#awinewith Elise Lavers
MEET Elise, Founder of Enliven.
You can find them here:
Transcript
Danielle Lewis (00:07):
So good. Elise, welcome to Spark tv. It's so fab to have you here.
Elise Lavers (00:13):
Thanks for having me, Danielle. Yeah, really awesome to be here.
Danielle Lewis (00:17):
Now let's just kick things straight off by telling people who you are and what you do.
Elise Lavers (00:23):
Sure. Well, yeah, as you said, I'm Elise and I'm the founder of enlive and Outdoor Adventures, which is a women's outdoor adventure business. And I guess my background before that is sort of in teaching, but have worked in outdoor tourism ever since. So Cool.
Danielle Lewis (00:41):
And what inspired you to actually start an outdoor adventure company for women? Oddly specific, I love it.
Elise Lavers (00:51):
And a lot of people did say that when I was starting it, like why so specific, why so niche you are having your audience, but as I'll probably talk a bit more about later, I really feel like that was the driving force behind me starting it altogether. So going back, I was studying teaching, and even just in studying PE teaching, I would notice that the girls in the year nine PE class were sitting out or perpetually had their periods or hated the uniform that they had to get change into for pe. And so I was already frustrated at seeing the drop off of girls in sport and physical activity and then continuing studying teaching. I was just getting more disengaged, disenfranchised with the education system at large and just feeling like it didn't suit me personally because it is such a big desk job and there's so much administration and pressure on teachers outside of school hours and I just felt like I would never be able to keep up.
(01:53):
And there was so much that I wanted to change in helping young people be healthy and active, but I didn't feel like I was able to create the change that I wanted to see through teaching. I just kept feeling a bit defeated. So yeah, after I graduated I stepped into more outdoor tourism, which I loved. I've always been involved in environmental groups and realizing that as I sort of said with teaching, sitting at the desk wasn't it for me. And lots of those environment groups required lots of volunteer hours at the computer as well. So getting outside and actually being involved in outdoor tourism allowed me to help other people care about the environment in a way that I did through having those positive experiences. And I could see that firsthand, seeing people come away from whether it was when I was working on shark cage dive boats or when I was doing ski photography, all these experiences outdoors and getting to share my love for the outdoors and my love for nature and outdoor exercise and being able to pass it on to customers and see that immediate feedback I really enjoyed.
(02:56):
But then continuing on as a few years passed and I'd worked for other companies and doing other jobs, snorkel, guiding Bush, book guiding, and I was just noticing this common thread that most of the staff in the outdoor industry were males. Lots of the customers were females, but there was often that if it was a husband and wife coming for a kayak, the husband would steer the kayak and the woman can sit in the front and take photos. Or if it was who's going to get in the shark cage first it was all the blokes straight up put their hands up, they stepped forward, and the women would sort of hold themselves back and Oh yeah, you go, you go. And I was just noticing this theme of not as many women as the instructors and guides and facilitating the activities, not as many women feeling comfortable to step up and take the lead and be the one that goes first or whatever as participants.
(03:49):
And also as a woman employee feeling like I always had to prove myself. It was like, okay, so I was a coxswain on a boat, but then a new coxin would come on board and he'd tell me to go and work in the galley of the boat while he would deal with getting people diving in the cage. And it's like, no, hang on, I've been here for a couple of years. You are here just getting experience. You can go up and do the jobs in the galley. Galley is the kitchen and I'll do my job here at the cage. So there was still a lot of sexism in that industry as there is sort of everywhere. And I just thought it would be really cool as an experiment to see what difference it makes when there's just women around when it's for women by women, you've got female instructors, so you don't have to feel self-conscious and it's, it's at the pace or with the vibe of whatever the customers are wanting and just to have the role models to facilitate the outdoor activity. And I just wonder what it would be like, how different it could be. And so yeah, in 2020, great year to start a business, absolutely.
