Northern beaches top business women reveal their tips for success
Here’s the Manly Daily’s pick of the top business women on the northern beaches, from the best performing real estate agent, an Instagram artist, to a fitness model.
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The Manly Daily has compiled a list of the top business women on the northern beaches.
They include leaders in real estate, social media, fitness and art, as well as corporate high flyers who are behind a number of successful large companies and corporations.
Be inspired by these amazing women who are leading the way in their industries.
LISA NOVAK
Lisa Novak runs Novak Properties with her husband Mark, heading a team of 50 employees. She was awarded 2020 REB Most Innovative Person in Real Estate and is currently the northern beaches’ top real estate seller.
She has spent most of her career behind the scenes at the northern beaches property business she runs with husband Mark.
In the 20 years since they first set up Novak Agency, now Novak Properties, in Dee Why, she’s been the marketing guru and the general manager.
Three years ago she moved across to sales with some innovative ideas on how to promote properties through social media.
Instead of the traditional advertising routes, she takes Facebook and Instagram followers on a virtual walk through the properties she is selling, often before they go on the market. It’s not about creating a slick video, it’s the raw footage which is what makes it work so well.
And, it’s netted her some great results.
She’s currently the top real estate seller out of 360 agents on the peninsula.
“I show real and raw, authentic content on my social media,” Ms Novak, 49, said.
“Sellers and buyers love it.”
She said Novak has always been at the forefront of innovation in real estate.
“Our office is a crazy dream we had many years ago. It’s a mix between an Apple store and a hotel.
“Clients love the office. We wanted it to be like when you welcome people into your home.”
She works hard, getting up at 5am to exercise and then not finishing until 10pm.
She has some non-negotiable quality hours with her two daughters during the day too and she uses the travel time in her car from her home in the eastern suburbs to conduct meetings on the phone or just to have a bit of downtime.
Ms Novak said the job isn’t about the commission for her but the emotional journey she takes with her clients and the satisfaction of being able to help them at a significant moment in their lives.
She said what excites her about business is disrupting the industry, being innovative and looking to the future.
“My husband and I are both crazy dreamers,” she said.
ALEXANDRA SLOANE
Alexandra Sloane is head of marketing at Facebook for New Zealand and Australia.
It was a job ad in the Manly Daily that helped get Alexandra Sloane on her successful career path.
That role was as a receptionist at an advertising agency and at the time she was juggling work with a degree.
She was soon hooked on the industry, loving the excitement, deadlines and creativity.
When she finished her studies she was offered a full-time job.
From there she progressed and was soon working with big brands including Toyota, Lexus and Telstra, before moving to New York where she was based on Madison Avenue dealing with global accounts such as Dell and Conrad Hotels and in charge of big budget TV commercials.
After she had her son, she returned to the northern beaches where she took up a role at Facebook. In the seven years she has worked for the company she has moved to Singapore, had a daughter, and is now back in Sydney.
She said maintaining her position in a fast changing digital world is all about being able to adapt to change.
“No three month period has been the same,” Ms Sloane said.
“That’s the fast driving nature of the industry, new products and innovation.
“Adapting is probably why I am still here.”
She said the biggest advice she could give someone trying to progress in business is to take on the most complex problem, the messiest, most difficult problem and solve it.
“That’s when we can have the most impact and where we can most learn,” she said.
“When it comes to career growth, the biggest growth comes from figuring out what has not been done before.
“At Facebook I get patted on the back as much for my learnings and my mistakes to reflect upon as much as my wins.”
She said women should also take control of their career path and own it.
“Look at a business plan, look at a career plan and have a life plan,” Ms Sloane said.
“Make sure you have goals and a sense of what a good life should look like in terms of work, family and spiritually, all parts of the human experience.”
Ms Sloane, 40, of Seaforth, said her work with the Manly Economic Recovery Taskforce, alongside James Griffin MP, has been rewarding and inspiring.
In that work she has helped small businesses learn how to utilise social media platforms for their business.
IRENE FALCONE
Irene Falcone, founder of Nourished Life, which she sold for $20m, has launched a new business Sans Drinks, which she predicts will turnover $10m in its first year.
She prides herself in being an industry disrupter.
Back in 2012 she started an online business selling natural, organic and sustainable beauty products called Nourished Life and using social media to spread the word.
At the time she wanted to prove that this type of beauty was the future, and although it was a huge challenge, it became a soaraway success.
She sold it five years later for $20m.
While she is still involved in that company, she has also founded a new business, Sans Drinks, a non-alcoholic beer, wine and spirits superstore in Brookvale, a sort of non-alcoholic version of Dan Murphy’s.
