What is the 30under30?
30under30 is an Anthill initiative launched in early 2008 to encourage and promote entrepreneurship among young Australians.
Each year, we invite our readers to nominate young Australian entrepreneurs deserving of recognition for their outstanding entrepreneurial endeavours. More.
Nicole Kersh, NSW (b.1984)
Name: Nicole Kersh
Age: 29 (Born: May 1984)
Gender: Female
State: NSW
Known for: 4Cabling
When she was a university student, Nicole Kersh spent time helping her parents with their cable installation business. Learning about the cable trade, Kersh saw (and subsequently seized) an opportunity.
“I soon realised there was a tremendous opportunity to shake up an industry that was not only stale and stagnant, but plagued with multitudes of middlemen,’ Kersh says.
The result is 4Cabling, a company that Kersh has grown from an initial $9000 investment (of her own money), into a company that has turned over $8,000,000 in seven and a half years.
Since its inception, 4Cabling has grown considerably, even outgrowing its warehouse facilities no fewer than seven times in as many years. Kersh started the business on her own, with no outside investment, but she says, her best move was hiring her first employee, during the first year of the business’ operation.
“At the time, I wasn’t sure I was ready to hire, and it was Georgina who approached me. Adding different qualities than I did, I was very lucky to have her through the intense growth that followed,” says Kersh.
“Since, we’ve been lucky to hire a team who share that same dedication and passion.”
But it wasn’t all easy along the way. Kersh says that, like many female entrepreneurs, she had to overcome many objections to a woman-run cabling business.
“For a while I would answer all client queries via email and sign it ‘Phil’. When I did need to speak with them, I pretended I was the manager, or Phil’s assistant. The new strategy worked for those who preferred thinking there was a man in charge – even if they’d never met him,” she adds.
Fortunately, the business world has come around a bit more since then, and Kersh has made a name for herself and her brand for shaking up the IT cabling industry and bringing it into the 21st century.
“I could see the frustrations that my parents faced, with long lead times and expensive prices. I knew that by using an online model, we would be able to change all that,” Kersh continues, “and I was dedicated to make it work, because I had been a customer earlier. I understood the frustrations, which made me even more passionate to create change.”
According to Kersh, the industry has responded, with many clients demanding only 4Cabling products be used throughout their buildings.
Anthill asks: Nicole Kersh, what’s your super power?
My superpower is being able to see into the future (where others in my industry can’t). In 2006, I saw an industry that was languishing in the past and was held back by its own resistance to change. I’ve never been afraid to act on my predictions, as I know it is what gives me a competitive advantage.
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To check out the full list of Anthill’s 30under30 winners, click here.