(05:03):
But yeah, work was kind of running dry for me as an outdoor guide, and so it gave me the space and time to reflect on what I did want and how business could be done differently. And so instead of complaining about it with my coworkers and housemates, I was like, right, well I'll do it then I'll start it. I'll start a women's outdoor adventure business. And the more I looked, the more I saw that they actually already were businesses like that, which is great. It's so good. And I was very lucky to be well received, reaching out to big heart adventures and Mocha Adventure and just saying, Hey, this is me. I'm coming here you now. Yeah. But it's been awesome. We have now been able to collaborate and that's been such a blessing to then have mentors in this space and to have women in a similar role to me who get it and to be able to work together to have bigger events.
(05:53):
So that was sort of how and why I started it. So not just wanting to have outdoor activities by women for women, but also because of all the added benefits that women or people in general get from outdoor exercise for their mental health, physical health, and I even believe spiritual health. Just having that time in nature, having that bigger sense of what are we here for and for the planet because by having those positive experiences in nature, more likely to care about nature. So yeah, that was sort of all what I wanted to encompass in the business. It's not just the hard skis of let's go out there and get to the summit of this mountain. It's like what are all the soft skills that we can achieve through this experience too that can then flow on and benefit our everyday life?
Danielle Lewis (06:42):
I love that so much on so many levels
(06:46):
Because it is really interesting. So as you were talking, I was reflecting on myself. I was just thinking about my experience with any kind of physical activity. I was definitely the girl with the period on swimming day in high school who didn't want to get in the water and even all the way through to, so we just went out on this boat cruise on the weekend, so somebody got us this cruise that we would never do on our own, but they got it for us for a wedding present and it was like a seafood cruise. And actually they had the pots out and they pulled them up and got the crawfish out and they got audience participation. And I noticed exactly that was all the guys ran up and wanted to pull the pots out and the girls need to sunk back. And in my mind I was like, oh, that'd be really cool, but I don't want to round up there and go, oh me, pick me. But what I did notice was the person that was running it and showing everyone how to do it was a woman. And I was thinking to myself, wow, what a badass. She was so cool. And I was thinking, I wonder why it's not more normal for women to be doing things like this. And when there is a woman doing it, you're like, oh my god, she's a unicorn.
(08:02):
It is so weird that we even, I think like that. So I absolutely love the mission because I know even just on a personal level how much I've opted out of experiences because the more guys would go first. So I think it's so important what you're doing. How do you find it? I'm just so curious, when you actually have the women come on these experiences, what is it like? How is it different than when you were in previous roles having men and women in the same groups?
Elise Lavers (08:41):
It's cool because a lot of the women do say to me that they wouldn't have ever come out for say a paddle boarding lesson if it was just a regular lesson with perhaps a male instructor. They came out because it was with women and by a female instructors. So they knew already that they would feel a bit more
Danielle Lewis (09:01):
Comfortable,
Elise Lavers (09:02):
Safer. And I guess the way I operate is it's not so much about the destination, the outcome, it's more about that journey to it. So you might come for a paddleboarding lesson and not even stand up, but that doesn't matter because you've already come out, you've already been active, you've already gotten out of your comfort zone connected with other women, and that's already an awesome achievement in itself. And
Danielle Lewis (09:28):
I love what you said when you're like, it's not just about get climbing Everest. It is actually being in nature has so many physical, mental, spiritual benefits. I love that comparison because it's the same. I tried standup boarding, set up paddle boarding once and I was just like, oh, I just haven't got it. I have not amazing on trial number one. And you think sometimes you do put that in your mind rather than going, oh my god, how beautiful is this setting that we're in? How amazing is this day? How nice is it having my feet in the water because I'm sitting on the standup paddleboard? It's actually if you just change your mindset a little bit, you can turn that experience into something pretty amazing.
Elise Lavers (10:12):
Yeah, definitely. And so what is different about our sessions compared to other places I've worked is because it's all women and one of the women might be like, oh my goodness, it's so great to be in the water. My menopausal flushes are really getting to me. And then another lady's like, oh, my boobs in this life jacket feel better. My last life jacket really squished me in. And then another lady's like, oh, this is the first time I've got out with my baby at home. I hope the husband's all right with the baby. All these things that they can all relate to one another on and also feel safe to air. Whereas if it was a regular public Kaye tour, you don't normally hear that sort of conversation flowing. It's not a normal shared part of, even though it's part of everyday life for 51% of the population, all these women's issues, they're not often talked about in such a public way.
