrought to you by the Canberra
Business Chamber with thesupport of Care Super, an
(29:45):
industry super fund withcompetitive fees and returns,
exceptional service and a focuson real care.
So thanks Care Super and thanksCAM.
Great having you here.
And don't forget to follow uson your favourite podcast
platform to stay up to date withthe latest editions of the
Canberra Business Podcast.
I'm Greg Harford from the Canberra Business Chamber
and this is the CanberraBusiness Podcast.
Today I'm a little starstruckbecause we have in the studio
none other than Canberrabroadcasting legend Cam Sullings
.
Now, if you're living here inthe nation's capital, you will
know Cam.
He's hosted Breakfast on ourleading commercial radio station
.
He's still on air on Saturdaymornings for Mix 106.3.
He's a ground announcer andon-screen host for the Canberra
(00:33):
Raiders and, more importantly,he's the founder and managing
director of his own business,present with Impact PTY Limited.
Cam, it's great having you here.
Welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Thank you so much.
And when you use words likelegend and starstruck, I tend to
look over my shoulder and say,right, who's he speaking about?
I mean, come on.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Those are very kind words though, but certainly
you're really well known inCanberra and it's great to have
the opportunity to have you hereand have a bit more of a chat
and learn a bit more about whatyou do.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Well, thank you for having me.
I've been here since the year2000 and, as you know, worked on
104.7, mix 106.3,.
Continue to do the real estateshow and the event show on Mix
each Saturday, so I just love it.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
So how did you get into radio in the first place?
I mean, you've basically spentyour career in radio before
branching out into business, buthow did it all get started?
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Yeah, so I grew up in the southern suburbs of Sydney.
Originally, when I was atschool, I wanted to be a news
cameraman and I was lucky enoughto go off and do work
experience at Channel 7 inSydney for a couple of weeks.
Sadly, my talent never allowedme to realise that goal, but
what it did give me theopportunity to do was then
(01:48):
continue on to do workexperience at Channel 7 through
years 11 and 12, and then comeout of school and I was able to
get a job at a small productionhouse and I did assistant camera
, I did sound and assistantsound, I did videotape editing,
I did producing.
I did all sorts of amazingthings as a youngster.
So I did that for two or threeyears.
(02:11):
I'd always been able to stand infront of people and I enjoyed
doing that and always enjoyedtrying to provide and create
great experiences for people andaudience, if you like.
And so I decided that I wasgoing to do a radio course, the
very famous Max Rowley MediaAcademy, and I was there for 12
(02:32):
months and then I was offered ajob, my first job after again
going out to Broken Hill in thevery west of New South Wales.
I went out, did two weeks ofwork experience out there and
then a week later they offeredme a job.
So I packed my whole life upand off.
I went to do nights at Broken.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Hill.
Fantastic, and look for thosewho might not be familiar with
Broken Hill.
Obviously it's a fairly remoteplace, but what was it like
living there?
It was an incredible place.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
I mean it was very different from where I grew up
in the surf, I can tell you thatmuch.
It was a real time of changeout there.
When I was there as well, thePasminco mine, which was the
main mine, they put off around500 people in one day.
And so it was a time then whenthe town decided it almost grew
up, or decided to grow up.
(03:21):
It decided that it needed tochange the focus from mining
into tourism.
And so that's the very earlystages of when Broken Hill
became a tourist destination.
And I haven't been back, I'veflown over it on the way to
Adelaide.
But I mean, you know, I stillspeak to people out there.
I know a Canberra local who'sgone to be a police officer out
(03:45):
there, work in the New SouthWales Police Force, and I have
really fond memories of BrokenHill.
I'll give you my radio careerfrom there.
I came in from Broken Hill andwent to Port Macquarie.
So back on the coast and in thesurf, absolutely love it.
Port Macquarie down to Lithgow,lithgow up to Darwin, darwin
down to Newcastle, newcastle, upto Mackay and then, as I
(04:08):
mentioned, mackay down toCanberra in the youth 2000.
And there was at one point.
We always laugh about this.
You could map out my radiocareer simply by looking at the
bumper stickers on my parents'car.
All the radio stickers werelittered around, brilliant
brilliant.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
So back in Canberra since the year 2000,.
You obviously you're almostlocal now at this point.
Not a lot of surf here, though.
Are you coping with that?
Speaker 2 (04:36):
So, yeah, I mean, I get back to the water.
