Albury-Wodonga’s top 8 business women
There are plenty of amazing business women in Albury-Wodonga, and we’ve compiled the top eight who are making moves in the business world. See the full list.
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We all love a strong, independent woman, and Albury-Wodonga is full of amazing business women doing great things in the community.
The Albury Wodonga News has compiled a list of the twin cities’ top seven female small business owners.
Renee Williams, The Real Florist
When Renee Williams started The Real Florist in 2018 doing weddings on the weekend, it was just a little online operation based out her kitchen as a side gig to her day job in a pharmacy.
But in just three months the popular business had already outgrown those digs, and the family to a house with a shed she could turn into a work space.
Fast forward 12 months, and even that wasn’t big enough.
So in July this year, she bit the bullet and opened her own shop front at The Real Florist’s current location on Swift St.
Renee said it was her dad and her grandfather who inspired her to become a florist.
“My grandfather used to say I was a beautiful flower and my dad owned a small nursery when he was bringing us up,” she said.
“I was working in a pharmacy but I had done a floristry apprenticeship and was doing flowers on the side.
“I’d been doing floristry for about seven years after my apprenticeship, and I just decided it was time to make it a full time gig.”
Brandi Lee, Rock my Frock
With a passion for fashion she developed while working as a makeup artist for runway shows in Melbourne, Brandi Lee wanted to bring a taste to Albury-Wodonga, opening her designer dress hire business Rock my Frock.
Brandi provides an outfit hiring service for women attending events such as weddings, or the races, and hopes to grow to include school formals in the future.
Rock my Frock launched in November 2019 after Brandi combined her love of clothing with a belief that the industry needed to be more sustainable.
“I wanted to bridge the gap between city fashions and regional fashions,” she said.
“I thought the best way to do that was to bring designer hire.
“By the time you a whole outfit together it can be quite expensive, so we’re significantly reducing the costs of the dress and accessories.
“But the number one thing for me in sustainability, rather than having a wardrobe full of dresses that are just sitting there, they can hire a dress they can just wear once.”
DEE MCGEE, DASH ESPRESSO BAR AND CAKE BITES
After being a pastry chef for 17 years, Dee McGee started Dash Espresso Bar and Cake Bites four years ago.
In January this year, Dee more than doubled the space of the cafe located on AMP lane.
As well as being a pastry chef, Dee has been a barista for a number of years and is passionate about good coffee.
Beside the cafe, she also runs Dash Cakes, a custom cake making business.
Carmen Connell, Dash Espresso Bar and Cake Bites
After working in real estate admin Carmen Connell decided it was time for a change, joining Dee McGee as co-owner of Dash Espresso Bar and Cake Bites in January this year when the businesses expanded.
As well as working alongside Dee in the cafe, Carmen also brings her own work to the cake making business.
“We do everything from a small 6-inch cake for a work birthday, up to a four tier wedding cake,” Carmen said.
“Dee has an amazing ability with butter creams.
“I’m more of a traditionalist with fondant cakes and wedding cakes and cutesy kids cakes. It gives us a broad range.
Desiree Georgiou, Fashion Fingers
Fashion Fingers just celebrated its 15th birthday, after Desiree Georgiou established the business to follow her passion for making people feel good about themselves.
When she first kicked the business off, Desiree was working as a mobile beautician, before renting a small space at a hair salon, and then growing the business to the size that she needed her own space.
Fashion Fingers is now located on Smollett St in Albury, and employs five staff, providing waxing, tanning, nails, and skin treatments.
“I loved making people feel good about themselves, and this was the perfect industry to do that,” Ms Georgiou said.
“People come in if they’ve had a bad day, and sometimes its more than just about giving them a skin treatment, it’s about helping people with their mental health as well.”
Carly Carr, Back on Track Physiotherapy
Co-owner of Back on Track Physiotherapy in Albury and Back on Track in Regional Healthcare in Corowa, Carly Carr has been a physiotherapist for 15 years.
She joined Back on Track Physiotherapy in 2012, to pursue her passion for sports, and helping people kick their health goals.
“I’ve always had a passion for sport and always been active and been involved in that,” Carly said.
“But I also enjoyed the challenge of helping anyone achieve their goals, whether it be walking to the mailbox or playing in a grand final.”
She said her favourite thing about her job was seeing the look on a person’s face when “they achieve something they didn‘t think was possible”.
Mell Millgate, Starfish Marketing
After working in various marketing roles, Mell Millgate spotted a gap in the market for small regional businesses.
“A lot of marketing agencies were not really interested in small businesses,” Mell said.
“I saw a real need for that and I have a real belief small business, particularly in regional communities, that when they are successful our broader communities are successful.
“I spotted a gap in the market.”
Starfish marketing will celebrate it’s fifth birthday in December, and Mell said they business has added online courses to its repertoire since COVID-19 started.
“COVID-19 has been interesting because when you’re looking at cost cutting marketing is usually the first thing that gets axed,” she said,
“We’ve moved into online courses teaching small business practical marketing about the processes we go through to do marketing for our clients.”
Mell said her favourite thing about her job was her clients and the people she works with.
“We have such amazing businesses here locally,” she said.
“I love being able to see the difference we make for them and their business.”
Linda Griffiths-Brown, Total HRM
A chemical engineer by trade, Linda Griffiths-Brown’s career took her across the country, and the world, before she ended up running a human resources consultancy firm right here in Albury-Wodonga.
Working in leadership roles with Exxon Mobil and BHP, Linda developed a passion for organisational culture and “creating the right environment so people want to behave in line with the organisations values”.
“We moved back to the area to be closer to family eight years ago,” Linda said.
“I did some work for a government organisation and as part of that we outsourced HR employment, and we outsourced HR from this business called Total HRM.
“When I left that organisation I went to start my masters and the woman who had that business (Total HRM) asked if I wanted to do a bit of work for her.
“I started working for her, never started my masters and six months later I bought her business.
“So that’s how an engineer ends up running a HR consultant business.”
Linda has now owned and run Total HRM for the past five years, working with clients from across the region, as well as some in Perth.
“I love the clients I work with, we have some fantastic clients,” she said.
“ I love some of the family businesses we work with.
“I’m a big believer that we need to set people up for success.”
Contact Cassandra at cassandra.glover@news.com.au
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