(10:57):
So yeah, the fact that I've got these women connecting and letting their walls down, they're getting vulnerable because doing something that's outside their comfort zone and then it's like the conversation just flows. They feel safe, they trust you, and they've made themselves a bit vulnerable in that situation. It's not their normal comfort zone. So then it's just like, yeah, everyone's walls has come down and they connect on such a deeper level, which is amazing. And I feel that because I've got the education background, I am able to not only be there for the soft skills and supporting them, encouraging them having conversation, but also the practical skills. If I can see that a one woman's struggling to get her left leg up of the angle it's coming around, I can coach her through that and also know when to drop it, know when she's getting frustrated, let's change the topic completely.
(11:44):
Let's try something different. Let's just go in for a swim more. Let's just focus on going and having cup of tea, or let's focus on getting good technique paddling on our knees, getting that balance, which sometimes I've seen other instructors that are more concerned about the destination. They don't have those skills or the nuance on reading someone's body language and being able to pick, actually this isn't working for them. They're getting frustrated. It's more important that they have a positive experience, so I'm going to drop that and move on to something different because I'd rather have that outcome than to have them. Sure they've stood up, but they felt tortured to get there.
Danielle Lewis (12:22):
And you're right, and that it wasn't a positive experience because you're right, sometimes it is. If you were for the entire hour, two hours, three hours, you were just hating life. Just because you stood up I don't think is enough. Actually making sure the entire experience is positive is so important. That's so cool. And
Elise Lavers (12:45):
Knowing your group, sometimes you can read people and think, actually, I am going to push this person more and I can tell that they will be able to get to the top of the hill if I just keep pushing 'em a bit more to track the conversation. So it's a very nuanced art outdoor guiding and knowing when to push or when to come back. But yeah, I really love the art of outdoor guiding and outdoor instructing and being able to do it in this all female space and see these women flourish and gain confidence and empowerment and friendships when they typically wouldn't have ever googled a supple kayak lesson because they saw my business. They're like, oh, maybe it is something that I'll give a go. So that's a huge win for me.
Danielle Lewis (13:23):
It's so cool. I love how it draws on all of your past experience. So like you said, being a teacher, being in the outdoor space, seeing it all unfold, but drawing on all of your experiences and bringing that into your business and into the experiences that you offer your customers. It's so cool. I think a lot of times people think they're going to just wake up with an idea and create a business, but oftentimes it is all of those puzzle pieces that finally fall into place and we end up doing this thing that we're super qualified for and absolutely love and are passionate about.
Elise Lavers (13:59):
Yeah, definitely. And sometimes, to be honest, I don't love the nitty gritty of all the behind the scenes admin that has to come with the business, but when you've got a bigger why and you've got this broader purpose and you've got this personal connection with your why, it's not just, oh, I can see a gap in the market. You've got vested interest in your why, but it has to succeed. Then it makes the hard, I shouldn't say hard log, I'm labeling the admin work. I
Danielle Lewis (14:26):
Don't like, look, let's be real. It's a fucking hard lock zombie. I'm telling you.
Elise Lavers (14:31):
I'm just trying to reframe admin work in my own mind. It's not hard. I enjoy it. I love it. I've got this new laptop easy.
Danielle Lewis (14:39):
It's actually hilarious because what I say to myself, I'm like, this is so easy because I think the thing for me is it's not hard to reconcile transactions in zero. It's just clicking a button, but I just find it insanely boring. That's my problem. This is so easy. I could do it in front of the tv, so I'm like, I'll just have a glass of wine and pop a movie on and then I won't even notice that I'm reconciling transactions.
Elise Lavers (15:03):
Yeah, yeah,
Danielle Lewis (15:05):
You're right. You do have to reframe things though sometimes, don't you?
