Womanhood Journal 2021 - Stories of real women from the Kāpiti and Horowhenua communities, NZ

International W o

men’s

021 2 y a D

Stories of real women from the Kāpiti & Horowhenua communities

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“Almost every successful person begins with two beliefs: the future can be better than the present, and I have the power to make it so.”

Welcome

Nau mai, haere mai

Congrats on getting your hands on the very first Womanhood Journal - a collection of incredible female business stories from across Kāpiti and Horowhenua, in celebration of International Women’s Day. Born out of an idea to share some inspiring stories, this journal has evolved into a wonderfully powerful record of real women’s journeys through business and life. We learned quickly that there are so many more stories to share. So consider this to be issue number one in a series that will end when women stop being in business. In other words, not anytime soon!

Behind the scenes, this journal has been lovingly put together by Anna Colville-Smith (chief wrangler and expert connector), Sarah-Jayne Shine (masterful designer and creative visionary) and Jess Deacon (editor, writer and word-finesser). Motivated by a desire to document some of the compelling stories within her community, it was Anna’s idea to bring this inspired project of hers to fruition. It’s been a great pleasure to collaborate together as a trio to give life to a publication that we hope will stick around for a while.

The theme for International Women’s Day 2021 is ‘Choose to Challenge’ and these are the key thought-starters that have served as prompts for each contributor’s individual piece: • • • • •

A challenged world is an alert world Individually, we’re all responsible for our own thoughts and actions - all day, every day We can choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequity. We can choose to seek out and celebrate women’s achievements Collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world From challenge comes change, so let’s all choose to challenge

Contents

Anna Colville-Smith

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Jess Deacon

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Sarah-Jayne Shine

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Nadia Howard

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Sally Duxfield

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Laura Beattie

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Anna Gibbs

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Monique Leith

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Steph & Andrea Bradley

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Angela Buswell

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Kylie Bensemann

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Anna Butterfield

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Elise Niu

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Lisa O’Neill

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Shannon Jefferies

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Anke Figur

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Heather Hutchings

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Helen Lea Wall & Karlina Mitchell 28

We recognise that there is power in sharing stories; for inspiration, education, and to uplift others. So here we share these authentic stories from a diverse range of admirable women. Each woman has written their own story in their own words, and all have been brave enough to share their unique journeys. Thank you for being part of the first chapter.

Lorraine Hamilton

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Amber Ferguson

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Joanna Piatek

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There are so many amazing women in our community whose stories deserve to be shared, and this is just the beginning. So bring on 2022, and a whole new journal with the next collection of wonderful stories. Please do get in touch if you’d like us to save you a space by emailing anna@acsmarketing.co.nz.

Maire Benevides

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Fiona Greig

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Alana Mitchell

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Victoria Kaye-Simmons

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Elizabeth Orr

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Finally, the proceeds from this magazine will be donated to Kāpiti Women’s Centre and Horowhenua’s local Women’s Refuge to support their important work in helping women to rise.

Enjoy.

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Anna Colvil e-Smith ACS MARKETING CONSULTANCY

It is ironic the way that life sometimes thrusts you in a direction that you are perhaps too scared to venture down yourself.

Hello, I’m Anna and after nearly 10 years living in Australia on the Gold Coast, and working in the shopping centre marketing environment, I recently found myself on the beautiful Kāpiti Coast. The birth of our second child and gorgeous daughter Evie led to a swift exit from Australia. After several health issues and hospitalisations, it was time to bring our family of four HOME. I returned to a busy corporate marketing role when Evie was 10 months old - in 2018 - and I felt I was conquering the world. 15 months into that journey of commuting into Wellington, sleep deprivation and working hard, I was facing a diagnosis of adrenal fatigue.

I knew that something in our lives had to change - the tiny voice in the back of my head was telling me this is not how life was meant to be. Eventually I resigned from my senior marketing role, leaving behind the security of a great job and a team that I genuinely enjoyed working with. I knew when I was leaving that I was going to be setting up my own marketing consultancy, yet I still felt like

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a total FAILURE. I compared myself to other super mums and I did not stack up, seemingly unable to juggle the demands of work and motherhood. Reframing my definition of success was a big part of my journey after this experience, and is still a work in progress every day.

And that is exactly where the idea for this journal came from - a motivation to share experiences, and provide an opportunity for others to be inspired by stories of women in my community.

Women in business with real lives.

Women like me.

Fast forward 18 months out on my own - and setting up a new business six months before COVID hit New Zealand and I would not change it for the world.

Special mention to my husband Aden who has supported me to make this a reality and for always being a calm and stable influence.

I’m not a writer, I’m a marketing strategist - the conductor who ensures everything is in tune and hitting the right note at the right time. This project has left me feeling exposed because I am usually the person who pulls the strings behind brands, and I find comfort in hiding behind them. However 2021 is the year of bravery for me and I felt passionate about coordinating this collection of stories and celebrating local women.

At ACS Marketing the word that matters the most is connection. Because when your business is connected to your brand, and your brand is connected to your audience, your audience notices.

Without an authentic connection between your brand and your audience, your business is talking to no one.

This year my focus is as a marketing specialist: connecting people and places, whether it be a retail precinct, tourism destination or dining space it’s all about creating places of meaning. I’m proud to champion the concepts of brand engagement, place-making and authentic storytelling. Ensuring I find ways to bring forward-thinking and collaborative ideas to all my clients is what gets me out of bed in the morning.

International Women’s Day is an opportunity to challenge myself, tell local stories and celebrate all the women in this community who have supported me to get to where I am today.

I am forever grateful to my parents and especially my mum for raising me to be independent and providing all the opportunities that I know she missed out on.

When women support each other, incredible things happen.

acsmarketing.co.nz

Jess Deacon WRITER. MUSICIAN. ETERNAL OPTIMIST.

We’re all familiar with the saying, “do what makes you happy.” It’s a straightforward concept, but it has a tendency to come with conditions.

Until I hit my 30s I considered it to be an unreachable, unobtainable notion that I could only hope would materialise at some point in the far and distant future.

Nothing particularly noteworthy happened when I turned 30, but as a single mother of two boys who had spent the best part of the previous 15 years suppressing a dream of being a musician, I suddenly had a feeling of time slipping away, and I didn’t want to waste any more days thinking, “what if?”.

The idea that a woman could make a liberating decision to make her life more fulfilling (shock, horror!) is exactly the reason that I feel strongly about International Women’s Day. Because that in itself - making a brave decision - can be anyone’s success.

People’s varying definitions of the word ‘success’, and the comparison to others’ definitions of the same word, has a very real potential to get us all into a bit of a muddle. This first became apparent to me when, around the table at a family dinner, my very clever and very up-there-in-thefinancial-world brother declared that he was the most successful person at the table. Hmm. Compared to whom, little brother? Your PhD-baring, internationallyacclaimed, opera-singing mother? Your did-life-backwards-but-loving-the-ride sister? (That’d be me.) Or your very cute nephew who - at that time - had just figured out that if he got himself dressed in the morning, he could wear anything he fancied?

Success means to move forward. Not to compare. It doesn’t define any level of any achievement within any facet of anyone’s life. Except your own, and only when you’re in charge of the defining bit. The trouble is, as we grew up, we women subconsciously learned to compare ourselves to each other and then learned to feel deflated by our own brilliant achievements.

International Women’s Day is designed to encourage women to share their own stories and celebrate their successes, whatever their endeavours. Sharing stories helps us all to realise that success is different for every single person, and that every woman’s journey is valid. Men would be wise to agree with us on this subject.

Three years ago, success for me was having the courage to walk away from a full time job that didn’t fulfill me, and attempt to forge a path doing the two things I love the most: music and writing.

This meant returning to study and hoping that I could find enough freelance work to pay the bills.

Some people told me I was brave. If being brave means following our dreams, aren’t we living life with our priorities out of whack?

Some people questioned my intentions.

Don’t worry, naysayers, I didn’t instantly forget that I’m a mother who’s responsible for (and capable of, as it happens) putting food on the table.

Some people celebrated the fact that I was willing to create a life for myself that made me happy. I like those people.

I surround myself with those people.

As it turns out, I quite liked doing the

things that make me happy. I was earning the least amount of money I had in years, living as frugally as possible, but let me tell you: my cup was full. My days were filled with music, writing, general creativity and more time with my children. I felt happier.

I finally felt like I was living life with a purpose.

Three years into this purposeful life, I now have the pleasure of telling people, with the bold enthusiasm I only ever used to dream about, that I am a musician and a writer.

Being a musician means I am finding new things to learn, practising regularly, exploring musical connections, and making plans to record and release some of my work.

Being a writer means I am nurturing my business, Deacon Rd., and writing interesting things for interesting people.

Words that mean something, and are a pleasure to read. Words without waffle.

Sentences that stand out.

At this moment in time, success for me is the fact that this is my reality: a balanced, gratifying and impassioned engendering of communication in many forms.

I take inspiration from any woman who’s also had the courage to make change.

To dare to dream, make brave decisions and acknowledge the unique journeys of others around them. Being bold and brave is never the easy road, but it’s empowering and affirming and life-changing. And that sounds like success to me.

deaconrd.co

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I expected to feel isolated at first, so I decided that owning a business was likely to be more fruitful than finding a design job. Freelancing enabled me to meet all kinds of people, rebuild my shattered confidence and to emerge from that initial sense of isolation. I’ve never looked back.

Fast forward five years and Lemonface Design is thriving with a network of diverse clients, colleagues and collaborators; a high percentage of those contacts being women. I can now be found working from The Other Side in Levin, collaborating and bouncing exciting new ideas with other talented women who share my values.

LEMONFACE DESIGN

I was chomping at the bit to be involved in this special International Women’s Day mag, featuring the voices and stories of women from Kāpiti and Horowhenua.

As a graphic designer, my job is to tell stories visually, and my passion is in empowering business owners to back their brands through visual communication by listening, leading and inspiring.

Our intention is for this journal to do exactly that.

My business Lemonface Design was born out of the need to take lemons and turn them into lemonade; figuratively speaking. At the time of its inception, my personal life consisted of workplace bullying and family violence. I was also moving from a city to a rural town.

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I’m inspired by women who have the energy and drive to rise in the face of adversity and put their ideas and dreams into action. That kind of energy is contagious and I believe that if we have more spaces and networks to support exactly this, women can be uplifted to achieve just about anything.

A lot of hard work, blood, sweat and tears went into turning my lemons into lemonade. It was worth it.

