Women in Business Regional Network - WiBChat - January 2022

The official magazine of the Women in Business Regional Network January 2022

Proud silverpreneur: Onward and upward for Nan

Normalising ‘normal’ bodies

Our Partners

Women set sights on State seats

Accolades flow for Narelle Osborne

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leurieu Peninsula shed designer and builder Narelle Osborne is celebrating having been named among the Top 100 Women in Construction in the World list for the second year in succession.

Narelle has recently left her job with Shed Boss Fleurieu to pursue her own building venture Nara Nation.

The #Top 100 Women platform said those on the list had been “nominated by the broader construction community for setting high standards of excellence and contributing in ways that inspire us all”.

“It is an honour to be selected for this award. It speaks highly of how well these women work and are perceived in the broader construction sector. It is a positive contribution that deserves our recognition.”

Narelle is a proud champion for Indigenous People and also gender equity in the construction industry.

Nara Nation is a 100 per cent owned and operated female run Indigenous

Company that custom designs and delivers specialised sheds and shelters using Premium Australian quality materials to mines, communities and government.

Narelle says the company is dedicated to providing employment, platform and growth for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders that is supportive and culturally rich.

She said being part of the #Top 100 Women in Construction last year had been a game changer for her.

“This platform allowed me to open doors and create opportunities for myself and others beyond my imagination.

“I have pushed myself to overcome my fears of public speaking and much more.

I didn’t realise that I could help others by sharing my world. I am grateful for 2020 and all that I have learnt and overcome.”

Narelle has also been chosen to represent at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women

Summit in New York in March.

She was selected along with five other people to represent Indigenous Women of Australia and Torres Strait Islands.

COVID-permitting, she will spend 2 weeks in New York representing, advocating, connecting, sharing and supporting.

“This opportunity is beyond amazing.

When I share this news, the reaction is usually shock, tears and lots of, ‘Thank you Narelle for speaking up for those of us that can’t.’.”

Inside this issue...

Victor domination Regional women in business dominated the recent Business Victor Harbor awards for excellence.

Lifetime in supermarkets: Changing gender equity: 4

Red Cross honour: The Australian Red Cross have honoured Port Pirie woman Cheryl Bruce with the State Meritorious Award.

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New natural skincare: Sandy Carruthers has turned her back on retirement to launch her own natural skincare range to help combat her own reactive skin challenges.

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No retirement plans:

On the hustings in SA: Two South Australian regional businesswomen share their motivation and experience in running as independent candidates in the forthcoming State election.

Leanne Reynolds tells the story of going from an after-school helper in her parents’ store to being at the helm of a major regional supermarket.

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January 2022

Nan Berrett has proven age is no barrier to founding and running a successful business ... and the silverpreneur is looking forward to doing more not less in 2022.

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Kira’s rooftop mission: Kira Breen is on a mission to change the way women are treated in the construction industry by creating a roof restoration company with a difference or two.

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Thriving Women 2022: Check out the network members who are presenting at next month’s Thriving Women 2022 conference in the Adelaide Hills.

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REGULAR FEATURES:

Books................................................. 29 Classifieds................................... 34-35 Product Showcase............................ 33 Women in Action............................... 26

BLOGS:

Normalising ‘normal’:

Meet the woman who is trying to change the way normal bodies are portrayed in the media.

Want to help change gender inequities, particularly when it comes to investment?

Check out what the Hen House Co-op is all about and how you can help to “give a cluck” about gender equity.

Business Advice................................ 29 Family................................................. 25 Finance.............................................. 22 Health................................................ 31 Legal.................................................. 12 Marketing........................................... 27 Support.............................................. 29 Technology......................................... 17

Small steps the key in 2022

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ell, we’re at the start of another year. How are you feeling? A little overwhelmed? If so, you’re not alone.

The past couple of years have been challenging and draining for most of us, and, unfortunately, we need to be prepared for more tumultuous months ahead. I have not been immune to the feelings of overwhelm and helplessness at times as I’ve tried to support and assist members, clients, and, of course, family and friends too.

I have changed the way I deal with life, resorting to taking small steps, planning daily, weekly and monthly rather than yearly and five-yearly, and have found myself celebrating the small wins, like getting through the daily to-do list.

For many of my coaching clients, and those in the WiB Nook program, a brain dump whereby you literally write down everything that’s inside your head – whether positive or negative – and take time to process and strategise around each, has proven cathartic and way to wade out of the seeming quagmire of negativity and overwhelm.

I’d recommend the process for anyone, particularly at the start of a new year.

Carolyn Jeffrey Network Founder late last year to not offer in-person functions in the Riverland until further notice and Limestone Coast events will be conducted on an ad hoc and casual basis, rather than regularly. At this stage a chapter on Kangaroo Island is also not being pursued due to a number of challenges over the past year. We have introduced a new Virtual Membership option for those not serviced locally by a faceto-face chapter.

MEMBERSHIP In recognition that for many women in business cashflow has been a problem for the past couple of years due to the pandemic, we have also introduced a new option for membership to be paid on a month-to-month basis. I’ve been mindful that some people have had trouble finding their annual membership in a lump sum, so $12 a month may be a more viable option.

OPPORTUNITIES

Bring a friend: For our early events in 2022 we will be offering a Bring A Friend discounted ticketing option EVENTS – basically two booking fees For the network we’ve got a for the price of one, if the packed program on the cards second person has NEVER in 2022, with more than 110 before attended an in-person events in the calendar, and function. You will need to many members have stepped provide the name, email up to offer new speaking address and phone number of topics, which is very welcome. the second person at the time Follow our Facebook page, of booking. visit our website and signup Affiliate opportunity: In for our newsletter to get addition, a new opportunity is the latest information on about to be released to allow upcoming events. This year’s program will feature twice the Members to be paid for every new member they encourage number of online events to cater for those unable to make to sign up. Watch your inbox for more details. our in-person functions.

CHAPTERS We will be starting the year off with 10 active chapters to enable us to focus on areas where our services are in greatest demand. A difficult decision was made

Create and sell online courses with ease

WiBChat

Our online magazine has been a success but feedback indicates readers would prefer to see it quarterly. Our next edition will be published in the first week of April 2022.

Add more value to your clients Expand your reach Attract new business COVID-proof your business You can do it yourself, have us do some of it or we can manage the whole project from start to finish.

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January 2022

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Women dominate Victor Harbor awards

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omen-led businesses dominated the recent Business Victor Harbor awards, with many members of the Women in Business Regional Network among the finalists.

The overall Outstanding Business of the Year award was presented to the team from BCS Electrical, including network member Leanne Farr whose parents founded the business.

An informal workshop conducted by network founder Carolyn Jeffrey to help members prepare their applications for the judging proved fruitful with every participant making the finalists’ list.

More than 64 businesses entered by way of self-nomination. Finalists were then short-listed and interviewed to determine the eventual category winners.

Below is the list of finalists and winners of each category.

Those highlighted in purple are women-led businesses and/or members of the Women in Business Regional Network.

New Business of the Year: Equine Connection Soul Direction, Newton & Co Real Estate and Mum’s Beard Café. Winner: Equine Connection Soul Direction.

Community Care: 90.1 Happy FM, ADRA Op Shop, Rotary Victor Harbor, Equine Connection Soul Direction, Exercise Physiology South, Recreation & Active Disability Support. Winner: Exercise Physiology South.

Retail: Specsavers, Plus Printing, National Pharmacies, OPSM Victor Harbor, Mr Menswear, See Optometry Victor Harbor. Winner: Mr Menswear.

Professional Services: Elders Real Estate, Boylan Lawyers, Calder Wealth Management, CJ’s Business Solutions, Fleurieu App, Harcourts South Coast.

Winner: Harcourts South Coast.

Tourism: Canoe The Coorong, Soma Hair & Beauty, Softfoot, Victor Harbor Horse Tram Authority, Old Coach Road Estate. Winner: Canoe The Coorong.

Hospitality: McCracken Country Club,

TOP BUSINESS: Leanne Farr (second from left) with the team from BCS Electrical, Victor Harbor Mayor Moira Jenkins and the Member for Finniss, David Basham, after taking out the Business of the Year Award at the Business Victor Harbor Excellence Awards. BCS Electrical also took out the Trades & Industry category.

NETWORK SUPPORT: Among the network members at the Business Victor Harbor awards were Susie Williams (Fleurieu App), Narelle Osborne (Nara Nation), Natalie Bruce (Pear Tree Paddock & Bruce Master Plumbers), Leanne Farr (BCS Electrical), Angela McLean (Old Coach Road Estate), Kerryn Shaw (Calder Wealth Management), Taryn Richardson (jADS Hairdressers), Kirsti Knowles (RADS Recreation & Active Disability Support), Meredith Abbott (Fleurieu Crash Repairs), Deborah Geerts (Plus Printing) and Carolyn Jeffrey (CJ’s Business Solutions & Women in Business Regional Network).

Trades & Industry: Bodywork The Causeway Café, Swagman Chargrill, Massage & Wellness, Skinoptics, Bruce Nino’s Victor Harbor, The Boulevard, Master Plumbers, Below Zero, Fleurieu Loco Mexican. Winner: Nino’s Victor Crash Repairs, JADS Hairdressers, BCS Harbor & The Boulevard.

Electrical. Winner: BCS Electrical.

Not in an area near a network chapter?

Join us as a VIRTUAL MEMBER Enjoy the support, training & promotional benefits remotely at a discounted rate.

CLICK HERE to find out more 4

WIBChat Magazine

January 2022

State honour for Cheryl Bruce

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ort Pirie member and inspirational speaker Cheryl Bruce has been honoured for her years of service with the Australian Red Cross, through the presentation of the State Meritorious Award.

Cheryl has recently stepped down from her paid role assisting with the finances, but plans to continue volunteering for Telecross, a role than began 10 years ago next month.

An Australian Red Cross spokesperson said Cheryl had inspired many, including her own mother, to become a Red Cross volunteer.

“Cheryl’s empathy, professionalism and dedication instantly made her stand-out as she took on more responsibility as an admin support volunteer and within two years, she was offered the Program Support Officer role in the Port Pirie Office.

“Cheryl does not shy from going over and above the call of duty to help those around her. Cheryl is known for her warm smile as she greets Red Cross clients and other

community members.”

The Australian Red Cross says Cheryl has made a significant impact by participating in three Red Cross projects, which require passion and diligence.

These include: • National co-design project: new pathways to mental wellbeing • Mentoring and support program for young women in touch with the justice system • Combatting Period Poverty: supporting the school-based trainee to provide sanitary items to young women who are disadvantaged.

She has also assisted with numerous emergency service activations and assisted with the Red Cross COVID-19 response where she made hundreds of calls to people in home isolation and quarantine.

Outside of the Red Cross, Cheryl has been sharing her story of learning from adversity during a round of speaking engagements with the Women in Business Regional Network.

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January 2022

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Regional businesswomen eye off

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outh Australia is expected to go to the polls in March, and among the State Election candidates will be several new faces running as independents, including businesswomen Dianah Walter and Lou Nicholson.

The past two years have been particularly challenging for leaders dealing with the global pandemic, and there’s been controversy in both State and Federal Parliaments surrounding harassment and bullying allegations.

We decided to ask two of the network’s supporters more about their reasons for running, and their advice to anyone else thinking of throwing their hat in the ring for a leadership role.

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Dianah Walter Narungga

he Yorke Peninsula’s Dianah Walter is running as an independent candidate in the seat of Narungga, a seat covering around 10,000 square kilometres and including 1000 kilometres of coastline.

She has been part of the Women in Business Regional Network for several years, joining as a corporate member under her Regions Matter brand, a business championing regional areas and offering business consulting, lobbying and advocacy support and grant application services.

Even as a child Dianah recalls being someone who exercised her voice freely for the causes she supported, while also being there to be a voice for those who needed support.

“I was that girl that would stop the boys at school from killing ants. I was the young girl in the classroom who put her hand up when the teacher asked who wants to go on the Student Representative Council (SRC).”

“I am that person, that if I see someone not really involved in a conversation, I get up from where I am and involve them.” And she says her parents instilled in her “the simple values of treat others how you want to be treated”.

Dianah comes to the candidacy with some campaigning experience, having put her toe in the water in a support role for Geoff Brock who holds the neighbouring seat of Frome, and will now contest the seat of Stuart following an electoral boundary redistribution.

Dianah says the way she landed that role was a lesson for women in “backing yourself and having a respectful measure of confidence”.

In 2009 when Mr Brock won the byelection and later the general election,

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ON THE HUSTINGS: Dianah Walter (right) enjoys getting out and about in Yorke Peninsula talking to local residents about their issues.

Even though you think that your voice may not be strong ... if you know the subject matter, you’ve lived it and you can articulate and communicate what those issues are, you’re going to affect change.

Dianah phoned and wrote to him offering congratulations.

“And, in the letter, I wrote, ‘You’re in office now and you will need some really good people around you, and this is what my first week in your office will look like,’ she recalls.

