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Balancing the Grind with Kadir Gunduz, Founder of Cars For Sale by Cars.Auto

Kadir Gunduz is the founder of Cars For Sale by Cars.Auto, an innovative auto classified site and dealership software solution. 

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1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?

I started programming when I was about 16. I worked as a business intelligence developer and freelanced for a number of years as a senior software developer, and eventually moved into the advertising industry as a creative technologist. 

Today, I work in my own business, Cars for Sale, with the humble job title of dealer support, though I am the chief software developer and general day to day manager of the business. 

After hearing time and time again from dealers about extravagant pricing in the car classified space, we took matters into its own hands by building Australia’s most advanced car classified site dedicated to licensed motor dealers. Since launching in 2015 with just 30 dealers, we have since grown to over 600 dealer partners around Australia.

2) What does a day in your life look like? Can you take us through a recent workday?

I start and finish my days early as often as I can. In the morning I get the most important things done first then spend the rest of my day putting out fires and essentially thinking of ways to start new ones. 

Overseeing the most advanced dealership software for motor dealers in Australia means I’m always thinking of innovative ways to do things that are focused on our customers’ success, and I experiment with ideas all the time.

3) Does your current role allow for flexible or remote working? If so, how does that fit into your life and routine?

I am able to decide where I spend my day working and all our staff have this choice too. We moved to laptops many years ago to facilitate a more adaptable approach. Home isn’t my favourite work environment. I find separating professional and home life works best for me as it gives me a chance to turn off from work when I need to.

4) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?

It’s extremely important to balance your work and home life. There will always be things to accomplish no matter how hard you work. I only ever do a few minutes of work at home and during the weekends, if it is necessary. We also make sure nothing mission-critical to our customers is done on a Friday, which allows for quiet weekends.

5) In the past 12 months, have you started or stopped any routines or habits to change your life?

I’ve started exercising a few mornings a week and I find that it helps me feel good on a physical and mental level. 

6) Do you have any favourite books, podcasts or newsletters that you’d like to recommend?

I’m not into fiction. I appreciate facts and perceptive takes on current events. I predominantly read zerohedge.com, and news.com.au. 

7) Are there any products, gadgets or apps that you can’t live without?

From a work perspective My iPhone and my MacBook are things that come to mind. In terms of home life I cannot do without Spotify. I really enjoy music.

8) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be?  

To be honest – and I hope this doesn’t reflect poorly on me – I’m not interested in other peoples’ stories, people I don’t know. It does not interest me that Richard Branson may spend 15 minutes on the toilet in a yoga pose balancing on one foot. Or that Elon Musk juggles his work-life with short 160 character tweets after a glass of wine. For me, I don’t find value in hearing about people I don’t know and what they’re doing. 

I think your own story is the best that can be told, but it won’t be if you’re not making it up yourself as you go. The best lessons, I believe, are self taught and self learnt, and hearing about Richard Branson isn’t going to make you feel good, copying Elon Musk isn’t going to make you better. You achieve better by realising it yourself, your way.

9) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?

It’s important to give your life the attention it needs. It’s something you shouldn’t need to be told. My advice is to work as hard as you can for the highest achievable targets and learn to switch off. I struggle with switching off every day, but what helps me, at the bare minimum, is leaving work early and going home to be with my family.

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About Author

Hey there! I'm Hao, the Editor-in-Chief at Balance the Grind. We’re on a mission to showcase healthy work-life balance through interesting stories from people all over the world, in different careers and lifestyles.