Fun fact: did you know a group of unicorns is called a blessing? Lemonface couldn’t have happened without my blessing of unicorns – women who uplifted, inspired and supported me to better myself, to grow and empower me.

There is something a bit magical when women get together to empower and support each other. I strive to be one of those magical women for others. We should all be so lucky to be part of and have a blessing of unicorns.

lemonfacedesign.com

BEDLAM HAIR DESIGN & BLISS DAY SPA

“Daring to lead – how taking risks has paid off”

Currently we employ ten people, and this team plays a big part in Bedlam’s success.

300% growth in just a few years could be overwhelming. However, taking (calculated) risks, empowering my team and being part of a supportive community has helped grow Bedlam Hair Design & Bliss Day Spa into a busy, thriving business, celebrating 12 years of pampering on the Kāpiti Coast.

I want to empower them all to make their way in the industry. We all have individual needs, but we work together and back each other up. Being a femaleled business, there are many mums on our team, so we are flexible - offering school hours or providing cover if a child is sick.

I first opened Bedlam Hair Design in Paraparaumu Beach in 2008. At the time, I was a single parent, living week to week and borrowing money to buy nappies – but it was a risk I was willing to take. I took another chance in 2016, expanding the business to include a day spa, and moving to our new home on Kāpiti Road.

We’re fortunate to have many skilled women in our community – some of whom have been my clients since the start. With their support and advice, I’ve taken these big risks which have paid off.

It’s rewarding to be part of an expert, encouraging network.

We train and learn together to offer the best possible experience for our clients.

We do whatever it takes to make it work for everyone - from our apprentices to senior stylists. Customer service is everything, and our team is trained to put the customer at the heart of what they do.

I’m also focused on training apprentices to strengthen the industry as the number of in home-salons increases.

people to consider hairdressing as a long-term career, and for more salons to provide the training. I’m proud to train so many local apprentices, creating highquality hairdressers, which benefits our local and national industry.

I’m also a big believer in giving back, especially because we wouldn’t be where we are now about the support of Kāpiti.

Bedlam & Bliss regularly fundraises to help families in need, especially those dealing with cancer. It’s incredibly rewarding for our entire team to help those in need.

We want every person who encounters Bedlam & Bliss to feel good about themselves, and the place we call home - while enjoying some much deserved pampering.

bedlamhair.co.nz

I’m concerned our industry is dying.

Home-based salons can’t train apprentices, reducing options for highquality education. I want more young

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CREATING EXPERIENCES TO INSPIRE

I’m the Director of Makahika Outdoor Pursuit Centre and sallyduxfield.com, and we are working relentlessly to change the way organisations ‘grow leaders’ and deliver leadership training in the business and corporate world.

It started with my leadership development in the New Zealand Defence Force.

Understanding how lessons were best learned when you could see and feel the effects of your behaviours on your team and peers. With those eyes, I looked at the corporate training world (of classrooms and white boards) and found a huge deficit in the delivery of meaningful and consequential training that genuinely changed people’s behaviours and mindsets.

Challenged to do something about ‘how’ we ‘deliver’ training, and with the support of my husband John, a then RNZAF Pilot and Senior Military Officer, we bought Makahika OPC situated in the foothills of the Tararua Forest Park, tucked away in Horowhenua.

Initially in partnership (2005-2007), since as sole owners, MOPC was previously established as a school residential camp with a small client base and an unsustainable business model.

John continued his career with the military and moved into New Zealand Customs for some years, prior to arriving home one day, at 57, to declare retirement was upon him.

With unicorns in my head and the responsibility as the primary income earner, I had a vision for a centre of excellence for ‘experiential learning’; over 16 years, Makahika has morphed into a spectacular and world class venue for both corporate retreats and leadership development, and school experiential residential experiences.

John is now the master builder at the new leadership village Arete, constant supporter, ear of wisdom and much needed ‘gravity’, who keeps me from heading off to the next big project prior to completing the current one. The Unicorn Tamer.

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Having grown as a leader through my military career and then as the sole Director of a sustainable business, which continues to experience fantastic growth, I feel privileged to share a desire with other business leaders to encourage and inspire the next generation of young women to aspire to greatness. To be courageous in business, to seek joy in all that you do, and to raise the voices of young women in leadership is a responsibility that all successful business women share. Wisdom passed down, lessons learned, mentoring other innovative young leaders is vital to ensure the continued knowledge pool and genes for adventure in business, are nurtured and supported through sometimes trying and difficult journeys.

“History is the past. Herstory is the future.” Being courageous enough to share; sometimes their weaknesses, sometimes

injustices, sometimes triumphs. Her stories have always been important, and never less important than his stories, but sometimes her stories don’t get told. For many centuries and for many reasons, society has had a bias to male success stories and stereotypes as ‘what a leader should look like’; women have as much responsibility in that bias as men. But excitingly, seeking a more inclusive way to look at the world is being driven by both genders.

Reflecting upon my career to date, I acknowledge that those early days within the NZDF had few strong and inspirational women leaders, and the women leaders that were there weren’t necessarily skilled mentors, nor strong advocates for young women. Marianne Cooper writes: “Women, sometimes, don’t help other women.”

Thankfully, our new generation of women in leadership are well past these historical stereotypes of women as either The Righteous Woman or the Queen Bee Belief (women just can’t get along! the belief that rests on the erroneous idea that there is something inherent to the female sex that

“History is the past. Herstory is the future.” Being courageous enough to share; sometimes their weaknesses, sometimes injustices, sometimes triumphs. Her stories have always been important, and never less important than his stories, but sometimes her stories don’t get told.”

causes women to undermine each other on the job all the time.)

I find it extraordinarily exciting that women are holding arms, and standing beside each other; in fact, watching young women growing and succeeding quicker than my generation of women did, and reaching far greater success than we dreamed of at their age, is entirely satisfying. Our local business community of strong, spectacular women.

Within the community that surrounds us, in the Horowhenua and the Kāpiti Districts, I consider myself blessed to be enveloped by a few outstandingly generous, skilled and inspirational business women. Invited into this small but perfectly formed consort, their bounty of experience and unselfish sharing of lessons, have been the example of how gracious women in leadership within business can be.

Without the Heathers, Julenes, Anges, who have embraced me as the woman I am,

I would not have felt the magnanimity of their acceptance and encouragement. To be recognised as the imperfect, slightly crazy, troublesome woman that I am, has allowed me to feel strongly confident that if I were to waver, these women who have surrounded me, would hold me firm until I am able to set about on my pathway again. That support allows so much freedom to be adventurous and think grandly about things outside of the square.

The privilege to do what you love, and gain financial independence through that passion, is an extraordinary gift. I am excited, inspired and deeply fascinated by the neuroscience and physiological response to stress and high performance. To be able to design and deliver bespoke leadership programmes, using the outdoors and Makahika as the conduit for the learning and experiences that affect participants’ personal and professional lives deeply, is a gift that I will never take for granted.

Arete, our new Leadership Retreat was designed to allow leaders to sit quietly, in an off the grid (albeit luxury) environment to reflect deeply on the influence they have in other people’s lives (because of their executive positions or leadership roles).

The gift of experiencing, of feeling, of doing; the gift of memory-making and effecting change in people’s lives on a daily basis, drives all that I do.

If just one young woman - that unique and brilliant individual - were to be inspired to spread their wings and be them; nothing more, nothing less, then my mission is achieved. If it’s more than one young woman inspired, then the ‘dash’ on my headstone between 1964 – and when I die, will prove to be welllived.”

sallyduxfield.com

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Laura Beattie

RENEW YOU

Hello everyone, I’m Laura the owner of Renew You – a custom-built, tranquil beauty salon specialising in lash lifts, massage and all things beauty. My passion is to make you feel like you are the most important person in the world, because when you enter Renew You… you are just that!

As a beautician I feel it is just as rewarding for me as it is for the client. I get real joy seeing a client’s mood and attitude uplifted after being totally blissed out and relaxed with pampering treatments. I also like that I help people repair their bodies as I specialise in deep tissue massage.

Contributing to someone’s health and wellness is amazing.

Renew You exists because of my own dream, the support of my husband and us wanting to get back to our roots and return to the Kāpiti Coast to raise our twins. Initially Renew You was a mobile beauty business travelling the length of Kāpiti from Paekākāriki to Ōtaki.

Over the next two years, as Renew You’s client base grew, I knew I wanted to set up a permanent salon. The ideal opportunity then arose and my business is now based from a brand new custom-built beauty salon on our lifestyle block in Peka Peka. It is a lovely tranquil escape for clients to be pampered in central Kāpiti.

Since opening our doors, we have been booked solid!

As a result, I have recently employed a graduate beauty therapist, which allows us to extend our services and availability. It is also extremely rewarding and fun to train and mentor another young woman with similar passions and goals.

I am a touch person, I like hugs and connections. Making women happy is what gets me out of bed in the morning and

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what drives me. Customer service is super important to me.

I am also focused on continually upskilling, tailor-making and offering services that enhance my clients’ experiences.

Another huge driver and support person is my Mum. She is the most selfless, caring, positive, nurturing woman I know, and I am thankful to have her backing me all the way. Every day I aspire to be like my Mum. Equally on the other side is my Dad, as a retired business owner, he has taught me the value of hard work and drive that has assisted me to achieve in business.

I vividly recall when I was eight years old, my Mum bought me a pack of 20 nail polish colours. This was the start of a love affair with beauty. Every summer holiday we would travel to Ōhope Beach campground, which was where I started my first stall; charging $1 per nail for the kids and some adults too. From there growing up, I also got great satisfaction from doing friends’ nails and make-up for their weddings and other special occasions. I just have a passion for making people look and feel fabulous!

International Women’s Day is important to me. Having a young daughter of my own, I strive to be an inspiration for her to grow and achieve as much as she desires. I encourage her to be the best that she can be and enjoy every moment.

We are often giggling and telling each other - “Hey Mum, I’m living the dream!” Every day I see so many incredible women walk through the doors at Renew You and it is great to just stop and celebrate success in all things, big or small.