I grew up in the surf, playingwater polo, swimming, just
having that amazing beachculture style life.
I was amazingly fortunate to bein Sydney at a time when pub
rock great bands that went on tobe international superstars.
(04:57):
They were playing to audiencesof 500 and we were in those
audiences.
And so I look back on that andI've had the opportunity then
through my radio career to go onand interview some of those
amazing popular superstars, rocklegends of Australia, and being
in rooms with just one or twopeople when they're warming up
(05:20):
with an acoustic guitar and it'slike oh my God, I can't believe
I'm here experiencing thisLittle moments of clarity like
that, yeah, and those areamazing experiences to have, I'm
sure.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Now, look, let's talk a little bit about Present with
Impact.
Now, everyone, I think, inCanberra knows Cam Sullings or
has certainly heard you on airor at an event, but people
possibly know a little bit lessabout the business that you run.
So what is it that you actuallydo?
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Yeah.
So I decided at the end of 2012that I would leave radio full
time, with the plan of going outand, in a five year space,
learning how to run and operatea business.
Now I didn't know what thatbusiness was going to be like,
so I left radio, I went down,worked at Actuagel in their
sponsorship and events team,over at a federal golf club, and
I was the assistant generalmanager, where I got really
great marketing andcommunications sponsorship
experience.
(06:14):
I got to experience a lot ofboard-level activity as well,
and then into, as you well know,the Canberra Business Chamber,
where I ran a couple of programsas well, which I absolutely
loved doing, where I ran acouple of programs as well,
which I absolutely loved doing.
While that was going on, in thebackground, I was developing
the business what it was goingto look like, what could I do,
what could the business be?
So presenting was always goingto be one part of it.
(06:36):
And then the idea of trainingcame along and it's like, okay,
so can I show people how tospeak and present?
Well, I don't know.
So I developed some programsand I got some people in,
unpaying customers and unawareof what they were getting into
as well, and so we ran someprograms and it's like, oh, I
can do that and you know what Ireally like and enjoy doing that
(06:57):
.
So we got everything organizedin the background business plan,
marketing plan, mapped out whatwe thought might happen.
It was all ready to go.
A couple of events in 2018 meantwe hit the go button for the
very early part of 2019 and wewere off.
And so I like to talk about thekey services of the business.
(07:18):
So, number one, service numberone presenter for hire.
And so that's all the thingsyou've mentioned, the stuff that
I do, the amazing stuff that Ido at the Raiders that's so
great.
I think I'm into season number15 this year.
Fantastic, the work that I doon the weekends and periodically
with the breakfast show on Mix106.3, plus then conferences,
awards nights, anything that yousee me doing that's under that
(07:41):
umbrella.
Then there is the training ofspeaking with impact.
So I show CEOs and executivesand anyone how to stand in front
of a group of people, anaudience or a lens, speak and
communicate well.
And then service number threeis the media training, and so
that's where we show CEOs andexecutives how to stand in front
(08:01):
of the media and either statethe case or tell their story.
And, interestingly, when wewere setting the business up,
media training was never reallyon the horizon, it wasn't on the
radar.
But it became very, veryapparent very quickly that it
was going to be something.
And so I went out, purchased anews camera, so I did get to be
a news camera operator of sorts.
(08:23):
And then we develop the programsand we have a crisis media
strategy with an operationsmanual that I created and
developed.
And then we come in and we do agap analysis.
So you know, media crisismanagement is something that you
hope you never have to use, butit's like an insurance policy.
You do the training, you puteverything in place in the
background and then, if you doneed to use it, you're you hit
(08:45):
the go button and it just allrolls out and then you navigate
it, and so we come in and do agap analysis.
And then the third part, andit's the most fun part that's
where we get the CEOs and theexecutives, the spokespeople,
and we put them in front ofcameras and we come up with
hypotheticals and then weabsolutely torture them, we
break them down so badly andthen it's all recorded and then
(09:06):
we build them back up.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
It's all recorded and then we build them back up.
Now, speaking in front of anaudience and indeed, speaking in
front of the media, two sidesof the same coin, potentially,
you know, come easily to a lotof people, or seem to come
easily to a lot of people, butsome people are really nervous
about it.
Do you think it's a skill?
And I guess your whole businessis revolving around this but is
it a skill that can be easilylearned if you're not used to it
(09:30):
or you're a bit nervous?
