John lives in Australia's National Capital, Canberra.
John has always been interested in business and marketing. Throughout his 50-year business career, John has developed an ability to see the big picture, analyze a field, develop a plan, and use creative marketing to produce excellent results. He believes that ethical business practices are not only morally important, but actually deliver better growth than unethical practices.
John started his first registered business at 14, selling stamps and first-day covers to stamp collectors. His second business, at 16, was selling telescopes and binoculars. Both commenced a pattern of wanting to work in fields that were interesting, and also where his contribution could make a wider impact.
John started a retail career at 16, and found a niche in the consumer electrical field. He was in his element with the introduction of consumer electronics- video recorders, microwave ovens, calculators, personal computers, etc. Success required understanding the 'big picture'; being able to pick winners, and being able to creatively market, with education of management, staff and customers a must. He acted as Company Buyer-Electrical for a major chain of 23 stores, producing outstanding growth, then founded own business, Electricland Pty Ltd.
Later, he entered Residential Real Estate. Within 18 months had risen to Sales Manger Head Office of the largest Agent in his city, managing up to 19 sales staff, and coordinating the advertising for a chain of 7 branches.
Later still, as Merchandise Manager at the world-famous Australian Institute of Sport, he took an ailing business, and grew profits at 20% compound per annum for almost 10 years.
After the AIS, stints as Visitor Centre Manager at the local Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, and as General Manager of a wastewater treatment company, introduced John to the practical aspects of environmentalism. As a result, he formed Enviro Friendly Products, which today sells a diverse range of water and energy-saving products.
During the 90's, John discovered the Internet. As someone who loves knowledge and learning, he saw its potential. In 1999, John founded A Better Life: It's Your Future! Ezine, and Successful Thinking Ezine. ABL:IYF! offered subscribers an eclectic mix of self-development, health and financial information. As a creative Marketer, John saw the potential of the Internet for business, but saw a widening gap between people who understood real-world business, and those who understood the internet.
In late 1999, Shelley Lowery, of Web-Source.net fame, had decided to cease publishing her popular Marketing AdZine. As a happy subscriber to ABL:IYF!, and having collaborated with John on a few occasions, she generously offered it to him. On January 6, 2000, John took over MAZ, and in May 2000 a rebadged Web Marketing Ezine was launched on an unsuspecting world. Over the next three years WME continued to grow, enjoying a subscription list made up many thousands of real and would-be marketers scattered around the globe.
Meanwhile, John's family business Enviro Friendly Products was growing strongly, largely on the back of of his high-ranking website Enviro-Friendly.com. The site today has more than 300 pages, with hundreds of Top 5 search engine rankings. Nearly 2000 visitors a day visit the site, looking for real world products such as water tanks, greywater systems, solar hot water and solar power systems. While the business has grown to a turnover of A$5 million, around A$2 million a year is directly attributable to the website. Enviro Friendly is the leading Dealer in the country for a number of its major products, and is highly respected in its field.
The time demands of running his own business, and of applying Web Marketing principles there, has meant that Web Marketing Ezine ceased publication some years ago. It's a testament to John's SEO and web marketing skills that WME still ranks near the top in Google for the term 'web marketing', and that EFP is such a success.
John is married with three grown sons. His wife Clair acts as Administration Manager of EFP. His eldest son, David, is his partner in EFP. Another son, Robert, has recently joined the firm. A third son, Mark is involved in policy formulation and project management in the environmental field.
John has been a Member of the Australian Institute of Management, and is a Member of the Marketing Institute of Australia. He has been active in the political sphere, enjoys science and technology, and is an active track-and-field (Masters) athlete. A strong believer in ethics in business, John has been a Member of i-Cop since 2001, and is a signatory to the Ethical Business Pledge.
