Hollie Black - Bolwell Select Pty Ltd

Hollie Black, 31 is the Sales and Marketing Manager of Bolwell Select Pty Ltd a family run business.

The company was established in 1999 specifically to bring professional levels of service to the world of motor scooters in Australia. The company is a joint venture between the Bolwell (Bolwell Corporation) and Black family. The idea of joining a family run business was sparked by dissatisfaction in previous employment.

Hollie then decided to join her parents at Bolwell Select. "My parents had always been in business themselves and the opportunity came up to join them in a new endeavour. I was in my mid twenties and ready to take on a new challenge and give self-employment a go!" she explained.

Celebrating their 5th year in business this October, Bolwell Select has captured the market share of the Australian scoota industry. Bowell Select is fast becoming an Australian business success story and rivalling foreign owned competitors. In the last quarter (January - March 2004), Bolwell Select owned 18.4% of the scoota market compared with the Italian owned Vespa only claiming 12.4%, according to market statistical study. The market has grown over 300% in the last six months.

Defining personal and professional success, Hollie believes that the two accomplishments have been entwined into one. We base the companys success on two things; market share and registration statistics are extremely important to us; knowing exactly where we sit with our competition helps give us direction for the business. Obviously the net profit margin also helps, especially since such huge growth spurts!

"I would define my personal success by financial security for myself and my family. Knowing that my retired, caravanning, baby boomer, nomad parents can have their credit card bill sorted out each month! It would be my dream, to be able to have the business secure enough that I can manage an overseas trip once a year and visit every corner of the globe," she said.

Having recently completed her MBA, the 31 year old Melbournian looks to her parents for inspiration, "the entrepreneurs that mean the most to me have sat at the same dinner table throughout my life. They have not only worked hard, they have tried many unusual things, some way ahead of their time. Some have worked and others have simply been hard work!"
vWhen coping with setbacks and disappointments in business, Hollie remains optimistic about the future, "Unfortunately when its your own business and your familys involved its hard not to take things personally. We then move forward, support each other and figure out ways around things; our motto is to exhaust all possibilities and only say no as a last resort," she said.

For dealer information about Bolwell Scoota visit: www.scoota.com.au or call 1800 SCOOTA (1800 726 682).