The future dream for Renew You is to build a country beauty retreat, an escape from the hustle and bustle of the busy world to relax, refresh and renew - whether it is for one treatment or a full, tailored day of pampering. We all need dreams… so watch this space.

renewyou.co.nz

“Having a young daughter of my own, I strive to be an inspiration for her to grow and achieve as much as she desires. I encourage her to be the best that she can be and enjoy every moment. “

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THE WILDERNESS I grew up on the other side of the tracks in Paraparaumu, the youngest of a big Catholic family. At the head of my family, my amazing Mumma G. If you’ve been to The Wilderness, chances are you’ve either met or heard of Mumma G and her creative hijinks - she’s my much-treasured creative sounding board! I’ve always been surrounded by incredibly strong and supportive women who encourage me and totally spoil me with positivity.

I left school without accolades and did a bridging course so I could get into nursing. You can’t fault a girl for trying, but despite academic success seeming to flow through my whole family, I had to accept it just wasn’t for me. I put nursing behind me, went overseas for a bit and then came back and signed up at Whitireia. I’d always wanted to try floristry but had this idea that I should go the academic route rather than the creative one. I had an amazing tutor: Megan Parker. Megan was an inspiration and really encouraged me - I was finally hearing that I was doing something right in the classroom.

After apprenticing in Wellington for a year or so I went back overseas and landed at The Fresh Flower Company in London where I realised that I’d found my thing.

I worked alongside the owner, Fran Bailey. A powerful woman, creative genius, and my absolute idol. Fran taught me there are no rules in floristry, you’ve just gotta make a plan, trust yourself and go for it.

It doesn’t always end up the way you expect but you shape and you mould it, and it almost always turns out awesome.

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I came home inspired and my husband kitted out a caravan for me to set up as my first shop ‘Caravan Flowers’ in Olde Beach Waikanae. I had so much fun, I loved it! A few years later, surprise! Baby! So we hitched up the caravan and towed it back home where it still sits today in its new life as a home office. I did the Mum thing for four years (yep, you know we had another one) and then I was raring to get back creating, and get a bit of independence back.

Enter The Wilderness - my wee shop in Paraparaumu Beach where I love using all things wild and whimsical. I don’t like to control the flowers. I want them to look natural, as if you’ve leant down and swept a big armful of goodness straight up out of a meadow. Funnily enough, as I try to get my thoughts together for this article I’m sitting in the middle of a field of amazing grasses, I wish you could see these most amazing colours - brilliant pinks and oranges and creams - they’ll be beautiful in a wedding bouquet.

In my industry you set your own parameters. For me the joy is in the

independence; trusting myself and what I’m doing. I love being in control and being the boss (did I mention I’m the youngest in a big family?). I love being creative so this business is the perfect fit for me.

The theme for the 2021 International Women’s Day is “A challenged world is an alert world.”

As a florist the challenge is to convey feelings so intense that even words can struggle to express them. We communicate in flowers, the highest highs and the lowest lows of love and life. As florists and as women we’re alert, so we’re naturally sensitive to these vulnerable moments and the people living them. We’re emotionally equipped to acknowledge and guide, softly, someone seeking to express love however it comes - with joy, sadness, sorrow, excitement, pride. It’s an honour.

And it’s distinctly female. It’s one of our superpowers.

thewilderness.nz

Leith Consulting entered 2021 with a team of 10, having expanded into the land surveying and project management realm – in response to an overwhelming demand for us to lead comprehensive land use developments and subdivision projects.

Entering business ownership from the relative safety of employment was plagued with worry for me personally – how will I deal with phone calls, what if I can’t hear a customer, how will I navigate meetings, how will I be perceived for not hearing something correctly, and all the other everyday scenarios that represented an insurmountable hurdle in my mind. All because…

I can’t hear, much.

I realised that stepping out from the shadows meant I needed to shed the heavy armour of pretence and embrace my authentic self.

Seven months into business ownership, I was sponsored to attend the International Initiative for Disability Leadership in Washington DC, having been identified as a local disabled leader. This visit was somewhat of a profound awakening where I saw with my own eyes what an inclusive and accessible world felt like. I returned home to Aotearoa with a renewed confidence in my authentic self, no longer ashamed of my deafness.

Confidence in your authentic self is a beautiful thing. 2020 saw me step into the disability advocacy arena at both local and national levels, being inducted as a Trustee for a youthcentred not-for-profit organisation, and after a year of board member service, being elected Co-Chair of our local Chamber of Commerce.

And yet, society’s visibility of disability, particularly disabled women, remains largely uncommon.

LEITH CONSULTING ACCESSIBILITY ADVOCATE INDUSTRY LEADER

Following several years of public and private sector experience across all facets of resource and environmental planning, I founded Leith Consulting in 2019 driven by my passion to support people and organisations who invest in the future of local communities, and to provide boutique environmental planning services.

My view on this year’s IWD theme #ChooseToChallenge is ensuring we apply an intersectional lens to diversity; and not just focus solely on gender. For many, the intersection of race and gender makes their experience quite different from other women and – wonderfully – these elements of diversity are becoming increasingly visible. For me and others, the intersection of disability and gender makes our experience different again. All too often, we highlight and hear from the same type of women: neurotypical, abled and highly successful. We need to broaden the lens.

As change arises from challenge, we can collectively create an inclusive world. Let those of us with equity struggles have the courage to step out from the shadows, and for all of us to have the courage to challenge.

leithconsulting.co.nz

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VILLAGE REAL ESTATE Words: Steph Bradley

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I sat bolt upright in bed. It was 6am.

It was a Saturday in late January 2020. An epiphany had lurched me from my fragmented sleep. It was only 12 hours earlier that Andrea, my Mum, had pitched an idea to me over a glass of wine and a large packet of salt and vinegar chips.

“I’ve decided,” Mum had announced, “I’m going out on my own... and I want you onboard.”

She’d taken me by surprise, but I was listening.

“Imagine what we can achieve together...!” she pressed, with untempered excitement. Mum and I are very close, and worked together in real estate 20 years ago for half a decade when Mum and Dad - John Bradley - had owned another real estate company in Paraparaumu. That had not ended well in 2008 after the GFC, and everyone in the family had, for more than a decade, felt once bitten, twice shy.

I was initially hesitant, and after the big announcement our family spent hours batting around ideas on that mild summer evening, weighing up risks and benefits and consuming several more glasses of wine. Eventually I went to bed - still uncertain. I knew that if we did this, we would need to be more than just another real estate company with a different coloured sign. But I also knew that our temperaments and capabilities moderated each other. Mum is so capable and her considered, measured approach to business alongside her depth of experience balance well with my passion for innovation, and I thought I could bring some real energy to the business too.

To be truly successful, I felt like we needed each other.

6am was way too early to go and talk to Mum, even if it was about business and real estate, the very thing that she

does with passion and has done almost every day for the last 24 years. (Little did I know she too was sitting in an upright position in her own bed, fuelled by inspiration and intent.)

So, knowing I had to kill a couple of hours, I grabbed a coffee and a workout and restlessly waited until precisely 8am before I bowled around to Mum and Dad’s place, a far more respectable hour in the Bradley household - for a Saturday anyway. I was beside myself to share enhancements to the proposal. “It’s got to be more than just another real estate

It had been an enormous month of design and preparations; the race had been on because “the people’’ wanted to sell!

Mum and I like to be a part of International Women’s Day each year. We believe the day provides an opportunity to highlight how women do things differently and reminds us to celebrate the balance and unique feminine perspective we offer the world.

As women, we take a soft approach to our business that places our people’s experience at the centre of our decisionmaking. As instinctive nurturers, we deeply consider the experiences our staff, salespeople, sellers and buyers have when they interact with us and our brand.

Decisions are rooted - always in our values, and longevity, and service is top of mind.

”Magnificent power can be generated when women work together. Sometimes we as women doubt ourselves, and question our own capabilities, but together we can bolster each other and remind each other of what we’ve already achieved.” company,” I urged. “It’s got to be for the people AND the planet. Let’s influence the industry to stop using plastic! Let’s understand carbon foot-printing, in time. And let’s mesh with the community.

Get alongside local charities in years to come, let’s do what we can”. The hours of excited chatter that followed, over grilled tomatoes and mushrooms on ciabatta, largely formed the shape of what we now know as Village Real Estate.

One month later, Village Real Estate installed its first timber signboards on the lawns of its first few clients. We were away and trading in record time.

Magnificent power can be generated when women work together. Sometimes we as women doubt ourselves, and question our own capabilities, but together, we can bolster each other and remind each other of what we’ve already achieved.

I’m very grateful to work alongside my Mum. She’s smart, level-headed, very competent and yet very humble. I learn something from her every day.

villagerealestate.co.nz

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SUPERMINX & KĀPITI COAST DISTRICTWIDE COUNCILLOR

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”Women play a significant role in business, they see things through a different lens, a lens more nurturing, inclusive, and holistic. “ International Women’s Day is a day to stop and reflect on my own achievements, and be inspired by others. I have been in business for over 20 years, I am now in my mid 40’s and have always looked up to ‘older, wiser’ business people around me. I am now looking around and seeing young, inspiring women charging ahead with innovative ways of working and doing business with no limits.

I started as a young woman in my mid-twenties forging a career in the male-dominated footwear manufacturing sector. It was the 1990’s and it was very ‘Male, Pale and Stale’. My stepfather, an absolute leader in the New Zealand footwear industry, was a power of both practical and business knowledge.

I recall when completing my 4,000-hour apprenticeship, the factory appeared to be gender balanced in numbers. Men working on one side using the heavy machinery, the women carrying out the more hands-on intricate sewing and detail work. As I worked my way around the factory learning all aspects of footwear manufacturing, I found out the men were getting paid a significant amount more than the women. As a preppy young woman, I queried this because I was being more productive on the men’s machinery than they were, yet they were getting paid more than me.

The response was, ‘men always get paid more, they are doing a more important job, more physically demanding.’ This did not stack up then and still doesn’t today, thankfully. For me it was about asking the question and encouraging others to think that the status quo is not always right, and we must challenge others’ thinking.

Women play a significant role in business, they see things through a different lens,

a lens more nurturing, inclusive, and holistic. Men also play a role of balance and focus. I recall attending an event where a leading businesswoman was launching her book all about her and her successful business. To this day her words still ring in my ears, ‘we need to do business like a man.’ Her advice was so far from the truth and as a result I could never read her book. Women need to stand strong in their beliefs and values and ‘do business like a woman.’

My style of business management is very inclusive, due to my differing roles.

