My name is John Burkett, principal of Advicepoint Business Consulting..

By academic training I have a degree in Psychology. My commercial background is in Sales and Marketing in the IT industry. In 1991 I set up a business in the UK which grew into a successful public company group, eventually this business was sold to a large USA based IT company.

Developing this business, and going through all the ups and downs that a business owner experiences, led me to understand how it’s necessary to make the transition from ‘start up entrepreneur’ to ‘business manager’ as a business grows and develops. To help me deal with this I did two key things, firstly I put in place an Advisory Board that later went on to form the main company Board, I believe that doing this was a key element of the success of the business. Secondly, I put myself though an MBA with one of the leading business schools in the UK, so I have both real life experience as well as the business theory behind me! As part of my MBA I did specialisations in Business Strategy, Business Finance and Creativity & Innovation.

I am a Graduate of the AICD Company Directors course, a Mentor at Brisbane’s River City Labs, and a long serving Mentor and occasional Chairman on the Queensland State Government Mentoring for Growth program.

While a lot of my experience has been in technology and software related fields, my skills in business management and business development, with a special focus on sales and managing sales teams and distribution channels, has led to being able to support and advise businesses in a wide range of industries and sectors.