A Friend of Mine by OAK Magazine

Our first episode of She Makes News has launched. Welcome to your weekly news wrap up for regional women in Australia. It's Friday 8 March 2024. Making news this week: Announcement - 2024 AgriFutures Rural Women's Award Victorian Winner Special International Women's Day event specifically for young women More than 250 rural mothers attend Motherland's inaugural National Conference in Tasmania Geor...

This is a special International Women’s Day series featuring members of Club OAK which supports and promotes your rural business through print, digital, audio and mentoring opportunities over a 12 month period. Belinda Mawhinney provides an exceptional service to leaders and business owners who feel stuck, overwhelmed, or uncertain about how to take next steps in their work.  Over the last 12...

This is a special International Women’s Day series featuring members of Club OAK which supports and promotes your rural business through print, digital and audio opportunities over a 12 month period. Founded by Gayle Wilson, Soul Care Bendigo is a place of community and empowerment, either through group sessions of personal development or private wellbeing consults. With a background in hairdressi...

This is a special International Women’s Day series featuring members of Club OAK which supports and promotes your rural business through print, digital, audio and mentoring opportunities over a 12 month period. Tenai Seymour’s journey from working in a digital agency to starting her own business in the Meta ads space is a testament to the power of self-belief and taking risks to achieve success. T...

This is a special International Women’s Day series featuring members of Club OAK which supports and promotes your rural business through print, digital and audio opportunities over a 12 month period. Sisters and besties Samantha and Renae opened women's fashion boutique Sare in rural Victoria at the start 2023. The fashion obsessed duo love connecting with people and helping women feel good. They...

This is a special International Women’s Day series featuring members of Club OAK which supports and promotes your rural business through print, digital and audio opportunities over a 12 month period. Lauren Barrett is the director and principal psychologist at Regenerative Psychology . Lauren made Holbrook her home in 2020, and has watched her business flourish into a national service. With degree...

Our new podcast SHE MAKES NEWS is launching this Friday. Listen the trailer. Welcome to She Makes News , your weekly news podcast for women in rural and regional Australia. I'm your host Kimberley Furness , and I’ll bring you a wrap up of the latest stories and local events that matter to you.  Every Friday, we will dive into our curated headlines, have thought-provoking discussions, and brin...

In 2017, Queensland artist and curator, Cara-Ann Simpson spent almost a year in hospital with a severe brain infection. She was later diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and neurosarcoidosis. Cara-Ann had to relearn to walk and speak clearly. Creativity gave her back a sense of belonging. At the rehab centre, Cara-Ann’s partner, Michael, would take her into the gardens where she would pick flowers a...

Artist and maker Sarah Ryan puts the perfect blend of nostalgia and vintage charm into Quandialla Candle Co .  Rather than be stressed by burning the business candle at both ends, she has created a way of working to suit her lifestyle and her brain.  Sarah’s handcrafted soy candles hit the market over a decade ago. It’s a one person show run on the family farm by the artist and former se...

In over 20 years as a professional photographer, Honey Atkinson has heard every reason why women hate themselves and don’t want their picture taken. With her online phone photography course, Honey is sharing skills and ideas so they can show up as their best self (ie). Photographer. Videographer. Educator. It’s all Honey ever wanted to do, and she’s still doing it. In the first half of business li...

Kazz Rasmussen started her career a special education teacher, working in the classroom and consultancy. However, she soon realised that she wanted to make a bigger impact and provide more support to individuals with disabilities. Kazz's journey to becoming a business owner began in 2016 when she took a year off teaching to care for her ill father. During this time, there was an upswing in parents...

There’s a stereotype about real estate agents. Josie Caruso doesn’t really fit that mould.  In the first chapter of her successful real estate career, Josie had to navigate a cut-throat male-dominated industry that shunned emotion and vulnerability. This was while Josie and her husband were going through IVF, an intensely emotional rollercoaster. As a young mum, Josie sensed that she didn't h...

This is a pen and paper episode! We have digital sherpa Leanne O'Sullivan, who will be your tour guide to the wonderful world of online marketing in this special episode. From her home in Dubbo, NSW, the CEO of Adventure Digital shares how she got started in business 25 years ago, and her motivation to provide flexibility and support to other entrepreneurs. Leanne has worked with many industries o...