Not only do I have my Superminx retail business but I am also a Districtwide Councillor for the Kāpiti Coast District Council. I recall the day I was shouldertapped by a few lovely Kāpiti Coast ladies: ‘Ange, we think you would be great on our council.’ My response was, ‘yeah that sounds great,’ and that’s where it started four years ago. I sat my staff down to let them know what my plan was and the change in direction for me personally. In this meeting I planted a seed for all my staff to upskill and take over some roles and functions of the business that I had always handled. Since then, my business has become more resilient and robust where my staff take ownership of every decision they make daily. The retail sector is synonymous for

high staff turnover, but one of my ladies has worked with me for 14 years, another 12, the average is about six years. I love, trust and respect these women. I have seen their babies grow into amazing young people and we all feel part of each other’s families, while still keeping a level of professionalism.

Inspiring women surround me every day.

I have two young women very close to me who make my heart sing… Lilly (17) and Hannah (19). Both these girls inspire me to laugh, sing and dye my hair pink.

Daily life can be fast, focused and serious.

Sometimes it’s difficult to reach outside that spectrum, but loved ones and pets certainly lift you out. My mother has always been a strong woman, yet my biggest critic at times. As I see her age and soften, I respect where she has been and the hard times she has gone through to teach us good from bad. Hard work and calculated risk have been the biggest lessons from my mother’s marriage/ partnership and business/investment ventures. I am grateful for women in our community from customers, business colleagues, neighbours, and friends, we all contribute to making us who we are.

superminx.co.nz

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SCALLYWAG SOCIAL Kia ora! I’m Kylie, a communication and social media professional adept in social media management, campaign planning and creating thoughtful content that engages the community. I’ve worked with a variety of different organisations and business models in every stage of business.

Most recently I’ve been developing strategies and policy, creating content including filming and storytelling, running advertising campaigns and setting up social channels. I approach my work with full intention and purpose and offer a range of services that work towards results-driven, custom-fitted solutions that match the needs and values of every business I work with.

My clients’ goals are just as much my goals too, when we grow together we both succeed, it’s why I work within a value based environment, it’s why I believe in creating ethical content, it’s what keeps me focused, grounded and continually growing. If we maintain positive working relationships, we are able to serve others as we climb.

On my public speaking journey last year, I realised how underrepresented Māori women are, especially in the marketing industry, how stereotyped Māori are in the media and how often te reo is used inaccurately. As a Māori, single mother, early school leaver – I defied all the odds stacked against me, with a whole lot of grit and powered by a strong belief in myself – I became an academically successful, well-travelled, home and business owner that has built a strong reputation in the field of communications.

I feel a real chance to be a positive role model for our wāhine, especially those in less fortunate circumstances.

I’ve sought inspiration from many strong women who have achieved great success, who saw an opportunity for better work-life balance, believed in themselves and what they had to offer, and started their own businesses.

I’m really lucky to have had them on my side to motivate and encourage me.

2021 is a year of challenge and change for me. My professional challenge is to grow my business, build my brand, be more productive and have absolute clarity in my intentions and goals. My personal challenge is to be more active to create positive sustainable energy, to be courageous and make healthy choices and learn Mātauranga Māori to gain a deeper insight into the Māori worldview. With this new knowledge I’ll be better equipped to engage our Māori community and make positive change. I’m stepping up to these challenges because in doing so everything good will fall into place, and along the way I’ll be able to influence and inspire other women to challenge themselves to make positive change in their lives and businesses.

International Women’s Day is a wonderful platform for telling women’s success stories and raising women up by giving them strength to keep going, to make a choice to take a chance on change, to believe in themselves by showcasing the achievements of women in business, through real stories. I’m honoured to have this opportunity to tell mine.

scallywagsocial.com 18

HELP ME NET

This is not the perfect headshot. I didn’t have my hair done. My makeup isn’t flawless. My greys are not ignorable and I’m pretty tired.

This is not the perfect headshot. But it doesn’t need to be. Because I am not a perfect being with a perfect business, perfect customers and a perfect life.

And neither are you.

Often, as women business owners, we put perfect before doing the work. We expect this thing to arrive fully formed.

But business doesn’t happen that way.

Stop waiting for everything to be perfect. Because the secret is, it never is. And not perfect doesn’t mean broken, but simply unfinished.

For someone whose job it is to make people visible, I spend a lot of time being invisible. And the truth is, I like it that way. We don’t all have to be all over the place.

I started Help Me Net to support people who want to grow good business.

There is no one way to grow a business.

Growth is affected by the environment.

The growth of business is similar to how a tree is shaped and determined by the wind, the soil, the humans and animals

that interact with it, the other trees that grow around it.

Roots don’t have to go deep, they can spread and hug the ground. The trunks can be tall and straight or wavy and knobbled. They can bend and twist.

Businesses are grown by the people who care for them, those that interact with them, how they have been tended and the environment within which they grow.

Find the growth pattern that works for you. My pattern is pretty simple: •

• • • •

Realise who you are, what you do and how you bring value to your clients, Show people how you can help them, Make it simple for them to buy from you, Serve your people well, And then extend your reach.

It’s a solid framework that helps you to really cultivate an authentic business.

One that truly reflects you. Not a cookie cutter formula for success - that doesn’t exist.

Find good people who will support you.

Laugh about the crinkles and wrinkles.

Work through the drudge. Have systems that support you to show up with bad hair or the wrong attitude or the imperfect situations that life keeps throwing at us, and still allow you to get the work done. Because we spend too much time being invisible. Don’t let someone else’s ideal stop you from showing up.

I run Help Me Net to guide you through the online marketing wilderness with beautiful and effective websites, discovery tours and your own special blend of campfire marketing. Let’s talk about how to make big steps with your web presence this year.

helpmenet.co.nz

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Ko Rupehu te Maunga Ko Aotea to Waka Ko Whanganui te Awa Ko Nga Paerangi te Hapu Ko te Ati haunui a Paparangi te iwi FUNCTIONAL HIIT NZ

“Whatever you choose to do in life make sure it’s fun, it’s fulfilling and makes you have a laugh at the end of the day, even if that day wasn’t the best.”

I was seven when I started my first business. Elise Kerrisk was my name back then in 1991 - living in my hometown of Whanganui with my Mum Lisa (a hairdresser), my Dad Ian (Detective for Whanganui Police), and my younger brother Johnny.

My first start-up business at seven was in the music industry. I recorded music off the radio onto a blank cassette tape and took those tapes to school and sold them. I made big bucks, enough to bike home after school and purchase my favourite lolly – the good old aniseed wheel, and a 50 cent lolly mixture for my brother. The rest I would save to buy more blank cassette tapes.

As a kid I worked out that if I supplied a product that was in high demand, made my prices fairer than my competitors, and had great quality and service, I would have customers. Here was the business plan: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Record Top 10 music from the radio Add a few extra bonus songs!

Make sure that the quality of the recording was at its highest (no radio ads plus no missing bits of the song) Sell my tapes at a better price than the music shop in Trafalgar Square. It is fair to say that I could have been the founder of Spotify as we know it today, but I had other plans.

Those other plans “Be the mana wahine who shows up, even when it is hard, even when life is unfair, even when things are challenging, because it is in those moments you truly find yourself.”

Sometimes in life you get thrown curve balls.

Actually, not just sometimes. It’s every day.

Unexpected, unpredictable, unforeseen events happen EVERY DAY. Some things have little impact on us, and some things have a drastic impact on us and change the course of our life forever. How you respond to those events is entirely up to you.

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From 2007 to 2016 I was a stay-at-home mum living in Cronulla, Sydney, Australia with my husband Ray who worked in the oil refineries. My day was full of “boy stuff”- I had my three sons to care for: Cavalli, Koda and Raven. I lived the dream taking care of my boys. We would gym it in the morning, have a swim at the beach, play at the park, have lunch with friends, come home for afternoon naps and then eagerly wait for Papa to get home for dinner.

“Pressure is a privilege; without the pressure I wouldn’t be who I am today.”

2015 was a year of growth for me but not in the way where you go to a team leadership course, finish a personal development book, or listen to a Tony Robbins audio to then get momentarily inspired and ready to change the world.

No no, my growth came from a dark time in my life. I was tested with everything I ever had when my husband Ray became addicted to methamphetamine. This meant months of denial that put stress on our marriage. Financially we were in trouble with a huge drug and gambling debt. The effects of the emotional trauma caused from being married and loving someone using methamphetamine was immense.

The move home to Kāpiti “We shouldn’t run away from our challenges, our challenges are given to us to do good in this world, we just need to find the purpose in our pain.”

With whānau support back home in Paraparaumu we made the decision to move back to New Zealand. Then we could get the help we needed for Ray to recover, so on January 8th 2016 we returned.

While Ray was undergoing his journey of rehabilitation, I needed to do something for me, I needed to have an escape from the reality that I was currently living. I was 32 years old living with my parents with my three children and drug addict husband, pregnant with our 4th child, broke and broken-hearted.

I wanted to bring positivity back into my life because I craved it. Amongst all the chaos I knew that I could turn this

situation into an opportunity to grow in all aspects of my life, so when I was 20 weeks pregnant with our daughter Quincy, and within two months of being home, I started my business Functional HIIT NZ - Kāpiti, brainstormed in the basement of my parents’ house.

I wanted to create an inclusive fitness hub that had a holistic view on health and wellness. A place where people could grow in strength and resilience, both mentally and physically. A place to learn to use fitness as a tool to overcome adversity, and to feel better, move better and be better. A place that was fun, vibrant and refreshing. A place where connections were made and friendships flourished. A place full of the absolute best knowledge in the health, wellness and fitness industry.

This was my purpose and my vision, with a mission to make Kāpiti the happiest active place in Aotearoa.

“Be the mana wahine who shows up, even when it is hard, even when life is unfair, even when things are challenging, because it is in those moments you truly find yourself.”

Functional HIIT NZ – Kāpiti is that and more, you only need to step foot in the door to feel the energy that comes from the coaches and members to know it is something special.

Since then, I have gone on to start my online fitness Hub “The Elise Method” where I offer customised nutrition and training plans plus live workouts to an online community. I love being able to help more people and the online world allows me to do this. COVID-19 was disruptive, yet it allowed me to lay down strong foundations for “The Elise Method”. I used this time to grow my online presence exponentially. We had the biggest audience right there waiting for people like me to become uprooted and fearless and create a new normal for ourselves.

Amongst COVID-19 and lockdown a third business was put in motion. Alongside my business partner and wonderful friend Emma Goldsmith we launched our maternity activewear business, “Lychee & Co.” These businesses are yet more examples of transforming a challenge into doing better in this world, displaying the courage to be unstoppable, fearless and purposeful amidst a global pandemic.