Elise Lavers (15:08):
Definitely. And like you said, bundling it along with something that you really enjoy doing. I've been trying to do that too. I'm terrible with even just keeping on top of my email. So I'll go for an outdoor walk and sit with my coffee in the sun and then I go through emails and then it's more enjoyable. That is so
Danielle Lewis (15:22):
True though. I actually love that you said that because, so I do this to trick. I say to myself that I'm tricking myself into working, but if I have a super, something that's mind numbing and repetitive, I'll do in front of the TV or if it's something or on the treadmill. So I've set up a desk thing on the treadmill and I'm like, I used to feel bad about doing anything for myself. So even exercising, I was like, well, you could be working. And I was like, well, I could combine the two and then I get exercise, I don't feel guilty, and I also get to smash out this admin task that I hate. So yeah, I think combining tasks, I think combining tasks is genius. And if you do it, I love the sitting outdoors in the sun with a coffee, actually couple it with something relaxing and that you do have positive vibes around. So then you put positive vibes around the tasks that you don't really want to be doing.
Elise Lavers (16:21):
Yeah, and I think obviously Covid meant that a lot more people were working from home or having that hybrid model of work. And that's continued now and it's shifted our mindset to a more wellness holistic way of working. And because we have got these often 24 hour cycles of work where there's emails that can come at any hour of the day, I think it is important to take the guilt-free rest and to also make the work work for you. And if you can work from home or you are self-employed and you came into business for lifestyle, then don't just become a slave to it and not enjoy your lifestyle along the way. That's a big one. Not having guilt around rest is such a huge topic that I feel very passionately about so much. So I have another company called Active Rest Retreat. Oh my
Danielle Lewis (17:09):
God, God, really? I didn't
Elise Lavers (17:10):
Know this. What is that one?
Danielle Lewis (17:13):
Tell me about that one. Well,
Elise Lavers (17:14):
We can plug that too. So
Danielle Lewis (17:15):
Yeah, why not Sarah Hayes.
Elise Lavers (17:17):
Yeah, totally. So Sarah Hayes and I used to work for Adventure Bay Charters together doing the boat work, and we both had that shared underlying mission of wanting to connect people with nature through outdoor tourism. And then years apart, we went on different job paths and then we both ended up starting our own businesses around the same time. So she's a yoga teacher. And then we came together at the wellness tourism summer in Adelaide. Coincidentally, we didn't know we were both going to be there and we had both thinking about how beautiful it would be to run retreats in the Flinders. I'd been wanting to run bush walking trips. She'd been wanting to run yoga trips. Oh my gosh, we should work together. We co-hosted a W Women's weekend, so it's bush walking, glamping yoga, breath work, meditation, as well as cultural experiences with local adya TNA guides and amazing food.
(18:12):
And it worked so well that we were like, there's something in this. We should make this its own thing because the branding of what we wanted to achieve is separate from and live and outdoor adventures and separate from Sarah Hayes Yoga. So let's do something together. Let's continue this. So yeah, we incorporated just the middle of this year actually, and that's now a company active Rest retreats. And so that's got that broader purpose of giving women the tools for self-regulation so that they can feel well every day, not just during a day spa or during a four day retreat, but to have those tools that they can bring into their every day. So it's combining Sarah's yoga breathwork meditation, my bush, walking paddleboarding, kayaking, and then always with local cultural aboriginal experiences so far so good teaching women to actively rest and to be more restfully active.
Danielle Lewis (19:11):
This is so cool. And I love what you just said too about incorporating it into the every day. I know I'm guilty of that. I can relax on Friday morning, that's when I have time to relax, putting that date out there right now, I just need to get things done and push through. And it's like, well, would the world end if I just had an hour for lunch and sat in the sun and got off my phone and rested?
Elise Lavers (19:40):
No, the world will done.
