From Kaftans to Coffee Cups – The Businesswomen’s Hall of Fame honours top female business owners
In the lead up to International Women’s Day, on Sunday 8 March, the Australian Businesswomen’s Network (ABN) has launched its annual Businesswomen’s Hall of Fame which recognises the achievements of 18 female entrepreneurs from industries as diverse as fashion, fitness, manufacturing, travel and agriculture.
The ABN Hall of Fame has, for 17 years, honoured women who are trailblazers in their industries and highlights their business journeys to inspire up-and-coming female entrepreneurs on their path to success.
ABN CEO Suzi Dafnis said, “The ABN Hall of Fame is designed to inspire Australian women with stories of entrepreneurial success and notable achievements from stand out female business owners. The aim is to shine a light on female entrepreneurs, a group that is underrepresented by other awards programs.”
“The women were chosen as Hall of Fame recipients because of their exemplary achievements and because they are shining examples for women who have started or are looking to start their own business.”
Every year the Hall of Fame inductees are asked to share their business story and success secrets. These insightful tips and strategies are included in a downloadable Keepsake Booklet and share the inductees’ combined wisdom with aspiring businesswomen.
Some of this year’s keys to success include:
• Surrounding yourself with great people;
• connecting with a purpose greater than yourself;
• and tapping into your passion.
The Keepsake Booklet can be downloaded here
The selection of the 2015 ABN Hall of Fame inductees is a diverse cross-section of established and emerging business owners and champions of the not-for-profit sector.
The 2015 ABN Hall of Fame inductees include:
• Abigail Forsyth, KeepCup – VIC
• Audette Exel, Adara Group – NSW
• Barb de Corti, ENJO – WA
• Camilla Franks, Camilla – NSW
• Cathie Reid, Epic Pharmacy – QLD
• Jean Madden, Street Swags – QLD
• Juliette Wright, GIVIT – QLD
• Kate Morris, Adore Beauty – VIC
• Kate Weiss, Table of Plenty – VIC
• Louise Olsen, Dinosaur Designs – NSW
• Mia Freedman, Mamamia – VIC
• Michelle Bridges, Michelle Bridges – NSW
• Narelle Anderson, Envirobank – NSW
• Natalie Archer, Bendelta – NSW
• Penny Spencer, Spencer Travel – NSW
• Pip Job, Little River Landcare Group Inc. – NSW
• Ulli Spranz, B.-d. Farm Paris Creek – SA
• Vanya Cullen, Cullen Wines – WA
“The Businesswomen’s Hall of Fame aims to celebrate successful female business owners through sharing their stories, to inspire and empower other female entrepreneurs,” said Ms Dafnis.
Here are some of the ABN 2015 Hall of Fame inductee’s strategies for business success:
1. Passion. As with anything in life, passion is something that fuels the fire. It is a driving force for entrepreneurs particularly during the tough times, to continue on the journey to business success.
Cathie Reid of Epic Pharmacy Group says owning a business is hard work and if you are not filled with passion about what you do, it makes it hard to get out of bed on the tough days. Her advice is, “If you are not ‘out of your skin’ excited about what you’re doing more days than not, look at what you need to change to get back to that mindset, and make it happen.”
2. Purpose. It is not enough to just be passionate about your business it needs to have purpose, something which many of this year’s Hall of Fame inductees felt strongly about.
Barb de Corti of ENJO says make sure your business has a purpose. She comments, “Ask yourself what will it achieve for yourself and others? Many ideas fail because success doesn’t just come from a passion – the purpose needs to be there.”
3. Teamwork. Audette Exel of Adara Group says don’t imagine for a second that you can do this alone. She explains, “My career has been built with a great team, working with a shared vision. My biggest failures have come from the times I acted alone and the successes have come from working in a team. Adara is successful because we have built a diverse team.”
4. Lead by example. Be a leader that others can look up to, emulate and respect. Penny Spencer of Spencer Travel says it is always best to lead by example. “As a leader you need to ensure people want to follow you. The only way to ensure this is to do as you say, walk the talk to earn the respect and trust from your followers.”
5. Believe in yourself. Be your own cheerleader. Michelle Bridges of 12WBT says if you don’t believe in what you are doing and who you are, then go back to the drawing board and figure it out. “Listen. Still do your thing, the way you do, with your unique flair, but listen to solid feedback and tweak your idea. It’s one thing to be bullish, another to be bull-headed.”
The 2015 inductees join over 180 other women the ABN has previously recognised as outstanding female business leaders. Some of these women include Maggie Beer, Liz Davenport, June Dally-Watkins, Collette Dinnigan, Lisa Curry, Naomi Simson, Lisa McGuigan, Janine Allis, Kristina Karlsson and Lorna Jane Clarkson.