“Be your inspiration.”

If I were to ask myself WHO inspires me there would be too many people to name, but if I asked myself WHAT inspires me then my response would be the tough times, hardship, challenges, pressure and ground-breaking, soul-shaking events that force us to look within, to find the strength to back ourselves. So that even when we are thrown to the wolves, we have the strength to come out leading the pack. It is in the moments of unpleasantness and difficulty that we learn, grow, create and discover… and this is a beautiful thing.

Xxx E

functionalhiit.co.nz

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CONNECTION, INSPIRATION AND ENERGY

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I was 28 when I started my own business. I am terrible at doing as I am told so self employment was always going to be a good option!

When I had my first baby a year later I had decided to dedicate my life to being the world’s best mother. This lasted three months! Three months of being immersed in baby talk, nappies and completely losing my identity was enough for me. I was offered a contract as an art director for Ezibuy and spent the next six years travelling all around Australia and New Zealand, organising models and photographers and staying in gorgeous locations. I also had another two children.

I started the contract with a baby and no one seemed to mind so I just kept having them and bringing them to work!

Each child travelled with me up until the age of one, until I stopped breastfeeding.

I was hopeless at expressing and so I found it easier to pop the baby in my bag and get on with it. With three children under four it was lovely to have only one baby with me for a few days at a time.

I was super fortunate to have amazing family support - we chose to live in Levin to raise our children because we had parents who were keen to be part of our kids’ daily lives.

When my third baby turned one I suddenly had an overwhelming desire to go back to full time parenting and spending time with my wee poppets. This also lasted about three months! I then decided that I wanted to start my dream business, empowering women to look and feel amazing by styling them and teaching them to love and accept their bodies. I started slowly. One-on-one clients and small group events of around eight women in my lounge. Word soon got out and I was approached by retail stores who wanted to run customer events, and then by organisations who wanted me to do fundraisers.

Transforming women was heaven for me I had loads of quick, easy and inexpensive ways for women to change the way that they looked and ultimately how they felt about themselves.

Late one night, while driving home from a Plunket fundraiser in the Wairarapa, a very drunk woman phoned me to say that I had changed her life! She was crying, telling me she loved me and finally she had found someone who understood her, her life and the way she felt about her body. This led me to creating a national event, “What A Woman Wants”. Farmers Department Store was the sponsor and all the money we made went to NZ Plunket Society. Over the next six years I spoke to over 50,000 women and raised over $2 million dollars for Plunket.

“I believe that we all deserve to live the lives that we want.

We need to believe that we are worthy of having a magnificent life and then we need to be taught how.”

One night at a Christchurch event, a woman approached me to ask what she should be wearing. She spent 10 minutes telling me everything that was wrong with her world and finished by wanting a new top. I remember thinking that a new top was not going to fix her problems!

She was unhappy, unaware, unsupported and felt unloved. Something shifted in me that night. I no longer cared about what people wore, I lost interest in necklines, accessories and hosiery. I became obsessed with fixing people’s problems.

I spent all my time thinking about how I could help people to be better, to live the lives that they really wanted. How they could learn to believe in themselves, to

know their value and to feel confident about their place in the world.

I was lucky enough to be raised by parents who believed in me. Who empowered and supported me to do what I wanted. I have always believed that I deserve to have everything that I want and that I have the ability to do, be and have anything.

It shocked me that my mindset was in the minority. I was blown away by the number of people - even successful high achievers - who have huge holes in their worthiness! They need to know that they have the ability to live a magnificent life.

A life that they love, doing work that they enjoy, filling their days with people, places and things that make them happy.

Fast forward to 2021 and my business is all about making people better.

Individuals, teams and organisations who want to improve are my clients.

I speak at national conferences, run leadership training programs and mentor self employed people to improve their businesses and their lives.

I believe that we all deserve to live the lives that we want. We need to believe that we are worthy of having a magnificent life and then we need to be taught how. How to get the support you crave. How to develop the personal power to speak your truth. How to get to know yourself and get in touch with what you really want to fill your life with.

I am obsessed with women living lives without limitations. I think we need to live our lives on purpose - knowing who we are and what we want. Having the life we want requires planning, learning, belief and management.

I want to live in a world where women know their worth, speak their truth and love their lives!

lisaoneill.co.nz

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Namaste, I am Shannon Co-founder, owner and instructor of enSoul Yoga and Wellness Studio/Retreats and Yoga with enSoul Online.

I feel incredibly blessed to be able to work in my heartbased business and share my passion for health and wellness with our community, and with my partner in life Tamihana Paurini.

The journey that led me here started when I was young and I struggled with my health, eventually being diagnosed with Lupus (an autoimmune disease) at 16. I spent quite a few years on strong medication including mild chemotherapy to keep my condition at bay. I felt at times I was living quite a restricted life and didn’t feel my future was very bright. After wanting to find a way to get off some of the heavier medications that were starting to build up in my system and give me quite serious side effects I stumbled across yoga. My mum and I turned up to a beginners yoga course and muddled our way through. I had an infinity for it straight away and before long I could really feel a huge positive impact it was having on my whole life, not just my physical body. For the first time ever I felt empowered to look after myself and take responsibility for my wellbeing in every sense. I attribute the power of yoga, nutrition, and Reiki massage to me being able to live a full life. I had a desire to share this with others, to show people that were

“To me International Women’s Day is all about celebrating our successes no matter the scale, and supporting each other to live a full life. “

struggling with their energy, health, and mindset that they had all the tools and ability to turn it around within them - just like I had discovered.

Fast forward to 2015 - a mother of three gorgeous kids and a qualified yoga instructor, massage therapist and Reiki Master. I met my nowpartner who also has a passion for health and wellness and a desire to share it with others. Together we dreamt up the big plan for enSoul then we had to taper that business plan down to meet our budget - and enSoul was born out of a local community centre on dirt-cheap yoga mats bought with gift vouchers. Slowly but surely, with a whole lot of faith and passion to share our message, we built up our yoga and pilates classes. Determined to show that yoga is truly for everybody and can enhance and heal no matter what your background, fitness or flexibility level is.

The foundation of our business was built from our beginners workshops that broke down the vinyasa yoga flow bit by bit, and helped people find modifications to suit the needs of their bodies.

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In March/April 2016 we had grown enough to lease our very first studio, where we could grow our timetable and increase our massage clients. Within 18 months we had outgrown our studio and were on the search for bigger premises. We were so lucky when we found our current studio - a large, open area with an outlook of the mountain ranges, a second smaller workshop studio that also doubles as a filming studio for our online platform and two treatment rooms. From our beginnings we felt like we had hit the jackpot and finally realised our bigger dream business had come to fruition.

Now with a firm location, we have a home for our community.

Our little enSoul whānau flourished and we grew a team of talented and experienced instructors to add variety to the timetable, and an admin superstar to support us all. Like many businesses COVID decimated our business beyond belief and even though we pivoted immediately and provided online yoga classes the day we went into lockdown, 2020 was a real struggle.

But we are still here, something I am extremely proud of. Now we are blessed with two new dimensions to enSoul which allows us to reach a wider community and help us spread the revolution of yoga and wellness to heal, grow and strengthen those who attend.

So, we now have Yoga with enSoul Online and enSoul Yoga and Wellness Retreats. Through a tough year we have continued to grow and flourish in a different way. Have you been thinking about your own health and wellness recently? Thinking of smart ways to exercise not only the body but mind and holistic wellness of your soul? Then reach out to me here at enSoul, I love sharing this journey and how it will benefit you.

To me International Women’s Day is all about celebrating our successes no matter the scale, and supporting each other to live a full life.

ensoul.co.nz

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Anke Figur

VITALITY PURE

My name is Anke and I run Vitality Pure Stress Management and Nutritional Support.

I spent my younger years growing up in a communist area in Germany where International Women’s Day was always celebrated big. Women’s rights and equal opportunities were openly supported.

One example springs to mind, free ”Kindergarten” places were available to every mother so women could return to the workforce.

Looking back I know now that ulterior motives, which I didn’t quite understand at the time, played some part in it but it made me feel valued as a younger girl.

Today I live on the other side of the world and have a daughter of my own. I try to raise her with the belief that she can do anything she puts her mind to. Celebrating International Women’s Day is providing a wonderful platform to hear some amazing stories of women in our community and around the world, appreciating how far we have come and looking to the future at the work that still lays ahead of us.

I have created my business “Vitality Pure” as I am passionate about shifting people’s mindsets in creating balance in body, mind and soul.

Encouraging my clients to re-evaluate the importance of health and wellbeing in their lives. The rushing woman’s syndrome is so common among us females, we are trying to be everything to everybody and often completely forget ourselves on our checklists. Both bad body image and stress quite often become our best friends. My vision and mission is to help you create the best possible version of yourself. I love finding alternatives that positively impact and focus long-term on your health journey. Together we re-install the energy that lets you achieve your most important goals.

As much as I align with Dr Libby Weaver as one of my role models there are numerous local women that have inspired me to step up into my own pathway: Helene Judge, Jeanine van Kradenburg and Monique Leith are just a few names among the very talented local mix of women that are making a difference in our community.

Vitality Pure

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Heather Hutchings

UNLEASH YOUR BUSINESS

I’m a Taranaki girl originally, now living on the beautiful Kāpiti Coast. I’m a partner to a very patient man, mother to a fun-loving son, and Noni to an inspiring young granddaughter.

I love walking, swimming, biking, yoga, sailing and skiing. I enjoy being with friends, and I love a good, robust discussion.

The first International Women’s Day event that I was a major part of was six years ago. I was part of the Kāpiti Women in Business committee, and in conjunction with Rotary we put together what ended up being a bit of a red letter day. We had an excellent response from the community, and following that we started delivering more women’s events in Kāpiti.

It was a privilege to serve for five years on that committee and see a network of supportive women come together. My heart has always been in helping business women to connect, learn, grow and develop.

When I’m looking at business women, I feel passionate about preventing business failure. I’ve been there, I’ve learned some important lessons, and now I take great joy in sharing my knowledge. Sometimes we need to put the fun back in business, because we can get so caught up in the day-to-day and lose sight of why we started in the first place.

