She's The Boss Chats

Marissa is a classic! She loved the company she worke for so much that she bought it! Growing up in the outer suburbs of Melbourne, Marissa's parents were great role models for her. Her Mum was a hard working hair dresser, and her Dad invented central locking keys for cars (I know!), so she had great work ethic from an early age. She also loved events, and talks about organising a family trip when...

Julie O’Donohue is re-imagining real estate with her online platform, Next Address, which matches and connects property buyers and sellers. With an eclectic background in marketing, not-for-profit and a stint as a real estate agent, Julie’s focus is to maximise smart prop-tech tools, streamline processes and reduce the transactional costs for all. This episode is proudly sponsored by our favourite...

Renata is extraordinary! As the founder of MaxMe, she is passionate about teaching so-called 'soft skills', those associated with EQ, to younger people. I have no doubt she will realise her vision and MaxMe will go global. Born in Ukraine (when it was part of Russia), she moved to Australia with her parents when she was about 6. She has two sisters who were born after her parents moved here, one i...

Kate is an absolute firecracker but with all the smarts! After growing up in the suburbs of Melbourne, Kate didn't really like school, or try hard, until she hit year 11 when one of her teachers told her to shape up, or she wouldn't pass, and so she tried, and ended up winning an academic award! This was followed by a short stint t RMIT studying PR, before she was offered a role at J Walter Thomps...

Eloise is so honest and transparent, that many women will relate to her story. Growing up in the Western Suburbs of Melbourne, as the youngest (by 18 years!) in her family, Eloise had a difficult childhood with parents who didn't really get along. At the age of 14, her Mum found a new partner online, packed her bags and moved to the USA, leaving Eloise to pick up the pieces, and deal with her fath...

Cherry's story is bound to inspire you. Born in a little town just outside of Birmingham, Cherry's parents were very supportive, but the private girls school she went to, had identified her as an introvert from a young age and she felt, as she reached her teens, that they had 'pigeon-holed' her, and so, against her parents wishes, she enrolled in the local Sixth Form College, where she flourished...

Nat has an extraordinary story and an endless amount of enthusiasm and confidence to boot! Born and raised in Adelaide, South Australia, Nat's Mum was instrumental in helping her with school as she is severely dyslexic. After leaving school at 15, Nat got into fashion retail where she quickly found her niche. Her customers loved her and she won countless awards. Then she got pregnant, had a couple...

Jodie's story will probably make you cry, as I did, but it is filled with hope and positivity too. Jodie grew up in Victoria on a farm and had a great childhood. When she left school she wanted to be a performer or a police officer, but despite trying out for both, she was considered too young so she didn't make the cut for either, which was pretty devastating. However, Jodie took a left turn and...

Ildi's story is super interesting and we found it hard to stop chatting! Born in Transylvania (truly!), Ildi grew up with two parents who were in construction in Romania, a younger sister and a despot running the country. Not an easy childhood. Ildi enjoyed school, where she studied in Hungarian, and eventually lived with her grandparents until the age of 12 as her parents were on sites much of th...

PG is such an inspiration! From growing up in Penrith with two older sisters and a violent household, PG and her Mum then moved to Tassie, where she completed her high school and uni years. From an early age she had wanted to be an actor (why isn't that surprising?!) but her Mum was keen for her to capitalise on her excellent academic record, and so she did an Arts-Law degree over 5 years - and go...

Anna is such a trailblazer when it comes to women in trades. She was South Australia's first female tradie in the construction industry and her story is so positive and uplifting, it will have you wanting to get into a trade too! Anna had an idyllic childhood, growing up as one of 6 kids in the Clare Valley in South Australia with a mechanic for a Dad and a superwoman Mum (that's how I would descr...

Rachel's story is fascinating! After growing up in Albury/Wodonga as a musical child - especially piano - and then going on to study music and teaching at Melbourne Uni, Rachel had found her passion. She married very young, at around 20, after falling madly in love with her husband, almost at first sight, and went on to become a music teacher at a high school. But she hated it! After 3 years of te...