Speaker 2 (09:31):
So it can't be easily learned, but it can be learned.
And this is what we do.
We put a whole range and wehave a whole range of exercises
and different modules that we gothrough.
Number one we look at whypeople don't like standing in
front of an audience or don'tlike standing in front of a lens
, and there's a lot of sciencebehind that.
So we've done a lot of researchinto the science behind the
(09:54):
speaking anxiety.
So we have a look at that andthen we start to give you some
tools to help you begin tomanage that anxiety.
And so that's the very firstpart.
And then from there we go intowhat we call effective practice
and rehearsal.
And so there is practice andrehearsal, and that's amazing.
(10:16):
But I have an effectivepractice and rehearsal method
that if you do on a regularbasis, you will gain that
confidence very, very quickly.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
So a lot of it is about confidence and just your
general self-belief.
Yeah, so 100% self-belief.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
What do they say?
Attitude and self-beliefoutweigh everything.
But we also talk about theexposure hierarchy, and so the
more times you expose yourselfto these situations whether it's
sitting here doing a podcast,whether it is standing in front
of a small group, larger groupaudience, large audience or in
front of the media the moretimes you do it, the quicker
(10:57):
that your body will feel asthough it's in a safe place, and
then all the result of thatanxiety, those mental and
physical effects of that, allstart to go away.
They'll still be there a littlebit, and that's a good thing
that they're there, because thatmeans it matters, but you'll be
able to manage it a lot better.
It won't get in the way of whatyou're doing.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
So what kind of customers do you have?
Are they small businesses,large businesses or a mix?
Speaker 2 (11:23):
When we hit the go button in 2019, if you had have
said you're going to be trainingthis person or that person or
this group of people, I wouldhave said no way.
And so it starts.
I have a federal politician whoI provide media advice to and
media training to, so she was afirst-termer this time around.
I've helped people withdisability be able to go into
(11:44):
the media and talk about theirvery important causes.
I've helped one-star brigadiergenerals with their media and
talk about their very importantcauses.
I've helped one-star brigadiergenerals with their media and
also speaking training intogovernment officials who are
going overseas on mission rightinto then.
I talk about one particularstartup who I helped last year
(12:06):
in 2024.
And so they have thisincredible product that they've
been spending a huge amount oftime on developing and they were
then seeking venture capital.
So they came to me and they hadthe makings of a pretty strong
pitch, but they came to me atthe last second and said we
don't know how to present it.
We don't know how to do this.
(12:26):
So in after hour sessions abouta week and a half out, we did a
whole range of training.
We tweaked the, the, the pack alittle bit, and so off they
went and they came back withthree million dollars that's a
pretty good return on a coupleof nights training right, and I
wouldn't.
I sit here and I still getgoosebumps when I talk about
(12:49):
those sorts of situations,because I'm making a difference
in people's lives and thisproduct that they have will make
a huge difference.
It can save people tens ofmillions of dollars and that's
really important for allbusinesses to be thinking about
right.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Yes yes, yes, so without giving too much away.
I mean, what's the sort of thetop trick of the trade that
you're offering?
Speaker 2 (13:10):
No, no, no, no.
So a lot of people say what'sthe one thing that you tell
people?
And so there's many, manythings that I tell people, but
the number one piece of advice Ilike to offer is don't
overthink it, don't overthink it.
And so then we go into the ideaof developing patterns and
routines of effective practiceand rehearsal, and then we're
(13:34):
back to self-belief.
You know belief and attitude.
Self-belief and attitudeoutweigh everything.
So, number one don't overthinkit.
Number two create yourself anopportunity and a routine of
effective practice and rehearsal.
And then, number three,self-belief.
Have a crack, just go out anddo it.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
Because what's the worst that can happen, right?
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Well, the yes, you say that with a smile on your
face.
Plenty can happen, but it isall about the work in the
background.
A lot of you know with the TEDTalks, right?
So the huge, amazing, beautifulpresentations that they do at
their annual conferences every12 months.
So you, let's have thisconversation.
(14:14):
You give me what's the timelinethat you think that someone
from signing on the piece ofpaper to say, yes, I'm going to
present at TED, to walking onthe stage and delivering the
18-minute presentation, have acrack.
What do you think?
That might be Three months.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
No, no, no, six months.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Right, Right.
So all the work is done in thebackground.
