As the founder of OVENS International, Sam Ovens is responsible for creating nine millionaire consultants in addition to the well over 100 others earning well in excess of six figures. These remarkable achievements occurred in the four-year period in which Sam went from being broke to building a consulting business that earned him over $10 million and allowed him to move out of his parents’ garage in New Zealand and into a posh lifestyle in Manhattan.
Sam founded OVENS International with the goal of eventually transitioning to e-learning and online training programs, but got his start by providing specific digital marketing consulting services on his own. After building a roster of clients that featured some of the fastest growing companies in New Zealand, Sam’s reputation as a skillful and highly effective marketing consultant allowed him to shift his focus to creating the e-learning and online training courses that are responsible for helping so many of Sam’s clients achieve an unthinkable degree of success as well as tremendous long-term financial security.
The success of OVENS International also allowed Sam to diversify his entrepreneurial endeavors, as he utilized some of the capital from his consulting business to create SnapInspect, a digital application that has become the most popular digital home inspection tool available to home inspection professionals. After developing the concept and building the company from scratch, Sam’s efforts in creating SnapInspect yielded incredible results in less than two years. The success of the company led to widespread interest from buyers, and Sam decided to sell the company at a profit yielding a significant return on investment.
As Sam has often pointed out, consulting has been and will continue to be his principal passion. While he enjoyed the challenge of building SnapInspect from the ground up, he felt comfortable selling the company at a relatively early stage knowing that it would allow him to pursue his unyielding passion for consulting.
1. What was your best/favorite subject in school?
To be perfectly honest, I never did all that well in school. Professors often told me that it wasn’t for lack of intelligence but rather for an apparent lack of interest. Entrepreneurship was really the first pursuit that sparked my interest and motivated me to succeed.
2. What was your first job?
I had a corporate job that reinforced my belief that entrepreneurship was the only path for me.
3. Where and how did you first get into the industry you currently work in?
I despised the traditional and stifling environment of the corporate world, and that was all the motivation I needed to take charge of my professional life by building a business of my own.
4. How have those jobs prepared you for what you do now?
My corporate job taught me exactly what not to do, so I suppose I should be grateful for the learning experience.
5. Describe the best day of work you’ve ever had.
The first day was incredibly liberating, so I’ll never forget how good it made me feel to know that I had taken fate into my own hands.
6. How do you keep yourself motivated?
I take so much pride in helping others achieve the success that I have achieved, so I am motivated by the desire of my clients to build a powerful business of their own.
7. What kind of business ideas excite you most?
I like business ideas that are geared toward the elimination of wasteful or time-consuming practices.
8. Have you ever tried any unorthodox techniques to attract attention to your business?
As a digital marketing consultant I have absolutely tried all kinds of unorthodox strategies to attract attention. How will you ever know what might work if you never try it?
9. What personal achievement are you most proud of?
I am proud that there are so many people who can say that my e-learning programs have provided them with the tools necessary to become millionaires.
10. What wisdom you would have liked to share with yourself when you first started out?
I would have told myself that it is always better to gamble on your own abilities than to seek the security of a job that comes with significant limitations in terms of opportunities for advancement and wealth generation.