The Side Hustle 01: Getting to Know Me

Reading time: 2 mins and 20 seconds.

A big thanks to everyone who has subscribed to my newsletter - The Side Hustle. In my newsletter, I'll aim to send one every Saturday, with a tip, story, or insight that I think can help ecommerce entrepreneurs to learn and grow in some capacity.

Where better to start, than to introduce myself. 

I'm fortunate to be working as a coach, advisor, mentor - whatever you want to call it, to some incredible brands, but like many of them, I started out as an young entrepreneur, trying to make it in the world of commerce, and later, commerce with an 'e' at the front.

I wasn't much good in school, and I didn't really care. I was raised my a single mum, in Sydney Australia, with my older brother. Mum was on a disability pension, and we didn't really know our Dad too well. He too was on a disability pension.

Mum was in and out of hospital, so we moved around a bit, mostly living with our Grandparents, then Aunt and Uncle, then back to Mum's little 2 bedroom flat. We didn't really care about school, we were just trying to get by.

I finished school - albeit with average grades at best. In fact, I actually sat one mathematics subject in an exam that my class mates later told me we hadn't studied through the year. Statistics. It might as well have been written in hieroglyphics - I had no idea what any of it meant. Years later, I became quite good at the numbers.

At the age of 18 I worked in a call centre at a transport company.  At 22 I somehow became a Trade Union official. Probably the youngest one in the country. It was too political for me, but I got to meet people like Bob Hawke, and several other past, present and future Labor leaders and Prime Ministers. There's nothing like speaking to night fill workers at 3am to explain their 3% pay rise in the latest enterprise bargaining agreement, to put a bit of backbone into a young person.

The best part though, was getting sent to Melbourne casino for a Union conference with $500 to spend, and spend it I did.

At that time, I didn't pursue any studies after school, although I later went on to complete an MBA in my 30's, which was useful.

I didn't really have anyone pushing me, and so I learnt to push myself.

I had always had some form of ambition to go into business. My Grandfather, who had raised me, and was my father figure (or father really), always said that I had his father's business spirit. My Great Grandfather, a Greek migrant, had gone on to own the largest sheep station  in New South Wales.

A memory that still drives me to this day, is my first boss at the transport company telling me that I would never succeed in business, after I divulged my ambitions to him. Years later he met up with me, seeking advice for that same business. 

A little mantra was formed then; By telling me I can't do something, you're binding me to doing it.

In about 2005 I started importing men's shoes. I borrowed $150k against my grandfather's property, and it was going pretty well. By 2007 I had quit my day job and gone full time with my brand. I was selling to over 200 stores around the world, and at one point had 3 retail stores at the same time. 

For all the success on paper though, it wasn't translating to money in my pockets. I spent a lot of time studying the art of building a cash positive business - not just a profitable on paper business. I've never stopped learning how to build cash in a business, it's something I always work on with my clients. Why? because I'd rather eat lobster, than tinned tuna (although I don't eat seafood). 

In about 2017 I became the Head of Operations at an ecommerce darling called Showpo, we grew from about $20m to $80m in a quick time, and it was a lot of fun.

I then became CEO of a company called The Horse, which was a unique challenge, selling watches in a time where smart watches were on the rise - but it was a great brand, and a healthy business.

 I had started getting requests to consult to other brands. My first 3 clients were Miss Amara, Babyboo Fashion, and Riff Raff and Co. I seemed to be pretty good at it, so I started an advisory business called Paul Waddy Advisory, and my time was quickly booked out. 

In 2021 I co-founded a digital marketing agency with Mal Chia and Andrew Sabatino, called Ecom Nation  and it grew very quickly. We build Shopify stores, run paid media ads, and focus on CRM for some great online retailers. 

In 2022 I wrote Shopify for Dummies, and it reached number 1 on Amazon in the USA in the Retail category. I'm about to release my next one, Selling Online for Dummies. 

Right now, I still work in an advisory capacity for online retailers, but am constantly booked out well in advance. I needed to find a way to reach more people, while my time was fully booked, so I started Learn Ecommerce, an online learning platform, where I would release courses. I released a Shopify course for beginners, and am about to release a course that teaches people how to start and make money from an online business in less than 3 months. 

So, that's me. In short:

My mission is improve the lives of the founders I work with.

My vision is to be the best in the world at what I do.

I'm a believer in making big statements in public forums, because if I say it out loud, then it binds me to do doing it.

I still live in Sydney, with my wife and 3 girls. I still coach ecommerce, and I'm pretty bloody good at it.

Thanks for reading, look out for the next one, and remember to share the newsletter if you liked it.

If you want to work with me, here's how:

1. Ongoing advisory - Fully booked

2. 1:1 Hourly coaching - Coming soon (email me at [email protected])

3. Group coaching - Coming soon

4. Webinars - Coming soon

3. Shopify Start - My online course that teaches beginners how to use Shopify

4. Ecommerce Start - My online course that teaches people how to start an online business and turn a profit in less than 3 months. 

5. Ecom Nation - Digital marketing for your business