(19:42):
And you'll probably be more productive when you come back. Exactly. And you probably be all of us. We can be better friends, we can be better partners, better lovers, better mothers, better sisters, better whatever. Once we have actually filled up our own cup, and everyone knows this and everyone sees the memes and everyone puts it on their vision board, but to actually practice it every day is such a deliberate and rebellious act like Sarah is doing a lot of her own personal research into that rest is resistance. And that just too, and especially as women where there's always expectations on giving and especially for First Nations people where there's literally history of slavery and there's so much tied up and it's probably held onto us in ourselves about this resistance to wanting to rest and that to actually give into it, which sounds bad, then it makes it sound like something guilty, but to allow yourself to rest is such an act of rebellion, which is nuts, not machines we're supposed to rest. We're supposed to be able to appreciate nature, spend time, loved ones connecting, being on our own, breathing away from screens, looking at the sky. All these things are so innate and so good for us, and yet we push it aside. So it really is a rebellious act to actually give yourself time to rest and to listen to what your body needs. So that's what we try to foster more of our retreats.
Danielle Lewis (21:08):
It's so interesting because, so you just said it's something that we put on our vision board, and it's so funny that you say that. I know even I'm guilty of this as well. So saying when you map out my perfect life and you kind of do that you vision board, what would it look like if I lived the life of my dreams and it's like on my list of things, I would do yoga every day, I would do this, I do that. And I was like, there is literally nothing stopping you from doing that right now. You don't have to be a billionaire to do yoga every day. You don't have to have achieved all of your business goals to give yourself the space of, because it's so funny how often living the life of your dreams, none of it ever requires money. It's always this time freedom and this rest and this beautiful space we want to create for ourselves. And I'm always, my logical brain always looks at my paper in front of me and goes, there's nothing stopping you from living that life today but you.
Elise Lavers (22:07):
Yeah, it's us.
Danielle Lewis (22:08):
What the hell do we do this to ourselves?
Elise Lavers (22:11):
But that's also a really beautiful realization and hopefully more and more people are realizing that because it's like, yeah, well if what I really want through creating this business and through financial abundances time, then how about I just carve out those pockets of time already? And the more you start living that dream life I feel, then the more those other things do manifest too, then those business sounds like we've
Danielle Lewis (22:34):
Got it
Elise Lavers (22:34):
Backwards. We just think if I keep working harder and hustling and get more stressed and get more sick, then all these good things will happen. It doesn't work that way. What
Danielle Lewis (22:45):
Logic that we've created for ourselves. And it's hilarious too because as soon as you say it out loud, you're like, oh, obviously. But for some reason in our minds we do go that, yeah, I've got to do this. I've got to shop as this. I've got to get to the shops in between meetings so that I've got dinner on the table and it's like it's little bit much sometimes.
Elise Lavers (23:08):
And it's also not our fault. It is the society that we live in, this the postindustrial world, this technological era, this patriarchal mindset around business. It's not our fault, but if this is the context that we have to work with, how can we change from the inside out and at the very least, how can we change ourselves? That's the one bit we've got control over. How can you, so we can put the blame of, oh, it's the patriarchy's fault, it's this post-industrial world's fault, but what can you actually do each day? Yesterday I got down big time and I could have put the blame left and center, but fortunately I was able to stop and go like, okay, Elise, your brain is getting carried away. You're premenstrual right now. How about you just go for a walk at the beach, go and dive in that ocean. You think you don't have time, but you do. And it works every time. It doesn't heal it fix all your problems. It doesn't bring in miraculous amounts of bookings, but it does just bring you back to yourself. Okay, one step at a time.
Danielle Lewis (24:08):
Yes. And it's so funny as well, I notice when I do, I am falling apart and I do have the self-awareness to go get out of this state, go have a bath, have a swim, go for a walk, whatever it is I do find. So we've already touched on the fact that yes, you start to calm down and you feel more productive, but I often find that's when the ideas come. The ideas don't come when I'm stressed and forcing myself to look at my laptop and tick off another item on my to-do list, the ideas come when I'm somewhere away from work. So it's just, again, so many reasons to double down on resting and looking after ourselves.
