Posts Tagged ‘Women in Business’
Your Actions in Business Matter was first published on Women in Focus.
Women in Focus is a recently launched website and initiative by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. It is a place for women to be inspired, informed and connected with other women in business in Australia and around the world. Angela Vithoulkas, CEO of VIVO Cafe Group, will be the Guru on the Business Beat section and will be providing weekly articles on all things small business.
We hear the words “sustainable, green, environmentally friendly, climate change” just to name a few, and some of us may either be overwhelmed or confused. Personally I was dismissive as to how any of that mattered to my business. I understood on the personal front, but didn’t really have any idea as to how it would fit in with my business, affect my business or even be effective for my business. After all, my business and the environment didn’t really influence each other did they? WRONG.
During one of my moments of what the corporate world calls “strategic planning” but I call just plain thinking, I was of course drinking coffee. That’s what I do so nothing too mind blowing there. But it was out of a paper cup, and that got the thought process started. This in itself is a dangerous path as my team would attest. It usually results in change, and that is not what my team likes, it is what my business likes and therefore me. And all of us know that Business Actions mean growth, improvements and of course change.
Is winning everything? was first published on Women in Focus.
Women in Focus is a recently launched website and initiative by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. It is a place for women to be inspired, informed and connected with other women in business in Australia and around the world. Angela Vithoulkas, CEO of VIVO Cafe Group, will be the Guru on the Business Beat section and will be providing weekly articles on all things small business.
Uh oh, I could be in trouble with this answer. Everything is pretty all encompassing, not a lot of wiggle room here. But I want to be clear and narrow this very broad sentence; I’m referring to awards and what they mean to a business and the owner. For me they have meant a lot, for others nothing. Would I describe it as “everything”? Yes.
Asking the question “is winning everything” will annoy some people, and rightly so. I’m not back peddling but I am saying that it’s not only winners who win. It’s what you do with it that matters and makes the difference.
Business Daughters was first published on Women in Focus
Women in Focus is a recently launched website and initiative by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. It is a place for women to be inspired, informed and connected with other women in business in Australia and around the world. Angela Vithoulkas, CEO of VIVO Cafe Group, will be the Guru on the Business Beat section and will be providing weekly articles on all things small business.
We often hear of the struggle we have as women to have it all and do it all. The pressure we are under to be superwomen, manage families and work, look great and unruffled. Then we wonder what effect we have on our families when we don’t meet these expectations, let alone ourselves. We agonise over the long term results - will our children hate or appreciate our sacrifices, will our partners understand and are we even happy doing it “all”. Well, speaking as a daughter of a mother who walked this path and then later as a daughter in business following in her shoes, I think I can safely say the research is in.
I spent my entire life sharing my mother with every business she ever bought and worked. I grew up in the back of a shop. I did my homework on the counter in between my list of jobs. It’s just the way it was.
Raising the family
Friends and business was first published on Women in Focus
Women in Focus is a recently launched website and initiative by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. It is a place for women to be inspired, informed and connected with other women in business in Australia and around the world. Angela Vithoulkas, CEO of VIVO Cafe Group, will be the Guru on the Business Beat section and will be providing weekly articles on all things small business.
As a self employed business owner of many many years, I have gathered some experience along the way and wisdom tends to come from walking a path barefoot, strewn with broken glass. It’s almost a right of passage to have a scar or two. So the subject of doing business with friends has come up a lot. For some it’s almost a mantra “never do business with friends”. And what about doing business with family? That’s a big one and a whole other blog.
Do women find it harder to do business with friends than men? Do we always regret it when it gets too hard or we feel we are about to lose our friendship because someone is getting the better deal and we feel resentful? We have all heard of mates rates but what does that mean for our business?
The last few weeks have been a frenzy of speaking engagements that have seen me running around like beans in a grinder. I am almost always very nervous pre any event, big or small. My heart pounds like an RTA bus powered by natural gas, I feel sick and I contemplate running away. If you are a potential client who is thinking of booking me, please read on and or disregard this. All artists get stage fright I’m told :). Once I approach the stage or get near a mic, it all vanishes. And then I proceed to just rock their world. Oh, you need a huge amount of self confidence in order to stand up in front of any amount of people and convince them of your knowledge, substance and expertise. Like any business or sale, you must have total belief in your product or how will anyone else believe. If I come across nervous or unsure will you trust what I say? No, because it sounds like I don’t trust me. I have the wonderful privilege of getting a lot out of all my speaking events because I have learnt that I always seem to gain some new piece of wisdom. You learn the most from those you teach.
Yesterday was the official launch of a brand new concept I have been working on in conjunction with two amazing women, Julia Bickerstaff from The Business Bakery & Charmaine Papallo from Babybuds.
We are ”The Business View”
The Business View features a team of dynamic business women of different ages, experiences and backgrounds discussing the most exciting, exacting and excruciating aspects of running a business. The business view consists of hot topics in the business world combined with the opinions and experience of three fabulous business women
We are an interactive panel that involves the audience and aren’t afraid to disagree - with the audience and each other.
We had a great time, really got everyone involved and felt that we have something to offer that no one else has. Besides beauty 
I love being able to share the experiences of my business, both the positives and negatives. Its another growing phase for us and I learn more about myself each and everytime I am asked to speak. The past two years that I have been speaking has opened my eyes to how little real knowledge there is being shared about the war zone of small business. We are an amazing hard working group who make up 85% of all business in the CBD. Imagine if we went on strike, imagine if we put our demands forward, imagine if we used the power of our voice to be heard. Why don’t we?
This was my first time as part of a group on stage, normally I am a solo artist. But I figured if Beyonce & Destinys Child can do it, if Gwen Stefani & No Doubt can do it, if Sting & The Police can do it, then definitely I will do it. International fame & fortune here I come, ready or not.
While being asked to do an interview for media is not entirely new to me, doing a photo shoot is. I have never been comfortable in front of a camera, in fact I have always avoided it if possible. Things change when it comes to growing a brand and winning a significant award or two, especially since winning The Telstra Women’s Business Owner Award. Suddenly you find yourself doing things way outside your comfort zone, and being a model was never ever part of any deal. But making a difference and bringing attention to my business cannot be done anonymously it seems. So I too have succumbed to both vanity and “show me that shot so I can see if the light is flattering to me or not”. I don’t quite have an entourage. Yet….