I am lucky to have a strong group of friends who inspire me in many ways. They offer fun, advice and support if required. It’s a balanced combination of things that I would say are critical in business, and indeed life itself. We can all play a part. And when we all work together, all can succeed.

unleash-yourbusnesss.com

I’m also an experienced business coach and mentor, working mainly with small to medium sized businesses. As a successful business owner, having owned businesses in the retail, hospitality, and service industries, I know the excitement and celebration of owning your own business as well as the roadblocks, headaches and sleepless nights that can derail us along the way.

My mission is to transform businesses: to unleash their power and potential, and shift the mindsets of business owners so they can focus on solutions that open the doors to opportunities and success.

So often I see business owners giving too much and getting too little from their business, and lacking confidence that anything will ever change.

But it can, and I really get a kick out of helping people finding that change, and implementing it for themselves.

When we arrived on the Kāpiti Coast in 2009, I became involved with the Chamber of Commerce and eventually took the role of Chair. It was always hugely important to me to focus on being relevant to our members and to ensure we were doing our job to support local business; a very important lifeline in our community.

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THE OTHER SIDE

Words: Karlina Mitchell

It happened by chance, as the best things do.

And even though it happened by chance, it’s never really chance is it?

Helen and I have been friends in life and content since 2015 when my partner and I took our food truck out for the very first time and Helen attended the event - Ōtaki Kite Festival - and wrote a blog on us. We thought we were famous. To this day Helen will still have that effect on you as she pours her entire being into bigging you up!

When she’s looking at you through that lens, you are famous. You’re a celebrity, she’s celebrate-y and the result is just magic.

Fast forward five years, Helen and I had worked on a few projects, some social media content and a few photo shoots.

We kept running into these small business owners with great things going - amazing talents and passion that fired us up, but we weren’t seeing that reflected in their online presence. It felt like such a missed opportunity for the people who weren’t finding them, weren’t even aware of these awesome businesses; these talented people! A miss for the businesses that should have been front and centre. They had no clue where to start with social media marketing or content creation. We decided to hold a workshop, and after that many of the attendees wanted us to do the work.

Then lockdown hit.

We talked a lot over that period - we did actually love lockdown - but the cabin fever was absolutely real. The need to separate work from home was more apparent than ever. Over messenger Helen lamented, “I just want to get an office or something so I can just look over and be like ‘hey Karli what do you think about …’”

“Get one!”

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Shortly after that, a chance (there’s that word again) encounter with a real estate agent, who happened to be letting the offices upstairs from the florist where Helen was catching up with a friend. She pinged me some photos of this scungy-as office - it looked how it smelled, longuninhabited but for the rain that had poured down the walls and settled in the carpet over the seven or eight years that the floor had been vacant. But it also had the most gorgeous windows on two sides; glorious, huge windows soaking up the sun as it poured in over the Tararua ranges, of which we had a panoramic view. The windows did it.

We got that office. There were three more on the floor, but this one was ours.

We spent months DIYing (and realising some jobs are best left to the professionals, Concrete Doctors - here’s looking at you). Painting, furniture hunting, furniture painting, recruiting Ouma to sew pillowcases to upcycle old couches we each had, replacing brutal neon lights from the 80s, painting the stairs a rainbow ‘cos we could. There were so many late nights that we spent delirious from exhaustion.

We kinda feel like that’s where the magic happens, right? Right?!

Finally we got there. On a shoestring budget. With the most supportive friends and family, without whom we never would’ve made it. The space we’re standing in here - we imagined it and we built it!

It feels amazing.

As soon as we finished the renos, it started attracting people. Women. They would appear in the doorway, come in and marvel at this crisp bright space, take a seat on Ouma’s couch cushions and start telling the most gripping stories. All on its own, somehow, it became a place where people would come in and just connect. All these deep and personal stories were pouring out, filling the space with a raucous energy.

It sounds insane, but the community we’ve grown around this office is just full of talent and dreams. The best combo.

We’re hyping each other up, we’re building new friendships and having unforgettable conversations. Our hearts are open and so is our space.

Over the months of being in The Other Side we would look at the other rooms and dream up creative uses, dream up the kinds of things we could do, the kind of space we could fashion for all these other creatives that we were attracting. It had always been an idea but it seemed like such a leap.

Such financial pressure. One of those ideas that made your head a little dizzy and your stomach a little sick.

Then someone tried to rent one of the offices on OUR floor.

Helen was in the office when it happened.

This news necessitated emergency lunchtime wines with a trusted confidant (naturally, it’s another talented female creative). Unsurprisingly, uplifting, arsekicking lunchtime wines led to Helen feeling empowered. Feeling capable. Feeling like it was the right time and that she could do it. That’s what chats with empowered women do to you. She led the charge and girrrrl, she. was. hav. ing. NONE of it. In this moment, she was leaving nothing to chance.

Overnight the new lease was in motion. I still wasn’t sure, it was overnight!

Despite the fresh DIY nightmares, the worries about financial commitment, the impending admin, (omg the admin), I couldn’t stop thinking about what it could be. I knew we could make it happen. I knew I had to suck it up and lean in. I had to dive into the waves instead of gasping dramatically every time one hit my body at a higher interval.

I talked to my partner, he said “well, you know better than me, if you guys want to do it - you’ll do it.” He was right. I was really hoping he’d question it so I’d have an excuse to play it safe. But he’s a hype girl, so I was

in! We were in. 100% in. We formed a company and started planning the makeover.

Step one - Residents Room, a shared office for up to four creatives, they have their own office to come and go from as they please and have use of the photography studio / workshop space and meeting room.

Step two - Photography Studio / Workshop Space, a big bright blank canvas with lots of natural light where Helen can do styled shoots, portraits, product photography and all sorts.

We can hire this room out to other photographers as well and it can be reconfigured to host all manner of workshops / talks / exhibitions, anything you need a nice big bright space for. This room also has the capacity for hotdesking - just book online and drop in for a day, or two!

“In the first half of 2021 we’ll have this space completed and bursting with the energy of people who were just looking for a place to be, a place with the vibe, a place built specifically for creatives to do their thang. ”

Step three - Meeting Room, not the bland grey type you’re used to, a beautiful room with all the things you need to get great things done with a team or a client. Book it online, use it to give space and shape to big ideas.

All of these rooms needed stripping back to their bones, painting, new lights, new flooring, furniture, good looks and good vibes, on a shoestring, around our existing work and family life. Balance isn’t always realistic. Sometimes one side of the scales needs to be ass-to-grass to ensure the chance of future equilibrium.

In the first half of 2021 we’ll have this space completed and bursting with the energy of people who are just looking for a place to be, a place with the vibe, a place built specifically for creatives to do their thang. We’ll have mentors, we’ll have workshops, we’ll have talks from inspiring leaders, we’ll ignite a whole new view of the kinds of work available in the regions! Our dream is to see creatives blossom! To see people succeed at their dreams. We already have a skilled core crew covering award-winning graphic design, show-stopping photography and creative digital content. And we ain’t done yet.

The Other Side was named to represent the other side of the story, the other side of fear, the other side of perceived barriers, the other side of your comfort zone, the other side of business. This must absolutely be the place if that’s something you’re looking to explore.

There have been and continue to be tonnes of challenges, but we are nothing without them.

@theotherside513

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INSPIRING WOMXN TO LIVE ON THEIR OWN TERMS At the beginning of my working career I was the only woman in a male dominated industry. I had chosen audio engineering because it inspired and motivated me, not because it was known to be an industry that supported women.

Perhaps I’ve not had reason to consider that concept so intimately until later in life, but it’s not something that ever crossed my mind when I was thinking about what I wanted to do. In hindsight, I vividly remember having to work harder than the boys in order to be taken seriously. I kept my head down, amped up my determination and I inadvertently learnt some valuable life lessons about giving myself permission to be me in a stale, pale, male environment.

As the mother of two daughters, the concept of having supportive working environments for females - and the value of International Women’s Day to amplify this concept - is more important to me than ever. Having the opportunity to understand more about other womxn’s stories, and how they’ve overcome various obstacles, helps us all to normalise what often manifests as a feeling of isolation. Sharing our stories with one another helps us feel understood, heard and motivated to push through the inevitable obstacles that we are bound to face along the way. There is a power when we’re surrounded by the feminine. When we embrace the potential of collaboration instead of trying to compete with one another - as we’re sometimes pre-conditioned to do - it is an incredibly powerful shift.

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My audio engineering career evolved into a career in telecommunications, during which I spent many years designing mobile phone networks both in the UK and here in New Zealand. My UK experience was definitely a defining moment in what I do now, even though I didn’t know it at the time. I was not being set up for success in my role as a female engineer, and my manager was not being supported in his role to support me. This role unfortunately came to a bitter end, but I am happy to report that I was able to take what I learned and apply it to my own engineering team here in New Zealand with award-winning results.

The challenges I faced in that role also ignited my passion for communication, leadership and coaching. I had developed a keen sense of curiosity with experience in the science and engineering world, and I recognised that I felt this curiosity and fascination about the uniqueness of others, and what makes us all achieve and succeed, too. That was a lightbulb moment for me. I was allowing myself to be me, live life on my own terms, and I had found my feet. I am proud to say I have walked forward with purpose ever since.

Everyone should try it.

When people ask me what I do, I reply using an analogy that rings true for so many: From a young age we are taught that it’s not OK to feel uncomfortable.

“Don’t be scared.”

“Don’t be sad.”

“Don’t be angry.”

The trouble is, this mindset subconsciously encourages us to avoid discomfort, which conveniently prevents us from achieving our goals and dreams.

It also prevents us from developing on a personal level and challenging the status quo; two things I am insatiably passionate about.

My number one goal in what I do is to help people dispel this myth, acknowledge the discomfort, and embrace it in order to take steps forward. Yes it’s uncomfortable, but it’s also the path to change, resilience and greatness.

What’s inspiring for me now is different to what it was when I first started my working career. There is a louder voice and a wider acceptance about womxn in business. We can more confidently shake off the conditioning that has kept us ‘fitting in’ as women.

Not because we want to stand out and cause a scene, but because we deserve to be our talented, skilled selves in whatever capacity we choose.

As we have seen in recent times, feminine leadership is not weak. It can be strong AND kind. Womxn are naturally much better at developing and demonstrating empathy which goes a long way to inspiring and motivating others.

I am intrigued and inspired by anyone who’s brave enough to put themselves in a place of discomfort in order to seek fulfilment and success. I consciously connect with likeminded people who value this as part of their own story of personal and professional development and I am interested to see how society embraces this going forward.

The very fact that anyone has the courage to step forward into the unknown is reason in itself to be excited about who will become our next generation of legendary leaders.

