How I made my first million : 26 self-made millionaires reveal the secrets to their success

partner florist. ‘That gave us exposure to another 
two million Internet users. Overnight we became 
a household brand.’
It was during that time that Barouch realised 
he had made his first million. Just as important, he 
knew ‘the company was going to be an enduring 
business. It was a wonderful feeling.’
Today, Fastflowers has a multimillion- dollar 
turnover and is the only Internet- based florist 
to own its own stores in Sydney, Melbourne and 
Brisbane, along with a twenty- four- hour call 
centre and a warehouse. Remarkably, most of 
this growth was achieved while Barouch was still 
studying.
After completing a Bachelor of Commerce 
degree, he took Honours in Economics and did 
a Masters degree in Political Science. ‘I would 
study at night and at weekends while all my 
mates were going to the pub and playing pool, 
and then I would go back to work and stay at 

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38 HOW I MADE MY FIRST MILLION
the office till midnight. I did that for about six or 
seven years. I only finished studying about eight-
een months ago.’
Little surprise, then, that Barouch didn’t exactly 
go wild when he hit the million- dollar mark: 
‘I just concentrated on taking the business for-
ward—planned another marketing campaign. The 
money is nice. It’s given me financial freedom 
and I’ve been able to buy an apartment, which 
is ridiculously expensive in Sydney, and drive a 
BMW. But it’s the other things that give me pleas-
ure. Driving past one of my shops or hearing one 
of my ads on the radio, that’s what makes me feel 
really good. Like I’ve built something that will last.’
Barouch now mixes in exclusive circles and 
provides the flowers for some of Australia’s most 
high- profile events. Dealing with prominent 
companies such as Ford and individuals such as 
Al Gore means discretion is a must, so he enforces 
a strict privacy policy among his staff. ‘We have 
had very famous p eople call up and order flow-
ers for their mistresses. But flower companies 
around the world have been sued for leaking that 
kind of information.’
Barouch recently got married, and his success 
enabled him to give his fiancée, Amy, the perfect 
wedding. He hired Sydney Town Hall and had 
it decorated with more than 10,000 roses and 

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THE POWER OF FLOWERS 39
10,000 tulips. It took fifteen florists three days 
to assemble the displays. But there were no tears 
on the day: he was dosed up on Claratyne the 
whole time.