Don't Stop Us Now AI Edition

Our guest on the show this week is someone who’s a textbook case in career reinvention. 

Maria MacNamara completely reinvented her career after two and a half decades working in professional services. After finally getting sick of what she describes as misogyny and bad behaviour, Maria knew she had to call it quits and leave professional services for something completely different.

Now, that’s not to say professional services today has the same issues Maria experienced, and Maria is the complete diplomat on this topic, but suffice to say she needed a change and knew she wanted to do something completely different.

And so she did! Maria worked in politics and government in completely different roles including digital transformation for a number of years and immersed herself in the startup world. Today Maria’s role is CEO of Advance which is all about connecting global Australians with one another and to Australia, in order to create economic and cultural opportunities, collaborations, investments and innovations.   

In this episode you’ll learn: 

• How being an immigrant set Maria up for successful reinvention
• What it takes to reinvent your career
• Maria’s principles for successful innovation, and 
• Her advice on networking and connecting.   

Enjoy this episode with the constantly learning and always connecting Maria MacNamara.

Useful Links

Advance.org

Advance on LinkedIn

Maria on Twitter

Maria on LinkedIn 

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This week’s mini Future Proof Me episode shares some real negotiation gems from entrepreneur and CEO of multiple global businesses, Margarita Herdocia. 

Margarita has an impressive track record in financial and real estate investment, as well as extensive business interests in food franchise operations. 

Given Margarita’s business interests are in locations as far afield as Costa Rica and Nicaragua, as well as the USA and Russia, it was clear to us that Margarita has learnt first-hand what it takes to be very successful in negotiations.  

We spoke to Margarita quite some time ago but what’s really stayed with both of us is the advice she shared on how to negotiate even when you’re the only woman in the room and clearly encountering chauvinistic behaviour. 

In this episode you’ll hear specifically: 

• What to do at the negotiation table when you’re experiencing sexist behaviour, and
• Margarita’s advice to women negotiating their salary.

Enjoy this short and sweet mini episode now and arm yourself with some savvy negotiation gems! 

If you've enjoyed this episode you might want to listen to our 'How to Negotiate Your Pay' episode too

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Join us this week for a fascinating conversation with Uber's global head of Social Impact, Julia Paige. This mum of triplets has so much wisdom to share and has learnt some amazing lessons about resilience and the stories we tell ourselves. 

Julia’s had an amazing career including working as Chief of Staff for Maria Shriver the first lady of California for numerous years. And then she went on to senior marketing roles at Google and now Uber. 

Julia is a passionate believer in the power of stories and if our conversation is anything to go by she’s got some fantastic stories to share. 

In this episode you’ll learn:

• When Julia found out she was having triplets
• How she manages juggling work and a young family 
• Why purpose is so important to her
• And, how she believes resilience is so important to cultivate and what role the stories we tell ourselves can play

So if you're in the need for a dose of positivity and inspiration this is the episode for you. 

Useful Links

Julia on LinkedIn

Uber's Social Impact

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Gotta problem? Then listen up! Our first mini episode for August shares some tips to help you solve gnarly problems better. 

Many Future of Work experts agree that complex problem solving skills will be in strong demand. These are the kinds of problems that computers and AI can’t solve because they are only as good as the (historical) data we program into them. Even the best algorithms can’t solve complex problems in the creative way a human brain can. 

Listen now to hear about the lessons we and some of our guests have learnt about tackling problems and making the decisions that need to be made to move forward. Enjoy! 

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Our guest on the podcast this week is Brianne West, the New Zealander serial entrepreneur and founder of global sustainable cosmetics company, Ethique. 

Brianne has a bold and pioneering mission, to rid the world of single-use plastics. She started Ethique to replace all those bottled products we use in our bathrooms, from shampoos to moisturisers, with solid bars of concentrated product. 

We’ve been so impressed with the degree of sustainability and ethical practices that Brianne has baked into her business, from sourcing her products directly from around the globe, to being a B Corp, to donating 20% of profits to charitable causes. It really is a business that walks the talk. 

In this episode you’ll learn:

• How Brianne displayed the entrepreneurial gene very early 
• How she’s funded Ethique with two very successful crowdfunding campaigns, as well as what it takes to crowdfund successfully
• What Brianne does to manage her anxiety; and 
• How Huffington Post and Britney Spears changed everything for her business overnight!

We hope you come away as inspired by this conversation as we were. It’s a real demonstration of what’s possible when a business decides to make a reasonable profit whilst also caring for planet and people.

Finally, a quick request from us, if you enjoy our podcast and have yet to rate or review us on your listening platform of choice, we’d so appreciate it if you would. This is a passion project for us and it would really make a positive difference. 

Interesting Links

Ethique Website

Brianne on Instagram

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Do you get impacted by all the negativity in the News? Are you feeling pretty disheartened about COVID-19’s continued impact on our lives and routines?

If you’re nodding your head right now, then this week’s mini episode on ‘Lasting the Distance’ could be just what you need to shake off that cloudy feeling. 

