Meet Suzi

Hi – I’m Suzi Dafnis, CEO of HerBusiness.

My BIG passion is helping women business owners who want to grow great businesses, create their ideal lifestyle and make a difference in the world.

Every day I am inspired by the more than 30,000 amazing women (and men!) in our community and I love finding the best education, mentors and resources from around the globe, to help them get the skills, knowledge and support they need to succeed.

Celebrating 21 Years

It’s been my privilege to lead HerBusiness (formerly The Australian Businesswomen’s Network) for the past 23 years (two+ decades – WOW!) because, whilst I’ve enjoyed success in business, I’ve also experienced the highs and the lows – sometimes you can feel on top of the world and in control and other times you can feel isolated, exhausted and stuck.

What has made the biggest difference for me has always been having great people around me and having a lifelong commitment to learning.

That’s why I am so passionate about the work we do here at HerBusiness – providing a connection network for women in business to get the mentors, contacts, referrals, knowledge and skills they need to grow their confidence, make more money, build their businesses, expand their network and create the lives they love.

My Entrepreneurial Journey

My entrepreneurial journey started in the spare room of my Sydney apartment in 1994 when my business partner and I started a boutique events company that represented speakers and authors from the USA, here in Australia.

Over the years this love of business grew into the start of a number of successful businesses in Australia and the U.S.

And there was a lot to learn along the way!

Not everything worked and there was a degree of trial and error, but as I kept a strong commitment to always surrounding myself with great mentors and as I learned more about building a powerful team, creating a song business vision and breaking through with our marketing, we gained momentum and the pieces began to fit together.

That business I founded in my spare room with my partner, Peter Johnston, went on to become a multi-million dollar business producing hundreds of events and educational programs for more than 250,000 people throughout Australia and New Zealand, and the USA — featuring world-renowned thought leaders, such as Robert Cialdini, Robert Kiyosaki and Blair Singer.

And the small publishing company I co-founded in 1998, published and sold more than 1.2 million books, including the #1 Best-selling Rich Dad, Poor Dad books by Robert Kiyosaki.

Add to that a successful educational venture in the US, promoting the Rich Dad brand and it’s been a crazy, wonderful and inspiring ride!

All the while, my passion for supporting women in business has been my priority, so when I sold my events and publishing businesses in the late 90s, I turned my full attention to the growth and expansion of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network community, taking what was an association-style organisation to a powerful online hub that connects women and men from around the world with world-class training and mentoring and resources.

I’m really proud of what is here for you – and we’re only just getting restarted!

Awards and Acknowledgements

Along the way, I’ve been grateful that my businesses and time have been acknowledged through various awards and industry recognitions, including:

Telstra Business Women’s Awards – Finalist 2019
Winner – Women of Influence Award (HACCI) – 2018
Top 10 Business Leaders Online (BrandData) – 2016
Best Australian Blogs Award for HerBusiness Blog (Winner) – 2013
City of Sydney Business Awards (Winner) 2012
LearnX – Best Online Mentoring Program (Winner) – 2010
BRW Young Rich List (BRW Magazine) – 2003 to 2007
NETT Magazine – Highly Recommended Podcasts for the herBusiness Podcast
Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards – Finalist 2003
Telstra Businesswomen’s Awards – Finalist 2001

Speaking

I’m passionate about supporting women in business and helping all business owners grow.

And I’m often asked to speak on the topics related to small business, women in business and online business.

Some of my current presentations include:

SOCIAL MEDIA

Build Your Profile with Social Media
How to Use Social Media to Grow Your Business
Social Media Marketing for Small Business
Blogging Strategies for Small Business

ONLINE BUSINESS

Surviving and Thriving in an Online World
Advisory Boards for Small Business
Building Online Communities
Taking Your Small Business Online
Easy Ways to Market Your Business Online
How to Generate Leads Online
How to use eBooks to Generate Leads and Market Your Business

SMALL BUSINESS/ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Entrepreneurship
Mentoring for Women
Networking Strategies for Women
Newsletters that Produce Results
The Confidence Habit
Beat The Imposter Syndrome

I’ve spoken in a diverse range of forums in Australia and internationally:

Australian Institute of Management
Global Summit of Women (Vietnam)
Optus Business
Problogger conference
FILEX (Fitness Industry Convention)
Dell Women Entrepreneurs Network (Rio)
Learning Annex (New York)
Victorian Government
Kochie’s Business Builders Conference
CEBIT

Click here to contact me regarding speaking requests

What Clients Say About Suzi’s Presentations

“Energy, insights and lots of business savvy is what you’ll get from a Suzi Dafnis presentation. Suzi is absolutely engaging as a speaker and delivers practical business know-how with an entertaining style. As a key presenter on our Webinars like ‘Facebook for Business’ and ‘Ask the Expert: Roundtable on Webinar Production, Promotion and Presentation’, Suzi always gets rave reviews from our audiences. Why? Because she knows her stuff, tells great stories and can always make you chuckle – a fantastic recipe!”

