Dining Out on Good Advice
30 November, 2012
Gianna Dalla-Vecchia
Two days ago I attended a
luncheon organised by the Melbourne Press Club. The lunch was held at Crown
Casino and many media and
journalism professionals were in attendance. They all gathered not only to see
just who might win the annual MPC/Siemens Award
for Student Journalism, but to also hear what the guest speaker, Kim Williams, the CEO of News Limited had to say about
the future of print journalism within Australia.
 |
| Kim Williams, CEO, News Ltd. |
I was very intrigued to hear what Williams had to
say as I only just handed in my final university assignment two weeks ago and fittingly,
I am looking for a job within the media landscape. Alongside my Journalism
degree, I spent much of my spare time volunteering at various media
organisations to expand my skill set. I am now hoping my passion and
enthusiasm, combined with my experience in the field will assist me in landing
a job. However, we all know times are tough. Media organisations generally do
not have the funds to hire many graduates and professionals aren’t saying
goodbye to their current job either. Despite this predicament, Williams helped
me believe that there is hope for us graduates, as he insists us to “not give
up and just give it a go.”
Williams suggested to us that the media has to
embrace new technologies and stressed that the next generation of media players
(i.e. us recent graduates) are embracing this digital age as we grew up with it
– and so we just “get it.” He explains that young people practice freedom of
speech everyday through social media like Facebook and Twitter. One thing that inspired me to not give up was the
fact that he is still a “glass half-full kind of guy” despite the current
economic climate and trying times in the journalism industry. He simply encouraged
us all to “not talk the industry down” but to instead remain optimistic.
Last month I attended another luncheon held by my
local council, the Banyule City Council. It was called the Women in Business
Lunch and as you would have gathered by the name, 220 local businesswomen
within the area gathered for this annual event. This year the luncheon’s guest
speaker was Kristina Karlsson, the Founder and Creative
Director of Kikki.K, and like Williams,
she aimed to inspire all the women to believe in themselves and their product
or service. She certainly succeeded at that.
 |
| Kristina Karlsson, Founder and Creative Director, Kikki.K |
I left the business lunch realising the importance
of building strong communities so that individuals can feel a part of something
greater. Just like the Melbourne Press Club, the Banyule City Council aimed to
unite like-minded people in one room. You couldn’t help but feel included and
valued. However, when leaving the annual luncheon, life returns to normal until
the next worthwhile occasion comes along.
So what during the interim? What can small
communities and interest groups do to assist those needing further mentoring
and inspiration?
This got me thinking. I am developing my own online
business. Although I have the creative vision, passion and drive behind me, I still
do not know where to start, who to turn to for guidance or what the next step
should be. I have come to realise that I need support from those who have been
there and done that.
I firstly must mention that I feel very fortunate to
be a part of a council who genuinely cares about local women in business and
their growth and development. However, I decided to investigate what more can
be done to further assist local businesswomen like me.
After doing some research I found out that 104
million businesses were created in 53 economies in 2010.
All of these businesses were set up and are run by women. To my upmost
surprise, there are around one million businesses owned by women in Australia alone! I had no idea how many Aussie
women run a business.
To find out more, I
decided to go straight to the source. So I contacted Yolanda Vega, the CEO of the Australian Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AWCCI), to find out what her recommendations are. In
the end I discovered that my little inquiry was in fact a question asked
frequently nation-wide.
 |
| Yolanda Vega, CEO, AWCCI |
This is what Vega had to
say…
“The truth is 20
per cent of Australian women who run businesses are sole parents.
They don’t have the luxury in spending fifty dollars on lunch and fifty dollars
on a baby sitter for three hours, when they’re trying to make an income to
survive,” she said.
According to the AWCCI, more than 43 per cent of women business owners need
assistance in marketing and advertising, (myself included). In
turn, Vega believes that local councils could play an important role in
providing this assistance.
“Small business owners right across the country are
not being educated properly,” she said.
“Local councils have the ability to establish an
environment where education and information can be easily delivered. They need
to do something otherwise we’ll continue to see the majority, around
eighty-five per cent of small businesses, failing within the first two years.”
“Women wear twenty hats in any one-day. They’re
mothers, chefs, drivers, nurses and wives. The list goes on. So we need to
supply them with the education they need and instantly give them that information
at their fingertips.”
There were 104
million businesses created in 53 economies in 2010
and all of these businesses were set up and run by women. According to the
Australian Bureau of Statistics, for
every one business being started by a man, there are now two being started by a
woman. So I
asked Vega how councils like the Banyule City Council can offer tangible
assistance for so many local businesswomen?
“We are seeing more and more women starting up
their own businesses, and we know that women put their money back into the
community by providing education, health and infrastructure. As a society we
need to help women in business grow,” she replied.
“The best thing local, state and federal governments
can do is utilise women as suppliers. Once this is done, women will then have
access to contracts and make more money. This in turn means they can put more
money back into the community and everybody benefits. In order to survive as a
community, we need to invest in women so they can continue to give back to us.”
This is such an axiomatic
point – In order to reap, we must first sow. I learnt so much from our one
conversation. Vega assisted me to understand my own business development
prospects as a local businesswoman. She, like Williams has proved the point
that it’s important to allow individuals to not only feel, but be a part of a
strong networking community. This will empower them toward their first
successful foray into their career.