“And I structured a diary note and put in what I thought his first week in the office would look like with me by his side as his principal assistant. And then the rest is history. “ This set the stage for Dianah to take some leave in 2013 to, in her words, “have a crack at the Senate”.

“At the end of the campaign and driving many kilometres driving around the State, listening to people’s concerns, I garnered a few votes, but I certainly didn’t reach the quota of 150,000 votes needed for the purpose of the Senate Election, the electorate being all of SA. “I felt very strongly about the platform that I campaigned on and that was to lobby for tax breaks for emergency services volunteers, not to incentivise volunteering, but rather to provide some tax breaks.

“The experience of 2013 has put me in good stead for the race that I’m running today,” she says.

“And it’s interesting that I am advocating along similar lines, this time calling on the government to provide incentives for private farm fire units and CFS Volunteers.

“I’m not saying pay volunteers, but rather provide adequate personal protective equipment and waive driver’s licences fees. It’s not remuneration but it recognises and incentivises the contribution volunteers make.”

Healthcare is a top priority for Dianah and for the people of Narungga.

She’s heard reports of ambulances being ramped at the Wallaroo Hospital and is concerned people are choosing to leave the region because they can’t find continuity of care or timely medical appointments, which is particularly worrying as the region’s demographic is older, around 58, at the last census.

Dianah has also been a long-time proponent of medicinal cannabis and industrial hemp.

“I’ll continue to fiercely advocate for less cumbersome and more affordable patient access pathways to cannabis as a medicine. We still have such a long way to go,” she says.

Having relocated to Yorke Peninsula permanently 10 years ago with her family, she saw it as a logical step to run for the seat of Narungga when the opportunity arose.

“I have always maintained the want and the desire to be the people’s representative; to be the person who takes the community with her in advocating for a change in a regional setting.”

independent roles on North Tce After leaving Mr Brock’s office Dianah spent five years working in a management role for the Targeted Lead Abatement Program in Port Pirie with the aim of reducing blood lead levels in Port Pirie children.

Here she capitalised on her community engagement skills which she is calling upon on a day-to-day basis during her campaign.

“In everything that I’ve done, and everything that I do, it’s the personal stories that really drive and influence my involvement in community engagement.

“Don’t presume for a moment that what you do or what you say is not important or that no one is listening.

Even though you think that your voice may not be strong, I can guarantee that if you know the subject matter, you’ve lived it and you can articulate and communicate what those issues are, you’re going to affect change.”

Through her business Regions Matter she has been assisting small businesses and government with advocacy, planning, grant writing and community engagement.

“I see my role very much as an enabler and my favourite communities to work with are, of course, regional communities.

“I also enjoy empowering women and girls who ordinarily don’t see themselves fitting into any particular mould when it comes to influencing change in the regions.”

“For so long, there’s been men of a certain ilk in leadership roles, making decisions about us, without us. In conversation a woman once said she didn’t have any skills or experience, she

didn’t feel valued. When she opened up, she mentioned she was making her school canteen a profit – she had good budgeting skills and common sense in spades. She didn’t see herself as someone who was contributing and making a difference, but she was.”

And although Dianah has enjoyed getting out and about, and helping to tell the stories of people from the region, the campaign trail has not been without challenges.

As well as dodging kangaroos, hares and deer while travelling throughout the region, dealing with sexism and a busy schedule, for someone who has been running her own business, it has also created financial stresses.

“Because I announced my candidacy early my cash flow dried up pretty quickly and although I knew that would eventually happen as campaigning stepped up, I didn’t expect it would happen so quickly,” she admits.

With most of her clients being in local, or other government agencies, she understood the need for them to be apolitical and at arm’s length, but just wasn’t expecting the early disengagement.

On a positive note, it has freed up time to focus more keenly on the campaign.

And the restrictions brought on by the global pandemic also curtailed many fundraising events and campaigning.

There is no “kissing babies”, and the contact with people is definitely something Dianah is missing.

“COVID has influenced the way that we meet and greet people. I’m a bit of a hugger, and love to shake hands and hug people, but we’ve had to find other

FAMILY SUPPORT: Dianah has the full support from her two children, Esther and Charlie, in her bid to win the seat of Narungga.

ways to connect.”

Dianah says she’s learned through her life the value of connections, and to value all connections you make with other people.

“Nurture your relationships – always.

Even if you meet someone just once, keep their details because that contact may prove invaluable, if not for you, for someone else.”

She encouraged women to not be afraid to tell their story and find their voice.

“Personal narratives are powerful instruments of change, and each and every one of us has a story to tell.”

“Pick the timing about when you’re going to share your story and allow your voice to be heard. And if you need a little bit of help well, I’m just the person to help you.”

The seat of Narungga incorporates Yorke Peninsula Council, the District Councils of Barunga West and the Copper Coast, as well as portions of Wakefield Regional Council and the Port Pirie Regional Council . It includes the towns of Ardrossan, Bute, Port Broughton, Kadina, Maitland, Minlaton, Moonta, Snowtown, Redhill, Port Wakefield, Marion Bay and Wallaroo.

It was won by Liberal candidate Fraser Ellis in 2018. Mr Ellis suspended his membership of the Liberal Party in February 2021 and moved to the cross bench. As the current Member for Narungga it is understood he plans to contest the seat again in March 2022.

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Lou Nicholson Finniss

ou Nicholson admits she wasn’t born to the role of political candidate, and, like most of us, probably didn’t take an active interest in politics, until the past few years.

The mother of three and qualified occupational therapist had cause to take up an issue with her local member and walked away feeling like more was needed to respond better to community concerns.

Lou and her husband moved to Goolwa about five years ago and the couple have been “really enjoying life, enjoying getting involved in the community and meeting so many wonderful people down here”.

A series of events and experiences led her to make the decision about 12 months ago to “participate in the community in a pretty big way” by running as an independent candidate for the seat of Finniss.

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Dianah and Lou are taking FROM PREVIOUS PAGE Although having always been interested in people and the community, science, health and the human body had been her passions, but politics entered her radar around 2018. Lou went to see her state MP to talk about an issue and the experience was far from what she had expected.

“We all did a little bit of politics and legal studies in high school, and I understood that your local MP was the person you go to, to represent your views to government and parliament.

“With my experience, I really started to understand that obligations to major parties can actually get in the way of representing constituents. Being a safe seat can get in the way too. I was told my issue didn’t concern many voters so, ultimately, it didn’t concern the sitting Member.”

“I didn’t feel well represented, and I just started paying attention from then.”

At that point, Lou had started a business called Girl Fleurieu Organics, supplying and delivering certified organic fresh fruit and vegetables across the Fleurieu Peninsula. Her sister operates a similar business in the Adelaide Hills, so Lou saw the opportunity locally and was looking for a part-time occupation to fit in flexibly with her family life.

It was one of her suppliers that helped sow another seed for Lou’s candidacy, informing her that SA was planning to lift the moratorium on genetically modified crops.

“I didn’t know a lot about it, but my supplier was so passionate, and she said, ‘This really will compromise our certified organic industry as well as a lot of other farming and agricultural practices’.”

Lou followed the link to a petition and article and saw the local councils in Finniss undertook public consultation showing people didn’t want GM crops in the area.

They applied to the State Government through a one-off opportunity to remain GM free but were denied by the newly appointed Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, who also happened to be the local Member for Finniss, David Basham.

This really put the local Member in Lou’s sights.

“That was another real stepping stone for me. I just thought, far out, the people are trying to speak here, and we’re not being heard. I developed a passion for independents as opposed to representatives from major parties.”

With no solid background in politics Lou realised she’d need a strong

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January 2022

TAKING TO THE STREETS: Lou Nicholson has been taking her campaign to the streets to speak with local voters in the electorate of Finniss. Here she chats to locals in Victor Harbor’s main street.

“It’s a bit of a roller coaster ... but I have to say every step that I put in front of the other, I feel more sure, and happy and confident, with what I’m doing. support team, and some good quality advice. She is very grateful for having connected with Chelsea Potter of Suffragette Group via social media who has acted as a mentor.

“She is a young woman who has spent many years with one of the major parties, and now supports and encourages other women to run, to get elected across all levels of government.

“I thought if I can engage her as a consultant, I really feel like I’ve got someone in my corner who I can go to, and she’ll give me all of that information I need.

“And, of course, our Federal independent member, Rebekha Sharkie, is a great inspiration and real support.”

Lou was pleased to have been able to sell her business and sacrifice an income for one year to help contribute finances to the campaign that’s expected to run into tens of thousands of dollars.

While admitting to not enjoying, nor being good at organising events, Lou says her other financial contributions have come through fundraisers including a clothing swap, movie night and quiz night, made possible through

assistance from her support team.

But, it hasn’t just been finances which have been challenging.

“It has been a really steep learning curve.

“I’ve had to learn that one of the big things is trying to get people engaged in politics, in democracy, in a political campaign. I guess I would call my campaign a grassroots campaign.

“I don’t have the backing or branding of any political party. I really am just me, backed by a really lovely group of supporters and local people.”

And, finding her voice in public again, has also proven more difficult than she thought, rebuilding confidence and curtailing imposter syndrome after spending time out of the workforce where she would address groups regularly.

“In the morning I’m making breakfast and getting kids off to school and kindy, and then here I am, in front of a big group.

“It’s quite a jump, and it takes a bit of mental prep, doesn’t it? I just give myself a pat on the back every time I do it, no matter how it goes. Of course, you always want to do better.”

on the State’s major parties And politics can be a tough career.

Already Lou has had to steel herself against negativity and critics.

“I’d like to tell you that I’ve got a pretty thick skin, but I have to say I have never had it challenged like this.

“Face to face confrontation and competition is not normal in every workplace. I’m very aware that it will be like nothing I have ever experienced before.

“Ideally, it shouldn’t be like that. It should be a collaborative place, but it isn’t, is it?

“I’m very lucky to have a really good support network. Personally, I’ve got wonderful family, great friends.

Everybody is so encouraging and supportive.

“I guess it’s a matter of slowly building my armour exposure by exposure, building my resilience, building my strategies and talking to mentors and supporters who have experience with it.”

And the campaign trail has certainly had its ups and downs.

Lou recalls with a smile how much energy she drew from her successful quiz night fundraiser.

“It was great because it was a room full of support. I rode that wave for a couple of weeks.

“Some days you feel so confident. You might go to an event and there’s just so much support or you meet somebody who indicates that the community is behind you… and then other things happen and I wonder who I am to be doing this, and why have I taken it all on!

“It’s a bit of a roller coaster in that sense, but I have to say every step that I put in front of the other, I feel more sure, and happy and confident, with what I’m doing.

“I’ll be thrilled to achieve running and giving everybody in Finniss the sense that we do care about our region. We are worth strong candidates and giving people a strong choice.”

In terms of the issues in the seat of Finniss, Lou says she’s done a lot of listening.

“I wanted to be certain of the issues because that’s what I’m passionate about, representing the electorate and the people here.

“I have held listening forums, met with lots of community groups and locals. And I’ve heard many concerns for our region. I’ve chosen six areas that I feel are the most important and these are my priorities for the election.

“Being an independent and making

people across the Fleurieu, and it’s good to see the state government have come out with a proposal to make sure that we get to a 50 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030. I would certainly support that legislation and other initiatives, keeping Finniss, our values, environment, businesses and economy at the front of my priorities.”

The future of the region, and the need to ensure infrastructure keeps pace with the growth of Finniss is another key issue.

“The way I see it is, we’re a region with a little flame burning, and it’s just hanging in there. We need to have somebody representing us, advocating for us that really will help our region’s flame take off.

“We’ve got so much to offer down here. We want to attract business entrepreneurs, industry, tourism, so many things. We need suitable infrastructure. Our roads need attention. That’s a really big one.”

Lou says she has enjoyed being on the campaign trail so far, including her regular attendance at Women in Business Regional Network functions.

“It’s just been such a privilege to get to know so many other people in our communities all the way up to Mount Compass, and across the coast.

JUGGLING ROLES: Like many women Lou Nicholson is juggling multiple roles as wife and mother along with her campaign to take the seat of Finniss as an independent candidate.

sure that we’re not a safe seat anymore.

“Our hospital and health services need a significant boost in resources and funding, as does our ambulance service.

“The Victor Harbor ambulance station is really run down, and the paramedics are just working so hard. They need a new station, an additional crew and ambulance.

“Homelessness is something that many people, particularly our volunteer groups and charitable organisations work really hard to support. It’s time for state government to start pitching in here.”

Lou highlighted that the early intervention officer in the region is funded through a not-for-profit and called on the government to acknowledge the importance of the role and provide funding.

“Climate action is huge for many

“People really pitch in down here. I think back to when we were living in Adelaide, I just can’t imagine a group of suburbs having the sense of community that we have down here.”

And, if you’re thinking about running for a leadership role, Lou has the following advice: “If you’re thinking about it, read those books, find those role-models and then start looking for somebody who can be in your corner as a valued advisor, because once you’ve got that person, you’re on your way.

