Sunshine Coast’s small businesses, side hustles you haven’t heard of
Pop off queens! From unique festival clothing and bikinis all the way down to a launching a cost of living app, these are the small businesses and side hustles run by local women.
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The Sunshine Coast is a thriving precinct of small businesses with many flying under the radar as women across the region create unique, quality products, services and even apps.
From motherhood and craft workshops to a business coaching brand, these are few of the many small businesses built from the ground by Sunshine Coast women raking in six figures or below annually.
Meet the Sunshine Coast business women:
Nicole Kable, Wild Haired Girl
Nicole Kable, 47, named her business Wild Haired Girl, which hosts workshops for sewing and sells her custom clothing, after her daughters.
Ms Kable said since opening in November last year, her key to success has been sharing her passion and teaching what she loves to other people every day.
“I always tell everyone I meet ‘sewing is my therapy’ and it really is,” she said.
She hopes to build a strong foundation for the business and then possibly expand to online workshops and produce sewing patterns in the future.
Kailah Cuckson, Raising Mamas
Kailah Cuckson, 30, currently runs a supportive mother’s group program called Raising Mamas on Sunshine Coast and in other locations.
Her business offers first-time mums and their babies the chance to connect, learn and grow together.
“Our key to success has been creating a nurturing and inclusive community, along with consistently providing valuable content and support to our mamas,” Ms Cuckson said.
She plans to further expand the programs to more locations and offer a wider range of workshops in the future.
Preslee and Nicole Riccioni, Twista Sista
Preslee, 14, and her mother Nicole Riccioni, 48, run their business Twista Sista producing hair accessories by hand which prioritise comfort and style.
Preslee first started designing her product at the age of 10 after a primary school business product and now develops the fully-fledged business between school, sport and meeting her friends.
Ms Riccioni attributed their success to “leaning in and letting go of the fear of failure”.
“We have initiated monthly meetings with a few other small businesses we’ve connected with, creating a supportive network that’s invaluable during challenging times,” she said.
“Running a side hustle or small business can often feel isolating, so having this circle of accountability and encouragement has been incredibly beneficial.”
The business is planning to expand to include headscarves with constant commitment to work with Sunshine Coast charities and wholesalers.
Tamara Bonamy, The Good Growth Initiative
Tamara Bonamy, 33 launched her business The Good Growth Initiative with the help of her business partner Adam offering other businesses help to grow their people, performance and profits through business development and coaching solutions.
Ms Bonamy’s motivation behind launching her business was a “deep desire to help others reach their potential”.
She said knowing she herself is the product of her business, with her knowledge and experience, has contributed to success.
“Operations, people and culture and strategic delivery is invaluable,” Ms Bonamy said.
She hoped to grow the business sustainably and as a role model for clients by developing products such as an eight-week business challenge and grow her team and client base further into the future.
Dallas Texas Pay, True Colours
Dallas Pay, 27, runs a festival clothing brand named True Colours creating unique designs with limited drops to ensure standout, trend setting purchases.
Ms Pay said a key to success has been her organic social media growth by posting daily on Instagram and TikTok, amassing 220,000 across the platforms without the help of paid advertisement.
She took her business full-time in 2021 but “really blew up” in 2023 now raking in between $40,000 and $95,000 per month.
Ms Pay said she recorded $550,000 in revenue in the last financial year.
She plans to branch into casual wear with her “signature TC flare” in the future whilst continuing her festival wear.
“I also hope to continue using my social media to encourage people to be their authentic self - especially when it comes to wearing what you want to wear,” Ms Pay said.
Lorrae Davies, Blushing Ivy Home Fragrance
Lorrae Davies, 39, opened her candle and home fragrance business Blushing Ivy Home Fragrance with her studio located in Caloundra.
Ms Davies said she had found success by being versatile and filling a need in the market “where nothing similar existed”.
“I did this through opening our studio in Caloundra and offering candle making workshops in addition to our retail and wholesale lines,” she said.
Ms Davies said she also loves working with other brands to customise a signature scent.
She hopes to take up a bigger space to provide more workshops to the community in the future.
Kerri Tutton, Sunny Coast Beads
Kerri Tutton, 48, started her business Sunny Coast Beads in 2021 as a side hustle and has since gone full time.
Ms Tutton’s business is a community-focused craft service “dedicated to empowering women through creative self-care” offering earring-making workshops for beginners.
Her services include an “earring making bead bar” for events and functions and shippable earring making kits for events such as hen’s parties.
Ms Tutton started the business to improve her social skills after a period of isolation during Covid lockdowns and fill a niche on the Sunshine Coast for earring making using accessible materials.
Ms Tutton said her three factors to success are her clear “vision” to guide decision making, opening her network to other businesswomen and always asking herself how to improve her service and products.
Her business will be attending several events and expos on the Sunshine Coast this year and plans to launch corporate earring making workshops to help teams improve collaboration and understand company values.