Elise Lavers (24:53):
And like you're saying, sometimes it is that running the bath or just sitting down away from my screens. But what Sarah and I through our retreats and what I try and do with Enlive and teach is that it's also active rest. So you can, of course, we need to actively rest, which doesn't mean lying on the couch with our phone. It means devices away, like you said, actively resting, actively taking time to rest, whether that is meditating or going to bed early or whatever you want to do, that's really restful for you. But then also you can be restfully active. So a lot of us might go to the gym and smash out a half hour HIIT workout with some music blaring and lots of lights on and air conditioning. And while that's awesome for the body, it's not restorative for our nervous system. So if we're wanting to tap into that parasympathetic nervous system that rest and digest, that de-stressing, you can actually be restfully active. So that's a really cool thing that I like showing through my experiences too. I sometimes attract women into the business who might be there for the 60 minutes of fast paddleboarding or bush walking or whatever. And so for them, the test is actually slowing down, and that's really beneficial for them too. They might be thinking, oh, I came in here looking for this outdoor workout, and of course they are still getting a workout, but they're also getting this chance to slow down to be with their thoughts to tap into that.
Danielle Lewis (26:24):
It's really hard. So nervous
Elise Lavers (26:25):
System, it's hard. And so sometimes women take out of the experience what they weren't expecting to. And it's okay, of course I'm not actually, I don't have a background in counseling psychology. I'm yet to do any trauma informed training. And so sometimes I know that that is too much people to slow right down to be in front of with themselves. I always invite people to tap into all the sounds that are still around you tap to the person next to you. You can still distract yourself if it's too overwhelming to be with your own thoughts. But it's a really good practice to be restfully active, be more restful in the way where doing our activity and to come back to yourself.
Danielle Lewis (27:06):
It's so cool. It reminds me of sometimes in a yoga practice, the woman that I follow, I just do it online, but the woman I follow, she's like, A lot of people show up to the yoga mat and it's like, how far can I stretch myself? How long can I hold it? How can I stretch? And she's like, sometimes it's okay just to be with ourselves and just however you show up today is enough and is helpful. We don't have to always be thrashing ourselves to make an impact. So I love that idea of restfully active.
Elise Lavers (27:43):
And I think that then also, like you said, we don't always have to be thrashing ourselves, but as women, if you are in your cycling years and you literally can't always be thrashing yourself, you don't have the hormones that allow you to always be thrashing yourself. So it's good for us to be able to fluctuate our energy levels and our expectations of ourselves as our energy fluctuates throughout our cycle. I think that's really important too.
Danielle Lewis (28:10):
Yeah, totally. And that's a really interesting thing even today. So I'm period week and I know for some reason I can't get out of bed in the morning. I'm just deathly tired. It does not matter what time I go to bed and how good I am the night before. I just can't wake up and I keep booking 7:00 AM meetings and I'm like, I really need to write down the week not to book 7:00 AM meetings. What is wrong with me? So I just love the idea of we should actually be a little bit more self-aware of what we're dealing with, stop thinking that we've got to push so hard to be considered success or give ourselves any kind of kudos for what we're doing. Sometimes just doing what we can do is good enough.
Elise Lavers (28:56):
Yeah, absolutely.
Danielle Lewis (28:58):
Oh, I love it so much. This is so good. I think what you're doing is so impressive. So let's talk business for two seconds, otherwise we'll talk all day.
Elise Lavers (29:07):
So
Danielle Lewis (29:09):
For you going from, because kind of touched on it a little bit like the slog sometimes. What was it like going from being an employee, so working for these other companies to running your own business? You're a few years in now, what challenges have you faced over the last few years?
Elise Lavers (29:29):
So many challenges. I was so naive because the businesses that I've worked for are quite established and had been in the game for a decade plus, and I kind of just saw the flowing in every day. And I'd be taking bookings on the system for walkups, and you'd see the daily revenue and you knew the wages roughly that were going out. And I was like, oh, this is such a breeze. They, they're on a good wicket here. When I start my business, it's going to be so easy. You just set up the sessions, you get your insurance, you make sure you've got all your standard operating procedures, and then the bookings just flow in. And I had no idea. I love it. I was honestly very naive. I was like, I'm just going to get to go paddleboarding with women every day. And of course I do get to have awesome adventures with women, and that's just like the cream on top, that's the cherry on top of the cake.