“The world needs more everyday people with a range of experiences stepping into leadership and government at all levels.”

The Finniss electorate covers just over 1000 square kilometres and is located on the Fleurieu Peninsula. It includes the major towns of Victor Harbor, Port Elliot, Middleton, Goolwa, Mount Compass, Hindmarsh Island, Currency Creek, and parts of Inman Valley. The current Member for Finniss is the Liberal Party’s David Basham who was elected in 2018. He is the current Minister for Primary Industries & Regional Development and is expected to contest the March 2022 election.

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January 2022

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Personal skin challenges put F or many people having skin reactivity issues can be a challenge, but Sandra Carruthers wasn’t going to let it hold her back in life. And, in fact, she took the problem on directly, developing new products and a new brand.

At a time when most people would be contemplating retirement, the Barossa Valley woman instead realised that she had “always been busy” and had no plans to stop at a “retirement age”.

Sandy, the founder of Karku Natural Skin Care, has had a varied career, including owning and running a takeaway café for 12 years, working as night fill in a supermarket, managing a caravan park and undertaking factory work.

And, after deciding to retire, she realised she just wasn’t ready.

“Well, before I did retire, I started thinking of what am I going to do? I’ve always been busy. I’ve always had a job. I’ve always worked.

“And this (skin care products) has been a passion of mine because it’s something that’s been important to me for as long as I can remember,” Sandy says.

“So, it was something I wanted to research and find out and try and find for me, basically, something, that I could put on my face. So it’s all about me.”

But there have been some unexpected challenges for someone starting a new business in the 21st century.

“I’m finding that I don’t know enough about the internet and IT. So that’s where I’m struggling at this point. And I’ve got a lot to learn,” Sandy admits.

But, ironically, much of the research for the products has been done by her on the internet.

And then there was the physical testing of the product with Sandy herself being the guinea pig.

“I did a lot of research, a lot of trials.

Yeah, I had a few failures. I had some very bad reactions to some stuff I’ve used and tried,” she says.

“I did find out also that you really can’t make your stuff at home unless you’ve got the right environment.

“Skin care is like food it has to go through those rigid trials and tests and they have to pass the six-month trial, 12-month trial, or whatever, so that bacteria doesn’t grow and, all of this.

“So, I actually had to find a laboratory that would help me do that.”

After researching a number of options, Sandy settled on a boutique laboratory in Queensland who matched her philosophy about the products and

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WIBChat Magazine

FAMILY SUPPORT: Sandy Carruthers is grateful for the support of her family, including her partner, in getting behind her vision to create her own skincare products - Karku Natural Skin Care.

I’d get excited, you’d get a delivery and then, you know, you trial it for two or three weeks and no, that hasn’t worked either. suited her plans.

“They only do small batches, so they don’t need as much preservative in them as they are short term batches.”

Patience was needed during the development phase with it taking about 12 months to develop the products, work out what Sandy wanted and trial them. And, she admits, it was frustrating at times.

“I’d get excited, you’d get a delivery and then, you know, you trial it for two or three weeks and no, that hasn’t worked either.

“So then back to the drawing board and look at what they’ve put in it or whatever and we’ll start again and stuff like that,” she recalls.

Then, having developed the product, there was much still to be done.

“We had to find a name, design a logo and labels. We wanted to portray to people our brand was more about natural, recycling, herbal, eco-friendly, sustainability, all of that. I didn’t want anything plastic.

“It was a process then of finding the containers and then the labelling in the style that I wanted.”

She was lucky that her son worked in the marketing industry.

“He just said to me, ‘Mum, don’t just look at skin care, look at anything, anything you like the look of when

January 2022

you’re going around and if you think it’s what you, you want to portray, send it to me’.

“So, basically it was that process and, in the end, he only showed me three.”

And, how did the name Karku come to be?

Her partner lived on a property at Humbug Scrub named Karku, as his family had lived many years ago in the town of Karkoo on the Eyre Peninsula.

She’s also aware that the word Karku is also a type of sheoak.

As well as the name having strong links to South Australia, Sandy is proud that, except for the production of the products, all other work is carried out in South Australia, including sourcing the ingredients.

And the ingredient lists read more like a traditional recipe book than a chemical formula. They include aloe vera, Kakadu plum, desert lime, rosehip, lavender, cucumber, quandong and sea buckhorn. A lot are high chosen as they’re high in vitamin C and anti-inflammatory properties.

The range includes a cleanser toner, moisturiser, vitamin A night serum and an eye cream.

In order to add to the range and fill her stall at markets, Sandy has also added homemade soaps and shampoos to the list. She has been making these products for herself for

brakes on retirement plans about three years, and now, as well as doing the washing, her laundry has become a mini manufacturing plant too.

The founding of Karku Skin Care has not only given Sandy something to fill in her retirement years, but has also had personal benefits for her hip pocket in other ways.

“Over the years I’ve spent a lot of money on skincare, including expensive skincare and cheap skincare, whatever, without finding anything that I could use much for long term, if at all,” she recalls.

“My daughter would end up with all my off-casts, and she was very happy.

“So that’s what made me determined to find something that I could use.

“We absorb so many chemicals through our skin, which is the biggest organ in our body, so I was keen to try to cut that too.

“I used to get burning, itches and rashes, which I put down to chemicals, petrochemicals and preservatives. I have what’s called reactive skin.”

Karku Natural Skin Care was launched in mid-2020 initially as an online store only, but Sandy has now

HAND MADE Some of the natural soaps Sandy makes herself in her laundry at home. realised she needs to work on her marketing to drive customers to the website.

“Basically, my son says I need to let people know I have a shop.

“So we’ve launched into markets now. We’ve bought ourselves a caravan and the plan is to do the market circuit,

travel around, because we need to get the word out.

“It’s hard for people to trial something on the internet. They can’t see it, or feel it, or smell it. It really has to be out there for people to see.”

She says her family has been very supportive, and weren’t surprised when she decided to establish another business.

As well as her son assisting with marketing, Sandy’s daughter has also been assisting with social media, and even as a model.

She admits she has found it challenging to, what she terms “big note herself” to build a personal profile to raise awareness of the brand.

“I find it challenging to find the confidence to put myself out there. I can’t sell myself.

“I’d rather, yes, sit quietly in the corner and take it all in, but I have to get out there and do it.

“Initially, I was aiming at my age group for my skincare range - I’m in my sixties - but then I’ve been told, and I agree with them now, that my age group are probably thinking, well, I don’t really MORE NEXT PAGE

We're here for your business

With solid grounding in banking and finance, property, commercial litigation, dispute resolution and general commercial, we're here to support you and your business every step of the way www.roachcorporate.law.com 08 8186 1735 admin@roachcorporatelaw.com

WIBChat Magazine

January 2022

11

New range of skin care products FROM PREVIOUS PAGE care what I put on my face to make it better, but young ones are more into products and wanting to know what’s in it.

“They’re considering what they’re eating, what they’re wearing and they’re more into sustainability, so I’ve changed my target market. But it’s making it more difficult for me because I have to think like them.

“So I’m lucky that I’ve got a daughter in the 30s and a very good friend of my daughter who are helping me with those things.”

She’s also found assistance in mixing with other women in business, including at the Nuriootpa market when a fellow stallholder was happy to give her a crash course in Instagram too.

With such a wide range of experience in the business world Sandy says she’s learned that being in business is hard work, and having an online shop is much different to a physical premises.

“Nothing comes easy at all. You need to know your product and if you don’t know things, you need to get help with them basically.

“I’ve come from a background of a food shop, everybody’s hungry. They just came to you. There you just have to have a good product and they’ll come, whereas this is a little bit different in that they don’t know about you. You’ve got to show them that product and it’s totally different. So, it’s a big learning curve.”

And the terminology being used in the modern era, particularly around technology has also been challenging.

“When you say funnel and all these algorithms, and I’m reading it, it looks like French and then so Google that word and that looks like Italian. Oh, my goodness. I’ve got no idea. And that’s where I’m struggling. It doesn’t compute in my head because they’re unusual words and that’s not something I’ve come across before.”

Sandy, who joined the Women in Business Regional Network in mid2021, is looking forward to learning even more in 2022. She has already enjoyed attending network functions in the Barossa, Murray Bridge and the Clare Valley where technology was a focus in several instances.

To find out more about Sandy Carruthers and her Karku Natural Skin Care visit https://karku.com.au/.

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The five steps of divorce With Rianie Huggins* Boylan Lawyers

A

LEGAL

new year brings a fresh start for many. In the world of Family Law, this means I am approached by couples looking to divorce after the stresses of the Christmas season.

Many couples stay together and ‘bunker-down’ through the Christmas period, often for their children.

However, when the new year arrives, they decide they can’t go on.

Deciding to divorce is a tough decision, but also a decision that takes bravery to believe you are making the right choices for your future. As a family lawyer it is my job to support couples through the next steps.

Here are five steps typically involved in the divorce process.

1) Get advice: First and foremost, it is important you receive quality advice from a family lawyer. They will help you create a plan that is specific to your personal needs and situation.

Your lawyer may also direct you to speak with an accountant or financial planner.

2) Property settlement: Find out what assets, debts and financial resources are up for negotiation regardless of who brought them into the relationship. Your lawyer will likely organise valuations and reports required to settle your property or distribute assets.

3) Parenting Arrangements: Work with your family lawyer on how much time each parent receives with the children.

4) Wills and estate planning: Divorce automatically revokes a Will.

Before you settle, make sure you protect your assets, and your future

January 2022

wishes with a fresh Will and estate planning. Not updating your Will as a divorced person can lead to disputed estates in the future.

5) Conveyancing and asset transfer: If you decide to sell the assets you own or purchase new assets, you will need help from a conveyancer that can guide you through the process.

The success of negotiations will determine whether you and your ex settle or go to court. The court process is extensive and can be time consuming.

Once negotiations or court matters are settled, you can organise conveyancing of the matrimonial home and other assets. You can also settle payments for financial distributions. Once this is complete, the process is now over, and you can take a breath.

The above process is stressful, which is why it’s important to have the right team behind you. Boylan Lawyers can support you through every step of your separation plan.

Our Family Law team has a combined 86 years’ experience.

Get a free 30-minute consultation by calling (08) 8632 2777 or email admin@boylanlawyers.com.au. *Rianie Huggins is an Associate at Boylan Lawyers who specialises in family law, estate planning, probate, trusts and more. Rianie has extensive international and local experience in law. She loves being part of the Strathalbyn community and enjoys seeing the unique offerings from talented artisans throughout the Adelaide Hills and surrounds.

Phone: (08) 8632 2777 Email: admin@boylanlawyers.com.au Website: boylanlawyers.com.au

From checkout to shop owner

F

rom toilet paper rationing to needles in strawberries, the past two years have certainly thrown up some challenges for supermarket owner Leanne Reynolds … and that’s just in her business life, but she still maintains her passion for the business, and the contribution it makes to the local community.

Leanne, together with her husband, David, are the owners of Foodland Goolwa, as well as partners in a large fruit and vegetable store in Victor Harbor, Veg Out. For Leanne, supermarket life is in her blood, having grown up in her parents’ Foodland at Christies Beach where she met and later married David.

She laughs as she recalls the quasimaths lessons she had at a very young age counting out, measuring and packing 1kg tomatoes and onions.

Working in her parents’ store parttime, including at the checkouts, it was never Leanne’s vision to remain in a supermarket.

“It wasn’t going to be a career. I applied to be a Mothercraft nurse,” Leanne recalls.

“But, a change in government meant they shut down Mothercraft, and I didn’t know what I’d do, so I just went to the supermarket.

“I had a passion for kids and I

SIGN OF THE TIMES: Leanne’s daughter Courtney was featured in The Advertiser as a COVID Marshal when new rules came into effect for supermarkets and other businesses to deal with the global pandemic.

white shelf ticket numbers to display the prices. We slide them into the holders. When I was extremely young my job was to sort out the ticket box.”

But it was in office administration that Leanne eventually found her supermarket niche, and that’s where she stayed, moving into comanagement of the store.

The supermarket life also proved the perfect matchmaker for Leanne too, meeting long-time husband David when he was an “after-school boy when he was 15 in Christies Beach”.

He worked his way up to store manager, and into the heart of the bosses’ daughter.

Leanne’s parents had three stores in Adelaide, and one in Goolwa, so when they wanted to semi-retire they asked the couple which store they wanted to buy.

The world of supermarkets has certainly changed over the 40 years AWARD WINNER: Leanne Reynolds proudly the couple have been in the business. holds the Paul Harris Fellow award she and her husband David received for services to Today there’s scanning and, of course, the GST, which can be quite the community. complicated dealing with GST and wanted to help mums with their GST-free items. babies. I was devastated. They shut Leanne is grateful to the support down the hospital and then they from the Master Grocers Australia offered me a challenge in NSW or and Foodland head office to assist Victoria at 16. with the transition, and other “It meant I had to move away and I challenges the couple has faced. couldn’t do it. This is a great industry “We have very good support of family owned businesses and lots within the industry, lawyers for HR, of community support. workplace issues and, of course, “The Foodland name is synonymous COVID. Our role is to work in the with South Australia, The Mighty business and on the business. We’re South Aussies. We’ve won that not HR experts, we’re not lawyers, many customer service awards over we’re not accountants. We have the big guys. We do care about our those experts to call on. businesses and our communities.”

