September 27, 2023 • 54 mins
We all dream of living a life of real purpose, of answering those nagging questions about making a difference, leaving a legacy and helping the world be a better place.
After a career in corporate my next guest could no longer ignore her calling and put aside all her self-doubt to start to build an incredible non for profit.
Imagine Re-evolution is now a certified charity that is about empowering the youth to break the poverty cycle … and you’ll love the creative ways in which Jayne is changing the world
Welcome to the buzz, the amazing, brave and incredibly inspirational Jayne Clarke
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
we all dream of living a life of real purpose,
of answering those nagging questions about making a difference, leaving
a legacy and helping the world be a better place.
After a career in corporate, my next guest could no
longer ignore her calling and put aside all herself doubt
(00:22):
to start and build an incredible not for profit organisation.
Imaginary Revolution is now a certified charity that is about
empowering youth to break the poverty cycle. And you'll love
the creative ways in which Jane is changing the world.
Welcome to the Buzz, the amazing, brave and incredibly inspirational
(00:45):
Jane Clark.
Now I met today's guest at the nilly women's business
lunch event. We were in a queue together, and I
was hooked. Once I heard the mission, she was on.
Fueled by passion and determination to make a difference, This
impressive woman here today has gathered together an equally impressive
(01:05):
board of directors with a common aim to empower youth
and help break the cycle of childhood poverty.
I love it an incredible mission in itself, but the
next level of that is where the key projects actually
support and empower young people with the skills and knowledge
to reimagine hard rubbish into upgraded products for sale
(01:27):
and reinvestment. So not only engaging youth, um, but creating
pathways for work opportunities. You really are teaching them how
to fish and diverting the number of items from our, um,
our landfill. So win, win, win, win win.
Absolutely. Love it. It's my great pleasure to welcome founder
(01:49):
of imaginary evolution Jane Clark to the Buzz.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Thank you very much. Karen. This is fun.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Yeah, absolutely. Jane, Look,
I want to go back in time. What did you
study at uni?
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Um, I've done several things at uni, so I started
off in a disability degree. I kind of finished school.
I wanted to be a pharmacist, but didn't get the marks. OK, um,
so I went into disability, um, worked at Key cottages
just after those fires back in the day, and then realised, Wow,
I don't have the life experience to be doing this.
(02:21):
So I went to accounting. Yeah, quite related.
I worked as an accountant for 25 years, and then yeah,
Speaker 1 (02:30):
so quite a big shift. So you're in that disability
and the services and the support and then which is
a very people You know people. It's a people person job. Um,
and then into that accountant
space, which is not people. Peasant.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
I made it people people role. So I worked in
businesses and I worked in project management, and I worked, um,
making sure that I was working with people because otherwise,
sitting with numbers and an Excel spreadsheet all day will
do my
Speaker 1 (03:00):
head to drive you. Absolutely. So you managed to bridge
the two?
Yeah. Beautiful. So why so when you said, Oh, you know,
I need to change because I didn't have the life experience. What?
Can you share a bit more about that? Yeah, I
Speaker 2 (03:15):
was institutions back then had non unskilled, a lot of
unskilled labour. And I think I was in cottages one
day and they grabbed a girl by her ear
and pulled her into the toilets and kind of threw
her in the toilet and held the door shut. And
I went I don't think I can cope with because
(03:35):
I was 19 years old. Um, I'd also worked in
and I take things with humour a lot, So I
worked in a community residential unit. They used to be called,
and they were with people that had, um
they were They were psych disabilities on parole. Um, it
was the best place to be. It was in the community.
(03:57):
It was lovely. But one of the guys who had
a hearing impairment as well, um, decided that he would
chase me around the house with a butter knife because
someone left the butter knife in. So I lock myself
in the toilet, which I thought was apt. And then
I just went, Oh, I don't know if I can
do this. I was in tears. I was scared. Yeah,
I just didn't have the experience behind me. I was
(04:17):
fresh out of school fresh out of uni. Um, so
I just had to figure out what else I needed
to do and business. See, I was
good at accounting. Didn't know if I liked accounting as
Speaker 1 (04:29):
in, like, through high school. And I picked
Speaker 2 (04:31):
it up in year 12 and just liked it. Yeah,
I was good with numbers. Yeah. Thought I'd give it
a go, got it work with, got a job with
my dad in the airlines and went Oh, yeah, doing
accounts receivable accounts payable and then went off to study it,
um, and then kind of went from there.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Yeah, because there were a lot of years you were
in that finance, you know, space I. I read that
you were in, like, the country road group Blockbuster Kingpin.