(30:15):
When you get the customers, you execute the experience and you're out there connecting with women in nature. And that's the whole point. But it's not the majority of my job. So I've learned that the hard way and I'm still learning it. And lots of trial and error with product, lots of trial and error with even booking systems. I've tried a couple, lots of trial and error with accounting software, lots of trial and error with marketing. And that is still, sometimes it feels more like error, error, error, error, error. But I'm learning, everything's a great learning experience and I definitely like to lean into that. It's always for a reason. If something's not working, I'm just getting pushed in a different direction that will work. And so leaning into that as much as I can.
(31:02):
But the best part has been the collaboration, like I've already said about doing the retreats with Sarah, but I've worked with other businesses at the moment. I'm putting together a girl surf camp at the York Peninsula with this awesome woman, Kelsey and her business savvy Swags is very aligned. It's getting more women camping and teaching them camping skills. And I'm like, oh my gosh, we've got to work together. And having that camaraderie, sharing the wins, sharing the lows, sharing the risk for sharing the reward has made business so much better. I did try a collaboration with the business from New South Wales, and I just found that the culture was quite different. And I feel like in South Australia we're really lucky that I feel like we have got this collaborative mentality and we're all on this same page of wanting to elevate the state and work together and put on really high class experiences and willing to help each other out.
(31:58):
And there's lots of who, whereas when I did this collaboration with the New South Wales business, there was this instant rivalry, like frenemy situation and competitiveness and this fear of like, am I going to steal the products and all that sort of thing. And it was just really interesting. I'd never experienced that because everyone in SA has been like, let's help each other out, which is great. So yeah, I've been very fortunate in SA to have amazing mentors in business, amazing aligned businesses who are happy to just get on the phone and have a whinge to each other when things are tough or share wins and help each other out. I bring groups of women down to the ong and we use Cano, the ONGs kayaks. We have an agreement with how that works financially. And the same with my ponga, like working with your cafe, smiling Sam Brewery, my Ponga Kayak, hi.
(32:48):
I've worked with Paddle say, working with all these other businesses to put on great experiences. They're richer than if you're working on your own, you share the risk, you share the reward, and it's just so nice that you are in a bit of a team and to help each other out just feels so good. So I've been very grateful that South Australia does have this really positive culture I've found of small business owners helping each other out. And I think that the more you look for that or seek it out, if people aren't finding that yet in business, if some of your listeners are struggling to find those people to collaborate with, the more you look, there's oodles of networking opportunities. Or you could even just Instagram message a business that you like the look of and you want to work with or put on an event with. And I've just found that in South Australia, everyone's more than willing to help you, and especially being young female founders, which I'm guessing most of your audience is, it's like, yeah, people are like, oh, that's awesome. Love what you're doing. How can I help? That's what I've found anyway. And I think that if you look for that, you'll find it too.
Danielle Lewis (33:51):
I love it because you are so right, and I think collaboration marketing is actually super cost effective. When you think about small businesses or startup businesses or anyone in the early days, having a budget for ads is just impossible sometimes. And it's such a great way to leverage other networks and help each other out. It's cost effective and it helps elevate your brand as well. But I love, one thing that you said was like, it actually just makes you feel less lonely when you've got another woman in business that you can pick up the phone to and have a bit of a whinge to. We are kind of all in this together, so it's so nice when you find other people that have the same values and are willing to lift you up as well as you are willing to lift them up. I think it's awesome,
Elise Lavers (34:41):
And I feel like if I'm in a bit of a lack mentality mindset, you think, oh, well, why should I put their thing on my Instagram story because I haven't got that back? Or why should I be selling their product? They're not selling my product. But then it's like, well, hang on. If you come back to who do I genuinely want to share their business? You are in my panga. I love their coffee and they use locally roasted beans, and the staff are all incredible, and the space is beautiful. So of course I want to share and elevate what they have. And if they do that in return, then brilliant. It's more genuine, like you're saying, that style of marketing compared to just a budget for Facebook ads, for example. I feel that while both are valuable, if I'm promoting a business and wanting to collaborate with them, it's so much more genuine because I actually like their product and I actually like their space. And then hopefully the same in return, if Neptune Surf Coaching on York Peninsula who we're going to work with in January, they genuinely love what we're doing and they're genuinely excited about this girl's trip. So they're putting it on their socials too. So it's a lot more genuine. And I think that SA is about who, and people are more likely to trust that personal opinion compared to a targeted ad. Got that firsthand connection with that person.
