James Chapman-Smith

Partyrama Group (Discount Party Supplies & Costumes.com.au)

Discount Party Supplies started as a very small idea. My wife wanted to make an extra $50 a week selling party supplies online. Fast forward a few years and the business had grown quickly but then it stalled. 
We hit around $2M in turnover and stayed there. From the outside it looked fine. On the inside, we were working hard, attending conferences, consuming content… and still stuck. What I didn’t have was peers.
In 2016, I joined EO. At the time, I wasn’t even sure it was what I was looking for. But very quickly, everything changed. Sitting in a room with other business owners, people with real skin in the game, people who ‘can’t just quit’ was different to anything else I’d experienced. It felt like finding my tribe. Conversations were real. 
Challenges were shared openly. No advice. No ego. Just experience. EO didn’t just help me think differently, it changed how we ran the business.
The operating system we use today came through EO. Key expertise that helped us scale marketing came through EO. My understanding of profitability, growth, and leadership sharpened through EO especially Forum.
Forum and retreats consistently leave me feeling bulletproof. Clear. Grounded. Ready to make the next hard decision. 
Today, our business operates out of a 4,000sqm warehouse and is the largest online party supplies retailer in Australia. I can say without hesitation: that growth would not have happened without EO. But EO hasn’t just transformed our business, it’s transformed me. That’s why I’ve taken on leadership roles. That’s why I’ve served on the chapter board, as Chapter President, and why I’m now stepping into regional leadership. 
Giving back to a community that’s given me so much has been one of the most rewarding parts of the journey.
EO is not about tactics.
It’s not about networking.
It’s about becoming a better entrepreneur and, honestly, a better human.