“Your business is meant to be an enabler of a better life, not something that drains your time and energy.”

Putting in place business strategy, management tools and structure for medium sized companies is what I do. My philosophy is that your business should be an enabler of a better life, rather than something that tethers you to it.

I support CEOs who are navigating challenges as they transition from a growing business to a bigger and more professionally structured company. I help them get their business back under control, ready for the next stage of growth, and also free up their time so they can be more strategic. Day to day operational problem-solving will always keep you tethered, until the right people and strategy are in place to support you.

I now work from my home office on the Mornington Peninsula with the beach nearby and a view of the water. I got to this long wished-for position because I experienced the hard lessons in CEO roles myself, and through that, learned how to have a business and a life!

Let me help you to do the same.

I love working with clients who are focused on growing their businesses for the purpose of creating a better life for themselves and the people they love. The somewhat unconventional path my business life has followed, working for others and creating my own consultancies, has given me deep expertise and experience, and equipped me to really understand and help my clients.

Early on in a CEO role heading up a publicly listed company, it wasn’t uncommon for me to get home at nine o’clock at night. My thinking time came when everyone else had gone home, so I stayed late in the office. I also worked weekends.

I eventually became overwhelmed and stretched to my limit having to manage 18 direct reports and over 100 employees. I had to be hands-on with the Australian business and two international divisions, as well as oversee sales, marketing, customer service, technical support, major client relationships, people management, investor presentations and so it went on.

Managing the increasing complexity in the business and the growth that came with it was not sustainable. As companies grow, so does the complexity of running them, which takes your focus away from growth and strategy. The complexity tethers you in day to day problem-solving.

I had a mentor who was extremely accomplished, and a lovely person, but he came from the corporate world and had never run a small company. He honestly did not fully appreciate what I was going through or the real issues that were plaguing me because he’d never experienced it himself.

The founders were completely against me changing anything to do with people or structure.

It was exhausting, frustrating and unfulfilling – and it consumed my entire life, literally.

However, once the founders were bought out of the business, it left me free to do what had to be done. My priority was to put the right structure and the right people in place to reduce the operational load on me, implement improvements to be more efficient and effective, and be able to confidently rely on a capable team to execute and deliver.

The significant improvements and achievements I was able to make with my team resulted in being promoted from CEO to Managing Director on the board. Sales, profitability and the team were better, I was less stressed and life was definitely better.

Along my business journey I have also:

• worked with both product and service-based businesses
• Worked in Australia, Singapore and the UK
• Had several CEO roles running others’ companies
• Established and grown several small businesses of my own
• Received two degrees from the University of Melbourne
• Been a Telstra business award Finalist
• Graduated from the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD)
• Received NLP Certification

Having said all of this, I know that the key to being in control of your business rather than it controlling you, is the right strategy, the right structure with the right people in the right roles, and the right management tools.

My goal is simply to help business owners feeling under pressure, to create better strategies that will put you back in control of your growth with less stress and better results.

I know all these strategies work because I’ve used them all as CEO of different companies facing multiple challenges. I’ve used them to help my clients. I’ve taught these strategies. They work.

Now I can help you too!

I’ve established several of my own businesses and also had CEO roles running others’ companies, which means I’ve been through what my clients are struggling with, and I get it. I also know how to fix it.

In addition to my hands-on experience, I also have more ‘formal’ credentials including:

• Graduated with two Bachelor Degrees from the University of Melbourne
• Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors
• Finalist in the Telstra Business Women’s Awards
• Interviewed and published in various business resources such as Qantas Business Radio and The International Institute of Directors and Managers
• Presented learning content to external CEO groups
• Run in-house mastermind groups for CEO clients
• Published author of ‘Small Business CEO: Strategies to Navigate the Four Stages of Growth from Start-up to Success’.

So, if you need help getting your business under control and putting more breathing space into your own role and your life, I’d love to help you!