Women's Network Australia - From the CEO's Desk

Dear Guest,

This week Australia and the world lost a true champion and "the happiest man on earth" - Eddie Jaku at 101 years old. Born in Germany, Jaku had experienced true adversity and horror when he lost his whole family to the Holocaust atrocities but managed to survive and keep living with love in his heart. He came to Australia to establish a new life and was blessed with a wonderful wife and family. He was an inspiration and joy to the many individuals and communities who he shared his story with and was a true example that hope and love will always triumph over hate and greed. I have watched his Ted Talk multiple times and I encourage you to take 12 minutes of your day to absorb his wisdom and generosity of spirit.

I have also been enjoying the rain we have been receiving in Brisbane over the last week and I hope all our wonderful farmers and rural landholders are seeing the benefit too. Rainy weather is a great time for reading and I hope you have been able to find a few new books to indulge your inspiration in. I have particularly been enjoying Holly Ransom's - The Leading Edge and Liane Moriarty's - Apples Never Fall. Two fantastic Australian role models in their respective industries!

Great reminder too that our Humble Leaders Book has been gracing homes and minds nationally. The book launches were exemplary, our twelve leaders' stories have been inspiring to read in person and we are keen to keep spreading the humble leader message. If you need an idea for a Christmas or birthday gift, then WNA's collaboration book could be just the perfect fit! Purchase a copy or copies of the Humble Leaders book here.

Thank you to Katrena Friel for hosting a terrific writing workshop yesterday in Brisbane - your insider knowledge and tips for our budding writers were informative and thought-provoking. I hope it inspired many of our members to write their own style of book! And Brisbane Business Hub - thank you for your superb hospitality, as always, and hosting us at your venue.

Thank you to Shine Business Women for your support of WNA and my personal story from a young rural upbringing to the bright lights of Brisbane and my various career pursuits. I am proud of how far WNA has come and how we have positively adapted during the pandemic challenges - leading from the front at WNA has been one of my proudest career achievements. If you would like to learn a bit more, check out the interview here.

With Christmas on the horizon and hopefully a bit of freedom and travel, don't forget to share details of your business and special offers and deals with our WNA members and friends who might be keen to access them over the next few months. Our WNA Facebook Group is always a great place to connect, learn, and lead as well!

Finally, I found a great article on how you can support your staff unity and morale, and National Mental Health Month is in full swing with some great resources made available to support you at this time. Also I've included a book that will intrigue our quiet achievers and added a beautiful quote to inspire you this week.

As always, I am open to your feedback and only ever a phone call away.

Stay safe and well this week and reach out if you need.

Janelle Bostock

CEO of Women's Network Australia

BUSINESS INSIGHTS VIRTUAL SERIES

Episode Five of our Business Insights

Virtual Series is on Tuesday 9 November from

12.00pm to 1:00pm. This session features Erin van Nieuwkuyk of Goddess Natural Perfume who wants women to truly know their worth!

Read more and book!

CHRISTMAS CHARITY LUNCHEON - BRISBANE - 25 NOVEMBER

WNA invites you to "Dare to Dream" and support a great cause at our annual WNA Christmas Charity Luncheon. We will be proudly supporting the great work of Women's Legal Service Queensland who provide an important free legal service for women and children experiencing domestic violence. Fingers crossed it is looking positive for possible border openings and we would love to see you there!

Book your tickets

Our early bird prices are currently available, so be sure to book your seat now and lock the event in your calendar. Please bring along your friends, sisters, mothers and work colleagues to experience a relaxed and joyous day! Early bird single tickets are $165.00 and tables of 10 are $1600.00 - please click here for more information.

Sponsorship opportunities

We have been grateful over the years for the fantastic partnerships and sponsorships which have ensured this event is exceptional. If you are keen to support us this year, why not align your brand with the Charity Luncheon and be recognised as one of our valued sponsors! Please contact WNA Head Office today if you are keen to be involved. Thank you to those who have already committed. Preparations are going along nicely and we are grateful for everyone who has engaged their support so far.