Yet all we see is that amazing18 minutes and you go whoa, that
person is amazing, they'reincredible.
It comes so naturally.
It's just like no, no, no, no,no, the work is done in the
background.
It's like the iceberg, right?
You only get to see the fancybit at the top.
Everything's underneath.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Yeah, so obviously you've been running the business
now for a number of years.
How's business going?
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Yeah, I like to say it's a roller coaster and I'm
hanging off the back, beingflung around and the ups and the
downs and the ebbs and theflows, and when an email comes
in from and this only happenedthis week, it happened twice.
Yesterday, in fact, I had areally great training
(15:11):
opportunity, a media trainingopportunity from a national
organization that I've workedwith here in Canberra.
But they have some New SouthWales executives that now need
some media training as well, andso they've come back to me and
they want me to travel to Sydneyto do that.
And I go, I think to myselfthat is amazing, because they
placed great value on thetraining.
(15:32):
They must have had excellentoutcomes and experiences.
And so when that email pops upand they come along, you know,
at a reasonably regular time, Ijust love that.
And then the second part tothat is with the presenting, and
this same thing happened.
We had an external eventsorganisation outside of Canberra
(15:52):
came in, recommended throughthe Canberra Convention Bureau,
and so they contacted medirectly and now I'm hosting an
event it's a national eventthat's going to be held here in
Canberra, and so when thoseemails come up, you just go wow,
all the hard work, all themarketing, all the thought the
4am starts, all of that is justworth it.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
And again, all of that background work is not what
we see when we see you proceed.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
No way and that I would put it to you that for
most small to medium businessesand you will know this,
definitely the work that happensin the background, you know the
family and friends around you,the support, those big moments
where you've got to go, they'resliding door decisions.
You've got to go left or you'vegot to go right and that can
(16:40):
have huge implications.
But again you just got to backyourself and go right.
I'm doing it this way and if itsucceeds, I'll have had a great
experience.
I'll have made a little bit ofmoney amazing, we get to eat
tonight and then I'll be able touse those experiences.
Or if it doesn't work, then youstill have a lot to draw from
and you'll be eating two minutenoodles.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Hopefully not.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
No, no, no.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Now it's interesting that you're doing work out of
state going up to Sydney and Iguess you've worked all around.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Australia right.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
So do you think that there are differences between
doing business here in the ACTcompared to other places in
Australia?
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Yeah, I'm not sure that I'm in a position to answer
that, because while I'mdelivering the work outside of
Canberra, most of it isdeveloped here in Canberra.
I'll just fly in and fly outand what I have found and again,
this again is warming out.
And what I have found and again, this again is warming.
(17:38):
So organizations come intoCanberra and they'll host an
event or they'll do sometraining or whatever the piece
of work is, and then 12 monthslater, if they have another
conference and it was inCanberra in 2024, but it's on
the Gold Coast in 2025, thenthey ask me to come and do that
Now.
Again, that's just the sign ofa really good service that I've
provided.
It shows that I've understoodwhat the event is.
(18:00):
I've added my little flavor toit as well.
So I've got a range of clientsnow.
I mean, I've delivered trainingin Tasmania, sydney.
I've been all over Australiadelivering events, playing host
of conferences and awards nightsand all sorts of things, and
it's kind of cool.
You get to have a plane rideand you roll on in and you get
(18:21):
to work with the team that's putso much work in the background
and then you get to go and holdit all together.
I was only having aconversation yesterday online
with a very, very top levelspeaker from the Professional
Speakers Australia Association.
So he's an internationalspeaker and he doesn't like
doing emceeing.
(18:42):
And we're talking about myemceeing role and we both agreed
that the emcee, or theconference host, at whatever
event, it's the most importantrole on the day or night,
because that is the differencebetween having the flow and the
energy and making it engaging,but not over engaging.
(19:04):
You've got to be very careful.
You're not the star theaudience is, so you have to.
It's got to be a real mix andthere's some speakers will go
over time, some speakers will gounder time, and there's some
speakers will go overtime, somespeakers will go under time.
You sometimes have to go outinto an audience with a
microphone and you know,continue on conversations, so
you've got to be across thetopic as well.
So there's all these thingsthat a professional MC knows to
(19:28):
do and the ones that do it well.
Just it helps.
Well, it doesn't help.
It makes the event.
It really does.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
So it must be really hard to get your head across all
the events and all the detailsthat you might need to know
about an industry or anassociation or whatever it is.