— Todd Lewis, Former Marketing Manager, Asia Pacific, Citrix Online

“Suzi spoke at the Sydney Bloggers Festival 2010 (Her-Story Day on 11th November)

Suzi is a great public speaker. She is confident, dynamic and really understands her subject matter. Suzi spoke on the topic of Building your online business, monetising your website/blog, and how to engage sponsors and advertisers; topics for which Suzi is eminently qualified to speak about. Suzi understands the business requirements of the digital world, and she also understands why people are engaged in online publishing, because they have a love for their topic. Suzi is not afraid to challenge people to think differently about online opportunities, and she brings a truly independent position to any discussion.

Delegate feedback for Suzi was great and I would recommend her to anyone looking for a dynamic and intelligent speaker.”

— Glen Frost, Founder & Organiser, Sydney Bloggers Festival

“Hearing Suzi speak about how her business applies and uses social media, clearly demonstrates the benefits to those small businesses who embrace it – by practising Social Media herself and applying it to her business Suzi is very well placed to be talking about how this new communication channel can and will benefit businesses moving forwards.”

— Neil De Beger , Former Marketing Communications Manager, SMB SingTel Optus

“Suzi’s presentation skills are excellent. She has no trouble establishing rapport with the audience and communicating her ideas in clear, concise language that is both easy to understand and compelling.”

— Michael Barnes, VP of Software & Asia Pacific Research, Springboard Research

“The common response after Suzi’s social media presentation at Filex 2010 was ‘Wow!’ Participants walked with a knowledge and examples of what is possible in social media.

More importantly, Suzi’s delivery method made a complex topic as simple as ABC, so that the attendees walked away with the tools needed to implement.

Suzi was a delight to prep for the event and stayed after her presentation to answer questions one to one with people. As an event organiser, you cannot expect any more, so I have no hesitation in recommending Suzi as a social media expert and a wonderful presenter.”

— Justin Tamsett, Active Management, Speaker Coordinator for FILEX – Fitness Industry Conference

“Suzi did a great job teaching a LIVE streaming online class entitled How to Use Social Media to Build Your Personal Brand. Her class was a big success due to her presentation skills, professional on-camera appearance and ability to turn course material into a fun and interesting experience for our students. The LIVE factor didn’t deter her at all. In fact, she’s terrific under pressure! We would highly recommend Suzi for any type of new media course or as a live streaming presenter.”

— Samantha DelCanto, Executive Vice President, The Learning Annex NYC

“Suzi Dafnis is a mastermind and a polymath (of the most delightful and warmest kind). I had the honour and joy of being a guest on her incredible ‘BOOKED for Lunch’ program, and I was thoroughly impressed by her acuity—she has her finger on the pulse, and is at the nexus of the business worlds’ most important trends and emerging philosophies. I’ve done a bunch of interviews that superficially brush against key points, but Suzi was able to take our conversation deep. She has an attunement for relevance and empathy for her audience. It was so fun to work with her—I live in hope for similar experiences in the future.”

— Jason Fox, Bestselling author, Keynote Speaker of the Year & advisor — pioneering strategy, leadership & culture

Media

Over the past 20 years, I’ve often been called on by the media (print, online and television) to make comment on a range of topics including:

- Entrepreneurship
- Women in Business
- Doing Business Online
- Mentoring
- Networking
- Creating and Growing Online Communities
- Social Media
- Technology in Business
- Marketing

Media I’ve appeared in includes: BRW Young Rich List in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007; The Australian, Sydney Morning Herald, Daily Telegraph, Dynamic Business and MyBusiness Magazine, as well as numerous radio programs and online news channels and I was also also a Panelist on Channel 7’s The Dragon’s Den and host of In Her Shoes and The Venture video shows for CBS Interactive.
Click here to contact me regarding media requests