Hey y’all,

We’ve hit peak rainy season in Mexico City. 🌧️ 

Despite this, I’ve LOVED morning strolls through the park while the sun’s still out. I can’t imagine life without my daily walks. Who’s with me?

Also, I’ve joined the Game of Threads. Come hang out. 

Today, in 10 minutes or less, you’ll learn:

• 🌏️ How Peter Park transformed from a corporate finance head to a thriving entrepreneur in Asia

• 🚀 The unconventional niche selection method that helped him kickstart a winning side hustle

• 🏎️ Lessons from the challenges and victories in turning a side hustle into a full-time business

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🗺️ From Side Hustle to Full-Time: How Peter Park Picked a Winning Niche

Peter Park is an ex-VC/Corporate turned entrepreneur passionate about connecting Australian F&B brands with Asian consumers.

He has a decade of FMCG expansion experience across 20+ countries in 4 continents (ANZ, UK, Europe, US, China). He takes pride in educating Aussie F&B brands on export opportunities in Asia, currently with a focus on Korea and Taiwan.

He enjoys writing and frequently posts on LinkedIn about his export experience and intercultural business practices. He currently runs an interview newsletter about young pioneers in Asia.

Tell us about your career journey.

I studied Law and Finance in Brisbane, Australia but I didn't want to become a lawyer. In 2015, my first job was working for one of the 'Sharks' on Shark Tank Australia. It changed my risk perception of a small business as an asset class.

For the next few years, I did financial advisory for growth small businesses in Australia, learning the art of financial storytelling. I was lucky that the job was remote which allowed me to pursue my personal passion projects in Korea and Taiwan.

In 2020, I came back to Melbourne, Australia to work for a plant-based meat scaleup. We 10x'ed the revenue and 6x'ed the team size. I took the business to the US, the UK, the EU and China.

Learning my generalist skillsets and a real passion for Asia, in 2022, I subsequently worked for a US multinational to establish their Asia division.

I almost moved to Singapore with them but decided to quit and start my own business in 2023.

You’ve gone from working full-time as a Head of Finance & Supply Chain to launching your own export service for Western brands breaking into Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam. What inspired you to make this transition?

I believe that you need three elements to be successful: Capital, Network, and Knowledge.

I don't come from a wealthy background so I didn't have much capital. I see building your own business as the best investment asset class. I want to build long-term wealth that churns enough cash flow to afford my desired lifestyle.

Having worked remotely and lived in Asia, my goal was to build a remote business that could take me to different parts of Asia.

I knew how food brands worked in expanding internationally and I had personal connections to Korea and Taiwan.

It ticked knowledge and network so I went onto build capital.

How did you apply Dexter’s niche selection method to your business?

I knew straight away that I had to start with a niche that I'm passionate about but also good enough to make a living with.

I love reading 'Ikigai' but the four-element framework was not specific enough to drill down my niche.

Dexter's newsletter in April 2023 prompted me key questions to ask.

I first identified my unique skills and strengths:

• Food Brand Finance

• International Markets

• Languages (Korean, Chinese)

I then identified my curiosities:

• Sales Negotiation

• Intercultural Communication

• Lifestyle Business

I then came up with a few solid niches - export being one of them.

Learning about customer needs was the most difficult part as it took me 8 months after this exercise to figure out the needs. Essentially, I needed to talk to overseas buyers before going out to export brands to make deals:

• I needed to get off LinkedIn as no buyers are there.

• I visited forums, posted on Facebook groups and visited supermarket aisles to check importer names on the back of the label.

• My key selling point was that I can communicate in the buyer’s language and offering them Australian / New Zealand brands which they didn’t know much about.

Initial price, offer design and sales are still work in progress but posting on LinkedIn has helped articulate my offer better.

What are 1 or 2 other things that helped you go from side hustler to full-time entrepreneur successfully?