Things may not be business as usual right now, but that's not going to slow the success of female business owners in regional, remote and rural Queensland.
A week-long virtual business growth event will bring together a group of 400 women to learn from some of regional Australia's leading businesswomen, and offer specialised support for success.
The Anti To-Do List, running form May 18-22, will help business owners get beyond the daily grind, to work on their business rather than in it, through live presentations and Q&A sessions with Engage & Create Consulting founder Julia Spicer, Rural Business Collective owner Fleur Anderson and Pointer Remote Roles founder Jo Palmer.
Ms Spicer said as regional female business owners, they have first-hand experience in knowing what works.
"We wanted to make sure Queensland female business owners, no matter where they are, have access to the support and knowledge they need," Ms Spicer said.
"There seems to be constant onslaught around 'to-do lists', checking things off and being constantly on the go, and Jo, Fleur and I thought 'how is this actually helpful? How is it helping to focus on what is really important in business - and this is sometimes the items that never make it to the to do list, because we are busy. So we thought, let's show how people can be productive in working on their business.
"Female business owners in regional, rural and remote Queensland could always do with more support - these women are incredibly intelligent and they have some great ideas, sometimes they just need a hand in learning how to grow their business."
The event will focus specifically on strategy, looking at things like business models, the future of a business, and how to build a business team if the skillset doesn't live in your town or community.
Ms Spicer said the event will be practical and answer questions like:
- What do you want to achieve and how are you going to do it?
- Is your business model the right one for what you are wanting to achieve? Are there other options for you to be making money?
- How will you manage employees who might work remotely from your location? How do you ensure that you have the best skillset working with you, regardless of where they live?
Funded through the Queensland government's Advancing Women in Business strategy, Ms Spicer said rural communities flourish if women flourish, and that is equally important in relation to the role of women in business.
"Jo, Fleur and I know the importance of women to regional economies," she said.
"This current climate of COVID-19 has everyone working differently, but we know that this is business as usual for most of regional and rural Queensland.
"We are used to working from home, we are used to having our customers have their own challenges such as drought, flood, fire.
"We know what it is like to have to try and find a like-minded tribe who you feel comfortable sharing how things are travelling."
This gathering of like-minded businesswomen will learn about setting realistic goals from master goal-setter Ms Spicer, be provided with direction on business models from Ms Anderson, who has started four business in the past 10 years, and hear from Ms Palmer, who is the expert in finding educated and talented candidates in remote, regional and rural areas and works with businesses to make remote employees work for them.
"Remote work stimulates local economies; mental health outcomes are improved, and rural communities can help to drought and disaster-proof themselves. At the same time businesses have the capacity to hire the best talent," Ms Palmer said.