The mum-of-four who lives in Clontarf said it all started when she decided she wanted to ditch alcohol because it wasn’t making her feel good.
But she discovered it was hard to source good quality non-alcoholic drinks, so she decided to do it herself.
“I sold my $30,000 wine collection to buy stock and so I had somewhere to store it,” she said.
At first she thought she would run the business from the cellar at her home, but it grew quickly so she moved the stock to her garage, then a warehouse in Pittwater Rd and is now in a large warehouse in Powells Rd, Brookvale. This is since launching in October last year.
Ms Falcone, who has a solid background in marketing, believes success is down to being in love with what you’re selling.
“You can’t run a business unless you are in love with it,” she said. “It’s about passion.”
She also believes the northern beaches is a great place to launch a business because if people like what you do the word spreads quickly.
Already she has capitulated on opening hours increasing from Monday to Friday, to include Saturdays too.
While she ships all over Australia and New Zealand, she has received the majority of orders in FebFast – a campaign to encourage people to give up alcohol in the month of February – from the northern beaches.
“The northern beaches is the most advanced area of people,” she said. “Most of my customers are not sober, but want to be more mindful of their drinking habit.
“I feel good about what I’m doing, I’m helping people.”
ZOE DALY
Zoe Daly, is a fitness champion, model and online holistic lifestyle coach, with one million followers on Facebook and 190,000 on Instagram. She has built up a six figure annual turnover while studying full-time.
Fitness model Zoe Daly’s business began as a hobby back in 2011, after she was crowned Asia Pacific fitness champion.
She initially set up a Facebook profile to share her passion and knowledge of health and nutrition.
Since then it has evolved into a business and she has helped more than 3500 people from across 66 countries achieve their health goals.
The Newport-based businesswoman said she offers very personalised help for her clients and has had to adapt during COVID by being creative with how people can exercise in their own homes, even if they don’t have any equipment.
“This is my tenth year in business and I wouldn’t be in it still if I was a one-hit wonder,” she said.
“A lot of my clients come via word-of-mouth.
“I help people get their body and lifestyle in harmony and that doesn’t mean spending hours in the gym.
“Nutrition is everything, so is quality of life and reducing stress levels.”
She believes that anyone who wants to succeed in business needs to have a “true passion”.
“You need to understand the market you want to get into,” Ms Daly said.
“An online profile is essential for 99 per cent of all businesses.
“You need to back yourself and you need to be confident in the product of service you are delivering.”
Ms Daly said having suffered from the “tall poppy syndrome” in the past she now surrounds herself with like-minded positive people.
“The fitness industry can be a bit dog-eat-dog,” she said.
“It’s been tough because people have not always wanted me to succeed.
“But I surround myself with like-minded go-getters that are supportive and their energy is infectious.”
She is a qualified Master Trainer & Group Fitness Instructor, but now Ms Daly is nearing completion of a degree in nutrition and plans to start a new degree in medicine or law next year.
The ultimate goal down the line is politics.
“I feel like I have a purpose,” she said.
“I am passionate about health and fitness.
“What I have been through with social media and online bullying, I know what it takes to stand up to what’s wrong.”
JARIN BAIGENT
Jarin Baigent, owner of Jarin Street, at Warringah Mall, is an Aboriginal woman, supporting Aboriginal people’s art through her active wear clothing business.
Proud Wiradjuri woman and former police officer Jarin Baigent decided to set up a mainstream business based around supporting Aboriginal artists and their communities.
The 38-year-old who has lived on the northern beaches for the last decade, said she only works with Aboriginal artists, so people can be reassured of the authenticity of the art and that people are properly paid for their work.
“I was getting really frustrated about artists being exploited,” Ms Baigent said.
“It pushed me to be motivated to start my own business.”
She decided to create activewear and yoga mats with Aboriginal designs because she wanted to feel more connected to her culture when she exercised.
“I started yoga because I had a lot of injuries and I wanted to be kinder to my body,” Ms Baigent, a mum of three children, said.
“But I felt uncomfortable doing yoga which is not part of my culture.
“I needed something to connect it back to my own culture.”
She said the mats and clothing also help those who are not Aboriginal to also
connect with the land of the First Nations people.
Customers have told her rolling out one of her mats in a yoga class always starts a conversation, which is positive too.
As well as clothing and sportswear brand, Ms Baigent is also the founder of Trading Blak, which supports businesses that are 100 per cent Aboriginal owned. The products are stocked in her shop in Warringah Mall too.
“It gives people confidence they are buying directly from Aboriginal businesses and the money is going back to Aboriginal communities,” Ms Baigent said.
