In our Future-Thinkers Leaders spotlight this week is Sarah Thornton, co-Founder of the Finders Keepers, Australia’s largest community of designers and makers.  Having now led Australia's largest design community and her rockstar team for nearly 15 years, please captaining her events business through 2-year pandemic, Sarah knows that her introverted nature is her absolute superpower in leadership.

In this conversation, we chat about how it is through owning her introverted nature that Sarah can be the best leader she can be, and that it’s her superpower in strong + empathetic leadership.  She doesn’t shy away from the hard stuff and we talk through the importance of critical conversations, her best advice for this starting their leadership journey, and the traits she believes essential for longevity in leadership. 

-

Loving the poddy and hungry for more? Awesome.  Be sure to follow me on Insta for daily nuggets of wisdom, and MAKE SURE you subscribe to our newsletter, to get plenty of weekly bonus bits you won’t find here on the podcast…theownerscollective.com

Need a kickstart?

Download my free guide to starting and scaling your business over at theownerscollective.com/startandscale

There are 3 things you should know if you want to stay relevant in the rapidly-changing consumer market. Firstly, Gen Z now makes up 40% of global consumers, and 9 in every 10 Gen Z consumers believe companies have a responsibility to address environmental and social issues. Not only that,  but more than two-thirds of consumers worldwide say they would switch, avoid, or boycott brands based on their stance on controversial issues.

Put simply, if you want to grow your audience and your business moving forward, you need to make some conscious-decisions around your impact.

In this episode, I’m diving deep on why purpose-led leaders will come out on top in 2022, and just how to go about it!

—

Loving the poddy and hungry for more? Awesome.  Be sure to follow me on Insta for daily nuggets of wisdom, and MAKE SURE you subscribe to our newsletter, to get plenty of weekly bonus bits you won’t find here on the podcast…theownerscollective.com

Need a kickstart?

Download my free guide to starting and scaling your business over at theownerscollective.com/startandscale

Having hustled up investors Sheree had created one of the most vibrant female-led co-working spaces in Australia with a vision to expand across Australia and into the US. But throw in a  pandemic and Sheree had to pivot her model quickly. 

Closing down her physical space, letting go of her team, and starting from ground zero, Sheree set out to take her community online.  Fast forward to today and Sheree has a lean and mighty team that leads a fast-growing community of female entrepreneurs and leaders across Australia (and beyond).

In today’s poddy episode Sheree and I discuss:

• The rise and fall of One Roof as the ‘go-to’ female-led co-working space in Melbourne
• The mistakes Sheree made in hiring, and what she now knows to avoid
• Doubling down on a remote team for maximum productivity and flexibility 
• Sheree’s passion in bringing female entrepreneurs together toad offering them a smorgasbord of support

…..

Loving the poddy and hungry for more? Awesome.  Be sure to follow me on Insta for daily nuggets of wisdom, and MAKE SURE you subscribe to our newsletter, to get plenty of weekly bonus bits you won’t find here on the podcast…theownerscollective.com

Need a kickstart?

Download my free guide to starting and scaling your business over at theownerscollective.com/startandscale

As business owners big and small we have a monumental role in creating the future we want to live in.  Every single business creates an impact, from the way you treat your staff to the toilet paper you put in the bathroom.  Big or small we need to be conscious about each of the touchpoints of our business and make future-thinking decisions based on people, planet and profit.

It all begins with leadership. 

In today's podcast I'm covering:

• Why we need purpose-led leaders now more than ever
• The essential elements to embed into your leadership
• How purpose-led businesses are growing three times faster than regular businesses
• The buy-in Get Y and Get Z are showing in electing companies that consider people and planet
• Essential leadership traits you need to embody as a purpose-led leader
• Systems to streamline to support and scale your team and mission

Loving the poddy and hungry for more? Awesome.  Be sure to follow me on Insta for daily nuggets of wisdom, and MAKE SURE you subscribe to our newsletter, to get plenty of weekly bonus bits you won’t find here on the podcast…theownerscollective.com

Need a kickstart?

Download my free guide to starting and scaling your business over at theownerscollective.com/startandscale

Andrew Van De Beek the founder of Illuminat8, where they’re known for pushing the boundaries in their cloud-based, advisory-lead accounting firm. 

If you're totally confused about your numbers or don't know what you don't know - this episode is a MUST!

