Making Business Possible

Cindy is a single mum of three kids, living in South-West Sydney. She is a refugee from Cambodia who has overcome significant challenges to be financially independent and support her family.Cindy is proud of her Cambodian heritage and serves authentic, healthy Cambodian food in her catering business, Amok.Amok is more than a catering company. It is a social enterprise that supports the social and economic inclusion of Cambodian women in south-west Sydney. Cindy’s vision is to help other Cambodian women in Australia become financially independent and have a voice in their family and community. Cindy dreams of expanding Amok to Cambodia and replicating the model to support women and their families.

When people think of Japanese food, they might think of rice or sushi – but Yoko Nakazawa says miso is really at the heart of Japanese cooking.Growing up in Japan, Yoko watched and helped as her father grew vegetables in their garden, and her mother turned these into nourishing dishes for the family to eat, but also found ways to preserve the fresh produce through techniques such as fermenting and pickling.When Yoko moved to Australia, she struggled with the language and culture shift, and as a result, she felt she lost much of her confidence and her sense of identity. Returning to her cooking and fermenting skills helped her find herself again, and gave her something to offer her new community.Now Yoko is carrying on these traditions, and the appreciation for food that tastes good and is good for you, through her business, ‘Cooking with Koji’.It’s named after the koji starter for the Japanese fermentation process that produces foods and seasonings full of gut-enriching edible probiotics and prebiotics – including miso as well as soy sauce, sake, mirin and vinegar.Through her business, Yoko sells the living organic one-year-fermented miso product that she has produced, and also runs cooking and fermentation classes.Her ultimate goal is to set up a foundation to support other women to establish their own businesses and share their skills and cuisines.https://cookingwithkoji.wordpress.com/https://www.instagram.com/cookingwithkoji/https://www.facebook.com/cookingwithkoji/

Kagi Kowa is originally from Sudan. When she arrived in Australia from Kenya with her three sisters she found that creating art helped her overcome feelings of loss, displacement, and self-identity. She started her social enterprise business, Nubia Designs, in 2017 to help fellow refugees transition to life here through creating and enjoying art.Based in Brisbane, Nubia Designs offers both products and services, selling handmade art and crafts from African artists all around the world. Kagi also presents art workshops run by individual artists, aimed at giving everyday Australians the opportunity to experience art from different cultures.“This will allow them to see the world through different eyes,” she says. Kagi wants to create an environment that promotes intercultural understanding through storytelling while encouraging a sense of belonging and inclusion for new arrivals. She knows how hard it can be to adjust.“I miss my culture most, the warm hospitality, friends and social life. I miss the food occasionally, but luckily I can cook.”Kagi describes herself as ‘a bowl of passion’ when it comes to social justice and human rights, and to helping others. “I love it when people walk into my workshops with so much self-doubt about their ability to be creative and leave at the end with so much confidence,” she says. “Many have said they never thought they could paint.”Sister Tribe, she says, gives Kagi a sense of community. “I always have Sisters who have got my back and will support me throughout my journey.”Nubia Designs products can be found at markets and online.https://www.nubiadesigns.com.au/https://www.facebook.com/NubiaDesigns

While taking part in an outdoor yoga class in Brisbane, Glenis Wilkinson was inspired to start her own business teaching yoga. “I can do this,” she thought and so she did, kicking off several years ago by offering classes on a gold coin donation basis.Glenis has been practising yoga since 2001 and says it offers numerous psychological, emotional and physiological benefits such as health and fitness, physical and mental and emotional strength and balance, and a sense of tranquillity, things she wants to introduce to as many people as possible.Glenis has a background in Hatha Yoga, Yoga Nidra (a state of between waking and sleep), in utilising yoga for anxiety and depression as well as in meditation, so she’s well-placed to offer her skills to others. “These practices give me the tools to manage life’s challenges,” she says. It makes perfect sense for Glenis to integrate her own practices with her working life while providing a ‘safe space’ for her clients to experience these things too.Glenis’ business goal is to create a sustainable enterprise teaching and offering classes and workshops for individuals and groups in a wide variety of settings: community centres, gyms located in or near hospitals, outdoors in parks, in the wellness centres run by Brisbane City Council as well as in corporate work spaces.Being a member of the Global Sisters Tribe for Glenis means enjoying the support, learning, gaining knowledge, inspiration, encouragement and mentorship the community provides.