“We’ve had computers come In the early days after leaving through. Everything is downloaded school she worked in every on a Tuesday night and Wednesday department, including packing meat morning specials are all done. We in the butchery, packaging and used to have to rub the price off the displaying fruit and veg, groceries, can and restamp it. Back then it variety and filling shelves. was the sticky guns and then reprice them.

“Back then, on the checkouts, we had to learn the specials off by “Kids don’t have to work out the heart,” she says. change. It was all cash back then and no EFTPOS. Today there’s very little “The front-end supervisor would cash, probably 80 percent EFTPOS.” test us (I was no different to any other employee).”

The Goolwa store has also gone through quite a few rebrands over And, how many were there? the years since opening in December “Maybe only a hundred. At night we 1979. It has been Tom the Cheap, used to practice them. It was so we Super Value, Foodtown and then knew not to charge them the full price Foodland. when the items came through.”

Leanne is clearly passionate and And there were no bar codes and proud of the support the businesses scanners in those days. provide to the local community.

“It was pricing stamp guns. My MORE NEXT PAGE job was to sort out the black and WIBChat Magazine

January 2022

13

Supermarket business is all about FROM PREVIOUS PAGE “That’s the reason we’ve survived is because we’ve supported the community and they’ve supported us,” she says.

As well as supporting the local netball, football, bowling and golf clubs, Foodland Goolwa does a range of other fundraising and community support projects.

“We run a Christmas stocking raffle for the Rotary Club and have bins out for donations for food donations for the Uniting Church.

“We used to run Community Chest program where every quarter we split $10,000 up between the charities.”

Leanne and David oversee a team of 30 staff at Foodland Goolwa and have maintained close relationships with them over the years. The recent 40year celebration saw three generations come together to celebrate their journey as employees.

It was through the connection with the staff that Veg Out was founded as the co-partner in the business, Frank Vizzari, is the son of a former fruit and veg manager at Goolwa Foodland.

Between the two stores

But, as well as the global pandemic, there have been other challenges for the supermarket owners, not only in their personal health, but through crime.

The Goolwa supermarket was caught up twice in the “needles in strawberries” attacks and there have been “so many robberies and breakins over the years”, including two tobacco robberies in two weeks just before we spoke with Leanne.

“You get angry because everyone is working hard to THREE GENERATIONS: Leanne with three generations of one make their businesses work. family who have been employed at one point at the Goolwa “COVID has been the Foodland store. biggest challenge we have ever had. It’s hard keeping your staff’s mental health lifted. They’re worried. I’m worried.

“We have a record sheet to fill in with a list of 30 things the girls have to do to deal with touch points. We have to fill it in three times a day.

You’ve got to make sure your part of the philosophy of there are about 60 staff, hygiene is 150%. The staff including juniors after school Foodland generally. are wearing masks.” and several university “We strive to include “If you’ve got staff you have students who return in locals like the Fleurieu Milk to work as a team and have the holidays each year for Company, B-D Paris Creek, respect if they have anguish. seasonal work. local olive growers, fruit & Talk to people about things. vege suppliers, Alexandrina As well as supporting Listen to what the customers Cheese, Kangaroo Island community, Leanne and and staff want. You have to oats, olive oil and Beerenberg work in a team environment, David are passionate about supporting South Australian products, to name just a not as a boss.” few,” she says. small businesses, which is MORE NEXT PAGE

That’s the reason we’ve survived is because we’ve supported the community and they’ve supported us

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All for just $35/month Visit wibnetwork.com.au or CLICK HERE to find out more.

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WIBChat Magazine

January 2022

the community FROM PREVIOUS PAGE Leanne says the important lessons of being in business is to accept that you have to work hard to get rewards and to make sure everybody works together as a cohesive family.

“You’ll have challenges along the way. You work through it. I thought the strawberry thing was going to shut down the business, but it didn’t.

“We’ve had health issues in our family, and yet the business continues to be running.”

And, as if running a supermarket and a busy fruit and veg outfit isn’t enough, the couple have also been involved in their community outside of business, and they were recently awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship for their contribution to the community.

“It was a huge honour and surprise. It was nice to be

recognised,” a very humble Leanne says.

As well, David has been involved in the local surf lifesaving club as foundation president and was named the Alexandrina Citizen of the Year for his contribution.

Although not a surfer or a lifesaver herself, Leanne contributed to the sport by spending two weeks volunteering behind the scenes at the World Lifesaving Games in Adelaide.

“It’s also very important to us to spend time with the family; with our kids, our parents, and brothers and sisters.”

In the future the couple are planning on stepping away more from the business and allowing the team to do more, while Leanne works more from home in her administration role.

“I would never have done that before (working from

FAMILY SUPPORT: Leanne and David with their children Aaron and Courtney celebrate 40 years in the supermarket business together. All have worked in the Goolwa store and Leanne is hoping to spend more time with family in the future.

home). I find I can be more focused on the job.”

And the couple have also joined the many people who have bought a caravan during

the pandemic, and they’re hoping to enjoy some local travel in the future, while continuing to maintain their successful business.

secluded & simply stunning WWW.OLDCOACHROADESTATE.COM.AU

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WIBChat Magazine

January 2022

15

Silverpreneur shows age no barrier

T

he Clare Valley’s Nan Berrett is proud to call herself a “silverpreneur” and, at a time when most of us are looking to wind down in our working lives, she’s busier than ever and continuing to grow her enterprise.

Nan’s a wordsmith, and founded her business, Word Solutions, about 10 years ago after resigning from her job as a journalist with the local newspaper.

And, although she’s technically “home-based” she offers a very mobile service covering more than 10,000 kilometres throughout regional South Australia and Adelaide each year.

And, even the restrictions of the global pandemic haven’t stopped her much.

“I think I’ve travelled one third around the circumference of the world or something like it this year, according to Google,” Nan says.

Nan and her husband have recently bought a caravan too which now also bears the personalised number plate WORDS2, so they can travel together while Nan works, and to ensure their “needy” dog isn’t left behind.

“We can travel with the dog, and my husband can come too, and we can actually spend a bit of time going to places together, instead of me on my own.”

Nan says her age has been a positive, rather than a negative, when it comes to business.

“No business would actually employ me as an employee, but for some odd reason, the greyer your hair gets, the more desirable you are as a contractor.

“I consult and contract to various business and local governments and it’s never been a problem. The older I am, the more respect I get, so, no, I haven’t actually had any discrimination.”

“The only thing I’ve noticed is, sometimes with other younger businesswomen, they tend to patronise me a bit, but my clients don’t.”

Nan encourages employers to consider the value of employing older staff, rather than opting for younger people just because they may be cheaper to employ.

“When you get older, you don’t party as hard and I’m well past childbearing, so I’m not going to be off doing that.

“When I was in the workplace, I would tend to come to work even if I didn’t really feel like it or didn’t feel particularly well.

“You soldier on as an older person, you’re much more reliable. But employers don’t actually get that. They don’t seem to understand the value of an older employee.”

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WIBChat Magazine

PROUDLY REGIONAL: Clare Valley convenor for the Women in Business Regional Network Nan Berrett with her finalist’s certificate in the Regional category of the 2021 SA Woman awards.

Word Solutions isn’t Nan’s first business. Although being employed throughout her working life, she has always maintained a side hustle or two. Her side hustles in the past have included owning a gift shop, a health food shop and doing direct sales.

Her latest business is the first she’s run while not also being employed elsewhere.

“This is my best life. Honestly, best third life ever. Being on my own, calling my own shots, not being beholden to an employer.

“Workplaces traditionally can be quite fraught with tension of various sorts at various times, and you’re always, sort of, at the bidding of someone else. I’m completely in control of my own destiny now.

“I can choose my own clients. If I don’t get on with someone, then I can shuffle them to someone else who they may get on better with.

“I can choose my working hours. If I want to work late at night, I can do that and sleep in the morning. It’s just fabulous.”

And, although today Nan comes across as confident and knowledgeable, it wasn’t necessarily the situation when she resigned from her job.

“When I left work I didn’t actually think I had any portable skills,” Nan recalls.

“And so, I was actually looking at winding down towards retirement; not that that was something I was looking forward to, because I don’t have any hobbies, so there wasn’t anything to move on to.

“I had an opportunity to start my own business, and I started it through

January 2022

NEIS (the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme).”

Calling upon skills she’d learned in social media while at the newspaper, and her experience with computing and technology, as well as her reputation as a journalist, Nan snared her first client, the local council, after announcing her resignation.

“So that started the ball rolling. I think we were one of the first rural/ regional councils in South Australia to have an active social media page, a Facebook page.

“I started off their social media and I began doing media releases and one thing led to another, and now I do a diverse range of jobs for them.

“It’s quite surprising, all sorts of things pop up. So the council became my first client and they’re still a client.”

Training has been a key component in Nan’s business and personal development over the past 10 years.

The roll-out of the nbn network, and the associated Federal Government funding to assist small business to make use of it, provided opportunities for training.

“I linked in with the Polaris Centre at Mawson Lakes, who are just fantastic.

I must have gone to at least a dozen small business workshops on using the internet for good, and not for evil. And I built on my knowledge of social media and marketing.

“And whenever the chance comes up for me to learn more, I will just put my hand up and go off and learn new things.

“I’m a pretty much an advocate of lifelong learning.

“I also believe that if you’re

to business in business and you are providing information to clients you never know it all. It’s a bit arrogant to assume that you know it all and that you’re unwilling to adopt additional training.”

Nan says she even takes advantage of training sessions on topics she thinks she already knows.

“I often find things out that I hadn’t known before. So, I always pick up new knowledge, and if I don’t pick up a lot of new knowledge, I always pick up validation that what I know is still current. I think that’s important.”

Nan is proud of the fact that her business has been built organically through networking and referrals, rather than by spending money on advertising.

“And I’m always learning things from the businesswomen that I have contact with.

“There’s always something new that comes up. It’s fabulous. I love the fast pace of our current modern world. It’s really interesting. It keeps you on your toes.”

Nan’s connection with the Polaris Centre in the early days has now also come full circle with Nan now also conducting workshops and sharing her knowledge under contract to them.

And she has also recently been touring many of the Women in Business Regional Network chapters sharing her knowledge and experience of effective networking and has been conducting workshops for the University of Adelaide in Whyalla.

Nan is also a mentor with the Adelaide Business Hub through the Federal Government’s Small Business Advisory Services Digital Solutions Program.

“So there’s a whole group of mentors with different skill sets and we provide support for clients in the small business community, which is again funded by the Federal Government.”

And, she recalls how she gained the role through networking.

“I got that role back in 2018 when I was at a business conference and I stepped outside the conference because the topic was of no interest to me at all, so I thought, I’ll pop out and have a coffee in the foyer.

“Another conference attendee was also doing the same thing and we struck up a conversation. It turned out that she managed the program at the Adelaide Business Hub, we exchanged business cards and had a bit of a chat.

“And then she went back to her office and spoke to her CEO, saying she had met me, and just happened that her manager had been talking to a colleague of mine and my name had come up in their conversation.

MORE NEXT PAGE

Build your reach online

M

any small to medium businesses have a website or some online presence. It’s probably not enough.

Why not? Because more than likely, you probably don’t have the time or the inclination to do it well yourself. Typically, you’ve paid the money or invested the time in your website and maybe you think it should be doing its job for you. It’s probably hard to see tangible results; marketing seems expensive and not worth it, and your time and money is used elsewhere, so it goes on the backburner.

To keep your content current and interesting you absolutely need consistent, quality, unique, well curated photography, videography, branding, packaging and online presentation.

A boring, outdated website, branding, product imagery and repetitive, sporadic, or poorly planned social media is likely to sit in the dark.

Just consider for a moment the reach of your online sales based on your existing loyal customers on your Facebook page, and the number of likes and shares achieved when you post material about your product.

Consider how many people follow your page versus how many likes and shares you achieve organically. Now consider how many more potential buyers you will be able to touch if you drop your products into a few different pools (sales platforms).

By using a platform’s existing reach, the potential of those ripples spread much further and wider. With a consistent and well considered approach, your product’s reach could become much, much greater and all new customers.

All products and brands need to present as attractive with competitive pricing, good imagery, distinctive branding, an engagement story and quality and unique content to catch and hold the attention. Most importantly, your online presence needs to catch interest and secure the trust of the buyer in an instant or you’ve lost them!

