Tony Truong is an EO Member who graduated from EO Melbourne’s Accelerator Program. He is an experienced Registered Migration Agent with more than 10 years of experience in the field of immigration law. At present, he is the Director and Principal Migration Agent of Skylark Migration Specialists.
Let’s know more about Tony as we train the spotlight on him.
Q: Could you provide a brief background about yourself, your family, and your business?
I’m a 2nd-generation migrant as my parents were born in Vietnam. Though I was born and raised here in Australia, my parents made a big effort to ensure I could still keep my cultural and linguistic heritage. Thus, I continuously improve my proficiency in my mother tongues, in the hope that I could pass this gift on to my children and have them experience the joys I have in connecting with others through language.
It almost doesn’t seem like a surprise then that I ended up starting Skylark Migration Specialists, which is a migration agency focused on helping people like my parents, who want to come and stay in Australia to start a new, better life for themselves and their children.
Q: What inspired you to embark on the entrepreneurial journey?
I’ve always been interested in starting my own business and breaking out of the standard 9-5 work cycle, even though I’ve never had an idea that wasn’t crazy enough or needed immense capital. After working for the Department of Immigration, I came to learn about the migration industry and realised this was a field for which I had the unique skills and experience to really make a contribution. I also saw an opportunity to do things differently and challenge the traditional approaches of the migration industry.
Q: What aspects of being an entrepreneur do you enjoy the most?
I really enjoy being able to implement and execute any crazy ideas I have, especially when the idea succeeds! It’s wonderful to have the room come up with creative solutions around constraints, rather than be bogged down by red tape or unnecessary limitations created by those higher-ups.
Q: What are the significant challenges you have encountered as an entrepreneur?
Through the growth of our business, it has been a challenge to ensure that we maintain the consistency and quality of our service. It has also been hard to maintain the stability of our team and to continuously attract great talent to the team, as the pandemic has drastically changed the labour market.
Q: What motivated you to join EO?
We found some success in the early days of our business. But after being introduced to EO, I could see that we were just doing it “blind” and were just lucky we’d gotten to where we were! I wouldn’t know what I didn’t know, that’s why it’s essential that I’m surrounded by those who have more experience and knowledge than myself. Also, (I joined) to be a part of a community where I can also give back where I can and help other entrepreneurs on their journey.
Q: Can you share a valuable lesson you've learned from your own experience or another entrepreneur or mentor?
My most valuable lesson so far has been to not dismiss the importance of the data and analysis and to truly understand them when making decisions. Our business had faced some tough times in the past when I didn’t quite get this. It was only by understanding how the numbers worked in my business that I truly saw where the problems and weaknesses were. All the culture, process, team capabilities, etc. that I had created for the business meant little because the numbers weren’t stacking up for our business. Of course, I couldn’t learn this all on my own and I had the support of great mentors and peers that helped me learn this lesson!