Andrew is a gun. Why? Because he believes that the days of just doing the books and filing tax returns are gone. Accountants of today and tomorrow need to be more and do more.  With this approach, Illumin8 have won multiple accounting industry awards and saw Andrew named as Australia’s accounting industry Thought Leader of the Year.

In this episode we cover:

• The essential structures needed to set up to start operating a business in Australia
• Whether new business owners need an accountant / bookkeeper or both
• What people should look for in an Accountant when they’re starting out
• Some of the biggest oversights people make when it comes to accounting & finances in new businesses
• Andrew's top 3 systems or tips to put into place in our first year of business?
• How often should new businesses be reporting & checking in on their accounts

We're featuring this episode to introduce our Business 101 Series to celebrate the release of our Launching Legends program, which is our essential Business Basics course covering everything from business setup and systems through to making money and marketing - so that you startup the right way.

For more details on our launching Legends program head to https://theownerscollective.com/launchinglegends and use the code PODCASTFRIENDS to grab $20 off!

Bonnie Paterson is an entrepreneur, business owner and Instagram marketing specialist who founded Isla Social, a multi-service digital marketing agency to give women the tools to succeed online.

If you're just starting out, or need some serious direction on social media, this episode is for you. ​ Bonnie helps us break down what's involved in starting a business on social media and how to set up your Instagram for success.

​We dive in to:

• ​The social channels to focus on as a business when you are starting out.
• ​Bonnie’s top tips for setting up a business profile on Instagram.
• ​How often should we be posting on Instagram.
• ​Key stats & metrics we should be tracking each month.
• ​Bonnie’s favourite apps to use to streamline your social media scheduling.

We're featuring this episode to introduce our Business 101 Series to celebrate the release of our Launching Legends program, which is our essential Business Basics course covering everything from business setup and systems through to making money and marketing - so that you startup the right way.

For more details on our launching Legends program head to https://theownerscollective.com/launchinglegends and use the code PODCASTFRIENDS to grab $20 off!

Looking to build a team, or make your first hire?

​This week we welcome Paula Maidens to teach us all about building the right team for our business.

​Paula's previous role as Director at a global recruitment firm in London saw her managing big clients with big dollars.  Within this role, she experienced complex challenges and difficult transitions, with lots of those difficult conversations that no one likes to have.

Paula realised that these hiring issues were not limited to big business, so she returned to Australia and now helps entrepreneurs and small business owners become inspiring leaders, and build incredible teams.

In conversation we dive into:

• ​The biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make when it comes to building their team.
• Paula’s step by step process to bringing on a new hire.
• ​Should you hire friends in your business?
• How to conduct a great job interview plus her go to questions!
• The 6 pillars for building an awesome team.
• Paula’s top leadership tips.

As Paula mentions on the podcast, even if you think now is not the right time to hire, it's great to start planning well ahead of time.

---

This episode is part of our Business 101 Series to celebrate the release of our Launching Legends program - our essential Business Basics course covering everything from business setup and systems through to making money and marketing - so that you startup the right way.

For more details on our launching Legends program head to https://theownerscollective.com/launchinglegends and use the code PODCASTFRIENDS to grab $20 off!

Rachel Mounsey is a lawyer, small business owner, entrepreneur and creative, who combines her skills and passions to help conscientious, creative businesses to legally protect ALL of their hard work, so they have the comfort, clarity and confidence to scale for long term success.

In this podcast, we discuss the importance of legal at every stage of your business. We dive into the issues Rachel sees in start-up & scale-ups, and the things we can put in place today to mitigate our risk.

Legal doesn’t have to be dry or boring! We love Rachel’s approach and how she turns legal from being scary & confusing to digestible and doable!

We dive into:

• Our mindset around legal for our business, and why it’s so important.
• The non-negotiable legal requirements for businesses.
• The most common legal issues that emerge in start ups 
• The most common legal issues that emerge in scale ups
• Examples of legal issues businesses are faced, and what we can do to mitigate the risk.
• Things you can implement today to protect yourself & your business.

We're featuring this episode to introduce our Business 101 Series to celebrate the release of our Launching Legends program, which is our essential Business Basics course covering everything from business setup and systems through to making money and marketing - so that you startup the right way.

For more details on our launching Legends program head to https://theownerscollective.com/launchinglegends and use the code PODCASTFRIENDS to grab $20 off!