Brandon Ellis pens an exclusive AFLPlayers.com.au column to explain how balance has enabled growth in football and business.
Footy is a brutal game. It’s not just the physical aspects of it, but also the mental side.
It’s an emotional roller-coaster at times and it pushes you to your limits.
Perhaps earlier in my career I didn’t quite have the right ‘life balance’ with training, meetings, family, relationships, study and business. It’s tough.
However, in recent times I’ve been able to refine my routine for optimum performance.
I think maturity plays a huge role in allowing you to set realistic goals, put a plan together on how you’re going to achieve it and actually going through with it. It becomes very difficult to achieve success without clear goals and a clear course of action.
Three years ago, I Co-Founded Uncle Jack, which is one of Australia’s fastest growing watch companies with business partner, Robbie Ball. It’s been an incredible journey thus far and we’ve had tremendous support from the AFL community.
WATCH: BRANDON ELLIS TALKS UNCLE JACK
Many would have seen our watches on Instagram over the years with more than 100 AFL players showing their support by posting a photo with their watch. We’re also a partner of The Sunday Footy Show which has given us great exposure.
We had great success early on as we were one of the pioneers of the ‘boutique’ watch industry. For decades, the industry had been unbelievably stagnant with the same brands producing the same watches, selling through the same channels.
After searching for a watch for a friend’s birthday in 2014, my business partner just couldn’t find a watch that he liked. We’re simple guys, we just didn’t particularly like the over-complicated and pretentious watches that were exclusively available at the time.
We thought we could do it better, so we did.
Uncle Jack aims to offer a fresh and simple alternative to the mainstream brands at a fair price.
In November 2016, we launched our biggest ever campaign. We collaborated with Megan Gale and Movember and created a unique three-piece range with 10 percent of every watch purchased donated straight to the Movember Foundation to support men’s health in Australia.
The campaign was featured on media outlets across the country including NOVA, KIIS, Triple M, The Today Show, Huffington Post, Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph and more.
We donated more than $12,000 at the end of the campaign and perhaps more importantly, it spread Movember’s important message to the masses.
Social responsibility is a big component of our business and aligns with our personal values, so it was a great feeling to make a positive contribution.
Balance has been incredibly important in growing Uncle Jack. It’s not just a spare bedroom operation now.
We have an office, a warehouse and a team that is helping us grow this beyond anything we could have imagined.
I think I’ve grown as a person in the last three years in particular, building resilience, learning about business as well as understanding, leading and managing people. This will be crucial for taking Uncle Jack to the next level.
This is going to be a huge year for us as we eye-off international expansion, expand the range as well as launching a partner brand.
Managing the balance in my life will enable success both on and off the field.
Check out the watch range & purchase online from our website: www.unclejackwatches.com.