Enter at the AromaBeauty blog here

(Competition closes on the 11th of November 2009)

This soap is brand-new at AromaBeauty – so new that the batch is still curing!

Created with all-organic ingredients – such as pure virgin olive oil,  shea, cocoa & mango butters, avocado, apricot kernel, sweet almond and hempseed oils – Aromabeauty soaps are great for your skin.

At 150 grams a block, AromaBeauty handmade soaps are much bigger than a normal bar of soap too.

My favourite AromaBeauty soap bar?

It has to be this luscious choc-mint slice. Isn’t it gorgeous? And yes it contains real cocoa!

And if you’re tempted to buy up more than $50 - there’ll also be a free goodie bag on its way to you. (Containing jewellery, samples and discounts!)

These soaps makes a lovely gift for someone special who needs a bit of pampering.

And when you see the list of chemicals in a normal bar of soap, organic handmade soap makes a lot of sense for your own skin!

At her blog Under The Loupe Annette talks about how she was inspired by Sarah Jessica Parker, after seeing her in media photographs during the filming of the Sex and the city 2 movie.

Sarah wears fun and flirty fashion– always super-girlie.

Annette translated this into a fresh and beautiful freshwater pearl necklace.

which has recently celebrated its seventh birthday online and attracted the 2009 Home Based Business Award!

Melissa, what was the catalyst for Business Mums Network (BMN)?

In 2002, I wanted to attend a networking event with my then six-week-old baby. I was also told by “experts” that if I wanted to run a successful business, I would have to put my kids into childcare and work 9-5.
I was connecting with Mums in the US who successfully worked from home, but couldn’t find support in Australia for Mums wanting to run a business. So, in July 2002, Business Mums Network was launched.

What resources and tools can women find at BMN to support and grow their businesses?

As well as an interactive website with an active forum, we also offer the Business Mums Magazine, a print publication especially for Mums running a business, annual conference, regular networking lunches and dinners, as well as training, articles and other resources to grow their businesses.
The network is incredibly friendly and open to each other, providing mentoring and additional resources and expertise.
We also create promotion opportunities for business mums, such as the blog awards we are currently running, or Doing Business in Your Bathrobe Month we have participated in in the past.

What are your thoughts on creative thinking when it comes to business concepts and business growth?

As a Mum with limited time and funds, business mums must be creative when it comes to their businesses, whether it is their business idea, how they promote their business, or any other aspect of business. Creative thinking also helps us stand out from the crowd, especially if our businesses are in a saturated market.

Congratulations on winning the Business Services category of the 2009 Home Based Business Awards! Can you tell us about the awards night?

The awards were part of the Australian Business and IT Expo in Melbourne. My stand was near where the awards were presented, so when they started giving the finalist certificates I moved to near the area. After I’d received my certificate, I returned to my stand – I didn’t expect to win. I was so excited when they called my name, I nearly missed it. Good thing my stand was near the awards area!
The awards were presented by the minister for small business, and when they opened the box with the trophy in it, the trophy was broken! So, they had to stage the photos with a substitute trophy.

You’ve recently celebrated your seventh birthday online with BMN - What changes have you seen in the online business world for Australian women over this time?

When I first started, there weren’t many Australian online networks. Most of the ones that existed were based in the US. There were only two parenting sites, and we were the first to support Australian Mums running a business. Over the last seven years, there are many more support sites, and selling online is normal rather than the exception. Consumers are also becoming more savvy to online sales, so online shops are looking more professional and providing more information about themselves and their business/products.
One of the most recent changes is social media – sites such as Twitter and Facebook.  This allows business mums connect with their target market and create a relationship with them.

Photo courtesy of Kelly from www.photosbykelly.com.au

Starting with four women and an idea during a business lunch, Women’s Network Australia is now accessed by 40,000 women every year.

Founded originally by business entrepreneur Lynette Palmen AM, Women’s Network Australia has become the Nation’s leading membership based organisation for business and professional women.

Every year Women’s Network Australia continues to expand its services and grow in popularity with women across the Nation and for good reason.

Gaining from learning and sharing experiences
As women progress they are seeking ways to achieve success in both their careers and business. There is much to be gained from sharing and learning from the experiences with others and Women’s Network Australia meets this need. Having access to role models and mentors plays and important role in women achieving the outcomes they desire in business.

Lynette says “Women now own and operate 33% of Australian small businesses and over the past 5 years there has been a 20% growth in the thriving home-based business sector. In this particular sector women are proving to be a force to be reckoned with – currently they’re running over 250,000 of the existing home-based businesses operating across the nation” she said.

Women seeking life/work balance by starting up their own enterprises
And according to Lynette this trend looks set to increase. “Whilst big business still struggles to get their head around is the benefits to be gained by ensuring workplaces are family friendly, it follows that women who are seeking balance between work and family will continue to opt out and start their own enterprises” added Lynette.

