Jump Start Your Exit with Heidi Dening
Tune in for not just a story of a lifetime, but a story of two, or maybe three lifetimes.
Our latest guest, Heidi Dening’s story is one that will grab your attention. She recovered from childhood paralysis, was abducted and held at gunpoint, and even survived almost being burnt alive when petrol bombs were thrown through her windows. But one thing that pervaded these instances was her courage, and that courage followed her on her entrepreneurial journey.
She relied on it to quit her stable, teaching job to move her personal training company, Jump Start, out of her garage. Her courage allowed her to scale up to 15 trainers and support staff, become the president of her industry association, and 17 years later in 2015, sell Jump Start for the price AND the terms she asked for.
What you will learn in this episode
In this episode we’ll cover everything from:
- How Heidi’s adventurous life lessons from her youth carried over into solid business advice
- How important it is to take yourself out of the business before you want to exit
- How you don’t need a formal education to run a successful business, just a growth mindset
About Our Guest
Heidi Dening
Heidi Dening is an inspiring keynote speaker and author of a best-selling book called ‘Her Middle Name Is Courage – How Self-Leadership Transforms Pressure into Performance, Chaos into Clarity, and Rage into Resilience’. Heidi is currently on a crusade to make sure organisations and their people are resilient enough to come out of these stressful, uncertain, and changeable times.
Since flipping her own adversities such as a paralysing illness where she lost use of her legs, a gunpoint kidnapping, tsunami terror, and narrowly escaping being burnt alive when petrol bombs were thrown at her room, she now empowers others to find the courage to keep moving forward during a crisis.
Over the last 22 years, Heidi has started, scaled, and sold an award-winning health, fitness and education business; founded an international not-for-profit with hundreds of volunteers across three countries; and delivered empowering presentations and programs at Accenture, Westpac, and Metcash to name just a few.
Heidi was recently chosen for the NSW Government’s Inspirational Women showcase, and has been awarded Westpac’s International Women’s Day Local Hero Award.
She has also recently been named ‘Best International Keynote Speaker’ in the Asia Pacific region at the Influential Businesswoman Awards, is a best-selling author, and often appears in the media as an
expert on resilience.
Connect with Heidi Dening
Website: https://heididening.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heididening/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeidiDening/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heididening/
Show Notes
(8:40) When there is hope, there is a way. And while in this context, Heidi is talking about recovering from a paralysing illness in her youth, this message followed her throughout her life – including a gunpoint kidnapping, a tsunami, and narrowly escaping being burnt alive – to her professional life where she spent 17 years growing her own business.
(20:54) Before personal training was a thing, Heidi spent $200 on used equipment from Cash Converters and operated out of a ‘stinky garage’ as a side hustle that quickly grew into her sole business.
(30:50) Like many entrepreneurs, exiting was the last thing on Heidi’s mind, so learn why, after 17 years, she decided why and when it was finally time for her to sell.
(35:22) The hardest part for Heidi was determining when to tell her staff, considering she knew a few would have liked to buy her business but wouldn’t have the means. In the end, she got to choose the perfect buyer.
(46:45) One top tip to take away: “If it’s going to be, it’s up to me.” This is not just a business tip, but Heidi’s tip for life. We’re the only ones who can create the lives we want. Use that power and take control of the things we can control – whether it’s in life or business.