You MUST listen to this episode as Yvonne is truly making a difference in the world and you will definitely be inspired. After growing up in Ireland, Yvonne headed to Australia after uni, with a group of friends, and while she was here, she started using her HR qualifications and got a job in a big recruitment firm. Other than a wanderlust that has her travelling for decent holiday trips every yea...

Kylie is such a warm and generous woman, you will really enjoy this interview. Kylie was born and bred in Cairns and stayed there til she was 17. She had a pretty horrible time at school with bullying, so when the opportunity arose to go to uni and then to Canberra for their Graduate Program, she leapt at it. From that start, she stayed in Government and moved into policy and then HR roles. Kylie...

If you love a struggle-to-success story, then you will love this episode with Christine. She is so inspiring! Having grown up with two brothers in a very working-class family, Christine went to 7 primary schools and 4 high schools, mainly because her parents had to move for financial reasons. This made school difficult as it is hard to make friends if you don't stick around for long, so teachers w...

Louise's story is so interesting! Growing up in a tiny town in North Queensland, Louise was bullied at school and couldn't wait to leave. As soon as she graduated she headed for uni, where she loved it and chose to study teaching, which was the 'norm' for women where she grew up. After a short spell as a primary school teacher, Louise knew it wasn't for her. She had been doing telephone counsellin...

OMG, you are going to be so inspired by this woman! Born and raised in a little town in the Gulf of Carpentaria (northern Australia), she had a great childhood at a primary school with only 30-40 kids, and then she went to high school in Cairns - a bit of a shock but she enjoyed herself. This was followed by uni in Sydney. While she was there she did an exchange to Malaysia, and when she finished...

Julie is such a lovely, knowledgeable and inspirational woman. You will love her story! Growing up in suburban Melbourne with one sister, she says her childhood was pretty standard. She didn't enjoy school though (other than sport!) and so when she left year 12 she wasn't interested in Uni, so her Dad suggested the bank. After starting out with NAB as a Teller, she rose through the ranks for the n...

Christina's story will resonate with so many women! After growing up in a traditional Greek family in Brissie, Christina never really had much confidence or self-belief, so to a large extent she did what was expected of her by her father first, and then her husband of 29 years. Then she had a bit of an epiphany and decided to take back the reins when it came to her life, and everything changed. Sh...

In this episode of She's the Boss Chats, features an incredible woman: Faye Brown is a total inspiration. She is the creative director and designer of Motto Fashions. Faye shares the journey of her business, which she started with her husband over 35 years ago. She talks about the online and bricks-and-mortar aspects of her business and how she and her daughter, Lauren French (whose interview was...

Nicole is one of those women you just want to know! Born and bred in Canberra, Nicole and a friend drove to Sydney for a holiday when she was 17, and decided to stay! Within about two days, she and her friend found work and then a flat and they were off! Nic started off in hospitality but soon moved into the advertising and agency world, culminating in a stint working in Paris. She loved computers...

This is just the BEST interview, because Hacia is extraordinary. Having grown up in a family of plumbers she is the 5th generation), Hacia grew up in rural Victoria and primary school was tiny with about 20 kids. During this time she was a complete tomboy climbing trees, playing footy and having fun. Then in year 8 she moved to the city and to a private girls school - which was all a bit of a shoc...

Belinda is extraordinary and is an incredible entrepreneur and inspiration. Born in Sydney, Belinda and her family moved around a lot as her father was an engineer and her early childhood was spent in Papua New Guinea. By secondary school she lived back in Australia and in about year 9 she became a boarder at a Sydney girls school. A school that bred independence and a belief that the girls could...

Lindsay is a totally inspirational businesswoman who started her business at 49, and has plans to grow it in Australia and the USA over the next few years! Having grown up in Wellesley, Massachusetts with a sister born 12 months and 9 days apart from her, and a brother born on the same day, 14 years later, Lindsay's mother just loved fashion, and transmitted that love to her daughter. The girls we...

Karine has a lovely calm voice and manner that just makes you know that she would be great at managing teams. Having grown up in Mauritius until the age of 7, Karine, her brother, and her parents then moved to Australia for a better life. Only it didn't quite work out the way her parents had hoped. Her Dad was unable to get admin work for almost 9 months after arriving, so her Mother took a job in...