Womxn: you all have a place at the front of the queue.

lorrainehamilton.net

“There is a louder voice and a wider acceptance about womxn in business. We can more confidently shake off the conditioning that has kept us ‘fit ing in’ as women..”

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WHAM BAM EVENTS

“Wham Bam thank you Ma’am”!

Take one mum of three young boys, add a mix of creativity, a dash of madness, and a side of ‘let’s get the job done’... welcome to the circus that is my life.

Do what makes you happy, life is too short. In the last couple of years I have had to ask myself some very serious questions.

I was in a job which I loved, working with some amazing people and the opportunity to travel all around New Zealand pulling together some pretty epic events, but something wasn’t quite right. So, what changed? What was missing?

Things in my personal life were not easy. To say I was juggling two separate lives was an understatement.

Cue flashback and old-time music - I grew up in Ōtaki here on the beautiful Kāpiti Coast, being the youngest of three with two older protective brothers. There wasn’t a lot of Barbie Doll time, life was a blur of cars and sport. My favourite childhood memory is baking (OK, licking the spoon) with Mum and Gran. This is one thing I really loved doing. My Mum had a small catering company that I would help with at any given opportunity, whether that be after school or on the weekend.

Gran was your typical Gran, passing on life lessons, always making sure you knew how to cook and teaching life skills to help you become independent.

Mum talked about the fab times she had in Dunedin as a child, so the decision to head there after high school was an easy one. Setting fire to a few couches (I’m kidding) and studying to become a chef was the plan. Two years of working in a hot, often sweaty kitchen and unsociable hours was not to my liking so a slight diversion was on the cards. Et voilà, a Hospitality and Tourism Management degree called my name.

The passion to organise, plan, timetable, schedule, and create fab events was born! With a man in tow (this chick is on fire!)

I headed home, and straight into a role at the hotel formerly known as the Duxton Hotel in Wellington. Supervising events alongside their events department. No day was the same and it

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was like being part of a large family. There was ample variety, the opportunity to meet some amazing people while being in a role which enabled me to grow, I was in seventh heaven. It really was at this point that I knew I had found my calling. I loved everything about events (even the late nights didn’t bother me), especially dealing with large corporate dinners, conferences and weddings.

Motherhood brought a slight pause in my Event Manager career path. Coffee mornings and playgroup hang outs became the limit of my social capacity.

It wasn’t until after baby number two had blessed us with his presence that I decided to do some part time work for a local Kāpiti venue. This is really where my ability to juggle a multitude of tasks was put to the test. Three sons later and an opportunity to work at an established event design company became available and I was thrilled!

Life has a funny way of giving you a swift kick up the backside.

Late in 2019 my dear Mum was battling the big C, which saw me questioning what was important. Working long hours away from home alongside amazing teammates, but needing to be with my family. The crazy thing about hindsight is that the answers are often staring at you square in the face. With a heap of encouragement from Mum and support from family and friends, the seeds of Wham Bam were sewn. I was going on out on my own.

“ The crazy thing about hindsight is that the answers are often staring at you square in the face.”

I became more active on social media introducing myself and Wham Bam to the world. I did event set ups at home which I would put on social media giving people ideas of what was possible.

I shared tips and trade secrets and showcased upcycled furniture, I worked with other local suppliers highlighting each other’s skills.

Fast forward eight months, and not only is Wham Bam gaining momentum but my husband and I have now purchased Kāpiti Party Hire. We are ready to take the Kāpiti events scene by storm.

whambamevents.co.nz

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to share much of that time with her as she passed away two days after I left work. In some ways I feel she was holding on until she helped me get through that decision and see the relief on my face. Time to get stuck in and make Mum proud!

Business plan in hand, logo sorted and doing the hard slogs on the phone and email. Visiting venues, setting up suppliers and it’s all happening. Tapping shoulders of experts in design, marketing, social media… what a minefield. Wham Bam Events is on its way.

It has not been an easy first year of business, but one that I have really enjoyed, I feel I have met so many people. COVID threw another challenge at us. For a few days the industry pretty much held its breath and I questioned my decision. But there was no going back. I just had to think outside the box.

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CAPTURED

BY FRIDAY PHOTOGRAPHY

I am a Kāpiti photographer, in disguise. What I really am is a small business entrepreneur originally from Sweden, keen to find fun business angles and ways of creating new business ideas around my passion - photography.

I photograph people, food, products, weddings, and events. I am learning and evolving constantly and enjoy being creative. I work from my studio at Lindale where you can find me exploring new things and researching how I can improve and still stay real to me and to my clients.

If I’m not there I am out shooting on site!

In 2019 I produced a photographic book together with publisher Michelle Lovi: Kāpiti - a Portrait through Food – It has been very popular so there are more books to follow. An incredibly special moment for me was winning a silver award for the book in the annual NZIPP Nikon Iris Awards in 2020.

And in 2021 I will be launching a new photographic platform with Kiwi-unique marketing photography together with my son-in law. It’s hugely exciting. Watch out for Kiwi Pics NZ Ltd. There are many female photographers I admire around the world as well as locally, and from whom I get inspiration. And there are so many important women in history

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that continue to motivate me. Too many to list. I know they had it way tougher than we do.

But really, the women who inspire me and support me daily are local business and community women – and most of all my mother and my daughter, with kind words, trust, pride, and belief in me. It’s my turn now – I hope – to support and inspire the women around me.

The very personal life stories of the women I meet are some of the best, and they truly keep me going and moving forward now more than ever. Hitting 55 I did start thinking “is it getting a bit too late for me?” Finding women of all ages doing what they do and love made me realise how much I need these stories to feel courage and that it’s ok to keep striving.

I tend to photograph more women than men (just by chance), and each single woman’s story shows in their face. I look for it and want to share their stories in imagery.

“IWD is dedicated to celebrating women’s achievements in the social, economic, cultural, and political spheres. The day, collectively founded by women, also brings attention to gender parity and women’s rights. It is also an important tool for policymakers striving towards gender equality.”

And this is exactly why IWD is important to me! So that we, as women, celebrate together and keep on striving for equality and free choice for women globally.

Whilst meeting women from all walks of life and sharing each other’s stories and lifting each other up.

byfriday.co.nz

Mai r e Benevides

Ko taku rau, he rau kotahi I am a Māori-Portuguese wahine. A mother, a daughter, a partner, he uri nō ngā tūpuna mana wāhine, a descendent of a long line of strong Māori and Portuguese wāhine.

KĀPITI PLATTERS

I started Kāpiti Platters not long after my son’s 1st birthday. He was born at 24 weeks’ gestation and spent six months in hospital. He came home on oxygen, had a feeding tube and a whole host of medical diagnoses. I became a stay-at-home mum and his caregiver.

Around the time of his first birthday, realising that going back to work as a primary school teacher was still not an option and suffering from PTSD, I decided that I needed to do something for myself which still allowed me to work around my son. That “something” was Kāpiti Platters, after I did a grazing table for his first birthday. It reignited my passion for food. I love food and I love sharing food, so it was a natural progression to create a business based on just that: sharing delicious food! I do what I do because I love seeing the joy my food brings people, and how much pleasure and delight food can give.

Starting Kāpiti Platters gave me more than I could have ever imagined. It gave me a sense of purpose and an identity other than being a stay-at-home mum and caregiver. It took my mind off all the medical things. It hasn’t been a walk in the park, it has been one of the hardest, but most rewarding things I have done. It has tested me and pushed me out of my comfort zone, but ultimately it has allowed me to create something that I am hugely proud of, allowed me the freedom to build my business my way, to share, to learn and to grow, to be my own boss, and to still be flexible for my son and our family.

International Women’s Day, for me, is about celebrating, uplifting and recognising all that we as wāhine are and do. I am surrounded and inspired by so many amazing wāhine; some I know and some I have never met. Wāhine who have built amazing businesses while juggling family life, women who are living and speaking their truth in whatever form that may be, women who fight tirelessly for equality and women’s rights. It’s also for remembering all the amazing wāhine that came before me, my tupuna – “me aro koe ki te hā o Hineahuone” (pay homage to the essence of womankind).

kapitiplatters.com

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SUNDAY CANTINA

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“I think it is so bloody awesome that so many local small businesses are run by women. It is super powerful.

Everyone is cool and accepting and supportive of each other. Because as a woman - far out it can be hard.”

Where to start on the journey to today… It has been a long and rewarding road to this point. I had two babies by the time I was 21.

I was a single mum and it was hard to see a way forward. The driving force was my mum when she said it was time to do something for myself.

I enrolled in a chef’s course at Whitireia where I found myself excelling in the practical, but struggling with the theory and book work. I needed to take more time putting pen to paper and slow down and focus. I was lucky to have a supportive tutor who assisted me through the course and is still a friend to this day.

I became qualified!

A little bit of luck and a little bit of knowing the right people kind of took over at that point. I secured a job in the kitchen working at The Front Room, Waikanae Beach, and stayed for six years. It was an amazing environment to grow in, instilling great technique and learning valuable skills on how a kitchen ran.

However, I had a drive to be my own boss and make my own decisions. I didn’t want to be told what to do.

This led to the opening of Marine Parade Eatery with a partner, and a vision to build something awesome.

I later decided it was time to do my own thing.

I’ve failed at many things but it doesn’t bother me.

You get back up and you move on and learn from it.

Throw yourself into the things that do work and keep going.

One of the forces behind opening Sunday Cantina was because we got offered a wedding catering contract with Sudbury and that was a great start. However, I did really question if I should open Sunday Cantina Waikanae. But I was brave and pushed forward.

I needed to recognise my strengths and weaknesses and build a supportive team around me. I really believe in finding the right people to get the job done and focusing on what you’re good at.

I realised that this could be another branch to Sunday Cantina. This unique experience proved popular. I’ve had great interest in my cooking classes and it’s so rewarding engaging directly with others and sharing my passion for food. It’s awesome to see people’s responses to what we teach them. The energy is great because people want to be there and learn. It also challenges me to step outside my comfort zone.

I think it is so bloody awesome that so many local small businesses are run by women. It is super powerful. Everyone is cool and accepting and supportive of each other. Because as a woman - far out it can be hard. As a single mum and working hard to support my family, the juggle of motherhood and delivering my work took its toll. My kids have sacrificed a lot to allow me to build my own business and I sacrificed time with my family to follow my dream and provide for them. Balance to me does not exist, something always goes wrong or something comes up. I either feel like I’m letting the business down or letting my family down. The strongest thing is that all females understand the juggle and I’m passionate about supporting other women. I get how hard it is and I admire their strength.