But in saying this many women find that running their own business can be both a rewarding and challenging experience but often isolating. Women’s Network Australia provides a community and support framework into which these women are flocking in droves. The network assists through the exchange of ideas, the ignition of trade through the development of strategic business contacts along with enhancing entrepreneurial skills for business success. It offers a vast range of membership, marketing and consulting services all designed to support women in their pursuits to succeed in their career and business.

Women’s Network ahead of its time in 1990
The success of Women’s Network Australia and its rapid growth is hardly surprising. Ahead of its time when first established back in 1990, the organisation is meeting the needs of a balanced lifestyle trend being chosen by thousands of women every year.

Women’s Network Australia offers both offline and online networking forums, events, strategic guidance and business tools assisting women across the country to turn their networks into their ladder for business success.

This year, Catherine Bolt walked away from a successful bridal & retail business to begin a quest of building an Indonesian orphanage and wildlife sanctuary.

Today, Catherine’s websites, Elements at Eumundi and her personal website fund and organise the Indonesian project.

Catherine (Cate) lives on a mountain in Eumundi, Queensland with husband Rick and nine children. She picked the name Eumundi out on a travel map, long before she ever visited there.  But she knew it was perfect for her family as soon as she visited there during 2008.  in January of 2009, Cate’s family moved from Victoria to Eumundi. They soon set about creating an organic, sustainable-living lifestyle.

Self-described as a writer, conservationist, photographer, humanitarian and mother of nine– Cate doesn’t do things by halves.  Past professions have included  journalist and magazine editor, small business owner,  night club bouncer, security guard and prison officer–  some of them at the same time!

Cate also built up a very successful bridal and specialist retail business, both bricks-and-mortar and online. During this time, she organised some of the largest weddings around Australia.

A seed planted

In 2009, a former employee, Damo, travelled to Cambodia and Vietnam, visiting orphanages and under-privileged communities there.  A seed was planted in Cate’s heart and mind.  

After supporting a friend through losing a child to coronary heart disease, Cate felt herself becoming increasingly frustrated with some of the ‘bridezillas’ she came across in her wedding business. Trivial concerns paled in comparison to those who were out there hurting.   Cate made the decision to have her friend and former employee, Carol, take over the business, and the Indonesian project was born.

Indonesia today has spiralling rates of HIV/AIDS, women and children are trafficked, tens of millions lack access to sanitation and clean water, street children are exploited and left to fend for themselves.

 3 million children work– and many work in dangerous jobs. And Indonesians are still recovering from the 2004 tsunami, as well as the  earthquakes and smaller tsunamis following in the years after 2004. (Source: At a glance: Indonesia  unicef.org)

Plans for a village, outreach programme and wildlife refuge

Together, Cate and husband Rick,plan to have a solar-powered village of 18 houses built on the island of Sumatra, each housing eight children and a house mother. The project will include an outreach programme, with a school and daily meal for local children.  There are 500,000 children living in crowded orphanges in Indonesia, most having parents who cannot afford to feed them.

A wildlife refuge is also planned, to aid in conserving at-risk wildlife such as the Sumatran tiger and orangutan.

Currently, Cate’s sustainable-living business has 50% of its profits funding the Indonesian project. Cate is also flat-out gathering material from anyone who’ll send some her way, and making goods to sell at market. 100% of the profits from these goods is funding the project. She’s also looking for lawyers and anyone who can help with legalities and practicalities of setting up the charity. Everyone can help Cate’s project in some way.

Visions of the future

You might call such huge projects a crazy dream. Certainly, Cate has had her share of detractors. It’s a funny thing about irrational vision—in the end it can achieve what rational thought cannot. Irrational vision is disruptive—it forces us to look at something that is outside of the way things are ‘normally done’.

Irrational thought can also be applied to business. Neuroscientists and the business world are discovering the power of irrational thinking processes. An idea that is irrational to one person may be extremely rational to the next person, and in a generation or so, that same idea may appear logical to most people. This article from the Harvard Business School quotes Yaron Kaufman: “Managers must be rational when it comes to planning, financing, operating and measuring business performance…. Irrational thinking is needed when you think about the question, ‘What’s next?‘ ”

‘What’s next?’ is a projection into the unknown.  It’s entrepreneurial.  Social entrepreneurs all over the world apply business-thinking that is outside the square, with forward-vision. Social entrepreneurs aim to provide solutions that aid the underprivileged of this world.

With new solutions, there’s a chance of either failure or gain. But if no one ever takes an excursion into the future, we’ll all stay stuck in the present.

 And we desperately need visions that improve our world and make it a better and fairer place for all.