Hayley DeJong's journey from childhood financial hardship to founding a successful mortgage brokerage, is testament to her determination and commitment to overcome the challenges that life throws our way.  In her early 20s, Hayley set her sights on a position at Bendigo Bank. She became a persistent caller, reaching out every couple of weeks to inquire about job openings until her relentless...

There’s a whole generation whose lives are not on social media. Like a personal and private podcast, A Lasting Tale records the life stories of the elderly and the dying, gifting their families with insight and the memory and intimacy of a loved one’s voice. When Dimity Brassil’s father and sister both died in a relatively short period, it was their voices that were achingly difficult to recall. I...

For Karen O’Brien, opening a homewares store was a dream in the making for many years.  Karen and her husband Jed lived in the outback for 15 years managing cattle stations whilst raising their young family. As their four children grew older, Karen began to think about what she could do beyond being a mum. The idea of starting an online business emerged. However, the limited access to resourc...

When you arrive at Kestrel Nest EcoHut , an off-grid, off-line and eco-luxury farm stay perched above a rocky mountain stream and surrounded by 360 degree views of rolling farmland, you can feel yourself exhale.  Louise Freckelton, along with her husband David, are custodians of 840 acres of unceded Wiradjuri Land where they conduct small-scale, ethical farming with the conservation of one of...

Michelle Rossiter is reluctant to call herself an entrepreneur but when you look back at her business journey, she has a knack of seeing a gap, filling it and doing so with great success.  Michelle left school at 15 to become an apprentice hairdresser. At 21, she set out to travel around Australia, practicing her hairdressing skills along the way. It wasn’t until the terrorist attacks of Sept...

The Bendigo Cup is possibly the most iconic event on the Bendigo social calendar.  I grew up not far from the Bendigo Jockey Club . On a clear day, you could hear the call of a race. And like many local school kids, I’ve run around the race track as part of cross country, a tradition that I also share with my kids. As an adult, I’ve dressed up and enjoyed a public holiday at the races with fr...

In a quaint township named Coolamon, a name derived from the Wiradjuri language and their word meaning water basin or water dish, is an Ark; The Ark Coolamon . A luxury boutique accommodation situated in a restored historic church. Owners Merrin and Philip had a lightbulb moment in late 2019 to give the Old Methodist church a different purpose. Over the years, the church has served various purpose...

Fisher & Farmer is not just a homewares store, it's a lifelong dream brought to life for owner Melissa Corbett. Mel always had the vision of opening her own business, and her background in public relations has been a valuable asset in making that dream come true. Mel's deep connection to her community led her to realise that her small town of Ganmain in rural NSW, could greatly benefit from a...

Jenn Donovan is a property law specialist turned retailer turned social media and marketing speaker, change maker, mentor, and coach to small businesses. Jenn's not just an entrepreneur; she's an advocate for rural and regional small businesses, with a community of over 380,000 people. Her ethos is simple but powerful, 'small business, big impact'. Jenn runs her business, Social Media and Marketin...

Maggie Deall is not your typical artist. Based in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Maggie's days are now filled with a haven of colour and artistic expression. But her journey to this point has been anything but ordinary. For the past two decades, Maggie has dedicated her life to public service as a sergeant in the NSW police force, where she supervised a team of officers and often found herself as a...

This special A Friend of Mine episode is a live roving interview from the 2023 Henty Field Days.. I get out amongst the 3500 businesses across 1200 sites and 14km of shopfront on 105ha - the biggest exhibition space in the country. At times you will hear the sounds of our surroundings whether it's some of the 60,000 people in attendance, nature, machinery or a PA system. I feel like these sounds m...

This special A Friend of Mine episode is a live roving interview from the 2023 Henty Field Days -Tuesday 19 September. I get out amongst the 3500 businesses across 1200 sites and 14km of shopfront on 105ha - the biggest exhibition space in the country. At times you will hear the sounds of our surroundings whether it's some of the 60,000 people in attendance, nature, machinery or a PA system. I fee...