Regionally Speaking: Recent Episodes
University of Southern Queensland
Join Phoebe Tully as she interviews some of Australia’s most impressive entrepreneurs, all of whom are running successful businesses from outside major cities.
James Bartle owns Outland Denim, an incredible ethical denim brand he runs from Tamborine Mountain.
In this episode, James talks about working out the profit structure of Outland and how it changed the company’s trajectory. He also talks about impact models, equity crowdfunding, raising capital, collaborating with likeminded competitors and why companies needs to be paying attention to the conscious consumer market.
Jo Palmer runs Pointer Remote, an organisation that’s all about building capacity in people, businesses and communities through training and recruitment. Pointer’s mission is working towards a world where regional communities are a preferred and prosperous choice from all employees and employers.
In this episode, Jo gives her advice on working and recruiting remotely, as well as charting her journey from her education degree through her three businesses. Jo also talks about being Australian Rural Woman of the Year, and why she thinks companies offering flexibility is the way of the future.
Christina Symes is the Director of We Are Triibe, an award-winning design studio based in the Byron hinterland.
In this episode, Christina talks about finding interior design when she felt her career and interest in fashion floundering, and how the studio has grown from being her part-time gig to a fully fledged company with staff and sub-contractors around the world. We Are Triibe specialises in interiors, styling, furniture design and more, and the talent of Tina and her co-founder Jess has been recognised both in Australia as well as around the world. It’s clear that regional living has sparked, not dimmed, their creativity.
Dr Clinton Schultz owns Sobah Beverages, an Indigenous-owned non-alcoholic beer brand he runs from Burleigh Heads.
In this episode, Clinton talks about his background as first a chef and then as a registered psychologist, and how his connection to country and culture influenced his decision to start Sobah Beverages. We talk about moving from a food truck to being stocked at Dan Murphy’s, as well as wellbeing both as a psychologist and as an entrepreneur, and how and why to support Indigenous businesses.
For the show notes, please go to www.usq.edu.au/entrepreneurship
Annabelle Hickson is a writer, photographer, florist, author and now Editor of Galah Press, a print magazine about regional Australia.
In this episode, Annabelle talks about moving from Brisbane to Moree and now to a pecan farm outside Tenterfield. She talks about finding her feet when she realised she wasn’t going to get a job, and how she turned that into a book deal and now a publishing company she runs from her acreage on the NSW-Queensland border.
For the show notes of this episode, visit www.usq.edu.au/entrepreneurship
Cameron Mackenzie is one of the co-founders of Four Pillars, one of Australia’s most exciting alcohol brands, which is based in the Yarra Valley.
In this episode, Cam talks about the very early days of the company, the emotional rollercoaster of selling 50% of it, and the plans for even more growth in the future.
Rayleen Brown is the founder of Kungkas Can Cook, a line of bush tucker products as well as tourism opportunities, all of which she runs from Alice Springs.
In this episode, Rayleen talks about the resilience needed to be an entrepreneur – a trait she has in spades – as well as her vision for the bush tucker industry, and the importance of mentoring the next generation of Indigenous entrepreneurs.
Rayleen is a natural storyteller, and I hope you learn a few things from her perspective on business and entrepreneurship in the more remote parts of Australia.
Find the full show notes at usq.edu.au/entrepreneurship
Michael Fox is an experienced startup CEO, first of Shoes of Prey and now of Fable Food, a plant-based meat company he runs from his home on the Sunshine Coast.
In this episode, Michael talks about fundraising through venture capital firms, getting market research right, and how he’s building company two using his knowledge from company one.
Find the full show notes at usq.edu.au/entrepreneurship
In this final episode of Season 1, I speak with Luke Anear, founder of SafetyCulture. SafetyCulture is best known for its app, iAuditor, which is used for more than 600 million health and safety checks per year. SafetyCulture became a unicorn in 2020 – that is, it is now valued at over a billion dollars!
In this episode, Luke talks about company culture, learning to lead, and how he almost started WWIII by banning Slack for a week.
For the show notes, go to https://usq.edu.au/entrepreneurship
Today on the podcast is Raquelle Pedler of Resound Music Academy. Toowoomba born and bred, Raquelle had studied to become a full-time musician – and was fulfilling that dream. She then saw a gap in the market and decided to do some further study in education and start her own music school. As well as running Resound Music Academy, Raquelle remains a popular, booked out performer in her own right.