“It’s about standing firm in creating a sustainable economic forum.
“We don’t need people doing it for us, we can run it for ourselves.”
Ms Baigent said one of the reasons why she went into business was to pass what she learns onto her children.
“This idea of intergenerational wealth is not a concept for Aboriginal people,” she said.
“That’s what I want for my kids.
“I’m a bit like a bulldog with the things that I have learned and want to pass onto my children.”
Ms Baigent admits after 12 years as a police officer, it was tricky moving from a government job to the world of business.
“My advice on starting a business is just start,” she said. “Stop thinking about it. “Whatever you don’t know you will learn along the way.
“Try and seek out good mentors where you can and forge trustworthy relationships.”
She also said women should back themselves.
“Where I’d come from (the police force) was totally dominated by men,” Ms Baigent said.
“Stepping into my own power and strength as a Wiradjuri woman and standing strong, was a challenge at first.”
SARAH GRATTAN
Sarah Grattan, is the Chief Operations Officer at Unicef Australia and a councillor on Northern Beaches Council.
After finishing a degree in economics and law Sarah Grattan worked for top-tier consulting firm LEK Consulting, before moving to Sydney Airports Corporation to assist with privatisation.
She then did a stint lecturing at the International College of Management, Sydney, working closer to home while she started a family.
She also started her own consultancy firm The Grattan Strategy.
She still has her own business, but now also works for Unicef, as the chief operations officer, in charge of finance, strategy, risk governance, systems and legal.
Upon joining the charity she “blew up” all the old systems at once and changed everything.
It was a major digital transformation project which came just in time, as it ensured they were able to work remotely when COVID hit.
“We did it on time, under budget,” Ms Grattan said.
“We didn’t have to spend millions like big corporations do.”
She said her job is rewarding and she is learning so much from the board which has many inspirational and talented business leaders including Ann Sherry.
Ms Grattan said her career “has been about opportunities coming up and going with it and backing myself”.
“When I started in business I knew nothing about IT,” she said.
“Now I’m managing IT teams.
“It’s about asking the right questions, being open minded and thinking ahead.
“One of my super powers is that I am a fast learner.”
Ms Grattan said self-confidence plays a major part of being successful in business.
“Guys think, ‘I can do 20 per cent of this job that will be fine’, while women think, ‘There’s 10 per cent of that job I can’t do’.
“I’m guilty of that. But you have to give things a try, do your best and you will get there.”
She said her work on council involves forming strategy for the next 20 years.
“I’m the councillor that delves into finance to make sure we are not going down the Central Coast Council route for example,” Ms Grattan said.
She said her husband Paul was a CEO and is now a full time at home caring for their three girls while she works.
“My husband makes all this possible,” she said.
“He was a CEO a number of years ago while I was at home with the kids. He says that was his time and now this is my time.”
AMY SMITH
Amy Smith is the founder of Amy’s Puppy Preschool, which saw a huge increase in new clients during COVID.
Before she set up her own business, Amy Smith was in event management.
While it was a good job, she wasn’t happy.
After some prompting from her brother who said she really should do something she felt passionate about, she took the plunge.
With a lifetime of loving animals behind her, she chose to follow her passion and open a puppy training school.
That was 11 years ago.
What stood her apart at the time was that she embraced Facebook as a tool to engage with customers and hasn’t looked back.
She said social media allowed clients to get to know her before signing up and it also helped to promote the business. Now she’s on Instagram too and provides good content, including live Q&A sessions on her pages covering all sorts of doggie-related issues which customers love.
Her two dogs Brian, a briard, aged three, and Calvin, an 18-month-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel have also got on the social media bandwagon with their own Instagram account and have a growing number of fans.
Due to demand Ms Smith, 41, of Mona Vale, now contracts two other businesses to help with training.
They also offer additional services to her customer base, such as home consults and adolescent classes.
While many businesses suffered during COVID, Ms Smith was inundated with new customers as people rushed out to buy a puppy.
Bearing in mind the country was in lockdown, she had to move her whole operation online.
She was able to move quickly and the result was that she attracted lots of local clients, but also picked up ones all across Australia and even overseas.
The business is now back to face-to-face, but there’s a strong online element too which Ms Smith plans to build on.
She said she’s branching out with prerecorded online content. One prerecorded online course she already offers is for those preparing for a puppy.
Meanwhile, her puppy training classes continue to grow.
“We are seeing close to 100 puppies a month which is insane,” Ms Smith, 41, of Mona Vale said.
“I’m about to take on a new trainer.”
She said her best advice to anyone going into business is to align yourself with good people in the industry and “get yourself out on social media” and have an online presence.