The key to success is to know your buyer, what they look like, why they buy, how to communicate with them and on what platform, how they use

With Teresa McLuckie TRACE Foodsteps

Marketing your product, and how often they use it. This is where good planning and research, and deep analytics and a flexible approach comes into play as very important tools for informing the success of your product campaigns and marketing strategies.

As an owner of two different food businesses, a content creation business and an eCommerce marketing business, I am a food and flavour designer, I develop as well as curate food products, I design my own labelling and innovate with packaging using my food industry resources, and choreograph SM (Social Media) marketing and material. I have two international eCommerce shop fronts and three local. I am a content creator and have a photography studio fully kitted out with green screen, lighting and equipment for product imagery.

My videography business partner and I provide commercial video production services supported by our state of the art editing equipment and a plethora of 4k-6k camera equipment.

We have a lot of fun choreographing stunts with food and products, creating videos, and putting together sound … I thrive on anything visually and digitally creative, right down to building websites from scratch.

We are also well networked with all the right people in the industry, from radio and sound producers, to SA TV & film production, film directors, access to actors and models, to graphic designers and editors.

Click for Trace Foodsteps: our South Australian Food Stories I am the person for branding, (food) product development, packaging and labelling, and provide consulting for local and Asian eCommerce, SM and SEM.

Trace Foodsteps

Email: my.sa.food@tracefoodsteps.com Phone: 0419 891 845 Website: www.tracefoodsteps.com WIBChat Magazine

January 2022

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Regional stalwart and wordsmith FROM PREVIOUS PAGE “So having my name come up twice, motivated them to contact me and see if I’d be interested in becoming a mentor and workshop presented in that programme.”

Nan says working alone hasn’t always been a smooth ride, as it raises a number of challenges.

“It’s getting your head around working alone. I said that I really like my lifestyle so I can work late at night and sleep in the morning, but, in actual fact, you’ve got to be a lot more disciplined when you work alone.

“When you work in an office it’s kind of a given, you’re coming in at a certain time. You do the work once you’re there and you’ve got colleagues to support you if you need it. At home alone, you’re on your own.

“And actually, if you feel like having a lie-in, that sounds like bliss, but in actual fact, what happens is that you think, oh my God, I’d better get up because I’ve got stuff to do.

“So you have to be fairly disciplined in your working day and how you fit things in, because there is a bit of a tendency to say, because I work for myself, I can take time off. I can go out to lunch. I can do this and that.

“But then if you do that, you’ve got to fit in your commitments at other times, so that can be a bit stressful.”

Although you wouldn’t know it to meet her, Nan describes herself as an introvert, who likes her own company, so working alone isn’t as big a challenge as it is for an extrovert.

As in many businesses in regional areas, technology connectivity has also been a challenge. When the nbn was being rolled out Nan was on ADSL. “There’s a lot of draw on my service in the little community where I live. And so, when the kids got out of school around four o’clock, the draw on the internet was fairly high and I used to lose service or everything would be buffered and slow.

“So, when I got the nbn - I have it via fixed wireless – that was a huge improvement. There’s a tower across from me, across the hill, and it transmits to a little dish on top of my house. And on windy days or stormy days, there can be a little bit of an inhibition to the signal coming across.

So there’s still a bit of buffering, and my speeds are not quite the same as you get in the townships.”

And this has been more obvious with increasing use of Zoom to connect with clients.

While most of us are contemplating succession planning in our businesses to wind down for a quieter semiretirement, Nan is facing an unexpected

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HER OFFICE: Nan can often be seen working and meeting clients at local cafes. further challenge … how she keeps up with an increasingly busy and growing business.

“The other struggle I’ve been having is just workload. As my business grows, I’m looking to try and hand off some of my work, but the decision as to what you hand off and what you can bear to hand off, because having done it all by myself for so long, I don’t really want to let anything go.

“But I must, and trying to find somebody to do that for me and find the right people at the right price is a challenge. I’m a bit anal about it.

My name is behind everything that I produce, so I need to make sure it’s right.

“There’s a difference between obsessively checking everything and being able to let go and have a bit of trust.”

And, although she’s managed to resist retirement so far, Nan knows her busy lifestyle can’t continue forever.

“I need to work on an exit strategy to a certain extent. And for that purpose, I have got or create SOPs (standard operating procedures) all the time, for all the things that I do.

“I have documents that I update for my regular clients, so I send them to them every six months, updated with the procedures surrounding the work that I do for them, so if I should fall over, they can pass that stuff on to someone else.

“It doesn’t matter what age you are, you could be 100 or 20, it’s the same.

You could be run over by a bus or die of old age, but you still need to plan so you don’t leave anyone in the lurch if you’re unable to continue you’re work.

“I don’t have specific thoughts on retirement because I really love what I do, and apart from being an avid reader, I don’t have hobbies.

January 2022

“So, if I stop work tomorrow, I’d probably curl into a ball somewhere and read myself to death, because I have absolutely nothing in my life that I would say would amuse me as a hobby or interest, outside of my family and friends.

“On a day-to-day basis, I don’t have anything that would interest me long enough to make me think it’s worth getting up in the morning. Right now, I want to get up every day.”

And, with that in mind, Nan has the following advice for anyone nearing retirement age who doesn’t see themselves as wanting to retire.

“If you’re thinking about retiring and can’t bear the thought of bowls, or golf, or long ladies’ lunches and you really want to do something that will enrich your own life, then go for it.

“Just look for your strengths and build on that and start a business on a small scale using the strengths that you have and then seek out as much support as you can.

“There is heaps of it about. There’s lots of government programs, lots of low cost or no cost programs, and learnings and teachings in online courses that don’t cost very much.

“There are many ways to pick up knowledge join organisations like the Women in Business Regional Network, which is a fantastic network for meeting other women who have all started business journeys similar to each other.

“Really, there’s nothing unique in starting a business journey. What’s unique is the way you do your business, I suppose. Talk to people, as people are so keen to help you. No one ever shies away from offering help if you ask them.”

Nan says a secret to her business’s success has also been the fact that she has low overheads – working from home, using her own computer, camera and phone.

And, in terms of the future of the business, she has her eyes set on some new projects, including an online course of her own and some new workshops to deliver in 2022 … and she’d like to get some more staff resources to help make that happen.

The course is expected to be about managing time and stress, while the workshops will focus on journaling.

The year will also be big for Nan’s role as the Clare Valley convenor for the Women in Business Regional Network with monthly events being planned for 2022.

Find out more about Nan Berrett her business Word Solutions and government-subsidised mentoring she offers at https://www.wordsolutions. com.au/.

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hello@conceptdata.com.au | 6/206 Greenhill Road, Eastwood, SA 5063 WIBChat Magazine

January 2022

19

Kira’s changing building culture K ira Breen has a vision – to change the culture and gender balance of the construction industry, one roof restoration at a time.

And, this Eden Valley woman, has founded Roof Girl as a major step towards achieving this.

Kira spent 10 years in the home improvement industry across the roofing, blinds, window furnishings and solar sectors and grew tired of the aggression, poor customer service and behaviour she saw that she vowed to make a difference.

After hearing Kira’s stories of bad experiences on work sites, and having seen some poor behaviour among tradies himself, Kira’s husband encouraged her to pursue her vision to create a roof restoration business with a difference.

“I wanted to make something that was a bit different to all the other roofing companies and a lot of the trades by bringing in that next level of customer service, and the next level of professionalism for the customer as well.

Communication is probably a big thing. A lot of the customers say they get spoken to like they don’t know anything, and there’s a lack of communication that you find in other industries that’s maybe missing, in terms of when people are going to be there, showing up on time, and getting the work done.

“I’m a bit OCD about the cleanliness and the process itself, tidying up after yourself as you go, and leaving the jobsite in a very neat and clean condition, because I know that’s a pet peeve of a lot of the customers. They have to go and clean-up or they come home to a mess. There’s a couple of things like that that I really focus on setting us apart from other companies.

“The whole, ‘I’ll wait for

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WIBChat Magazine

BIG VISION: Kira Breen of Roof Girl has a vision to create a business to encourage more women to join the construction industry and to change the culture of the industry generally.

I think the whole industry needs changing and a shift in mindset and culture. I don’t think that’s going to happen until more females get in there. both parties to be home before I come and give you a quote’ kind of thing, especially. Yes, I’m not interested in that.”

But probably the biggest motivator for Kira is that she wants to create a business that encourages women to enter the construction industry for employment, although she is open to employing both men and women. She currently has one of each on her staff.

While acknowledging not January 2022

everyone in the construction industry behaves badly, she believes the language used, and physical bullying and aggression is one deterrent for women entering the industry.

“I’m not just about females, but I do want to provide that opportunity for the females, and push the females to come in by giving them an environment where they don’t have to put up with a lot of the bad behaviour they might

outside Roof Girl. I’ll provide them with a supportive environment, teaching them.

“I’ll hear stories even now of people throwing trowels at people’s heads when they’re not doing something quick enough. And that’s just the whole culture of training someone by yelling, or by throwing things or by getting aggravated like that.

And I think that really needs to change.

“In other industries it just wouldn’t be acceptable. You wouldn’t go to a retail store and have the staff swearing in front of customers and things like that, and I don’t see why it should be any different for the construction industry.

“It’s not nice. It can be quite intimidating sometimes. I don’t think anyone should have to put up with that. But I think that’s the whole industry that needs changing and a shift in mindset and culture. I don’t think that’s going to happen until more females get in there and it can become really widely unacceptable.”

Kira also believes having a business that gives the option of having a female or male attend a house call will also benefit those who are concerned about safety with male tradies.

“It’s the level of trust with people. You might get your single mothers, or your older females who might be living alone, a lot of them feel quite uncomfortable about a man coming into their home, and feel a bit nervous about that. You have the option that it doesn’t have to be men coming into your home.”

Although earning the respect of her peers in construction is clearly a goal, Kira says she also regularly faces customers who find it difficult to accept a woman tradie.

“I feel like I need to prove myself even more than if I

one roof restoration at a time was a man doing the role. I will always get that look of, you know, ‘Really, you can do that?’. And I go, ‘Yes, I can.’.

“You’d be surprised the amount of times I get asked, ‘So, you’ll be up on the roof yourself, will you?’.

“They may not mean anything in a bad way, but it’s that constantly trying to prove to not only the contractors and the other people in the industry, but also to customers and pretty much everyone that, yes, females can do this.”

Roof Girl is a relatively new enterprise, having been started in February 2021.

And, like many small businesses, Kira has found it hard to attract enough of the right applicants for employment.

“I’ll employ males and females but there’s still not as many females applying, which I’d really love to change.

“I’d really love to see an influx of females going, ‘Yes. This is what I want to do.’ At the moment it’s still not quite level, a couple of females, but probably more males actually applying.”

But, despite this being only a relatively new business, Kira has some sage advice for anyone starting out.

Apart from ensuring you keep an eye on cashflow, and ensure your marketing is in the right hands, she has learned one thing the hard way when it came to her social media. She entrusted it to another company, and despite her intuition that something wasn’t right, she let it continue.

“If you’ve got a feeling that maybe something isn’t quite right, act on it. I waited, but if I didn’t wait we could have saved months and jumped on it, but I trusted they would get my vision and they would get what I’m trying to do.

GIRL POWER: Kira Breen and one of her team members Nikita.

When I was a kid I’d be scared of heights on my Dad’s shoulders .... And now I’m working on the roof.

“No-one is ever going to care about your business or your vision as much as you do. So just trust your gut, and if you’re feeling like something isn’t right, jump on it.”

And trying to get others to see and embrace her vision hasn’t been easy.

“I’m trying to build something that’s different to every other roofing company there, so when I’m dealing with contractors, or getting work done on the roof, I’ll have 50 other people telling me I don’t need to do it like this, do it this way, it’s quicker and easier. That’s not in line with what I’m trying to achieve here.

“So sometimes you’re fighting uphill to say, ‘Just do it my way’.”

Kira says although she struggles at times with imposter syndrome, it has been the people around her who have helped keep her on track and motivated, and she encourages anyone in business to ensure they are surrounded by a strong support network.

She describes her husband as “amazing” and enjoys the support of her

immediate family too.

She regularly speaks with a business mentor, who’s also a very close friend.

“He’s been in business for nearly 30 years and it’s great to have someone else who understands the struggles of business and someone you can go to without any worries.

“I’ve gone to him in tears before. I’ve gone to him really angry. You don’t have to worry what he thinks.

He’s there to support you and there to tell you keep on going.

“There’s been a couple of times I’ve gone, “Is it worth it? Am I stuffing all this up?

And he says, ‘If you were, I would tell you. If it was easy, everyone would do it’ That’s probably the mantra in my head.”

She has also found attending the Barossa Valley lunches for the Women in Business Regional Network valuable.

“Every time I go to a lunch I just come back here and my head is clear. I couldn’t do it without having supportive people around me.”

And, it’s not just her mental state that Kira works on. Climbing up and down on roofs and lugging heavy equipment and materials takes its toll too.