Um, and then a lot of years in, uh, pharmaceuticals. Yeah. So,
um and you know, all the while in those in
those finance roles, were you contented, or did you ever
(05:11):
think No, there's something more for me? No, no, that
I'm gonna be doing this for the rest of my career.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
I think through my mid twenties, early thirties, I was
really career focused, Um,
and it was paying well, so we had an IVF journey.
And so through that IVF journey, it paid really well
that I could afford to do IV F-15 times so
(05:37):
that that was the piece that really helped me. But
it wasn't fulfilling enough for me like I loved people management.
And I loved, you know, helping people be their best Selves.
But if I came to working by myself, then
I didn't really enjoy it. But it wasn't. It was
once I had my daughter that I really wanted to
try and find a balance. I was working 60 hour weeks. Um,
(06:00):
you know, what more was it? Why did I work
so hard to have a child? So I was just
going to stick her in child care, so I had
to find a balance. Um and so I kind of
had a bit of a breakdown, though. So doing that
much IVF and doing
going through that much of a journey kind of stuffs
you up a bit mentally, not just physically. And so
(06:20):
that constant loss that constant anxiety kind of fell apart.
So I was
Speaker 1 (06:28):
like, That's that's a tough journey.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
But I'm a really firm believer, and my mum and
dad have brought me up to always look on the positive.
So
whilst that was a tough journey, I was really lucky
in the sense that those experiences helped shape me as
to who I am now. And so I've got a
lot more empathy. Um, I've always been that kind of
I'm an empath anyway, so but, um yeah, so that
(06:54):
kind of helped me know what I wanted to do.
And I've been on a journey for seven years of
trying this job, trying that job. And then I found service.
I was like, OK, I found the place. This is
Speaker 1 (07:06):
where I and so what does that feel like? What
does that feel like? Like, you know, you say, Yeah,
I found my place is where I'm supposed to be.
But what? What What? What's the feeling sense behind that realisation?
Speaker 2 (07:18):
It's just like you're home. I don't know how to
explain it. Like people say When I start talking about it,
I light up like it's a passion. So I've got
no problems talking about trying to help someone else because
it's what lights the fire underneath me. So as much
as I'm helping them, it's kind of helping me as well. Yeah,
it feeds that soul for me. But it took me
(07:39):
a really long time
to realise that as well. And that came with maturity.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Yeah, and so and and maybe even like way back
then when your 19 year old self that was sitting there,
but it wasn't fully, you know, like you, you started
in service, right? So you've kind of then all those
years later, armed with the maturity armed with the life experience,
you've not gone full circle and you're back in that
service service space. But feeling this time like
(08:08):
it's a lot more manageable.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Yeah, and I think I've always been the kid that
was in the playground that would help the other kid. Or,
you know, that was just It's just my nature. Yeah,
I wouldn't say that. I'm feeling 100% because I still
wake up every morning going What the heck do you
think you're doing?
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Which I think we're going to talk about that a
little bit further on because I think every guest I
have had here we've spoken about that particular syndrome.
Um, but let's just so so that first sort of
role in service after accounting was that with the big
Hug group. So
Speaker 2 (08:42):
I started with, um, Vinnie just working in the store.
And I was selling things because I didn't know if
I wanted to be client facing. I still had that
thing in the back of my head from when I
was younger. Yeah, and those experiences I was like, Well,
I don't know if I want to be client facing.
And then I saw an ad on Facebook.
Um, where all good ads are and I went OK, um,
(09:05):
big group hub. They look good. I give them a go.
