5 March 2023 — Beauty

International Women’s Day: An Interview with Inspiring Female Founders 

Pictured from left to right: Julie Stevanja (Her Black Book), Sam Brett (Naked Sundays, Elle Halliwell (Auricle Ear Seeds), Bonnie Gillies (Basics By B).

In celebration of International Women’s Day taking place on the 8th of March, we teamed up with four fellow Australian Female Founders to celebrate their success, understand who inspires them to be the powerful women they are today and chat about all things womanhood. 

Julie Stevanja 

Co-Founder of Her Black Book 

What is your proudest achievement?

My proudest achievement is giving birth. 

Which women inspire you the most?

I am inspired by the women around me starting a business, and growing a business. Women like Anna and Christie, going into it is a tough slog, starting a business and their dedication, their effort, they never give up. Inspires me every day. 

What is the advice you would give your 20-year-old self?

My advice to my 20-year-old self would be. No matter how stressful things are, these two shall pass. Things aren’t easy, but you can do it and believe in yourself. 

Describe Womanhood in 3 words

Empowering, limitless, and a privilege.

Sam Brett

Founder of Naked Sundays

What is your proudest achievement?

My proudest achievement is definitely giving birth to my daughter Harper, who’s now six years old and watching her grow up and learn all about the world. It’s such an amazing experience. 

My second proudest achievement is giving birth to my other baby, which is Naked Sundays, and really being able to learn everything about starting a new business from the ground up. Including how to make a website, manufacturing, and marketing. I knew none of that stuff before. So, those two are my proudest achievements. 

Which women inspire you the most? 

The women I most admire are people that have really been through adversity or huge challenges, or they’ve had setbacks in their life and they have just kept on going and not let anything get in their way. I think it’s really difficult, especially when you’re starting your own business, people tell you it can’t be done and that your idea is not good enough. But, if you just keep going and don’t let that deter you, you can really do something. I just really admire women who have the strength to just keep on going. 

I wrote a book called The Game Changers, where I interviewed some of the world’s most famous women, and they all had one thing in common. They all experienced failures and they all experienced setbacks, but it was what kept them going and kept them motivated that really helped them excel. 

What is the advice you would give your 20-year-old self?

The advice that I would give my 20-year-old self, I guess, would be to not worry about what other people think or say. To just keep going, even if people tell you it can’t be done. If you believe in something, keep going, keep motivated, and keep pushing yourself because if it’s something that you believe in, you believe it will be a success or that is the path for you, you know best.

Describe Womanhood in 3 words

I think it means one word, not three. It means multitasking. I think if you speak to any woman, you’ll hear that they’re constantly multitasking, whether they’re a mum or a business owner. a wife or whatever they’re doing, they are always multitasking. Women are so good at multitasking and doing more than one thing at one time, so I think that really encapsulates that whole word of a woman.

Elle Halliwell

Founder of Auricle Ear Seeds

What is your proudest achievement?

My proudest achievement would have to be having my beautiful little boy Tor. I just feel so proud to have a beautiful son and hopefully I can be the best mum that I can be to him. 

Which women inspire you the most?

I think any woman who is brave enough to stand up and risk humiliation, opposition, and go through adversity to stand up for their beliefs and their values – That is someone who I will admire. Whether I agree with their beliefs, opinions, or values or not. 

What is the advice you would give your 20-year-old self?

The advice I’d give my 20-year-old self would probably be pretty simple. Just be brave and be kind. I mean, you can’t really go wrong in life when you do those two things. But also don’t underestimate what you can do in five years, but also don’t overestimate what you can do in a week. 

Describe Womanhood in 3 words

Womanhood in three words. It’s a lot. Is that three?

Bonnie Gillies

Founder of Basics by B

What is your proudest achievement?

My proudest achievement, aside from my family, would be the amazing network of women I have who constantly support and.

Which women inspire you the most?

I find so many women inspiring, but what I find the most inspiring is women that just show their genuine kindness. You can sense when someone’s being genuine and you can also sense when someone is showing you genuine kindness and support. That comes from within, it’s a non-transactional thing and they don’t expect anything in return. They’re the people I find inspiring.

What is the advice you would give your 20-year-old self?

The first thing I would say is to stop worrying about what other people think. When I looked back, I realised I was born with a lot of confidence – I’ve always backed myself. So, I would say just keep going, keep doing what you’re doing because having that sense of self-belief can really get you a long way.

Describe Womanhood in 3 words

Empowering, challenging, and fun.

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Anna Robards 

INTU WELLNESS

What is your proudest achievement?

My proudest moment by far is giving birth to my little girl, Elle, and I’m sure every mother would say the same thing. Professionally, though, it would be getting my law degree because I never thought I could or would, and also starting a business because once again I never thought I would or could.

Which women inspire you the most?

I actually get asked this question a lot, and there is not one woman that inspires me more than another. I think every woman has something that they can bring to the table, and I actually get inspiration from all the women I meet, whether it’s for the first time or I’ve known them for a lifetime.

What is the advice you would give your 20-year-old self?

There is so much I would say to my younger self, so I’m gonna give you a little bit of a list. Believe in yourself, love yourself, know that you are so much stronger than you actually think. Also, don’t compare yourself to others, there’s absolutely no point and it’s not gonna get you anywhere.

Describe Womanhood in 3 words:

It’s extremely hard to put womanhood into three words, but I would say inspiring, powerful, dynamic. I’m gonna say a few more, resilient, tough, and driven. 

Christie Whitehill 

INTU WELLNESS

What is your proudest achievement?

My proudest achievement would definitely have to be my children, but aside from family, it would have to be the organisations that I’ve built over the years. I’m very proud of them, because they’ve been able to help a lot of people.

Which women inspire you the most?

I’m inspired by so many women, but most importantly, I’m inspired by women who really give back, who share their knowledge, who share their experiences to help other women, for future generations.

What is the advice you would give your 20-year-old self?

Back yourself, believe in yourself. Invest in your education, your mindset, your wellbeing, your self worth. These are all amazing, critical traits to build up, stay true to who you are, and not care what other people think.

Describe Womanhood in 3 words:

Resilient, empowering, and unstoppable.

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