Covid has hit the events industry hard and for Aaron Carter, the man behind Total Sport, one of New Zealand’s largest and well-known sports event companies, it put paid to his exit strategy from the business.
He's just thankful to still have a company and is hoping the events industry bounces back in 2021.
Despite his mistakes, Carter has built a tribe of outdoor enthusiasts with trail running and mountain biking events a speciality.
"We aim to deliver inclusive events that make people feel like champions," says Aaron. "What we do reminds me a little bit of Fight Club. We offer people an escape from high pressure jobs and take them to some wonderful locations."
Aaron chats about the loneliness of running a business and how he wish he knew about the importance of the 3 P's — Purpose, People & Passion —when he first started out in business. His advice to anyone starting out in business today is to watch Simon Sinek's TED talk , Start With Why to help you understand your purpose.
"Once you get clear on your purpose, making decisions becomes a lot easier," he says.
Aaron started his career at Sport Auckland, where he was employed as an Event Manager. His job was to deliver a portfolio of events but after a couple of years he wandered into his boss’s office, convinced him to make his position redundant, give him a contract to deliver a number of events, and Total Sport was born!
"If there’s a book in me it’d probably be called “How not to start a business – lessons learnt over the years,” Aaron admits. "I did little or no planning and I was a reluctant boss."