WNA is pleased to introduce our EVENT PARTNER for our 2021 - KLM Solicitors!

Returning for a second year as our Event Partner, KLM Solicitors and Managing Partner Kelli Martin are committed to the prevention of domestic and family violence in our community. In fact, they are long-term supporters of our charity partner Women's Legal Service Queensland.

Since 2015, KLM Solicitors has provided clients with honest, down-to-earth and quality legal representation specialising in family law, criminal law and domestic violence matters. Having started with just one office in Nundah, Kelli has since added offices in Cleveland, Maroochydore and Brisbane CBD with a team of almost 30.

We are honoured to have KLM Solicitors as our Event Partner and look forward to continuing our relationship with them going forward.

Prize donations

If you have any products or services that you would be keen to offer WNA for contribution towards our raffle prizes and goodie bags, we would love to hear from you! Please contact our team to discuss in more detail!

WRAP UP OF BUSINESS INSIGHTS VIRTUAL SERIES EPISODE 4

Big thanks to Bronwyn Condon of Marsh & Partners for joining us via Zoom on Tuesday 12 October for a session all about MONEY!

Bronwyn took us through the stages of business, got us talking about the need to have operating expenses tucked away and the need to plan for succession.

If you missed the session, you can still sign up to receive the recording of this one and previous sessions, as well as registering for our next Business Insights Virtual Series on 9 November by clicking here.

Keeping your business spirits and morale high

Business owners and their staff have been working overtime to keep the lights on, keep customers happy and engaged, keep the bills paid, and even more importantly in a world that has been amplified by lockdowns, it's been important to keep a remote workforce engaged. I have enjoyed the Zoom coffees at WNA, the virtual webinars with all of the fantastic insights and wisdom from our WNA members, and we have pivoted and grown over the last 18 months but I must admit keeping spirits high has been challenging. I loved a recent article by Carly Shamgar who addresses this topic specifically - How to connect, reward and incentivise staff in a small business. Her tips are simple and achievable and I thought a few might help in your businesses:

Conduct a survey of your employees to see what they value - flexibility of work hours, training and professional development, a nice lunch out at a restaurant, a coffee shout or two.
Dedicate time to a specific activity - weekly, monthly, quarterly is great but lock it in your calendars - I like the cooking night over Zoom and more virtual water cooler chats!
Show your appreciation of their hard work with kind gestures - write a digital thank you card or recognise effort and achievement in your virtual team meetings.

A little investment is worth it to ensure your team are happy, working together collaboratively, your team culture is positive and trustworthy, and most importantly your people are engaged with your business.

Taking care of yourself and your loved ones this month

Many of us are experiencing continued challenges due to the ongoing pandemic and with National Mental Health Month upon us, it's a good time to reflect and make sure you are supporting your own health and wellbeing. This year's theme is about fostering recovery and resilience and the team at Mental Health Foundation Australia are working hard to ensure the positive and purposeful messages cut through.

There are various events happening around Australia and online which may be helpful for you.

Download the Events Calendar here

I know I have been employing many of the wellbeing tips available including prioritising my sleep, trying a meditation practice when I have a spare moment, taking afternoon and morning walks to keep me moving, and checking in with my family and friends.

Download the Wellbeing Calendar which has great tips to support your wellbeing.

Insights from a Quietly Powerful Leader

Megumi Miki, author of Quietly Powerful, has always been an quiet achiever and through various trials and tribulations throughout her own corporate career was left questioning her quiet and humble leadership style. She took things into her own hands and decided to write a book to help other quiet leaders embrace their style and own brand of leadership. The book is packed with valuable advice not only for quietly powerful professionals who wish to leverage their talent, but also for organisations to understand how to support and foster leadership roles for those wonderful people amongst them who are humble, quiet and altruistic. Quality leadership in all aspects of life will only be built more effectively when we embrace a diversity of leadership styles in a world that currently exalts extroversion and overconfidence.

The book is available in hardback and online, and Megumi also has a webinar series - Calm in Chaos - that is fantastic for all listeners.

Connect with Women's Network Australia

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