Every start-up business owner has to overcome hurdles in pursuit of their dream. In this 21st year of the Telstra Business Women’s Awards we speak to a previous recipient – a female entrepreneur – about how she realised her dream despite the difficulties.
With very little experience in marketing, all Annalise knew was that she wanted to build a business on making people happy. After she launched The Kanga Group, it quickly became a leading promotional products company and was responsible for Australia’s largest ever order of promotional products – the Australian Government’s ‘Be Alert But Not Alarmed’ fridge magnets.
Annalise now has offices in the UK, Sydney, Hong Kong and Manila, and affiliations through the USA – and offers around the clock, international services supplying anything with a company logo on it. Her business is definitely a success and we’re pretty sure, around the world, she’s made a lot of people happy at the same time.
We asked Annalise for her three top tips for women launching their own business. She didn’t hesitate in telling us:
“Have a vision. It doesn’t have to be anything earth-shattering but there needs to be something there that you can focus on because a vision gives you focus”, she followed up with “Don’t give up your day job until you’ve started your business and its working – particularly if you’re going to rely on it for income”, and finally “Don’t listen to what the nay-sayers tell you because if you think you can do it, and you back yourself, you can probably do it.”.
Great advice Annalise – thank you!
About the Telstra Business Women’s Awards
It’s Australia’s longest-running celebration of Business If you would like to nominate an Australian business woman who has pushed boundaries and achieved excellence, The Telstra Business Women’s Awards nominations are open now until 29 June 2015 at womensawards.com or by calling 1800 817 536.
- New awards categories have been added this year recognising that brilliant business women come from across all sectors. The 2015 Telstra Business Women’s Awards six Awards categories include:
- Start Up (owns minimum 25 per cent; business under three years old);
- Entrepreneur (owns minimum 25 per cent; business more than three years old);
- For Purpose and Social Enterprise (delivers positive social/environment change as its core mission; includes not for profit and social ventures);
- Government and Academia (government departments; educational institutions; statutory bodies);
- Corporate and Private (employed by the organisation); and
- Young Business Women (under 29 as at 30 June 2015).
Have you started your own business? What’s the best advice you have been given? Share it with us below…
