Relativity: The Podcast for Women in Family Business

In our seventh and final episode of Season 1, we sit down with Besty Urtecho Jimenez, who is part of the third generation of a family business in education.Betsy's grandparents built a school named the Kingdom of Heaven after the scripture text “Let the little children come to Me; for of such is the kingdom of Heaven.”  Since she was a child working in different roles, she has been involved within the company and has experienced management succession; the succession process exposed complex family dynamics and individual relationships.Nevertheless, she thinks the company is her family’s legacy; that was her motivation to hold two bachelors, one in education and one in business. While she wanted to be more involved in the family business, she realized it was not yet her time and decided to step outside the schools to get more experience. Since then, she has worked in international companies performing business development management roles, participated in several Startup competitions, and continued to help the family business as an advisor. Tune into an episode that shares Betsy's unique perspective and experiences of navigating her role as a third generational family member of a successful Peruvian family business, and how she is supporting her family by focusing on her passions and skillsets as an advisor. 

  In our sixth episode, we sit down with Kim Tyrer is the CEO & Winemaker of Galafrey Wines. Galafrey was est in 1977 and Kim was born in 1978. A family business, her father passed away in 2003 when Kim was 25 years old. An only child, Kim steps into her father’s role as CEO & Winemaker. After a steep learning curve, and a few hurdles, Galafrey continues to be a strong and well-respected brand in the wine industry. Driven by pride and family history Kim market’s her wine through story and empowerment of place. Kim has strong leadership skills has sat on many boards throughout her career but currently is working her way up the wine judging circuit as an associate wine judge both at the Perth Wine Show and the Wine Show of Western Australia. Mother of an eleven-year-old boy and six-year-old girl, Kim is looking forward to her near future of further developing her skills as a winemaker, innovation in marketing and as a wine business and further leadership roles within the wine industry.

  In our fifth episode, we sit down with Carmen Ellis, founder of Majestic Whale Encounters. Carmen is the founder of Majestic Whale Encounters, an eco conscious tour company that takes guests swimming with whales and dolphins in different countries around the world. You’ll often find her swimming with the majestic humpbacks in Tonga and Tahiti or orcas in the fjords of Norway as well as many other stunning destinations. Majestic has created a ‘pay it forward’ scheme where a portion of each tour is donated towards helping communities, the animals and environments that are visited.    Carmen believes that if you want something, you should go for it… Life is too short to be left wondering. That drive has enabled her to live her dream of sharing this life changing experience with others.   With an endless respect for marine life, Carmen is involved in animal conservation. She is keen to share this passion with others so they may develop a deeper understanding of these beautiful, intelligent creatures. 

  In our fourth episode, we sit down with Esha Oberoi, CEO & Founder of AFEA, Award-winning Entrepreneur, Speaker, Self-Love Advocate, and Humanitarian. Esha Oberoi is the inspiring and dynamic CEO and Founder of AFEA Care Services, one of Australia’s successful private in-home aged and disability care service. Esha’s formative years were incredibly tough upon arriving in Australia as a young migrant at 7 years of age which created a host of mental health challenges throughout her teenage years. The turning point came for Esha when her father, alerted to the depths of her isolation and loneliness, stepped in to assist her in finding gainful employment. As a result, she began work as a Carer in a local nursing home. Energized by her mission to redefine the experiences of the most vulnerable people in our community, she launched Afea Care Services. She is now celebrating 12 years of family business working alongside her mother, father, and husband.  

  In our third episode, we sit down with Tracey Thompson, Managing Partner of Design Enviro Pty Ltd. with her husband. The company trades as Shutterflex and is recognised as an innovative leader in the design and manufacture of climate solutions for the construction industry. Prior to joining the business in 2007, Tracey worked as a Consultant and Project Manager in Educational Policy and Curriculum Design, contributing to the design and implementation of major Curriculum initiatives. She has held positions of President of the Australasian Teachers of Media and lecturer at QUT in Curriculum and Teaching practice. Her personal experience of the last thirteen years of the transition from a career in government policy to partnering with her husband in a family business has driven her desire to support other women working in family businesses. Tracey has a passion to promote the unique contribution women make to a business that has family and ethical practices at its heart and sees her involvement in WiFB Australia and New Zealand as an opportunity to achieve this and help women overcome the dynamics of family and business relationships that only a Family Business can provide.

  In our second episode, we sit down with Amanda Cassar, co-founder and sole Director of Wealth Planning Partners and author of Financial Secrets Revealed.  Amanda Cassar is a lover of travel, reading, music, movies and lifelong learning.  She is a financial adviser, holding a Master of Financial Planning and runs her two businesses, Wealth Planning Partners and Trusted Aged Care Services from her office on the Gold Coast, Australia.  She is also the current Australian Chair for the Million Dollar Round Table, the premier organisation for financial advisers around the world. Amanda runs a family business with both her adult children and sister-in-law working in the business, assisting clients Australia wide with their wealth creation and protection needs. When writing her book, Financial Secrets Revealed, she stumbled onto the phenomenon of financial abuse which has inspired her to design a course for financial advisers and professionals globally to become Financial Abuse Specialists™ in collaboration with UK firm, Standards International.

  In our first episode, we sit down with Clare Sheng: the owner of The Fitting Room on Edward and author of The Suit Book – Everything You Need to Know About Wearing a Suit. As a second-generation family business, The Fitting Room has been helping Brisbane men improve their look for over two decades. After a five year career as a pharmacist, Clare left her profession to take over her mother’s small clothing alterations service in 2011. Since then, she has grown the family business into a seven-figure operation, employing 15 staff, to become the largest alterations service in Queensland. Her clients include CEOs, politicians, major retailers, and influencers across many industries. Clare overcame racial and social prejudices, adopting innovative approaches to run this traditional business. In 2017, she won the Lord Mayor’s multicultural Young Business Person Award, Small Business Champion Award in Fashion, and a special mention in the Lord Mayor’s Business Innovation Award. Last week, Clare took to the stage at City Hall to perform at Dancing CEOs in front of 1,000 people and raised over $21,000 for Women’s Legal Service.

 

 

 

 

 

  In Coffee Catch-ups, the first season of Relativity, we are speaking with women from a wide range of family businesses. Their stories reflect the challenges and joys of navigating relationships with family members and their participation in the family business. Women play many critical roles within the family business, on the family and business sides alike. But again and again, we hear from the women we work with that these roles are often not understood or even recognised, especially when it comes to being the voice for the entire family—the family champion. We want this to change, so Coffee Catch-ups invites you into our stories as we provide a place for conversations about women’s lived experiences. We hope each story gives you points of connection, a different perspective, and plenty of laughs. Hosted by Susanne Bransgrove, founder and Managing Director of WIFBANZ, family business advisor, and third-generation member of a family business.