“People want to feel like they know you,” she said.
“If they can see a friendly face, it’s where they want to be.
“We are a generation of screen watchers.
“People are happy to watch something on a screen, they don’t want to have to sit down and read.”
Of course, it is also essential to love what you do.
“Who could ever complain about working with puppies?” she said.
CHARLOTTE RIMMER
Charlotte Rimmer is the president of the Manly Business Chamber and founder of Aide de MD, supporting and advising people in business.
A good work ethic is what Charlotte Rimmer believes has helped her get where she is today.
It might explain how she went from a temp receptionist at Chanel in London to assistant manager within a year.
Now the 56-year-old from North Manly runs her own business mentoring others.
She said when she first started out women were regarded quite differently in the world of business.
She said at Chanel women had to wear stockings to work and men were not allowed to have beards.
She said all the directors were men and all the managers were women.
Now she says she is seeing more female directors, but still not enough.
Ms Rimmer said navigating having children and working was the trickiest moment for her in her career.
“All of a sudden I was at home where I was totally out of my depth as a mother,” she said.
“I had a baby who did not want to do what I wanted it to do.”
She said it was a struggle to balance both roles and she would “cry all the way to work on the ferry because she was leaving her baby and cry all the way back home” because she was missing meetings to rush home for her child.
Ms Rimmer’s advice to young females wanting to succeed in their career is to find what they love and follow their passion and always keep working on self-improvement.
Her advice to businesses struggling due to the pandemic is that it is going to be tough, but with a “good community and a positive attitude we will get there”.
“The future is bright,” she said.
ANN WHITELOCK
Ann Whitelock, head of the scholarship program at the International College of Management, Sydney.
There have been many twists and turns in Ann Whitelock’s career so far, from running a motel and then a video and DVD store business, to having a key role in education at the International College of Management, Sydney, based in Manly.
She said there have been many challenges along the way including getting “her hands dirty with refurbishments” and turning a failing business around.
But she said to be successful in business you need to take the plunge and get things done.
“You have to have a go,” Ms Whitelock said.
“You can always fail, but getting out of your comfort zone is where you see growth.”
She remembers a time when she had to regularly commute from Sydney to Melbourne and only one in 10 of those travelling in executive suits were women.
She said while that number has now changed, there are still many women of talent who are not getting the top jobs.
She encouraged people to ask others who are doing well to share their knowledge and for women starting out not to be afraid to ask for help.
“Any young woman who has a voice, a passion or a love for something should back themselves and go and talk to other women, find some role models,” Ms Whitelock said.
“We need to encourage other young women and create a chain.”
She said her biggest piece of advice on being successful in business is learning how to sell.
“If you can get over that first cold call barrier and have some success in that then you’re on your way,” she said.
“That’s one of the basic principles of doing business.
“Amazing things can come out of that including creating incredible networks and relationships.”
SOPHIE TERRY
Sophie Terry – or Sophie Tea as she is better known – is a viral Instagram artist with a business degree, who uses her business brain to make money from art. Last year her annual turnover was about $2.3m. This year she has already hit that figure.
Artist Sophie Tea specialises in nude paintings and plenty of them.
Originally from the UK, the 28-year-old is now living in Manly with her partner.
But her business is global.
With an Instagram following of 171,000, she can live anywhere in the world.
Doing things differently, she has shunned the traditional route of selling work through an art gallery because they take a huge slice of the sale.
Instead she advertises her work via social media.
She posts great content, including videos of her painting, and interacts with her followers.
“I have an authentic casual presence online and I involve everyone in the process,” she said.
“When I wanted to start painting nudes I asked my followers for nude pictures of themselves and I got 1000 overnight.”
She currently has a shop in Manly’s CBD and a studio in Brookvale. Eventually she will close the shop and just work out of the new studio.
She also has a store in uber trendy Carnaby St, London.
Along with nudes – a large one can command a price of $11,000 – Sophie Tea is also known for her funky heart images painted on rose coloured mirrors.
She said the secret of her success is to produce work that is popular and affordable.
She also does hearts prints. On Valentine’s Day she sold 300, the cheapest is priced at $1000.
She also allows people to purchase on a payment plan, which opens her work to a market which traditionally has never been able to afford art.
She said most of her sales are in the UK, where she employs five people.
In Australia she employs six people, but is looking to increase that to eight.
“At school you’re taught art is a fun class and a hobby, but you’re never going to make any money from it,” Ms Terry said.
“As artists we have the power with social media.
“You don’t need to go to a fancy art school.
“You just need to believe you can do it, put your work out there and not be afraid.”
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