“I am now super grateful to be of service sharing skills that bring mothers and daughters together, offering a creative space encouraging women to connect with their work wives and besties, and more importantly a safe space for new ladies on the coast to step out of their comfort zone and meet new friends,” Ms Tutton said.
Kalena Stano, Hello Lendy
Kalena Stano, 33, started her app Hello Lendy to address overconsumption and help people manage the cost of living.
“Our online rental marketplace for everyday items can be thought of as an ‘Airbnb for stuff’,” she said.
Ms Stano launched the business when she was 32 weeks pregnant with concerns about the type of world her son would be born into.
“I decided to take action and bring to life an idea I had been passionate about,” she said.
Ms Stano said her key to success has been focusing on her mission to make a positive impact, rather than profit.
“Our platform allows people to reduce their consumption, earn or save money by renting instead of buying, and connect with their community,” she said.
The app will launch in about two months and she has a vision of Hello Lendy being used nationwide.
Kerrie Burrows, The Outpouring
Kerrie Burrows, 48, started her contemporary home decor and stone homewares business The Outpouring after the closure of the SheShed in Maroochydore.
She had combined her love for home decor and interior design with a her passion for scented candles and texture concrete.
“I drew from the skills I gained from running workshops for women in our local community, which I truly enjoyed,” Ms Burrows said.
“I also still offer the one-on-one workshops in my home studio for those who are keen to learn a new skill set.”
She said her experience and relationships with other women and creators from the SheShed built a foundation for her brand.
Ms Burrows said she will aim to continue growing her business and focus on building a local clientbase whilst also supporting other female business owners.
“Eventually, I would love to have a small retail space again where I can teach new skills to other women,” she said.
Judy Lee, Rapt in a Box
Judy Lee started her online gift hamper business to offer meaningful gift options for any occasion, from birthday wishes to a simple thank you.
Her business focuses on simple, quality products with a “touch of luxe”.
Ms Lee is a member of Plastic Free Noosa and focuses on being environmentally friendly and sustainable as well as partnering with Sunshine Coast and Australian businesses and brands to create her gift hampers.
Ebony Torrisi, Lovefromjanet
Ebony Torrisi started her bikini fashion brand “Lovefromjanet” in 2020 and has since been able to launch full-time into her business
Ms Torrisi said she had been doing everything she possibly could to market her bikinis, from sending out free products to interacting with content creators and influencers.
Now she has a huge audience in Australia and ships her product internationally, with girls often coming up to Ms Torrisi to tell her they love her brand and feel confident wearing her bikinis.
Ms Torrisi’s designs, which are handmade on the Gold Coast, are 80s and 90s inspired and she aimed to create unique bikinis which help girls feel confident.
She said starting a business comes with many ups and downs and gave advice to other young aspiring business owners.
“Just start it,” she said.
“Be persistent, don’t give up and just keep going.”
Krystal Rand, Kove and Co Tribe Bags
Krystal Rand started her brand Kove and Co Tribe Bags in October 2022, after 18 months of designing and manufacturing her own bag made of “Croc material”, or EVA foam, which is waterproof, stands upright and comes in neutral tones.
Ms Rand’s product sold well on launch day, and the business turned over $250,000 in its first year.
Ms Rand said she wanted the product to be a conversation starter for mums to form friendships, hence naming her product a “tribe bag”, and the brand grew through word of mouth.
Her future dream is to run her own commercial warehouse with a small attached townhouse, and she wants to hire other mothers who are “amazing workers” but need flexible hours.
“I want to build an empire of mums,” she said.
Toula Gordillo, Shadow Work Solutions
Dr Toula Gordillo, 52, started her consultancy and training business Shadow Work Solutions using symbolic stories and images in her work as a clinical and Jungian psychologist.
Her workshops and information sessions are often presented to school or medical staff, government and non-government organisations and corporate or small businesses.
“I had been teaching and counselling others for over thirty years, but it was only in the last few years that I really began to understand the value of shadow work, and the need for it,” she said.
“It had such a profound impact on my life that I now feel compelled to share it with the world to help as many people as possible.”
After her own journey of “individuation,” Ms Gordillo has worked to step out of her comfort zone to learn about business and marketing in order to share her work to the world.
Her latest book called Frog and Scorpion in the Boardroom is due to be published in coming months.
Claire Harris, Human Quotient Group
Claire Harris, 44, started her second business Human Quotient Group about a year ago offering services to “address project and capability gaps across defence, government and industry.”
“We aim to maximise Australia’s capabilities and skills, addressing problems critical to Australia’s interests,” Ms Harris said.
The business emerged from her initial business Innovate Communicate which she co-founded with her husband Ron Kovalcik, a defence veteran.
Their business aims to create employment opportunities within the industry and improve the wellbeing of people in the service community, including families of veterans and current Australian Defence Force members.
Ms Harris said her keys to success include building her business from the ground up with a social purpose and clear values in mind as well as her “remarkable” employees.
In the future, she hopes to grow her Human Quotient Group team, connect and collaborate with other businesses and employers and providing their signature program to more locations.
Ms Harris said she also has plans to launch online career exploration programs.
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