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– What If You Followed That Hunch? The Power of Pursuing Curiosity in Business with Valerie Khoo
On air:
19 June 2025
In business, we are so often told to stick to a pre-designed path – to stay focused, stick to the formula, and ignore the distractions. But what if curiosity is actually the key to creating a business that both puts money in your pocket and brings fulfilment to your life?
That’s what our guest, CEO and Founder of the Australian Writers’ Centre, Valerie Khoo, is all about. She believes that following your curiosity and leaning into your creativity can actually lead you somewhere you never imagined yourself – to the benefit of your business and personal life.
Here’s What You’ll Learn in the Episode:
- How following your curiosity leads to incredible breakthroughs in your business – boosting both your bottom line and your attitude.
- Why embracing a culture of curiosity is essential for both your business and soul (and how to cultivate one!)
- What curiosity really looks like in business, and why following strict formulas and structures might mute the internal voice that guides you.
- The risks of blindly following strategies that don’t align with you – and how to spot when it’s time to reorient yourself.
- How to distinguish between a “bright shiny object” and a curiosity thread that is worth exploring (and why sometimes, it’s OKAY to go down the “rabbit hole”).
- The major discoveries Valarie has made when she decided to embrace curiosity and see where stray interests could lead her.
- How a week at the gym inspired Valerie to scale the Australian Writers’ Centre all across Australia.
- Why getting out of your bubble and learning from people outside your industry can lead to extraordinary ideas and new inspiration.
- How a reality TV show ended up inspiring a course that has changed the lives of veterans and first responders – one of Valerie’s most successful courses to this day.
- Why we think of change in binary terms: stay OR pivot. And how you can embrace the in-between space rather than choosing between the two.
- How to begin building a Curiosity Culture – and why it starts with giving yourself permission FIRST.
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Mentioned in This Episode:
HerBusiness Trailblazers Retreat – Crete, Greece
EP301 – Resilience, Burnout, and the Power of Self-Compassion – Olivia Ong
Subscribe to the HerBusiness podcast:
For more stories of remarkable women entrepreneurs, subscribe to the HerBusiness Podcast.
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About the guest(s)
Valerie Khoo
Valerie Khoo is CEO of the Australian Writers’ Centre, the country’s leading centre for courses that empower people to write, get published and communicate with confidence. She is passionate about helping people discover how to use creativity as their superpower. An artist, writer and award-winning entrepreneur, Valerie draws on her multidisciplinary career to show how creativity is not just a nice-to-have – it’s a competitive advantage. With a background in journalism, small business, and arts leadership, she speaks the language of modern professionals: those navigating KPIs, deadlines and uncertainty, while craving meaning and momentum in their work.
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