How do you go about doing?
Speaker 2 (19:47):
that.
Ask me anything about recordsmanagement, and I can tell you
so Rimpa is one of my clientsthat I do amazing work for year
after year, and we're going downto Melbourne at the end of the
year.
It's the work in the background.
So the Festival of Speed inCanberra is a big event, and I'm
(20:07):
lucky enough to work atSummonats, but I'm also lucky
enough to work at the Festivalof Speed as well, and there's a
whole range of different carsNow I'm a car guy, and there's a
whole range of different cars.
Now I'm a car guy, but there's awhole range of different cars.
I mean, they're going to haveone of Mario Andretti's Formula
One cars.
The Mach 4 is going to bedriving around the track.
They're going to have one ofKimi Raikkonen's Formula One
cars as well, and so I don'tneed to be an expert on those
(20:32):
cars, but I do need to go awayand do some research and some
reading and then just use my ownknowledge.
And so it's just that that mixof that and you talk about going
on plane rides you.
That usually means you'resitting in an airport, for you
know an hour, hour and a half aswell.
So if the time of the day isright, I'll usually sit there
with the night's crisp coldclass of beer researching and
(20:56):
taking everything in.
So it again.
It's all done in the backgroundand is it just you, kim?
Speaker 1 (21:02):
are you a you effectively a sole trader, or
are you?
Have you got a team and behindyou?
Speaker 2 (21:05):
yeah, so I started the business off as a sole
trader, uh, and then afteraround 18 months or so, I was
off the advice of a very, veryclever and great accountant.
Um, she advised me to change itinto a company.
So we did the whole bigchangeover.
So it's now a proprietarylimited company and all the
things that go along with that.
Essentially it's me running it,but I have a number of people I
(21:29):
surrounded myself with, a groupof people that I can draw from.
So if there's an event organizerwho comes to me and says we'd
love to have you host this event, but I'm already booked for
that, I'll be able to sayalready booked.
Apologies, but I can highlyrecommend this person to come in
and do the job, knowing that,number one, they'll do an
(21:49):
amazing job, which my reputationis staked on.
But, number two, that thesepeople are close to me.
They won't also then white-antme and get the work from the
next time.
And same with the speaking andmedia training as well.
There's a couple of people thatI can draw on that, if I need
to bring them in, I can do that.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
And what's the advantage of being a company
compared to being a sole trader?
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Oh well, that's a question for my accountant and
it really is Like I was.
You know, again in my researchsole trader looked like that was
going to cover all the boxesand for the first part, for the
first 18 months or so, it reallyreally did.
But then, off the advice ofpeople who know more than me and
(22:39):
I'm very, very happy to lean onexperts just by, just like
people lean on me as an expert.
If someone says, okay, we thinkwe need to do this and they can
show me all the reasons why andthat that, and answer that
question at the top why do weneed to do it like that, then
I'm all in.
So that's my answer and that'show I look at that.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
All right.
So what are the big challengesyou've encountered running the
business over the last couple ofyears?
Speaker 2 (23:07):
Yeah, so one of the big ones and this sort of reared
its head at the end of lastfinancial year was is as a
result of the, the big fourconsultancies and the way that
they've treated the Australiantaxpayer, and so then the way
the Australian government hasreacted to that, and so there's
(23:28):
a whole range of businesses, notjust in Canberra, around
Australia who have had to changebusiness models because the
work has just dried up.
And so from those massive bigfour conglomerates to the ones
that sit under just that, andthen smaller and smaller and
smaller, right down to sort ofoperators like me, there's
(23:49):
training work that has dried up.
And so I suppose what I've hadto do is, number one, recognize
that and recognize why it'shappened and how it's happened,
and accept it and then puttingto plan a process of okay, so
how do I get out there and wavethe flag a little bit higher so
people know what I'm doing, andif they have the conversation or
(24:12):
they've been asked to speak infront of others and they're
completely terrified, they knowto come to me to gain some
advice.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
And what's been the highlight for you of being a
business person rather than apresenter?
Speaker 2 (24:28):
Yes, well, that's a big question.
I suppose the highlight is thatsatisfaction and, look, I was
able to do this on radio as well, and I think the term changing
people's lives that's bouncedaround quite a bit, but I
certainly have done that as apresenter on air.
