Trainee takes on his own business at 20

Upon completing his traineeship with AFL SportsReady, Queenslander Henry Leong was inspired to make a move he never thought possible, taking over the business from his host employer.

The company is called Active Stride and is an online service that provides fitness enthusiasts with quality sport/fitness products and devices as well as information and other services.  Henry graduated from his traineeship in 2015 and thought it would be a great opportunity to run the business himself.

‘I always had the mindset that I wanted to start my own business eventually but I didn’t think it would happen this soon.’ Henry explained.

‘I saw the prospect staring me in the face and I thought why not, I’ll give it a go!  I’ll take the chance and do the best I can,’ he said.

Thanks to doing the traineeship Henry was confident he had the skills and determination it took to head the business.

‘I really got a taste of working full-time and I loved it. The traineeship threw me straight into the work force and gave me the confidence and skillset I needed to make this decision.’

As part of his traineeship, Henry also studied a Certificate III in business where he learnt fundamental knowledge about business operations.

‘My qualification definitely helped me with this new venture. I’m still learning though and it’s not easy but I am constantly evolving in this role every day and I’m loving every minute of it,’ he laughed.

‘My advice to anyone thinking about doing a traineeship is go at it 100 %. I don’t believe I would be in this position so soon if it wasn’t for AFL SportsReady. So go in and give it your best shot, there is nothing holding you back. If you believe in yourself you can achieve anything.’ 

DATE: 13th of December 2016

AUTHOR: Marissa Pagliarello