When Andrew Zbik’s university mates were flipping burgers and pumping petrol, he was launching his own events hire business.
Zbik may have been working his way through a business and law degree at Sydney’s Macquarie University and only 21 years old at the time, but his entrepreneurial streak kicked in early.
“The idea came to me because I was at a friend’s 21st birthday party and we were talking about how DJs always had these bad attitudes and were never willing to play the music you wanted,” Zbik said.
“So I started a business where the DJs played the music you wanted and by the end of it, I had four people working for me.”
The business earned Zbik a tidy profit after wages and living expenses of up to $15,000 a year, which he would splurge on long holidays during university breaks.
Travel broadened his horizons
“I went on ski trips, travelled to Europe and one of the best trips of my life was an around-the-world journey,” he said.
“I spent a lot of money on travel, but I don’t regret it. I think it is a great education and one of the best ways to learn how to connect with people.”
Towards graduation, however, Zbik hungered for a bit more.
“People with law degrees – in my mind – didn’t work as DJs and I was after something more,” he said.
He was gifted a 12-month scholarship to study international law in Sweden through his local Rotary Youth Leadership Program, which changed the course of his career.
He returned newly inspired, wound up the DJ business and scored a job upon graduation with a small boutique planning firm, Maven Financial.
Zbik had never considered financial planning before; he used to help his Dad pick out stocks to invest in as a child and toyed with becoming a broker.
“But to be honest, I thought that technology would disrupt the broking business through e-trading,” he said.
“I also noticed that the financial planning business was built on trust and if you gain that trust people will stick by you.”
He spent five years with Maven before joining Omniwealth, where he is, at the age of 33, a senior financial planner.
There are no stupid questions
Clients are charged a flat fee, and any commission Zbik receives from products is rebated back to the client.
Zbik has been in the business for a decade and has loved every minute of it.
“Planning is finance, but with a personality,” he said.
“I like working with figures, while also getting satisfaction from my relationship with clients.
“People will often be embarrassed to ask a stupid question, but I find that by the third meeting they start to open up.
“And it really is satisfying when you have someone who says they don’t understand money or finances and you are able to explain it to them succinctly and clearly.”
Part of Zbik’s persistent enthusiasm stems from his enviable work-life balance.
He only schedules two review meetings a day and makes sure he takes time off each year to recharge.
For instance, he and his family are spending July and August travelling across Iceland.
Work-life balance
“I love going to obscure places that not many other people have ventured to,” he said.
“Preferably places without an internet connection so work cannot reach me.”
He has spoken to hundreds of clients about their ambitions and hopes for the future and has found that, generally, people want a combination of three things: to own their own home, to choose how much they work, and to travel.
“Travel helps put everything in to perspective,” he said.
“So often with what I do, I am working with money but travel helps you to see it is not about the zeros in your bank account.”
