Keep an eye on the competition, or promote yourself if you are the competition! Meet Australia’s newest businesswomen and learn what inspired them to ‘go it alone’…
The Lady in Charge: Samantha McDonald
Business name: Aussie Wine Group Direct
Location: Newcastle (services nationally)
Launched: March 2008
Website: www.aussiewinegroup.com.au
Hit us with your elevator pitch:
We promote boutique wines from Australia and NZ; sending them to customers right across the country. We have no membership fees or minimum spends, and our customers are each assigned a personal wine consultant, who takes the time to get to know exactly what kind of wines they enjoy.
Purchasing wine from us means no more traipsing out to the bottle shop in the pouring rain and then searching high and low on the shelves for something that looks drinkable! We are the boutique bottle shop that comes to you… no matter where you are!
What drove you to go it alone?
Simple… I could never work for anyone else!
What do you find the most difficult, and the most rewarding, aspects of running your own business?
The difficult part about running a company is trying to remember to pay myself instead of putting all the money back into the business. There’s always some excuse, and I frequently forget I have to eat, too.
The most rewarding thing is when I walk into my call centre and hear the consultants in full swing – the buzz is electric, and the faces are genuinely happy. The flow on from that is happy customers! And when I know everything’s running smoothly, that’s when I can go home, take off the suit, and be a mummy to my two little girls.
The Lady in Charge: Cathy Gill
Business name: Frost & Co
Location: Willoughby
Launched: March 2009
Website: www.frostandco.com.au
Hit us with your elevator pitch:
Frost & Co frosted film is applied to the inside of your windows to hide an ugly view, or create privacy. Choose from either plain film, or one of our designs. It’s easy to apply and is totally removable without damaging the glass.
The film can be used for a wide variety of applications, from personalising a child’s bedroom, creating house numbers or names near the front door, or for installing safety spots. The film will last approximately seven years and only cuts out 10% of the natural light.
What drove you to go it alone?
1. There has to be more to life. I’m a mother of two and wanted something to focus my attention on, apart from my duties as a mother and wife.
2. I felt the need to leave a mark. I don’t want to look back and wish I’d started my own business. Having hit a milestone birthday, I thought it’s now or never.
3. The view from my kitchen window is of an ugly fence that needed obscuring. So I researched the product and saw there was a need for the homeowner/renovator.
What’s one thing you wish you hadn’t spent money on during the start-up process?
I have kept my initial cash outlay to a bare minimum. However, I could have done without all the home magazines that I felt I absolutely needed at the time [laughs].
