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240

 – Innovation and Differentiation: Strategies for Standing Out in a Competitive Market

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Hosted by HerBusiness

On air:

28 September 2023

In this episode of the HerBusiness podcast we look Jane Cay’s inspiring entrepreneurial journey. Jane is the founder and CEO of birdsnest, an online fashion store that was vote No.1  in this year’s Online Retailer of the Year awards.

Jane is a successful entrepreneur who has built a multi-million dollar business from a small country town, now employing more than 150 staff.

In this interview, Jane shares her experiences, from the challenges of letting go and building trust in her team, to the evolution of her role as her business grew.

Listen to Hear Jane Share:

  • Insights on the importance of adaptability and how Jane’s business was able to pivot quickly during challenging times.
  • The role of mindset in business success and how it evolves as the business grows.
  • The shift from being a traditional retailer to manufacturing their own labels, which allowed them to have a more inclusive size range, exclusive styles, more control over their inventory and more profitability.
  • Jane’s experiences on building trust in her team and the challenges of letting go.
  • The potential of the online market and how it has opened up enormous opportunities for her business — and can for you too.

Enjoy these valuable insights from Jane Cay’s experiences and better understand about the importance of adaptability, building trust in your team, recognising the potential of the online market and investing your yourself – your skills AND your mindset.

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About the host

Suzi Dafnis

Hi there. I’m Suzi Dafnis, CEO at HerBusiness. My BIG passion is helping women business owners to grow and scale their business, so that they can 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. 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 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 I’ve grown multiple multi-million dollar businesses in the events, publishing and education niches – with teams in Australia, New Zealand, and the USA. Not everything has worked and there has been a degree of trial and error, and a lot of bumps in the road. But I have always had a strong commitment to always surrounding myself with great mentors and like-minded peers – a Connection Network that I can depend on and who can depend on me to be there for them too. I truly do what I love, every day.  

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About the guest(s)

Jane Cay

Jane Cay

As an 18 year old, Jane Cay committed to being part of the online revolution. It was 1996, and the internet was just becoming mainstream when Jane began her Commerce degree at the University of NSW; it completely captured her imagination. Her learning curve remained vertical while she worked as an e-business consultant with IBM before she fell in love with a farmer and had a tree change, landing in the NSW Snowy Mountains. It is here she founded birdsnest.com.au – a unique online retail store for women that has proved being independent and in a regional location is no obstacle to online success. Birdsnest has doubled its size each year since launching in late 2008, it is in the top 40 most visited apparel sites in Australia and employs over 80 fabulous birds. Jane is passionate about ‘inspiring confidence’ in her customers and discovering new ways to solve their wardrobe dilemma’s using the latest technology. It must be working with 70% of birdsnest revenue coming from return customers. The best bit is she gets to live in the slow lane, and work in the fast lane. Her home on their working farm is a 130km round trip for a litre of milk!

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