Business women: Capital for Castles, Chauntel Considine, Chocolate Freckles, Adelle Jones

There are plenty of amazing business women in Melbourne’s northwest. Here are some of the most inspiring defying Covid lockdowns.

Five of the women making their mark on the business world in Moreland and Moonee Valley.

They come from all walks of life and are business owners, managers and franchisees. Their businesses have survived and thrived despite Melbourne’s four lockdowns.

Melbourne’s northwest has no shortage of women who are making waves and blazing a trail in the business world.

The Moreland and Moonee Valley Leader has profiled five of the most inspiring women making their mark.

Chauntel Considine – Jellis Craig Essendon

Ms Considine comes from a family of real estate agents, with deep roots in the Strathmore community. Her parents owned the independent agency Considine Real Estate and Ms Considine worked in the business as since she was 16 years old.

After graduating university with a degree in Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations, Ms Considine dived headfirst into the family business.

She worked alongside her father, who had more than 20 years’ experience in the business. “He taught me everything I knew the old fashioned way of real estate. And then I did most of the technology side of things.” she said.

She found that she had a real passion for auctioneering.

“I enjoy the theatre and getting involved with the community on the street … just that face-to-face … I also love the fact that I‘m changing people’s lives in that moment … Whether they’re selling their property, or whether they’re buying a property, it’s quite emotional for them. And I’m taking part in that.” she said.

Ms Considine’s father retired in 2019 and the business was approached by Jellis Craig with an offer to merge.

Ms Considine said that the merger had worked very well for the business, allowing it to expand from Strathmore all the way to Kensington.

Ms Considine is now a director and auctioneer at Jellis Craig Essendon.

Chauntel Considine, director & auctioneer at Jellis Craig Essendon

Adelle Jones – Haven Legal Co. – Coburg

Adelle started Haven Legal Co. with long time colleague Fiona Buchanan in July 2020. Within six weeks, Melbourne was locked down under Stage 4 restrictions and Haven Legal, like all Melbourne law firms, was forced to work from home for most of the second half of 2020.

Mrs Jones said that prior to starting Haven Legal, “we were already well adapted to working as a progressive law firm” as they had practised this way for many years. This in turn made adapting to the challenges of Covid much easier. So much so that Haven Legal actually thrived under lockdown, offering a multitude of flexible services accessible remotely.

Mrs Jones was moved to start her own legal practice with Mrs Buchanan after experiencing a traumatic birth in 2018 that left her with a perforated bowel and a sepsis infection that nearly claimed her life.

Upon returning to work, Mrs Jones found the environment was not as supportive as she would have expected. She wanted to create a firm that reflected her values as a new mother and lawyer.

“What I want is a lovely, safe space that I can come to work, that our employees feel that they are supported by their network. And we want the same for our clients.” she said.

This intention is reflected in the firm’s name, ‘Haven’.

Mrs Jones said that Haven Legal stands out by offering a more personal service to its clients. “We want our clients to be able to feel that … they can walk through the door, and they can feel like they‘re safe in telling us their story.” she said.

Haven Legal Co. managing partners Fiona Buchanan and Adelle Jones.

Julia Mendola – Chocolate Freckles Children’s Lifestyle Boutique – Essendon

Ms Mendola opened Chocolate Freckles in 2009 in a small store on Buckley St in Essendon. In the years since, she has had to expand twice, ultimately ending up in a store along Rose Street.

Ms Mendola said she was motivated to open Chocolate Freckles because she wanted a change of career that suited her life as a mother of young children better.

“I thought, well maybe I could make a shop where I stock things that I would buy for my kids. And that‘s one of the things right from the start, if I wouldn’t put it on my children. I wouldn’t stock it. I think that’s served me well.” she said.

Ms Mendola describes Chocolate Freckles as more of a children’s lifestyle store than a simple clothes store. She also stocks toys, shoes, accessories and children’s skincare.

Julia Mendola, owner of Chocolate Freckles.

Jodie Pachauri – Director of Capital for Castles – North Coburg

A man’s home is his castle and for Jodie, that famous phrase from the 1997 film was a call to action. Capital for Castles is a mortgage broker in North Coburg that Ms Pachauri runs with her husband, Mohit.

They opened the business in April 2020, after having worked separately as brokers in different firms. Ms Pachauri said that while Covid was known about when she made the decision to resign from her old job and start her own business, it wasn’t clear how significant the global pandemic was going to be.

However, when Capital for Castles did officially begin trading, Melbourne was in the midst of its first lockdown. Despite this, Ms Pachauri said that the business was thriving, having met their goals for their first year five times over.

Ms Pachauri said that the key to success during the pandemic had been finding innovative methods to build relationships. She and her husband worked from 8am to 8pm seven days a week for the first year of operation to build the business virtually.

“It’s not just a transaction, it’s a relationship that’s built over some time,’’ she said

“It’s not like buying a pair of jeans, or a pair of shoes, that’s a very short transaction, these could be clients with me for two years before they actually buy anything.

“I found that was probably the hardest in Covid, because we‘re having to meet new people on zoom. And it’s just not the same as being able to do face-to-face and having catching up to the coffee.

“So the toughest challenge was having to build those relationships on a computer.”

Since coming out of lockdown, Capital for Castles has opened an office in Coburg and hired staff as the business continues to expand.

Jodie Pachauri, director of Capital for Castles.

Anna Pino – Owner of Natural Harmony Traditional Chinese Medicine – Essendon

Ms Pino opened Natural Harmony 11 years ago. The clinic offers traditional Chinese medical solutions for women’s and family health.

“We help women re-establish their connection with their bodies, whether it‘s regulating their cycles, or preparing for family life, conception, pregnancy and menopausal support.” she said.

Ms Pino said this often leads to her clients bringing their families for treatment as well, making the clinic quite family focused.

Ms Pino studied Chinese Medicine and Human Biology at RMIT, before travelling to Nanjing, China for an internship. She decided the first thing she wanted to do after graduating was to start her own business.

She started with a single room at an established clinic in Pascoe Vale and worked her way up to opening her own clinic in Essendon.

Anna Pino, owner of Natural Harmony Traditional Chinese Medicine.