We've done all sorts ofincredible things that have
(24:50):
changed lives.
There's no doubt about that,and I get to do that also with
some of the services that Iprovide through my training and
my experiences that I providethrough my presenting.
Just at the idea of standing upin front of others or going and
(25:15):
sitting in front of a lens,taking those people and showing
them how to actually get up anddo it, and when I stand back and
watch that play out and then Iwatch them do it, that's
incredible.
That's really very satisfying.
It's very satisfying.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
And that impact must be really noticeable, to you and
to them, I guess.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
Oh, it's very noticeable to them, because
before they couldn't do it andnow they can.
And for me it's just, I suppose, if you like, a vindication,
maybe that what I'm doing andwhat I'm showing people is
working.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
Do you think that people who go through your
training, or indeed people whodo this stuff all the time, is
there always a degree ofself-doubt, do people beat
themselves up about how wellthey did it and do they think
they didn't do it well enoughwhen actually they did, and kind
of, what's your take on that?
Speaker 2 (26:06):
Yeah, 100%.
So self-doubt and fear of beingjudged are the very basics of
fear and anxiety, and so everypresenter, including myself, my
hand is up so high here in ourlittle podcasting studio when I
walk off stage or when I walkaway from a screen or when I
(26:29):
walk out of a room that I'vebeen doing presenting in, I will
walk out of here going oh jeez,I said that, but I probably
could have said it a little bitbetter.
I won't worry about the 99other amazing things that I did.
It's just all, and that's humannature to always zero in on
that little negative piece.
But that just means that's howneuroscience is trying to make
(26:50):
us better at something, becauseit's like, okay, I did it, like
this, not quite sure.
So, yes, people definitely havethat self-doubt and you know
there's always going to be that.
But we try and make peopleaware of it and then again give
them the tools and show themways to work around it.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
Yeah, and my guess would be that in 99% of cases
the audience probably doesn'tever notice anyway.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
They absolutely don't know.
And so a very, very famousSydney radio presenter told me
and it was someone who Iabsolutely based some of the
things that I ended up doing onair off this person because I
just loved the way that theypresented in Sydney and I loved
the way that they made me feelabout living in Sydney and I
(27:36):
love the way that they made mefeel about living in Sydney.
And so I was able to meet thisperson sadly now passed meet
this person, have someinteractions on quite a few
occasions, and I talk aboutbeing starstruck, right, Like I
was definitely starstruck andI've met some pretty famous
people in this world, Don'tworry about that.
But he said, he said, Cam, it'snot how many mistakes you make,
(27:57):
it's how well you hide them.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
Very good advice.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
I think Best sage advice, best advice ever.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
And I guess Cam.
Just to close this off on thesubject of advice, if you were
talking to someone who wasthinking about starting their
own business, whatever thatbusiness is, what advice would
you give them?
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Research, research, research, find out, have a look
at the market.
So it's interesting.
Over Christmas, someone askedme exactly this.
They have an interest, they'revery passionate about something,
and they've watched me developmy business, hit the go button
(28:35):
and then roll it out and have areasonable degree of success.
They said how did you do that?
And I said there's two mainelements.
Number one you've got to have apassion.
You've got to have somethingthat just ignites you on the
inside, something that you justwant to sing to the world about.
So you've got to have that.
And number two and this iswhere the tricky part comes in
(28:56):
you've got to work out how tomonetize it.
And so if you've got thatbeautiful passion, if you've got
that, then you've got to workout how you can put it together
and make some coin out of it andthen do all the other things
that will flow on from whateveryou're passionate about.
So those are the two thingsthat I talk about.
(29:16):
When people ask me how did youstart it?
Are you enjoying the smallbusiness?
All those things are like okay,here's where it started.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
Yeah, Some really good advice there, I think.
Cam, thank you so much forjoining us.
That's Cam Sullings, theManaging Director of Present
with Impact.
It's been great having a chattoday.
I've really enjoyed ourconversation and if you do want
to know more about CAM or hisbusiness, check out
camsullingscomau.
Now this podcast has beenbrought to you by the Canberra
Business Chamber with thesupport of Care Super, an
(29:45):
industry super fund withcompetitive fees and returns,
exceptional service and a focuson real care.
So thanks Care Super and thanksCAM.
Great having you here.
And don't forget to follow uson your favourite podcast
platform to stay up to date withthe latest editions of the
Canberra Business Podcast.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.