“If I didn’t have pilates every week, I think I would die. Just those stretches and movements, I definitely need that. It is very physical. You do get very sore and lethargic afterwards. So you have to keep going with something.

You’ve got to eat right, and drink water.”

And the role is certainly not for the faint-hearted, especially for someone who was scared of heights and creepy crawlies.

“WHS is big for me. We’ve got harnesses, and we get the scaffold if we need it. It can be quite hairy at some times.

“When I was a kid I’d be scared of heights on my Dad’s shoulders. I used to hate it.

“I did quite a bit of abseiling, but I’d be the one that was terrified of it. And now I’m working on the roof.

WIBChat Magazine

MORE NEXT PAGE January 2022

21

The power of negotiation

W

hether you like it or not, everyone is a negotiator.

Whether in business, government or family, people make most decisions through negotiation.

As a commercial finance broker, I negotiate with lenders every day, ensuring that my clients get the best possible outcome with their finance. It could be interest rates, suitable loan structures or simply relationships.

If you’ve already got a business finance package, periodically review the current deal you have.

Understanding the finance market and your business health will help you identify when it’s time to chat to your finance provider – or your broker – about renegotiating.

Ongoing health checks of your business and finance needs could save you a significant amount of money.

Don’t just look at your existing finance provider. What are other lenders offering? Just because they weren’t the right fit the first time doesn’t mean they can’t help now.

Your business has probably changed – and lenders frequently change their lending policies.

“Information is a negotiator’s greatest weapon.”

Victor Kiam, US entrepreneur One of the most critical aspects in bringing negotiations to a successful conclusion is information. What should you get together?

• Tax Returns • Financial Reports • Statement of Position • Bank Statements • Budgets • Production History • Debt History • Exit Strategy (primary & secondary) • Background summary of

With Deb Purvis Robinson Sewell Purvis

FINANCE business • Succession Plan status • Risk Management Strategy

Case Study

My client needed funds to implement the final stage of their succession plan. He wanted to buy a property from a family member and dissolve a business partnership.

As a lifelong client of his existing bank, he would typically approach them, assuming they’d provide him with competitive rates.

Fortunately, his financial advisor suggested he test the market, so he engaged me to help him manage a tender process. I prepared a credit submission and presented it to the market. It included all of the information listed above, so we were already in a good position with current and relevant information.

It was an attractive proposition for the banks, which ensured strong competition.

My client’s current bank came back with rates 1% higher than the lowest offer – this tested his loyalty. But, my client valued his relationship with his bank, so it was time for me to negotiate. I was able to use the information that I had to negotiate rates down to meet the market.

So remember, you don’t get what you deserve; you get what you negotiate.

Find out more HERE

“Happy Negotiating” Phone: 0409 438 115 Website: www.robinsonsewell.com.au Email: deb@robinsonsewell.com.au

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January 2022

IN ACTION: Nikita in action cleaning a roof before a restoration.

Kira’s taking gender equality to new heights FROM PREVIOUS PAGE “With spiders and snakes and stuff like that, it’s quite amazing, I’ve just had to go, ‘I’m the boss, I have to do it. Other people are scared of it, so get in there and do it or no one will.’

I’ve squashed a few of those fears.

“I’ve got two brothers and my dad in the Defence Force.

“I always liked getting my hands dirty with them, but I don’t think I would have ever pictured what I’m trying to achieve now, but I’m glad I am.”

And although the business hasn’t reached its first anniversary yet, Kira already has her sights set on changing the world … well at least Australia anyway.

“I’d love to see Roof Girl go Australia-wide. In five years’ time I want to be across SA, whether as a franchise or through licensing agreements or under one umbrella.

“I want Roof Girl to be wellrecognised for bringing that point of difference to the industry, but also my vision is I want to be one of the biggest employer of females in the industry.

“I’m hoping if I get the name out there and what I’m about that, females in school will go, ‘I want to get into the industry, and Roof Girl is the place to go.’

Find out more about Roof Girl’s services and coverage area on their website - https://roofgirl.com.au/

Libby’s normalising normal body shapes

O

ver 100 women of all shapes and sizes in black bras and undies … it’s not something you see every day, but that’s the visual image that is the She Is Seen Movement.

The group photo shoots by the movement founder Libby Tozer, and her passion and advocacy for changing what’s considered “normal” in terms of body shapes, have changed lives … but Libby still struggles to admit the impact she’s had.

The She Is Seen Movement, created just three years ago, is all about normalising normal women and their stories in the media, and the photo shoots have proven the perfect platform to depict and celebrate what women’s bodies actually look like before the photos are filtered or altered to suit a perceived societal “norm”.

“There’s not one body shape for the ideal body shape, it’s just literally what women’s bodies actually look like,” Libby says.

And, behind the lens, Libby has seen some emotional and heart-wrenching sights. There have been those who have survived cancer, including mastectomies and colostomies, and those whose bodies depict other scars of life, including suffering eating disorders.

“It’s pretty confronting. I think, over the time, I’ve got detached a little bit from how confronting it is to stand in front of someone without any clothes on and let them take a photo of you, which obviously that’s intimidating.

“But I think I’ve photographed nearly 500 women now with no clothes on, so I have to remind myself that it is intimidating when I’m doing it and could be there for powerful reasons.

“They could be healing from massive surgery or there’s lots of women who have got abuse stories that they’re just trying to integrate with them and trying to build their own level of selfacceptance and self-respect, really to take their power back.

“There’s also a lot of women who do the shoots because they want to change the story, change their belief structure so that that impacts their children in a good way.”

And, when she first started out, Libby would have been the last person you would have seen in bras and undies, but that has all changed now, but it’s still not easy.

“When I first started, it was I wouldn’t let anyone take photos of me.

“Sometimes I wonder how I created a job where it’s basically necessary for me to put photos of myself in my underwear on social media constantly,” she says as she chuckles.

BEHIND THE LENS: Libby Tozer prepares to shoot another group of women in their underwear as part of her mission to normalise normal body images in the media through her social enterprise She Is Seen.

There’s not really anything as levelling as standing around nude, or with bras and undies on like that in a crowd. It’s a pretty beautiful thing, really.

“Sometimes I put them up, and then the funny thing is as well that the more unflattering the photo of me, the better response it gets on social media.

But I think that’s because it’s more relatable.”

And, it was actually on a nude shoot at the beach, that Libby felt she needed to strip down and put herself in front of the camera for the first time. And how did that feel?

“I think it felt fair. Climbing around doing the photo shoots in my undies wouldn’t be a good look, but I feel like it was only fair that I put some photos of myself up, in my black bras and undies, so fair’s fair.”

The creation of the movement, and its mission to change the portrayal of “normal” body images, was almost accidental.

Her original vision was to write a book and stage an exhibition where people could walk around the exhibition and see normal body shapes and images.

After writing the words for her book, Through Her Eyes, Libby realised she needed photos as illustrations but couldn’t afford to hire a photographer.

She ended up buying a camera and getting some help and advice from friends who were photographers. In some instances, the friends would even set the camera up prior to the shoots.

She Is Seen has now amassed a social media following of over 7000

people, but it had humble beginnings as a Facebook group where Libby would just reach out looking for people to be involved in her nude photo shoots for the book.

And then we got to the end of that, and I realised. But they were all for nude shoots.

“Then I realised I was missing out on a group of people coming because they weren’t comfortable to come and do the nude shoot. So I said, we’re going to do a black bras and undies one.

“We did that in Petrel Cove in Victor Harbor, and it was such an amazing night.

“It was a build up before a storm, so, you know, you could kind of feel it in the air.”

A number of drone photographers were booked, but couldn’t fly because of the risk of lightning strike.

“And I was like, well, I’m overcommitted now, so I can’t say we’re not doing it.

“I was a bit mind blown that there were 30 people there, but that started it, and they’ve just grown every time.”

And Libby gets a bit teary when recalling that first shoot and some of those who were involved.

“That one was incredibly powerful.

There were women at that shoot that have passed away since then.

MORE NEXT PAGE WIBChat Magazine

January 2022

23

Storytelling the next step for She FROM PREVIOUS PAGE “It’s just beautiful connection between everybody and story sharing.

And there’s not really anything as levelling as standing around nude, or with bras and undies on like that in a crowd. It’s a pretty beautiful thing, really.”

Through Her Eyes, the book that started it all, tells the story of a woman’s journey through her entire life.

“People gifted me information, basically that they were happy for me to share in an abstract kind of context.

I think most women would definitely relate to some part of Through Her Eyes.”

But it was anger in the wake of the launch of the book that led to what is now the She Is Seen Movement.

“As I started sharing the photographs, I’d actually get angry because you could really notice that on one hand I could put a photo of quite a few women who were very normal looking up on social media and the reach wouldn’t be what it could be in comparison if I put a similar photo even of one of those women which had been modified or cropped in a particular way.

“But it’s pretty interesting, because that’s what is getting showed to us all.

So that’s what we’re getting taught is normal.

“Normalising normal is a funny phrase because I don’t actually think there is any such thing as a normal body. I just think that what we’re shown all the time and taught to think is normal is actually quite abnormal.

“I literally have never seen a smooth skin on any woman, any woman that I’ve photographed.

“Most women would have cellulite.

I think it’s like 90 per cent of women have scars and lumps and bumps, and

MOTIVATION: One of the motivations for single mother Libby to campaign for normalising normal body shapes is her daughter Rosie.

I literally have never seen a smooth skin on any woman, any woman that I’ve photographed. we’re all different shapes.

“So, we’ve all got individuality in how we look, so there’s a sense of normalcy in that, I suppose, but there’s definitely no normal body type that we should be

SENSE OF COMMUNITY: There’s a real sense of community in the She is Seen Movement and this is borne out during the mass photo shoots, such as this one in Port Elliot in 2019 before the pandemic hit.

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January 2022

striving for.”

And the movement has extended beyond just focusing on the physical, with the social media groups, the podcast, Circle of She membership and app delving deeper and tackling mental health issues as well, and the unseen scars of life.

However, Libby emphasises she’s not a therapist.

“To me She Is Seen is layered: the real photographs and then the real conversation and what’s really happening to people.

“I think in our society we can have the tendency to not talk about things either out of fear of shame or embarrassment, or just being told, well, that’s just what happens.

“I think sometimes talking about these things can make a big difference.

“So if it’s something required by an actual counsellor than in the membership, in particular, I’ll literally have a counsellor that works in the membership.”

And, like many businesses, Libby and She Is Seen were not immune to the impact of COVID-19 and the associated restrictions.

“It doesn’t flow well with what I do, because it’s about owning everything you are, and the shoots are about connection and trusting each other.

“And there’s this thing that happens at the photo shoots where everyone is there supporting each other, so then to say, please stand a metre and a half apart and cover up your face, it just doesn’t work well.”

Just as she was about to stage her largest ever photoshoot, restrictions meant the women couldn’t be in the same space, so the shoot had to be split into two.

And if you thought getting information out of the COVID Hotline for your business was a challenge, try telling someone you need advice on COVID rules for a gathering of over 100 seminude women.

“The first year I was calling for help, trying to explain what my business is and figure out what the rules are, no one could tell me, so it probably sounds ridiculous.

“They’d ask what I do and I’d tell them these women all stand there with black bras and undies on, and I take photos of them. I’m not a restaurant. I’m not an event, and I was trying to figure out where we fitted in. It was a struggle.”

This year it was different.

“I think I spoke to two people and they’re like, ‘Oh, are you that one with all the women in black bras and undies

Is Seen at Port Elliot? I know that.’.”

But she was grateful to the support of the local councils and police in assisting with advice and options so the shoots could go ahead.

She Is Seen continues to evolve and the movement continues to grow, but Libby hasn’t lost sight of its origins, telling stories.

In 2022 a new arm of She Is Seen is set to be launched – Write for She – which will provide an online course for those wanting to know more about how they can become storytellers. Libby has called upon a range of storytelling professionals from Australia and overseas to share their tips and hints with course participants.

This will be followed up by Weaving Stories, a platform to enable the story tellers to collaborate.

Want to know more? Check out She Is Seen on Facebook and Instagram or join the She Is Seen Movement Facebook Group.

AWARDED: Libby receives the Irene Bell Award from the International Women’s Day Association in South Australia in 2021. She was also a finalist in the Fleurieu Peninsula Inspirational Women in Business Award.

Want to join the network?

Click here to find out more or phone Carolyn on 0435 432 203

Busy women and kids

I

remember being a young mum of three young children under the age of 6 and it was so challenging to meet the demands of a young family, supporting their learning, plus go back to work and making time to play, clean the house and make nutritious meals.

My passion is empowering children, their parents and caregivers to play with passion and purpose. I seek to come up with innovative ways to find those opportunities to take a breath, a little slice of time to play, connect and learn with your child. These children we love, they grow so quickly, those moments and opportunities to play, they pass by. This is not written that you add another pile of guilt on yourself, but to let you know that using a bit of creativity and some Circle of Security principles, you give yourself a break. Did you know that being, bigger, stronger, wiser and kind about 30% of the time is good enough for your child? They love you always and you are their special person that they will always want to return to as a safe haven for reassurance when they need to check in or to organize their feelings.

