Feature: Choose to challenge -- Aussie businesswomen share experiences on International Women's Day

2021-03-08 05:35:09 GMT2021-03-08 13:35:09(Beijing Time) Xinhua English

SYDNEY, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The theme for the International Women's Day this year is Choose to Challenge. At an event held in Sydney on Monday, Australian women with successful local businesses shared their experiences and feelings in the hope of inspiring more women and encouraging them to embrace new opportunities.

Sarah Cummings is the co-founder of a digital health startup Teach Ted, an online resource to help children cope with major event changes in their lives. She told Xinhua she started the business because of her kids.

Both having children in medical condition, she met her co-founder in the children's hospital and found there were few books or apps parents could use to help their children be prepared for exams and surgeries.

"I'd never been to hospital except to have babies. Although I could teach my kids through playgroup about learning through play, I couldn't help them through this because I didn't know what was going to happen," she said.

"So basically, what we're doing is we work with hospitals and with other childhood educators to get all of that specialist information, and make it available to parents in a way that's really easy for them to apply with no background knowledge. It's reducing anxiety through expectation, management and play," Cummings said.

Same with Cummings, the family element also brought small business advisor Katherine Blizard into her own business.

"I grew up in business so business was always in my blood, and it was only natural for me to want to start a business. So at 18 I started my very first business, and I never stopped from there," Blizard told Xinhua.

Running businesses for more than 30 years, Blizard was quite successful in operating businesses related to local communities such as cafes and book stores. In her opinion, women are good at building relationships with people, which could help them start a business in local communities.

"Women are very transparent and caring by nature. In business, I feel that women do tend to go well, because they've built relationships with customers already. I think that really helps them get through these sorts of things," said Blizard.

Kevin Greene, mayor of the Georges River Council in south Sydney which held the event, told Xinhua that women engaging in businesses is very encouraging and positive for local communities.

"We've got some magnificent women in the community who are running businesses, and they bring a great perspective to the business environment ... I think we're very fortunate in our community to have many women who set such a fine example. They'll be great role models and mentors for other women in the community," Greene said.

The local government area of the council is home to more than 16,000 businesses, providing approximately 55,000 local jobs, of which 54.1 percent are female.

However, running a business doesn't always mean success, especially for women. Cummings said some people were skeptical that her idea could make a successful and profitable business. Blizard added that it takes time, money, energy and sacrifice to build up a business, and women have to balance the role of family, kids and business.

"I was always very ambitious. I did put family first. I always put business first. I love my children. I raised them. I was there for them. I was there for dinner, for parent-teacher interviews, but I wasn't there every day. But at my son's 21st (birthday) many years ago, when he spoke to his friends through this speech, he mentioned his mother and how hard-working his mother was and how he learned to work hard because his mother showed him," Blizard said.

With some acquaintance coming to her in seek of suggestions for starting and running a business, Blizard also realized her experiences might be a help to more women.

"I had the opportunity from my parents to start. I learned a lot from my family. I just want to help other people achieve their dream, and start that dream on the right foot, because sometimes people have a dream of starting a business, but they don't have experience, and that is very risky. I do want them to succeed because it's important that we fulfill our dreams," she said. Enditem

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