Here at Don’t Stop Us Now HQ, we both felt we needed a pick-me-up this week and so this episode is designed to help us all last the distance with whatever challenges we may be facing right now. 

Hear Claire and Greta talk about how they’re feeling, stories of what they’re actions they’re taking to stay resilient, and hear three key tips to get through these tricky and uncertain times. 

Remember we’re in the midst of a (COVID) marathon and not a sprint, so being sure to take time out to be kind to yourself and to build your resilience is so important. Don’t miss this episode to get some ideas to boost your mindset now. 

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Our guest this week is one of the co-founders of an international venture all about teaching the younger generation to code. 

Hayley Markham is co-founder and COO of Code Camp, which to date has reached 90,000 children with their holiday and after school camps, and online programs, in Australia and also the UK. 

Hayley co-founded Code Camp seven years ago and as you’ll hear this hard working pragmatist and efficiency queen got started in the business when her third child was just two weeks old! Little did she know what she was getting herself into then but there’s no doubting Hayley is an unflappable master at juggling life and building a startup.

Code Camp was named one of Smart Company’s top three, fastest growing businesses in Australia in 2018 with 510% revenue growth. It was also nominated as a Deloitte ‘Fast 50 Rising Star’ in 2019 and Hayley herself is a recent winner of Australian Mumpreneur of the Year. 

In this episode you’ll hear: 

• How Hayley found her forte and niche in people leadership and operations after years of trial and error in different jobs not knowing what she wanted to do,
• The career advice she has for others who aren’t sure what their dream role looks like, 
• How Code Camp overcame the challenges involved with scaling the business,
• And the one thing Hayley credits with helping her juggle running a business and having a busy family life.

So if you’re looking for inspiration on how to tackle the challenges and juggles in your life, then you’ll love this episode with the unflappable and humble Hayley Markham. 

Interesting Links

CodeCamp website

Hayley on LinkedIn

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Welcome to this week’s mini Future Proof Me episode all about how to stay creative in a busy world. 

We loved the advice that serial Canadian entrepreneur and founder, Vicki Saunders shared with us when we spoke to her last year.

Vicki is CEO and Founder of SheEO. SheEO is an international network of women who support, finance and celebrate female innovators who run ventures solving important world problems. (Find out more about SheEO here).

As a serial entrepreneur and true original thinker, Vicki has learnt she needs to create space for ideas to flow. As you’ll hear in this episode, she’s very conscious of ensuring she has a routine and practices that give her that space and stimulus despite facing, as we all do, the demands of a hectic busy work life and all the usual stresses we all experience. 

You’ll hear how Vicki carves out time in her schedule to consume a wide variety of different topics in order to fuel her creative thinking, and you’ll hear how she’s found meditating makes a big difference.

If you’re struggling to have fresh ideas or see old problems from new perspectives, then this mini episode is just what you need!

Links of interest

Our full interview with Vicki

SheEO website

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Welcome to our latest How To episode!

We’ve had numerous people ask us recently if now is the right time to change jobs or even careers. It got us both thinking and before you knew it, we had a new ‘How To’ ready to go! 

In this episode we explore why you might want to change careers, when is the best time to change careers, and finally how you go about changing career. We also explain what we mean by ‘changing careers’ versus simply changing jobs. 

You’ll hear step-by-step examples of how both Claire and Greta have each changed their careers. (Hint - we’ve had a fair bit of practise!)

Plus you’ll also learn: 

• The key timing and financial considerations you need to take in to account before you change careers
• Why we think now is a time to be cautious and conservative before leaving your current job
• Advice from a resume expert on how to change industries (a potentially common scenario for people working in COVID-affected industries such as Travel and Hospitality right now) 
• Examples of how to think ‘outside the box’ to make that career change easier
• And a checklist of things to consider and plan for.

So without further ado, enjoy this How To episode on changing careers

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Our latest Future Proof me mini-episode this week shares invaluable lessons from an entrepreneur who’s truly experienced the highs and lows of building a global business. 

For this week’s mini episode, we return the spotlight to Jodie Fox, the Co-Founder of the iconic online retail brand Shoes of Prey. 

Jodie and her co-founders went on an incredible journey over a decade building Shoes of Prey to be a global brand, only to be forced to close it all down in 2018.

The advice Jodie shares here isn't just relevant for a budding entrepreneur; it’s actually about how to navigate your way through your chosen career and not short change yourself by holding yourself back or getting in your own way of progress. 

Jodie has really thought deeply about how we can hold ourselves back and how we like to keep ourselves safe and has some great advice to share. 

She also shares her views on how we all think too judgmentally about failure - both when it comes to ourselves as well as others.

Don’t forget, if you love this taste of Jodie’s invaluable lessons then we encourage you to listen to our full interview with Jodie here and check out Jodie’s book called ReBoot - More Than You Ever Probably Wanted to Know About Starting a Global Business.

Enjoy this mini episode and be sure to practise getting out of your own way! :-) 

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