The main thing I want other young women to know is that it doesn’t matter where you come from. If you have the ambition and the dream you can make it happen. I didn’t have any help. I’ve taken a risk to build my businesses from the ground up. I want to inspire young people to know that there is more than one path. It’s not always easy to walk – you just need the right dream and drive to move you forward. Share guts and determination. Believe in yourself. Anything is possible.

sundaycantina.com

In 2020 it was time to diversify the business and inject some fresh energy. This led to the opening of Sunday Cantina, Raumati South - a fun and vibrant café and restaurant. I knew I had to do something big to reinvigorate our brand.

Creating Food is easy for me. It’s what fuels my drive and ambition. But when you run your own business, you don’t realise that one of the most challenging things is having staff and managing a cohesive team.

I’ve learnt many valuable lessons and one of them is taking time with decision making. I approach every single staff situation differently as I recognise that everyone is different and has unique needs.

I’m always open to new avenues in business and by accident, after doing a cooking class for a friend,

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BEACHSIDE DENTAL SURGERY RIMU ROAD DENTAL SURGERY

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Growing up in Australia I attended the local high school that was not known for its academic curriculum. After telling my careers adviser that I wanted to become a dentist, he told me to pick something easier and if I was still interested in studying it, I would have to investigate it myself. I discussed this with my mother, and we talked about Otago University. It had been a dream of hers to go there and she wanted to make sure I had the opportunity that she never had.

A couple of weeks after my 18th birthday, I moved countries to pursue studies in dentistry. Mum supported my decision to make the move. She has been a huge influence in my life and still is. She has brought me up to be an independent woman and instilled the values of hard work, empathy, and resilience.

I graduated from the University of Otago Dental School 17 years ago. Back then I never imagined that I would be running my own business. After gaining valuable skills working at the Hutt Hospital Dental Department, I started my career in private practise. This was an eye-opener and I soon realised that not everyone had the same level of empathy or compassion. I quickly decided that if I wanted to practice dentistry ethically and with compassion, I would need to run my own business. Gender stereotyping was extremely common in my field of work. Early on in my career I was often mistaken for the Dental Assistant or the Hygienist. Back then the dental world was heavily male dominated, something that is now changing. During this period, I found it difficult to find female mentors in dentistry.

In 2010, I bought Beachside Dental Surgery. Back then there was just me, one dental chair and two support staff. We quickly grew and relocated the business into a little villa and expanded to three dental chairs. The staff grew quickly also. I have always focused on trying to employ young local women and support them into career pathways which may not have otherwise been available to them. I pride my business in creating opportunities for young women, to help

“I pride my business in creating opportunities for young women, to help support them to further their education and become as skil ed as possible.” support them to further their education and become as skilled as possible. In 2021, I opened a brand new five chair dental surgery, Rimu Road Dental Surgery, to run alongside our existing surgery. Our patients are the focus of our surgeries

and we work hard to look after our community. We want to make people feel comfortable in an environment that they otherwise may not be comfortable in.

For me it is important to have a balance in life. I have two young boys and a supportive partner, who allows me the ability to run my businesses. My partner has taken the role of stay-at-home dad and looks after our youngest son.

My mother and sister are my sounding boards and I converse daily with them.

They are patient listeners and give unbiased advice on my businesses, family, and life.

I want to inspire young women to be independent and see that there are lots of possibilities out there for them. I want to motivate them and get them to want to have a drive to succeed. I want them to know that there are opportunities out there and have the will to put in the hard work to succeed and achieve their goals.

Over the past five years I have found local female mentors who have supported me and helped me build my businesses. A few years ago I started mentoring young female graduate dentists, to help them transition from university into the workforce. I am inspired daily by all the local women business owners in my community. I am proud of what they have achieved, and that motivates me to be better at what I do. I will continue to consciously support them because I love to see them succeed.

beachsidedental.co.nz rimuroaddental.co.nz

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SHEARS CUTTING BAR & HOROWHENUA DISTRICT COUNCILLOR

#choosetochallenge International Women’s Day is a great reminder to all Wāhine Toa that we are the reason the world turns. To communicate our failures, successes and all opportunities taken or missed, are stories that need to be shared.

We as women need to empower all women on their chosen journeys and embrace and think about where we have been and where we are heading.

Educating ourselves and others on how we approach life, business and family through sharing our experiences.

Most women love to chat and we can have a lot to say. We are good listeners, we hear what’s being said and we use this to manage or create change. Celebrating International Women’s Day is a reminder about our everyday choices, to stand up, make a difference, be the change you want to see and, most of all, be kind.

High school wasn’t my favourite place, I couldn’t wait to leave. Careers Day was a perfect moment to decide on what career could be achieved as a 15 year old. It had to include people and conversation. My apprenticeship in hairdressing began not long after.

Where conversation was a constant daily activity, hearing about other people’s travels, work and life stories was incredible and one of the most important parts of my learning. That would see my focus change over time to include new challenges, completely outside my own personal comfort zone.

I became self employed at the age of 23 and still am to this present day. I had my own hair salon. All the purchasing, the day-to-day running of it, and working six

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days a week was a pretty big deal.

My son was approaching the very busy age of three so I was into a full on juggling act at this time, and we had also become homeowners. Looking back now on that particular part of my life being so full on, that’s where I grabbed my strength and focus. I needed to succeed at this point, more for survival in the land of being a grown up than anything else.

Fast forward to 2010, this year changed my life.

I needed a different challenge, and again, it had to do with people and using some of my learnt skills around communication and community. I had previous experience on committees and boards, regarding education, activities involving my children and their peers, as well as being a volunteer and helping to coordinate community events.

When approached by friends to put my hand up for local body elections, my first response was “are you mad?” “Political life, politicians, no thanks.”

But my desire to help others and be part of the local decision-making took effect.

In October that year I was elected to the Horowhenua District Council and am currently in my fourth term.

My focus is community wellbeing, older persons, environment and

being the deputy chair of Keep New Zealand Beautiful. Being in a number of community groups and organisations that all strive for positive outcomes for the district and its people.

Being committed to the district and its achievements is an extremely rewarding, though very challenging role to take up. I have always preferred the word advocate to politician.

Between the hair salon and council work the stories and life experiences are so fulfilling. Every single person is like their own unique walking library of stories, which we can all learn so much from.

In 2019 I chose to run for the mayoralty as well as council. That was a huge challenge. That experience alone taught me more about myself than anything I was expecting.

Sometimes as individuals I believe we need to take a quiet moment and think about what it is we truly want to do and how we can achieve it. This is best done without asking others for their opinion.

If you know you are capable of doing something, you know your own strengths and weaknesses use them all to your advantage and deflect the negative from those who try to talk you out of doing something that means more to you than anything at that time.

“I have always preferred the word advocate to politician.”

Some things I learned along the way…

1.

I learnt it’s best to not take advice from those you would never go to or ask advice from. Often the negativity and criticism can be far too draining on your own spirit, and adds no value.

2.

It’s nice to be important but more important to be nice.

3.

You don’t have to be perfect to be awesome.

4.

Being kind matters.

When I look around the world, there are so many women I admire and get inspiration from. Here in Aotearoa we are equally blessed with incredible talent in business, sports, and personal journeys.

But for me, my true admiration, and inspiration comes from the women who are a small circle of close friends and family who I work alongside on an almost a daily basis. They are self employed, talented and calming, yet energising - depending on what it is I need at the time. They are my circle of comfort and challenge and a reminder of why I do what I do everyday. I love and respect them all and am forever grateful for their knowledge, support and aroha they continue to show me throughout my journey.

Image credit: Helen Lea Wall, Shepherdess Magazine

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CAMPAIGNER FOR PAY EQUITY Interview: Anna Colville-Smith

Sitting down to chat with Elizabeth Orr it was immediately obvious that as a Gen Y woman, I took for granted the freedoms that our current generation of women have.

It is easy to forget how far we have come. Listening to Elizabeth’s accounts from her long-standing campaigning for equal pay and pay equality for New Zealand women left me with a sense of gratitude. Thank you for the hard work of previous generations that has paved the way for the society we live in now.

Elizabeth Orr resides in Waikanae and was the first female chancellor of Victoria University. Author of two books, she has most recently published ‘Pay Packets & Stone Walls’ a memoir of women’s causes and love of the land - documenting the challenges and triumphs she faced over 50 years of campaigning for equal pay.

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“The overall attitudes of society have changed. Women no longer stand for being second class citizens”. - Elizabeth Orr Q: What is one of the biggest changes you have seen for women during your time?

A: Pay equality legislation was a big shift and it really showed me that some men were willing to get behind women and equality. New Zealand women are fortunate that the 1972 Equal Pay Act was one of the first of its kind in the world.

Q: What was the driving force behind New Zealand leading pay equality issues?

A: New Zealand is very lucky in that there was a willingness of women to lead this work and also men to support them in advocating for change in women’s pay equality.

Q: In your own career did you ever experience discrimination?

A: I was a woman in a leadership position when there were hardly any other women in leadership positions. I was told stories of out right discrimination, as if I was a man. I had to focus on the job at hand and deliver that to the best of my abilities.

Q: What has been the driving force behind in your extensive contribution in the campaign for equal pay?

A: I wanted people to follow their own path. I wanted to follow my ambitions and felt other people deserved the same opportunity to say Yes or say No. Q: Who is one of your biggest female icons?

A: A heroine outside of New Zealand is Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who became the second woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court. Her story showed the support of her husband with looking after the family so she could complete her law degree. A brilliant thinker and jurist, she had a real impact on history.

Elizabeth Orr’s book Pay Packets & Stone Walls is available at Paper Plus, Coastlands.

“Tell the story of the mountain you climbed.

Your words could become a page in someone else’s survival guide.”

MORGAN HARPER NICHOLS

Want to share these stories with a friend? A digital version is available at womanhoodjournal.nz Tell your story in 2022, email Anna at ACS Marketing for more information anna@acsmarketing.co.nz

This publication was produced in celebration of International Women’s Day 2021 and published by ACS Marketing Consultancy. Featuring women in business from across Kāpiti and Horowhenua, New Zealand. This Womanhood Journal was proudly printed in Horowhenua, New Zealand by Graphic Press Ltd. Copyright is reserved.

Reproduction in whole or part is prohibited.

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