Danielle Lewis (36:03):
Totally. And you're so right. I love that point that it is more genuine, because you're right. When you look at something that say somebody recommends, whether it's a business or a person, you do kind of go, oh, they're obviously recommending it because they believe in it and they like it and they value it, versus a Facebook ad, Instagram ad, you're like, that business is just promoting themselves and do I trust them yet? You've probably got to go on a longer journey. That's awesome. Absolutely. Love that. Okay, so last question for you, and we will wrap up the podcast. Reflecting, I always like to leave the Spark community with one last piece of advice. So reflecting on your time in business, would there be one piece of advice that either you've gotten or you would give to another woman in business to help her on her journey? How long do we have left? I can talk all day about all business advice.
Elise Lavers (37:01):
Well, I think that fortunately you and I, if they've already come to this podcast, you and I are helping shortcut their path because I personally delayed starting my own business. I didn't think I was allowed to, which sounds so silly now, but someone told me, no, not someone, my friend and old employer and mentor, Matt Waller, said to me, just start your own business. You're losing shifts during covid. Just start your own. And I was like, I can't. And he's like, whatcha talking about? I was like, I don't have money. I don't have a business degree. And then he was like, you don't need either of those. I was like, what are you talking about? And I didn't realize how easy it was to get started. I'm not saying business is easy, but to get started, you can go and get your A BN, and then you can, I already had my paddling qualifications, and then so I bought a couple of paddleboards and got a permit and got insurance, and then you get your website domain and it's just very step by step, one foot in front of the other.
(37:56):
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. So if they've already found this podcast and they already have that permission. So that would be my advice is to find that or to not look for that permission to start your business. If you've got this dream, if you've got this desire, if something's on your heart, you're being called to start something for a reason. Don't wait for permission or external validation. If you know within yourself that it's what you want, I'm very lucky that Matt Waller did give me that quote permission that I was seeking. I didn't even realize I was legally allowed to start a business. Hilarious. But yeah, don't wait for that. You can be the first in your family to ever start a business. You can be the first in your group of friends to be self-employed, and just take that first step, one bite at a time. There's ample resources online, and you can start with no money, no experience, no qualifications, and work your way up.
Danielle Lewis (38:49):
Oh, that's so awesome. And I love it because I even think that permission seeking often doesn't stop. I am launching just a new product inside one of my businesses, and I've been procrastinating on it for a year, and I think it's because I'm like, who am I to start that? Who am I to talk about that topic, who I, and it's like, I'm fucking great. I've done this for 10 years. Why am I looking for external validation? You are so right. I think we invent these roadblocks for ourselves. So I don't have this, I can't do it. I don't have this, I don't have this. I dunno why we do it, but so I love that point so much. Stop looking for that permission. Just get started. Put one foot in front of the other. That's beautiful. You're amazing.
Elise Lavers (39:36):
You're amazing too. Thanks for having this podcast. What an amazing resource. And yeah, I wish I'd heard it in 2020. We've been like, oh, wow. I could do that too. And yeah, if you're not seeing people that look like you, that sound like you, that have the same disability, skin color, religion, whatever, as you don't let that put you off. We need diverse people in the space. And entrepreneurship, I thought was this business degree boys club, but it's not at all. It's for anyone if you're willing to take the risk.
Danielle Lewis (40:06):
Oh, you are. Incredible. Elise, thank you so much for sharing your journey and your insights for the Spark community. You are incredible.
Elise Lavers (40:16):
Thanks Danielle. It's been awesome to chat with you.
✨ Thank you to IP Australia for supporting the SPARK podcast and women in business ✨