Originally from Palestine, Lina’s new life in Australia has provided her with the opportunity to follow her dream of owning her own business.Lina has established Robofun, an educational academy to teach kids robotics and coding. Robofun is a mix of “Make, Code, and Play”. The business is based on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) principles and tools and provide services such as robotics, coding, 3D design, and science programs to the community.Through her business, Lina aims to support herself, her family, and to give back to her community here in Australia. Robofun will benefit Australian kids through developing their problem-solving and analytical skills, encouraging their independent and creative thinking, and strengthening their social, communication and teamwork skills. She hopes to attract more girls to engage with STEAM fields through their interests like interactive craft, e-textile fashion and animation. Robofun will also train and offer part-time jobs for women who are unable to access mainstream employment due to family responsibilities.Lina’s business offers her a future, a chance to achieve financial independence and the opportunity to develop future STEAM leaders.https://www.robofun.com.au/

Lil Bug Love is an inspiring social enterprise, the work of Brisbane based mum, Cindy Barden. Cindy is on a mission to create comfort kits for kids whose mother or caregiver are escaping domestic violence.Cindy found herself in a relationship that rapidly turned to domestic violence. During this time Cindy’s daughter was exposed to the abusive relationship and developed severe anxiety. When Cindy escaped, her daughter was too scared to leave her mother’s side and she was faced with having to give statements to police with her daughter present. That meant her daughter had to hear every horrific detail of the statements, and she had to keep hearing it over and over again as statements were made to a variety of legal and support services throughout the process of escaping and re-building a safe life.Cindy wanted to show her daughter that the painful experience wasn’t in vain, and that their situation will help other children who end up in police stations listening to all the details of the abuse and feeling scared. This is when Lil Bug Love was born.Lil Bug Love kits are housed in a beautiful canvas bag with handmade toys to cuddle, colouring/activity books including blank pages so the kids can express themselves, pencils, pencil case and a set of headphones so they don’t have to listen and can tune out. Cindy believes these kits are simple but powerful and they will reduce the trauma children experience when fleeing domestic violence.Cindy knows she can’t stop domestic violence, or change the way adults treat other adults, she couldn’t even change it for her daughter but from this experience she is determined to help comfort other children who need comforting. Cindy says “By giving kids whose mums are escaping domestic violence a little bit of love and comfort during a terrifying time, we can stop continually re-traumatising them. We can let them feel safe, loved and start the healing process.I know from my own experience that a comfort kit would have made the world of difference to my daughter and reduced her experience of being re-traumatised”.The kit itself is held in a sturdy canvas bag. Many children fleeing domestic violence have to leave with only the clothes on their back and this bag holds their only belongings. Lil Bug Love kits will help children of domestic violence to stop being re-traumatised and enable them to start the healing process.To support Lil Bug Love to create and distribute kits to police stations across Queensland go to the website or Facebook page.

Global Sister An Le is in the business of providing ethical gifts: care packages for women going through hard times – ‘a warm hug in a box,’ she calls it.When someone you know is struggling and you don’t know what to say or don’t want to be intrusive, a hamper of eco-friendly, beautiful, organic, high quality thoughtful gifts might do the trick.Supplying care packages is just the start of An’s business journey. She wants to eventually offer life coaching for women to realise their strength and potential and to sustain it. “It’s important to me because women are amazing and are not valued enough,” she says.An is motivated to help other women while providing a good life for herself and her two daughters. She understands the need to stay positive when things are tough. “Women are continually giving and forgetting to look after ourselves. I would like women to feel valued and acknowledged for the hard days.” An says she wants to ‘give back to Global Sisters and be part of the ripple effect of Sister Tribe.’Brisbane-based An plans to offer her products in person at markets, and to promote both her products and services via social media as well as through her own networks. She will make her coaching services available online. “Life coaching will allow me to assist women who want help to grow as a person and learn that it’s ok to love yourself without any mummy guilt.”

Mandy is a social entrepreneur who is fiercely passionate about human rights, eradicating poverty and empowering women which led her to establish Global Sisters in 2014, a Not for Profit organisation which exists to enable women to be financially independent and stand tall. They provide a genuine alternative for women who are unable to participate in mainstream employment, by removing the barriers they commonly face, they make self-employment a viable option.Mandy’ s diverse career path over the past 20 years has spanned the commercial and not-for-profit sectors where she has worked internationally on government business incubation programs in Botswana, New Zealand as well as high profile charities including the Hamlin Fistula Hospitals in Ethiopia and locally as National Marketing Manager for the RSPCA.Today's inspiring conversation covers:Experimenting to succeed in businessWhen the mission is strong it never feels hardCreating sustainable businessesCreating community and tribeMaking social change for women and mothersDefining SuccessWhat it takes to be an entrepreneurTurning failure into learningIt's not always about the moneyHaving faith in yourselfFollowing your dreams and money will followAlways learning to develop your missionScaling a businessDon't let money be a barrierLearning from others to scale your business