Regionally Speaking

James Bartle owns Outland Denim, an incredible ethical denim brand he runs from Tamborine Mountain.

In this episode, James talks about working out the profit structure of Outland and how it changed the company’s trajectory. He also talks about impact models, equity crowdfunding, raising capital, collaborating with likeminded competitors and why companies needs to be paying attention to the conscious consumer market.

Jo Palmer runs Pointer Remote, an organisation that’s all about building capacity in people, businesses and communities through training and recruitment. Pointer’s mission is working towards a world where regional communities are a preferred and prosperous choice from all employees and employers.

In this episode, Jo gives her advice on working and recruiting remotely, as well as charting her journey from her education degree through her three businesses. Jo also talks about being Australian Rural Woman of the Year, and why she thinks companies offering flexibility is the way of the future.

Christina Symes is the Director of We Are Triibe, an award-winning design studio based in the Byron hinterland.

In this episode, Christina talks about finding interior design when she felt her career and interest in fashion floundering, and how the studio has grown from being her part-time gig to a fully fledged company with staff and sub-contractors around the world. We Are Triibe specialises in interiors, styling, furniture design and more, and the talent of Tina and her co-founder Jess has been recognised both in Australia as well as around the world. It’s clear that regional living has sparked, not dimmed, their creativity.

Dr Clinton Schultz owns Sobah Beverages, an Indigenous-owned non-alcoholic beer brand he runs from Burleigh Heads.

In this episode, Clinton talks about his background as first a chef and then as a registered psychologist, and how his connection to country and culture influenced his decision to start Sobah Beverages. We talk about moving from a food truck to being stocked at Dan Murphy’s, as well as wellbeing both as a psychologist and as an entrepreneur, and how and why to support Indigenous businesses.

For the show notes, please go to www.usq.edu.au/entrepreneurship

Annabelle Hickson is a writer, photographer, florist, author and now Editor of Galah Press, a print magazine about regional Australia.

In this episode, Annabelle talks about moving from Brisbane to Moree and now to a pecan farm outside Tenterfield. She talks about finding her feet when she realised she wasn’t going to get a job, and how she turned that into a book deal and now a publishing company she runs from her acreage on the NSW-Queensland border.

For the show notes of this episode, visit www.usq.edu.au/entrepreneurship

Cameron Mackenzie is one of the co-founders of Four Pillars, one of Australia’s most exciting alcohol brands, which is based in the Yarra Valley.

In this episode, Cam talks about the very early days of the company, the emotional rollercoaster of selling 50% of it, and the plans for even more growth in the future.

Rayleen Brown is the founder of Kungkas Can Cook, a line of bush tucker products as well as tourism opportunities, all of which she runs from Alice Springs.

In this episode, Rayleen talks about the resilience needed to be an entrepreneur – a trait she has in spades – as well as her vision for the bush tucker industry, and the importance of mentoring the next generation of Indigenous entrepreneurs.

Rayleen is a natural storyteller, and I hope you learn a few things from her perspective on business and entrepreneurship in the more remote parts of Australia.

Find the full show notes at usq.edu.au/entrepreneurship

In this final episode of Season 1, I speak with Luke Anear, founder of SafetyCulture. SafetyCulture is best known for its app, iAuditor, which is used for more than 600 million health and safety checks per year. SafetyCulture became a unicorn in 2020 – that is, it is now valued at over a billion dollars!

In this episode, Luke talks about company culture, learning to lead, and how he almost started WWIII by banning Slack for a week.

For the show notes, go to https://usq.edu.au/entrepreneurship

Today on the podcast is Raquelle Pedler of Resound Music Academy. Toowoomba born and bred, Raquelle had studied to become a full-time musician – and was fulfilling that dream. She then saw a gap in the market and decided to do some further study in education and start her own music school. As well as running Resound Music Academy, Raquelle remains a popular, booked out performer in her own right.

In this episode, she talks about the balance and how she chose to work in both fields. We talk about prioritising professional development, building and nurturing community and carving out a niche as an artist.

See the show notes for this episode at https://usq.edu.au/entrepreneurship