In this episode, she talks about the balance and how she chose to work in both fields. We talk about prioritising professional development, building and nurturing community and carving out a niche as an artist.
See the show notes for this episode at https://usq.edu.au/entrepreneurship
Michael Reid is one of Australia’s leading art dealers. As well as owning bricks and mortar art galleries around the world, Michael also owns a slew of off-shoot and online businesses. He wrote a regular column for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, has published several books with Allen & Unwin and hosted TV and radio shows. In 2016, he was awarded an OAM. It’s perhaps needless to say that Michael is frequently named as one of the most influential people in Australian art.
Michael runs this empire from Murrurundi, a town of less than 1000 people in the upper Hunter Valley. In this episode we discuss art and business and the importance of self-awareness.
Today’s guest is Louise Bannister, co-founder and editor of Lunch Lady magazine. Louise has been responsible for several of Australia’s favourite magazines, including Frankie, Smith Journal and interiors magazine SPACES.
Louise spoke really honestly about her experience building and leaving a publishing empire, and the difficulty of then going on to build another one – while raising three small children!
See the show notes from this episode at usq.edu.au/entrepreneurship
Today on the podcast is Helen Shadforth of Cheese Therapy. Helen and her husband Sam founded their cheese subscription service in 2015 from their base in Buderim on the Sunshine Coast. They steadily grew over the years, offering Australians international and domestic cheese they otherwise couldn’t access.
In this episode Helen tells us about scaling up and scaling down sustainably, and we deep dive into distribution centres and transport logistics. Helen was happy to answer my many, many questions and this is a must listen for all product-based businesses hoping to scale nationally.
See the show notes from this episode at usq.edu.au/entrepreneurship
My guest today is John Calabro, who runs The View From Here, a creative agency based in Traralgon in Gippsland. John’s story will sound familiar to anyone who thought they’d never move back to their home town… and then found that their priorities shifted and they couldn’t imagine life differently.
Building on a successful career as a graphic designer in Melbourne, John and his young family moved back to the Latrobe Valley to purchase their first home. As John started to build his roster of freelance clients, The View From Here was born and now employs eight full-time locals.
See the show notes from this episode at usq.edu.au/entrepreneurship
Today my guest is Anna Battle. Anna started her business 20 years ago, and it has taken many twists and turns since then to become Shiny Happy Art.
In this episode Anna shares specific tools she uses to run her online business, as well as lessons she’s learned about goal setting, managing finances and making things work when circumstances out of your control force a pivot. Anyone interested in making a career as an artist will find this essential listening!
See the show notes of this episode at usq.edu.au/entrepreneurship
Today, my guests are Jemima and Bede Aldridge of Saddler & Co.
Bede is a world-class craftsman. Having started his apprenticeship at the age of 14, he intrinsically knew that making saddles was his path. A passion and focus I’m sure many of us would be envious of! He opened his first workshop in 2010, making custom saddles from home until the business took a slight pivot. Jemima, who has a mind for a business and an eye for design, joined the business in 2014, and helped to grow Saddler & Co beyond the world of saddles and into a fully-fledged lifestyle brand. The Aldridges are building their business alongside their family in Dubbo, and doing it all on their own terms.
See the show notes from this episode at usq.edu.au/entrepreneurship
Today on the podcast is Julia Spicer of Engage & Create Consulting. Julia has been named as one of Australia’s most influential women by the Australian Financial Review. Her business, based in Goondiwindi, has been profitable from day one, and Julia is a passionate advocate for rural communities, especially women in business.
If you’re wondering about building networks and community, this is essential listening. Julia is one of the most well-connected people I know, and she lays it all out in this episode.
See the show notes from this episode at usq.edu.au/entrepreneurship
Today’s guest is Karen Barnett, the co-founder of Montville Coffee, a specialty coffee roaster based in the Sunshine Coast hinterlands. In addition to winning awards for their blends, Montville Coffee was the first Fairtrade and Organic coffee roasters in Queensland, and became a certified B Corp in 2016.
But as Karen will tell you, being a regional social enterprise and husband-and-wife team has not been a simple or easy journey. I was so grateful for Karen’s honesty and vulnerability in this conversation – the information and anecdotes Karen shares are just as important as the awards she’s won and the capital she’s raised.
See show notes for this episode at usq.edu.au/entrepreneurship
Join Phoebe Tully as she interviews some of Australia’s most impressive entrepreneurs, all of whom are running successful businesses from outside major cities.