The world of business can be rough and at times cut-throat, but one young Roma woman is determined to make her mark and help others along the way.
Ashlea Jones, the owner of The Handmade and Co, was no stranger to hard work when she opened her store, having already established a dried floral design business with her best mate, but found that local small businesses were losing out by not having a brick-and-mortar store to showcase their products.
So, in true entrepreneurial spirit, Ms Jones decided to open a store herself to sell not just her floral arrangements, but also to give other rural businesses the opportunity to sell their gifts, homewares, accessories, art and fashion items.
"The basis for my idea was just to support and get behind small businesses from regional or rural Queensland," Ms Jones said.
"Chloe and I own Billy Buttons Dried Floral, but we didn't really have anywhere to display and sell our dried flowers.
"And then I thought, imagine how many other small businesses want to put their stuff somewhere and they don't have the opportunity to do that, so that's why I started the business, I just wanted to do something different."
Having only opened its doors in March this year, The Handmade and Co has well and truly taken off, becoming the talk of the town amongst locals and a recommended must-see for visitors to Roma.
The store sells everything from hand-poured candles and intricately crafted jewellery, to colourful cushions and lampshades, but also acts as a venue for local artists and creatives to host workshops and events.
Ms Jones has already hosted several 'paint and sip' events, run by local artist Sophie Twidale, which have proven to be hugely popular with locals, and has several other workshops in the pipeline.
"We also do DIY workshops, such as the paint your own clutch workshop that we're hoping to do in a couple of weeks," she said.
"We've got an earring workshop coming up, and then we're working on having a lampshade workshop as well.
"It's just something a bit different to help others showcase their work, but also gives people something fun to do on the weekend."
Ms Jones said she wanted to make her store a welcoming and friendly space for all demographics, from young people looking for something fun to do with their friends, to an outing for mums who just want to do some shopping without worrying about having enough space for their prams.
This ingenuity is evident as soon as customers step through the door, witnessing the thought and care that has been put into the layout and overall vibe of the store.
Launching a small business is not an easy feat and one that has provided Ms Jones with many lessons which she wanted to share with others, in the hope that her experiences could give someone else a little leg up when looking to venture out on their own.
"My friend Tayla and I run a podcast called The Small Business Guide, which we also started off the back of opening the store because we have a lot of small business come through our shop and we're learning a lot from them," she said.
"We want to give back to others as well so that they can learn all the tips and tricks of being a small business I suppose.
"So it's just been about trying to create a safe space for small business people like me, where they can learn, they can grow, and they can showcase their work.
"It's about helping them to sell their products, but also helping them develop as well."
Coming from a family who runs numerous businesses, Ms Jones said she always knew that her dream was to work for herself, but the process has had its fair share of challenges.
"I think the hardest thing is to not get too disappointed if you don't make your set target in the first few weeks, because it was really hard at the start and there was a point where I actually wanted to give up.
"I was ready to quit and say I'm not going to do it anymore, but then I just got over myself.
"You've got to take the good days with the bad ones, and see them as a chance to say, okay, what can I do now to turn this around and make the most of it?"
The success of The Handmade and Co has done little slow Ms Jones's ambition, instead spurring her to continue building her businesses, with the next step being to open a sister-store in Toowoomba, which will be ready to welcome the public in August.
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