Page 17 - Demo

EXCLUSIVE FEATURE 15 soon as I possibly can. I genuinely mean that.” His deep passion for men’s mental health has led Steve to partnering with the Build a Brotherhood foundation, whose tagline is ‘men matter also’. “It’s based on the fact that men do matter, and men do need to have a voice, and they do need to speak about how they’re feeling,” he said. “I understand that females should also be allowed to share their feelings and thoughts. It’s very important that they do. \[But\] men need to as well ... At the end of the day we \[too\] have feelings. Our heart beats exactly the same as everybody else’s and there are things that get us down as well. I think it’s very important that guys do get the message.” For both men and women, the COVID-19 crisis has made speaking up and reaching out even more important, he says. “You’ve got Beyond Blue and Lifeline, and all of these \[organisations\],” he said. “Especially \[during\] these trying times with COVID-19 ... people should reach out and talk, because it’s very important to get stuff off your chest. “I understand it’s tough. It’s tough for everybody in the world right now. I think that if you need to talk to somebody just \[do it\]. And like I said, if people want to reach out, they can talk to me. I’m happy to.” Thankfully, crises such as COVID-19 won’t last forever, and life, to one degree or another, will regain normality, eventually, so it’s important also not to lose sight of the bigger picture: the big goals we’ve set out to achieve that are currently on hold. For Steve, his goal is to open “another two \[barber\] shops” once the pandemic is over. He began this process about five weeks before the crisis took hold in Australia. “I want to open, hopefully, another two shops – another one this year and at least another one in 2021,” he said. “But obviously, with COVID-19, that’s put things on hold. Providing this disappears sooner rather than later for everybody, not only in Australia but around the world, then I’ll definitely be revisiting that opportunity with my business partner.” As a successful businessman, Steve’s advice to retail pharmacy assistants, especially during difficult times, is to look after your customers. “The customer interaction has gone compared to what it used to be year ago,” he said. “My business is built around relationships. I can honestly say that a high proportion of the clients that come into my shop I’d class as my friends. \[In fact\], I don’t class my customers as clients, I class them as my friends.” According to Steve, the key to business success is to “keep on looking after the ones that look after you”– an area in which retail pharmacy assistants play a significant role. “The service that you offer in any business – your service is everything,” he said. “You must be continually looking at doing things differently in terms of offering an amazing service to your clients that are coming into your business. Because if you don’t, somebody else will. They’ll end up going there.” For information on Build a Brotherhood, visit: buildabrotherhood.com For those who are struggling with their mental health during the COVID-19 crisis, please reach out to: beyondblue.org.au or lifeline.org.au You can find Steve on Instagram at @steve_burley_ RETAIL PHARMACY ASSISTANTS • MAY 2020