This does not mean we shush them but just ‘be’ with them.

In an effort to give some tools that help this happen for both children and parents and caregivers, I began some research ten years ago in my work with young mothers under 25 and their children. I explored how a bag of specially selected sensory toys may help little children to feel a little calmer when they were having an intense emotional moment with the support of their parent. To my delight the little bags I put together for the families that used them, were reported to support both child and parent working through these emotions together. This feedback touched my heart and so began the development of The Feelings Bag. I value very much children’s

With Tina Bambury P.L.A.Y. With A Purpose

FAMILY

voices and their passions, so I particularly want to ensure that the bag connects with their heart and is focused on their favourite colour and interests they have. This very act communicates value to children as they feel like it is made just for them. Which it is! It is very important to me to create opportunities for connection with the items I put in the bag as it is the start of finding ways to connect in a sea of emotions.

Through using the items in the bag and the relationship they have with you their first and most important teacher, they learn the most. You know and want the best for your child, therefore, you are the first point of contact when a Feelings Bag is designed.

The Feelings Bag is a toolkit with an ideas booklet, made with love and care, especially for you and your child using years of experience in the Early Childhood and Parenting field, it is my hope that you find it helpful and supportive.

If you would like to learn more about The Feelings Bag or the Circle of Security please contact me.

Phone: 0467 096 402 Website: playwithapurpose.com.au

WIBChat Magazine

January 2022

25

Women in Action ~ Hen House Coop

Giving a ‘cluck’ about gender equity With Moira Were AM* Hen House Coop

T

here is something wrong in the world when 5 men own as much as 50% of the rest of the world, where Australian women retire with 47% less superannuation than the men, where female founders of start-ups receive less than 4% of the venture capital.

These are all signs of systems failure.

The Hen House Co-op is all about equipping all of us with the knowledge, facts, tools and ideas to shift the conditions holding all this inequity in place.

We want to make this revolution irresistible and have fun along the way and we love a good pun in the Hen House.

Do you ‘give a cluck’? Giving a cluck means finding out about these gender gaps and talking about them to your family, friends, co-workers, people you meet on the train, at the bakery, in the carpark collecting your children from school, in the line at the supermarket … anywhere you find yourself is a place you could be giving a cluck!

If you want to go beyond the cluck you can join us in our divestment campaign called ReNest. The Hen House is taking inspiration from divestments from the tobacco industry over the past twenty years and more recently divestment in fossil fuels. In the Hen House we wondered what divesting from patriarchy might look like. We are starting our learning by equipping ourselves with facts and figures and have found our first partner – Super Fierce.

Super Fierce is a social enterprise fin tech start up that delivers long-term superannuation savings for women and

CO-OP LAUNCH: There were plenty of people on hand to celebrate when the Hen House Co-op was launched in Adelaide.

Want to know more about the Hen House Coop, or any of its projects?

Sign up as a member or join the mailing list at https://henhouse.coop/ their partners, to share their insights on creating independent wealth, educating our women and kids to have a financial plan and supporting femalerun businesses. Super Fierce founder and CEO Trenna Probert shared at our first ReNest event, “powering up a really fierce financial future for yourself and

SUPPORT: Moira hugs one of the participants in the Hen House project to mentor and assist other women to create businesses, particularly co-ops, with a social conscience.

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January 2022

others doesn’t need to be as hard as you think it is.”

Our partnership with Super Fierce helps us to gain more literacy and knowledge in wealth-building. Ten per cent of commission of everyone signing up with Super Fierce goes back to the Hen House and $100 go towards the GOGO Foundation that support women in their Inclusive Work Program. Yet another example of doing business differently – it really is a win:win:win.

Anyone can check out if they are getting the best deal from their super and if you do it through this link you are on your way to helping us close a couple of gaps.

Our next event to help us all learn more about investment and divestment is going to be in Adelaide at 6pm on Thursday, January 20 (and online).

It is a great opportunity to ask questions about where your money is going, how to get the flow going in the direction of closing the wealth gap. Start your year with us in the Hen House by booking your place.

2022 is going to be a big year for the Hen House and we would love to have your contribution. Please follow us in the socials, consider joining the coop and come to our events when you can. *Moira Were AM is a member of the Women in Business Regional Network and the founder of Chooks SA, a Facebook group of more than 3000 people throughout the world wanting to improve gender equity in investment. She is a member of the SA Entrepreneurship Advisory Board, a cultivator at Ethical Fields, an activator/ facilitator with SheEO™, founder of the Hen House Co-op and co-founder of Collab4Good.

Upgrade for digital capability tool

W

here do your online skills rank?

A recent survey by the Women in Business Regional Network found a large number of our following want to improve their digital capacity.

And now, the nbn™ have upgraded and renamed their Digital Capability Tool to help you better assess your needs.

Did you know that 87 per cent of jobs in Australia now require digital skills?* Digital skills are an essential requirement for most working Australians. Being confident navigating the online world is more important than ever.

That’s why nbn™ created OSCAR (Online Skills Check & Resources), to help Australians measure their level of online skills and find the resources to become more capable and confident online.

The short survey covers four essential competencies: • Online knowledge • Device usage • Sharing data and e-Safety • Online communication It only takes 2 minutes and will provide you with a personal scorecard which enables you to compare yourself against the national average and give you access to a library of resources which provides practical and relevant materials for all skill levels Check your online skills by clicking this link or scan the below QR code.

* RMIT Online (2020) Ready, Set, Upskill: Effective Training for the Jobs of Tomorrow prepared with Deloitte Access Economics, p. 3

Do I need to have a blog for my business?

With Helen Sampson Jagged Crow Creative

MARKETING

D

o I need a blog for my business? If you want your business to be found more consistently by search engines or you rely on your website to help promote your business, then blogging is a great way to build content that can help improve your Google ranking, and also help your target audience, customers, and yourself!

If your website is absolutely critical to business operations (for example you run an online shop) then blogging should be near the top of your to-do list!

A well-written, consistent blogging effort can help customers get to know, like and trust you. And when they do, they are more likely to engage you or purchase your products – and that’s what it’s all about! * Businesses who blog, produce 67% more leads per month * Long-form content generates more than 8 times more page views, three times more social shares and nine times more leaders, than short-form content.

Before you jump all-in, you should know: Blogging takes dedication and consistency.

Blogging is a long-game, not a short-game. You need to be committed to blogging consistently.

Once a week, once a fortnight, once a month – it doesn’t matter, but it does matter that you blog regularly.

Even once a month, over a year

gives you 12 pieces of content that can help your clients, answer some of the repetitive FAQs and build credibility with your target audience.

Creating a Content Plan is an easy way to start. A content plan for the next 6-12 months can be as broad or detailed as you like. You can come up with 4-6 themes that you can develop content around and use those to structure your blogging, or you can set it out in detail with title, key messages and keywords for each blog.

Stuck for ideas, don’t know where to start? Have a look at my 6 Easy Ways to Create More Content.

You can outsource it. Whether you want help starting, developing ideas and a plan, or want someone else to make it happen from start to finish, you can outsource your blog!

Good writers will take your keywords, then research topics and create content that converts using your brand voice for your target audience. Interested to know more?

Get in touch and let’s get your blog started! 67% more leads ….

Phone: 0407 807 187 Website: jaggedcrowcreative.com.au E: helen@jaggedcrowcreative.com.au

WIBChat Magazine

January 2022

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January 2022

BOOKS Rural Business Women Curated by Sarah Walkerden Busybird Publishing

A collection of knowledge from 16 successful rural business women curated by Sarah Walkerden.

Have you ever wondered whether you could start your own successful business, from the bush? But figured you were: · Too small – to be taken seriously · Too remote – without any business connections · Too busy- that you couldn’t fit the work in around family, farm or other commitments.

Many rural, regional and remote women feel the same about starting, growing and scaling their own business. And yet, many have done so very successfully.

In Rural Business Women, 16 rural businesswomen show you how they’ve achieved success in business – and how you can too!

Building a wildly successful business from the bush – or the middle of nowhere’ in Australia – is indeed possible and incredibly rewarding.

You could end up setting yourself and your family up for true financial freedom and lifestyle flexibility.

And your location or individual circumstances are not a barrier.

You can start an grow a business – and this book will show you how.

Recommended Retail Price $29.95 Available in softcover Available to purchase at: link.cquilts.com/ruralbusinesswomen

The only limitations are the ones we put on ourselves.

Ita Buttrose

You’re separated or divorced, what now?

H

ere’s a not so fun fact … In 2020, just under 50,000 divorces were granted in Australia. And that doesn’t include relationship breakdowns.

Who is supporting all of these women while they are navigating their experience of separation and divorce? Anyone? Or are they muddling through on their own?

The field of divorce coaching is relatively new, a bit like we’d never heard of a birth or death doula a decade ago. But the great thing about divorce coaching is that generally the coach has lived experience when it comes to divorce, it’s not just philosophical knowledge, so they have more insight and empathy.

However, divorce coaching does not have to just be 1:1 sessions, although that is very effective, there are also opportunities to join communities of women who are divorcing or already divorced.

The benefit of these communities is that they: 1. are communities 2. build connection, and 3. provide support.

Which is why The Divorce Divas Club was created. Divorce can feel like emotional warfare and can be terribly isolating. One minute you may be surrounded by friends and family and the next you may have lost half of them in the divorce! Plus friendship dynamics can change when you suddenly become single.

There is so much to deal with on both an emotional and practical level.

For a comprehensive free guide,

With Elle Crawford The Divorce Coach

SUPPORT check out The 7 Ps to Navigating Divorce.

The guide is great and full of valuable information, but we wanted to provide more - more support, more connection, more comradery and importantly, more FUN! Enter The Divorce Divas Club which runs events and provides an education platform to help and support women navigating divorce.

Here is what’s coming up next: • The Divorced Divas Lunch Sunday February 13th 2022 at Seaford, south of Adelaide. CLICK HERE for more information.

• Diva Day Retreat – Thursday February 24th 2022 at Aldinga Beach. More info here.

• The Diva Lounge – Our online education platform full of both free and paid resources to help you expand your mindset and awareness.

More info and access here.

So with more divorces expected over the next couple of years, thanks pandemic, we are priming The Divorce Divas Club to be the go-to for women in the divorce space.

Join us for Community – Connection – Comradery – Empowerment – Fun Big loves Elle Crawford, The Divorce Coach

P: 0488 348 830 | E: elle@eleanorcrawford.com | W: eleanorcrawford.com WIBChat Magazine

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Tips to take on imposter syndrome

Imposter Syndrome, or the negative thinking that holds you back from pursuing your dreams, has been a topic in many Women in Business Regional Network discussions over the past few years. The current pandemic hasn’t helped to boost confidence of anyone in business. Following on from a Members Only online session, cross-Tasman entrepreneur Rosemary (Rosie) Killip from Switched On Learning offered the following piece to assist anyone who is struggling to silence the negative voice in their head.

I

mposter syndrome is not a syndrome it is simply a habit of negative thinking about oneself. It is not a disease. And the good news is that thoughts can be changed.

If you are new to business - just starting out can be exciting yet daunting.

People can encourage you or you can trip over the fearful or the haters. You know the comments well: • “Why did you leave your secure job?”

• “What do you know about being in business?”

• “Will you make enough money?”

• “What will happen if you get sick?”

When I was a single mum with a 4-year-old and a mortgage that’s exactly what people said to me.

I also had friends who dared me to be bold and a strength of determination that I could. And so, I did. But if I had tuned into the haters and the fearful I would have given up! Don’t let fear and negativity suck the oxygen from you.

The catch is I did not say to myself “They are right. You don’t know anything about business”. I said the exact opposite. I said: • “I can do this.”

• “I am smart and willing to learn.”

• “I can handle anything that comes my way.”

• “I am proud of myself.”

• “I am grateful for mentors and those who support me.”

I was driven by not wanting to feel unhappy, stuck and bored. I was excited by the idea of freedom, new learning, being challenged and creating a lifestyle business around the care of

With Rosie Killip* Switched On Learning

Business Advice my daughter.

Before I jumped I knew I had secured 50 per cent of my income with one contract and only needed to make up the rest through training gigs. Six months in I had made my 12 months’ salary and more. It spurred me on with positive reinforcement.

Yes, positively affirming yourself works. It is an everyday discipline. Write it in a journal, pop a poster on the wall. write it on your mirror, say it to yourself looking into your own eyes in the mirror!

Record yourself saying it on a voice memo and play it back to yourself. Yell it to the ocean - whisper it to your cat.

Say it until you believe it - then it comes true. Bit by bit.

You will have more challenges on the way.

Let ‘s say you were nominated for an award and you feel weird about voting for yourself or asking others to.

Maybe you have to give an “elevator pitch” on your business and you want to vomit!!!

You have to make sales (read OFFERS) and you don’t know how.

