Thought I would share a little bit about my background growing up. I was born in Richmond and at about 6 years old my parents bought a commission home in Upfield which was a new area of Broadmeadows.
After about 12 months my parents separated, so my older brother Russell and I were bought up by my mum as a single parent. Mum was on a single parent pension and stayed home to take care of my brother and I.
Money was often tight with my mum sometimes having to borrow money from the neighbours to buy bread and milk. Mum could sew so she often made our clothes to save money and sometimes made clothes for other people to get some extra cash. I remember getting a job at the local milk bar as soon as I was old enough to work so I could save to buy my own clothes as I really wanted Levi’s and Treads from the Surf Shop which were trending at that time.
I went to Form 4 the equivalent of Year 10 and did not really love school so decided to leave to try to get a hairdressing apprenticeship. I walked door to door up Sydney Road going to every hairdresser asking if they needed an apprentice and also checked the papers but had no luck (well except one guy who ushered me into a back room) so I had to get out of their fast! School holidays were over so my mum said I had to do something so I decided to go to Business College. I am not really sure why as I did not see myself as an office person doing shorthand and typing. My parents were paying for me to go to Dacomb College so I knew I had to pass and ended up passing with honors. Little did I know having touch typing skills would come in handy for my online business later on in life… I got my first job working for William Hunt Lawyers in the city as a legal secretary for his son Julian Hunt and also an article clerk. I enjoyed this job and working in the city but found I was always dreaming of travelling and decided to leave this job to work my way around Australia.
I left home in my HR Holden Station Wagon with $500 and no real plan but to work where ever I could and see Australia and experience life. I worked picking oranges, picking tomatoes, as a kitchen hand in a Chinese Restaurant, in a factory in Sydney and up in Northern Queensland I worked as a deck hand on fishing trawlers.
It was a great experience with lots of my friends and also my brother coming up to join me on different parts of my journey. I got as far as Cook Town but the corrugated roads took their toll on the HR Holden and I found myself heading for home as my car was not safe enough to cross the desert on my own.
Once I got home I decided to get a job and save to go overseas as I could travel Australia any time. I was not really that educated and did not come from a business background but I guess from a young age had determination to follow my dreams.
I believe if I can start a business at the age of 46 anyone can all you need is passion, grit, determination and a lot of hard work to follow your dreams...
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