Bring your A-game and don't be afraid to seek out sound advice.
These were just two pieces of wisdom shared during a Women in Ag Lunch: The New Entrepreneurs, in Brisbane on Thursday.
About 60 people gathered to hear from accomplished businesswomen Kelly Newton, Aline Teixeira, Senator Susan McDonald and Krista Watkins at the AgForce and McCullough Robertson hosted event.
When asked what her biggest fear was on her first day taking the reins as managing director of Super Butcher, Ms McDonald said she wasn't scared at all, because she didn't know what she should have been afraid of.
"The fear took a few months to settle in," Ms McDonald said.
"So I very happily started on this new adventure. I thought what could possibly go wrong? I love meat, I know a lot about cattle, I'm a mum, I shop for food, this is going to be really straightforward.
"It was about 12 months later that I really understood the magnitude of taking the onus of say 100 butchers, 6000 customers and having absolutely no idea of where the meat was going."
For Keppel Brand business development director Kelly Newton her fear on day one was clear - profitability.
Over the past six years, her business has delivered double digit year on growth, three times more than the yearly industry average in the category.
"I had taken on a family business with my husband; my parents had sold a distribution business and this food manufacturing business that was left behind didn't have the protection of that larger business anymore picking up its costs," Ms Newton said.
"Our mandate was very clear. We had to turn that business around, get it making money, which is the first platform of sustainability."
Ms Newton said she overcame that fear by developing a clear understanding of their target market.
"We sell crumbed sausages, battered savs, and great variations of, to 100 distributors around the country," she said.
"We've got 18,000 customers Australia-wide and that is where the power sits.
"We became very clear about our target market being the petrol and convenience space and that we had to be some of the best in that space.
"Our evolution was not about being all things to all people but really refining our product and being one of the most valuable suppliers in hotboxes, in bain maries, in petrol and convenience."
Our mandate was very clear. We had to turn that business around, get it making money, which is the first platform of sustainability
- Kelly Newton
Co-founder and managing director of Natural Evolution Krista Watkins said figuring out the message of banana flour and making sure she could sell their product was a lengthy process.
Natural Evolution specialises in turning green banana and other waste products into functional foods and cosmetics.
"I needed to listen to people because if I could talk to someone about the product I made, I could definitely sell it to them," Ms Watkins said.
"But the reality is, I wasn't going to sit on the shelf everywhere in Australia or around the world and be able to talk people into buying my product.
"So I had to figure out that whole communication. Yes, I could have paid someone to do it, but I wouldn't know what I know now in that growth."
Once Ms Watkins figured out the recipe of how to sell their product, Natural Evolution hasn't sat on any shelf since, with banana flour now pre-sold six weeks in advance.
FTI Consulting Australia managing director Aline Teixeira assists primary producers with business transformation, operational performance and investment strategy.
After the death of her father eight years ago, she and her sister took over running the family's arabica coffee and cattle operation in Brazil.
There's no such thing as you're experienced enough, or good enough, that you don't need help
- Aline Teixeira
Ms Teixeira highlighted the importance of succession planning where possible and seeking out advice.
"I lost my biggest mentor and that was really hard, it still is because it is actually quite lonely to think, 'oh, what would dad say'," Ms Teixeira said.
"Even eight years later my sister and I will still say, 'what would dad think of that? That's what he would think. Okay, let's do it'."
Ms Teixeira said she was fortunate to have friends who were like close family to run ideas past.
"I think a mentor is very valuable for everyone. There's no such thing as you're experienced enough, or good enough, that you don't need help," Ms Teixeira said.
"I think if you actually think like that you should probably think again because no matter how successful you are, it is always good to run ideas by someone else.
"It's not always a matter of running ideas by someone older than you, or more experienced than you because sometimes I have got ideas from people that are just starting work."
Ms Watkins said it was also important to recognise when suggestions don't align with your values.
"There's some really good advice out there but probably the most valuable thing that I learnt was that you don't have to take people's advice," she said.
"Unfortunately people have all sorts of ulterior motives. It's about finding the right people that align with your core values of yourself but also your company and you don't need to take anyone's advice unless it fits with either of those two things."
When it came to the subject of equality, Ms McDonald said when she started out she didn't know any female jillaroos, station managers or butcher shop managers.
"We all live out life as we experience it. So I don't know what it would be like to be a male in agriculture. I don't know what it would be like to be younger, or older, or any other version of me," she said.
"I think when I started there weren't a lot of women in agriculture so it certainly made it harder to have opportunities.
"I don't know that it has been better or worse for my journey but what it does mean is you always have to bring your A-game, which is something I believe in and I think everybody who is successful does."