Self-doubt can creep up on you in many different ways. We can be triggered by our subconscious, our upbringing and judgments that are made on us and we make on ourselves.

But it’s all just thoughts in our head so prune out the crappy thoughts and turn up the volume on the life affirming

ones.

Be the STAR you were born to be S - Stop - yes just stop your runaway thoughts - “I am not good enough and others deserve it more than me”.

RUBBISH T - Take it all as learning and don’t beat yourself up.

A - Always love yourself as if you were your best friend!

R - Reframe contrast into positive life affirming words “I am more than good enough. I am amazing. I have come far and learn more each day. :I am deserving of all good coming my way ... I embrace thank yous and learn from the not so nice comments.”

You are the STAR of your own business life - not the understudy - and never ever an imposter. *Rosemary Killip is based in New Zealand and, COVID-permitting, in South Australia too. She is the founder of Switched On Learning and has recently co-authored the book Unleash Your Superpowers.

Advertise for as little as $40 Promote you, your brand and your business in the next edition of WiBChat, due for publication in April 2022.

Reach over 2600 readers, plus social media exposure.

OPEN TO MEMBERS & NON-MEMBERS

Book now at wibnetwork.com.au/wibchat 30

WIBChat Magazine

January 2022

Awards flow for Cindy & Woodburn Homestead

I

t’s been a tough couple of years for anyone in the wedding business, but Langhorne Creek caterer and wedding venue owner Cindy Westphalen has continued her winning form, despite the challenges.

Her 1864 homestead and acreage, Woodburn Homestead, took out multiple awards at the recent South Australian awards for the Australian Bridal Industry Association.

Woodburn Homestead won the 1st Night Honeymoon venue and was placed third in the Ceremony Venues category. As well, it was a finalist in the Function Coordinator and Reception Venue categories.

Cindy’s nationally-renowned catering business, Cindy’s Classic Gourmet, also took out the Independent Wedding Caterers category.

Cindy has been operating Cindy’s Classic Gourmet since 1987 and has catered for dignitaries including the Lord Mayor of Adelaide, SA Premier and also the Prime Minister.

She is in the ABIA’s Hall of Fame and was the founder of the Langhorne Creek Wedding Trail which, due to the pandemic, has not been held since 2019.

Woodburn Homestead was purchased by the Westphalen family in 2016 and lovingly restored. The homestead was originally built in 1864 by Matthew Rankine, the son of William Rankine who settled nearby Strathalbyn.

AWARD WINNER: Cindy Westphalen & her husband John at the awards.

SOURCE: Facebook.

5 ways to create healthy New Year’s resolutions for 2022 that will last!

I

’m going to be a bit controversial here: New year’s resolutions rarely stick and here are some reasons why: 1. There is nothing magical that happens at midnight on the 31st of December that is going to change the neural pathways in your brain that will help you make healthier choices.

2. The motivation you may be feeling when you wake up on the 1st of January could possibly be easily undone the moment you walk into the supermarket and are met with a gigantic wall of chocolate Easter eggs or shelves of Hot Cross Buns…Yes, I know, it’s January – what gives?

3. All of the standard advice – which we already know – eat more veggies, cut back on sugar and alcohol, drink more water … we know all that, we’ve been told it year after year, and yet, still, somehow, the urges can come back and strike at any time.

This is why my 5 ways to create healthy New Year’s resolutions is different. It’s not about calories, or weight loss; it’s about taking control back of the urges and what to do when you have promised yourself that you would eat healthy but it’s just not happening.

1. Interrupt the Pattern – Everything we are doing with food is a ritual, sneaking through the drive thru in the car, buying chocolate at the servo, these are all rituals the mind is seeking pleasure from.

Let’s find a new, healthy ritual that will still nourish you and bring you pleasure.

2. Focus on Progress, not Perfection – You can’t wake up tomorrow and have 10kg automatically gone, it will take some effort, planning and preparation. And most of all, there will be slip ups, you will fall off the wagon, and it will be ok. At the end of each day, make a note of 3 things you have done well.

3. Get Back on Track ASAP –

HEALTH ADVICE With Lisa Wells Food Fear & Freedom

Don’t let a snackcident derail all your great work. Sometimes we go “All or Nothing’, which is also a habit, it’s ok, you broke from your plan, don’t make it mean anything about you and just move forward.

4. Listen – Yes, take a moment and check in with what is really going on for you. I know you are a smart woman, and this eating thing can be hard. But STOP and listen to what is really going on for you inside instead of covering it up with food all the time.

5. Plan your Treats – I am saying you CAN have those ‘forbidden foods’ but plan them.

This way you’ll be in charge of when and how much. By taking the unhealthy stigma away from certain foods, they no longer become this naughty, rebellious way to act out or an outdated reward system that really isn’t rewarding you at all.

Lisa Wells Phone: 0407 678 780 Website: lisawells.online Email: lisawells.wells@gmail.com

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Top service award for Jo-anne Cain

W

Jo-anne Cain

aikerie’s Jo-anne Cain was thrilled when Soul Essence Therapy and Life Coaching was named the Best Service Business at the Riverland West Chamber of Commerce awards.

Jo was among eight finalists for the awards that were presented in November.

“I love what I do and can’t

imagine doing anything else.

“The best part was ringing my Mum and Dad to tell them and then the messages from my kids.

“My family have been my biggest supporters and have been there for me offering encouragement the whole time, giving me a pep talk or a hug when I needed it and going along with all of my crazy ideas.”

Her business operates at Waikerie and Nuriootpa as well as online via Zoom.

When asked about her purpose and the aims of her business she says: “My dream is to empower and enable others to be the best they can be, physically, emotionally, spiritually and professionally.”

Countdown to join Thriving Women

T

he countdown is on for the Thriving Women 2022 conference, and the Women in Business Regional Network has six members among the presenters.

The conference has been organised

by WoTL (Women Together Learning) and is scheduled to be held on February 21 and 22 at the Adelaide Hills Convention Centre in Hahndorf.

The conference is held every two years and attracts up to 200 women from across Australia.

In 2022, the conference theme is The Impact of Us, which seeks to acknowledge and foster the impact women are having on their own lives, businesses, communities and industries.

As a greater collective of us, every women and man has the potential to impact the agricultural sector, strengthening its foundations for women.

Conference sub-themes are: • Building Strong Foundations • Future Frameworks • Cultivating Curiosity • The Power of Storytelling The event features two keynote speakers: • Annabel Crabb, the author of The Wife Drought, and creator and presenter for Ms Represented; and • Yung Nietschke who has been working to design and implement education programs in developing countries over the past 20 years, working for the United Nations.

The emcee will be Kate Burr, an award-winning comedian and highperformance humour coach.

Twenty toolbox talks are also being held across the two-day program with the following network members among the presenters: • Danielle England of AgInnovate will be presenting the power of people in your business: a workshop to create your HR toolbox; • Sabrina Davis of Humans of Kangaroo Island and Stories for Impact

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WIBChat Magazine

Sabrina Davis

Stephanie Schmidt

Deb Purvis

Robyn Verrall

Carolyn Jeffrey

Danielle England

will speak on authentic storytelling to make an impact in business and communities; • Stephanie Schmidt of Act for Ag will focus on mental health with her

January 2022

presentation Flexible Foundations: building your wellbeing and resilience with flexibility from the inside out; • Robyn Verrall of Bully’s Meats will speak about The Business Advantage: are you a big picture risk taker, or a hopeful order taker?

• Deb Purvis from Robinson Sewell Purvis will discuss the power of people in your corner; • Carolyn Jeffrey of Women in Business Regional Network & CJ’s Business Solutions will workshop harnessing the power of collaboration and connections.

The conference tickets are currently on sale and with registrations limited to 200. Further information and ticket sales can be found at www. thrivingwomen.com.au

Product Showcase Mother Duck and Mee Assorted boys & girls summer pyjamas by Milky Clothing.

Price $31.95.

The Divas Lounge

Empower Divorce with The Divas Lounge In 2020, there were 50,000 divorces granted. Who’s supporting these divorcing women? We are in The Divas Lounge. Its purpose is to expand knowledge and awareness so that you can navigate your experience of divorce with more empowerment. Free to join at www.eleanorcrawford.com/the-divorce-divas-lounge

WIB members use code WIB10 to receive 10% off at checkout.

40b George Street Moonta Phone: 0427 986 956 Order online at mother-duck-and-mee.square.site

Susanna Philbey

Freedom years planning – your way!

Thinking about what your future freedom years will look like?

Those years can be filled with everything new; be fulfilling, memorable and fun.

You can make this happen for YOU! Call me for a coffee and chat!

Find me on Facebook at SusannaLifeDirections, visit www.susannaphilbey.com.au or call 0427 232 093.

Humans of Kangaroo Island

In this coffee table book, Kangaroo Islanders reminisce about what makes their island home special. From original soldier settlers to firefighters, elders and school students, wonderful humans give an insight into life before and after bushfires amidst a global virus. Sales of this story collection will benefit the island community. www.humansofkangarooisland.com $39.95

WIBChat - April 2022

Veg Out Victor Harbor

Looking for a platter for your office function, or home party? Veg Out Victor Harbor is not only home to the biggest range of fruit & vegetables on the Southern Fleurieu, but now also sells pre-ordered platters. Call today on 8552 6611 to place your order.

Get your product or service featured in the next edition of WIBChat due to be published in the first week of April 2022. Advertising in the online magazine has the potential reach thousands of women in regions across Australia, and even overseas. Spots cost as little as $40 each for Women in Business Regional Network members.

Visit https://www.wibnetwork.com.au/wibchat/ or phone 0435 432 203 for more details.

WIBChat Magazine

January 2022

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WIBChat Classifieds FOR SALE

SILVER HONOUR: Peter & Angela McLean of Old Coach Road Estate proudly hold their Silver Certificate from the SA Tourism Awards.

Photo: Facebook

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T

he team from Old Coach Road Estate was thrilled to receive a Silver Award in the South Australian Tourism Awards.

Old Coach Road Estate was runnerup to Atura Hotel at Adelaide Airport in the 4-4.5 Star Deluxe Accommodation category.

Old Coach Road Estate is located at Hindmarsh Valley, near Victor Harbor.

Angela McLean and her family purchased the Pambula property in 1993 and have transformed it to include a luxurious villa on 200 acres overlooking Victor Harbor and Granite Island.

The property has been revegetated to include nature corridors and areas of native scrub infested with woody weeds have been rehabilitated.

The honour was followed up by being named as a finalist in the Tourism category of the Business Victor Harbor Excellence in Business Awards.

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Events, Services, For Sale, Courses and more from $40.

January 2022

Visit wibnetwork.com.au to secure your spot!

Join the network at an event in 2022 T he 2022 calendar for the Women in Business Regional Network is set to kick off in February with more than 100 events – online and inperson planned.

COVID-permitting we shall be hosting events in each of 10 chapter locations – Victor Harbor, Yankalilla, Adelaide Hills, Murray Bridge, Strathalbyn, Port Pirie, Yorke Peninsula, McLaren Vale/ Southern Suburbs, Clare Valley and Barossa Valley. Social events are also on the drawing board too.

For those unable to attend in-person events, and to also allow our speakers opportunity to present to a wider audience, we will be holding twicemonthly combined online events in addition to our monthly Members Only online functions. Our online events are conducted with the same format as our in-person events, including opportunity for members to Show Tell and Ask. We have a host of new speakers joining the circuit this year with topics

covering social media, marketing, finance, mindset, insurance, networking, resilience, blogging, e-commerce, time management, and more. More speakers and topics are expected to be added to the calendar in coming months.

For the first round of events we’re encouraging you to find a friend or colleague who has never attended one of our events to join you. We’re going to be waiving the booking fee for the friend or colleague’s attendance across events in February and March.

Our events will continue to be listed on our Facebook page and uploaded to the Calendar page of our website.

Bookings will be through Eventbrite.

The following is a sneak peek at the dates for February: 2/2/2022 - Members Online Lunch Plans for 2022 3/2/2022 - Victor Harbor dinner Helen Sampson, blogging for business

7/2/2022 - Adelaide Hills dinner Sonya Lorenz, social media 7/2/2022 - Yorke Peninsula - Dianah Walter, topic to be announced 8/2/2022 - Barossa lunch - Katharine Crane, social media (Instagram) 14/2/2022 - McLaren Vale dinner Teresa McLuckie, eCommerce food & food related products 15/2/2022 - Port Pirie lunch - Nan Berrett, social media 16/2/2022 - Clare Valley lunch Plans for 2022, pressure & painpoints discussion 16/2/2022 - Murray Bridge lunch Dawn Peterson, topic to be announced 24/2/2022 - Online lunch - Carolyn Jeffrey, getting yourself in the media 28/2/2022 - Strathalbyn dinner Carolyn Jeffrey, time management 2/3/2022 - Victor Harbor lunch Teresa McLuckie, eCommerce food & food related products

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Events, Services, For Sale, Courses and more from $40.

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