If we were meeting in real life, I’d suggest a coastal walk, a good wine, or a window seat somewhere interesting. Anything but a boardroom.
While business is a massive part of my world, it’s never been the only part. A few years ago, my partner Mark organised what might be the most perfectly “me” gift imaginable: a day driving a vintage Mustang around the Mornington Peninsula.
Ink Black. Roaring engine. Enough presence to make you sit taller just holding the wheel.
I remember laughing as I drove, hair everywhere, completely in my element, thinking, this is how life is supposed to feel. Fast, free, and intentional. Designed. Not done by default.
That moment sums me up more than any job title could. I’m deeply ambitious, but I am equally committed to squeezing every drop of joy out of life.
From KFC Pay Cheques to $140M Sales Teams
I’ve been wired that way since I was young, long before business degrees and MBAs came into the picture. As a kid I saved my KFC pay to get myself to New York at 16 and sold handmade jewellery to fund my ‘wild’ uni days.
I didn’t know it at the time, but those early hustles taught me two things that still shape me today: I like backing myself, and I’ve never been interested in doing things the cookie-cutter way.
Corporate life came next—big roles, big teams, big numbers. I led $140 million sales teams inside a Fortune 100 company and built a reputation as someone commercial, driven and deeply results-focused.
But then, motherhood changed the metric.
Success suddenly looked different. I still wanted the impact and the income, but I wanted the ownership, too. So at 39, between babies’ naps and investor meetings, I started my first business.
Scrappiness Meets Scale
It wasn’t glamorous. It was built in pockets of time most people overlook. But within five years I’d grown a community of 150,000, on a marketing budget of less than $300 a month.
That experience changed the trajectory of my career, but more importantly it changed how I saw other small business owners. I understood the juggle. The mental load. The ambition sitting alongside real life.
And it was during those early business-building years that another thread started weaving its way into my work: motherhood.
Being a mum—and being surrounded by mums—made me acutely aware of how misunderstood we were as consumers. I saw how much purchasing power sat inside everyday households, and how often brands missed the mark entirely when trying to connect with them. This realisation became the catalyst for my two best-selling books, Marketing to Mums and The Mother of All Opportunities.
The “Sweet Spot” for Your Next Event
Selling that business a few years later was a milestone, but it also lit the next chapter: specialising in marketing to mums and generational audiences using low cost, research-backed marketing strategies that now underpins much of my speaking, coaching and consulting work.
And I realised I didn’t just love building businesses. I loved helping other people build theirs.
Somewhere in that evolution, the work started getting noticed beyond my own community.
I’ve since written two marketing bestsellers, been recognised as a Top 50 Small Business Leader and been a five-time finalist in the B&T Women in Media Awards. I’ve shared global stages with brands like Google and Facebook and won an international speaking award—my Oscars moment! It reminded me how far I’ve come from side hustles.
But what I’m proudest of isn’t the awards. It’s the thousands of small business owners who’ve used my frameworks to grow revenue, scale visibility and build businesses that actually support their lives.
I’ve sat inside corporate boardrooms managing nine-figure revenue targets, and I’ve sat at kitchen tables building businesses between school pick-ups. I understand scale but I also understand scrappiness.
So my work lives in that sweet spot: big-business thinking made practical for small business reality.
Life Beyond the Bio
My life outside work is just as vivid. When I’m not on stage or consulting, I’m “lifestyle hacking.”
- Travel: I’m a frequent-flyer ninja. Last year, I did three weeks in Europe—flights, food, and stays—for $5K all in.
- New York: It’s has had my heart since I was 16. I visit frequently to soak up new ideas, retail trends and brand experiences that I bring home to share with my clients and on stage.
- The Kitchen: I also happily admit I hate cooking. Unless there’s music, a splash of wine, and a cooking partner to do the heavy lifting while I dance badly.
Let’s Build Something Exceptional
For me, success has never been about choosing between business and life. It’s always been about designing both on purpose and with intention.
These days I work with small business owners through speaking, coaching and consulting, helping them simplify their marketing, sharpen their positioning and build brands that create real commercial traction.
Because improving someone’s business doesn’t just change their revenue. It changes how they live.
And I’m as passionate about a full life as I am about a successful business. And I don’t believe you should have to choose between the two. Or pick up a wooden spoon when you can pick up a July carry- on bag and get living.