And I was with them for 5.5 years, and they
are amazing what they do. And so that gave me
really good grounding on. I was working with kids, though,
and I was seeing the same names come through over
and over again. So
Speaker 1 (09:23):
what does what does the big hug? Yeah, so
Speaker 2 (09:25):
they do material aid. So prams, cots, clothes. And I
was
working with them and I loved it, and I loved
what I was doing with them. But then I would
bring the kids in from school groups or go out
and talk to them, and then we'd see the same
names come through over and over again. And for me,
I was What are we doing to disrupt that poverty cycle?
(09:46):
What are we doing to equip those people
with the skills they need to be able to stand
on their own 2 ft? And so I started doing
more research in that space as to why What's missing
and what I was finding in that youth space is
there was nothing really there for them
to support them. The flip side of that is the
kids that would come through the warehouse. We'd have things
(10:07):
that we weren't able to use for whatever reasons, and
they would They were really passionate about sustainability. And so
I was like, Hm, what can we do? They they
they're wanting something. What can we do to do that?
And I'm like, seeing this way go out OK, surely
there's something else we can do with it. And that's
how imagine was born.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
So and and were you thinking at that point? Were
you thinking, um, as as
as a suggestion, to the big hug group to expand
their services? Or were you thinking more? No, no. This
is this is something I'm gonna
Speaker 2 (10:39):
do. No, it was definitely to expand their service, and
then we just that wasn't on their path. And that's
just because their need was to hand out that material.
I think that's what they needed to do. Um and
so all this extra noise of me going, But I
need we need we need was just that noise. It
was it was just not
(11:00):
on their trajectory at that point. Um, but I needed.
And we talked about this in the beginning. I needed
something that was feeding my soul, and it was just
something that just kept nagging
Speaker 1 (11:11):
nagging at you. So for how long was that nagging
before you actually took some action. Probably
Speaker 2 (11:17):
good two years, OK, and then I did some conscious
leadership coaching.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
And why did you do that?
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Because I just needed to find out who I was. OK,
I think I needed to establish who
Jane was before I could move forward to anything else.
Um and I was still pretty lost post a career
that had identified me because the success in a career
was what I was looking for and I was a mom,
(11:45):
and that was fantastic. But that's all I was. Yeah,
and it would be great to be more than just
the mum
Speaker 1 (11:52):
when, particularly when you've come from
such a strong and, um, prestigious career in accounting. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
but
Speaker 2 (12:02):
like and And my daughter was brilliant, and I and
I wanted more kids and we lost more kids, and
it just got to the point that
I couldn't be my best self for her if I
was stuck at home with her all day. It just
was not going to work. Um, I would have resented
it because I had the dream of. I'm going to
be a stay at home mum and it's going to
(12:24):
be beautiful and seven months in and I went back
to work. I can't do
Speaker 1 (12:28):
this anymore.
I know Not the
Speaker 2 (12:34):
lovely if it was, but it's
Speaker 1 (12:36):
not. It is not for everyone.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
It wasn't for me. And that was it. Um, and
I'm nurturing and I love kids, and I love all
of that. But I also like my space. And so
I think it's really important that my mind is challenged
as well.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
So why conscious leadership? Like what? Where did that pop up?
I know you said you want to find yourself, you
want to know who you were, but, like, why that
particular course
Speaker 2 (12:58):
I met, Um, so I was an alumni coordinator at
my old high school, and I met an alumna there
who ran courses, and she was living in Cyprus at
the time. And we did a session during covid for
our alumni community,
um, on burnout and what that looks like and being
your best self. And I was like, I really connected
(13:20):
with that. I really connected with what was being said.
So I explored more and we became friends. Um, and
we started talking more, and I just turned around to
her one time and said, I think I'm ready to
do your course.
So it started with that. And it was the beginning
of the journey to where I'm
Speaker 1 (13:36):
now. Yeah, right, right, right. And how long was that for?
Speaker 2 (13:40):
So I did it. It was a a 16 week
course every Sunday morning with people all over the world
on Zoom during lockdown. So productive during lockdown, which was good.
Um, and just that self discovery. But I still wasn't
quite there yet after that. And so then I engaged
her three months later to do one on one coaching.
(14:02):
And I said, I want to start something myself. And
we did that together
Speaker 1 (14:06):
through the woman who was running the conscious leadership. Yeah. Yeah, OK. Yeah. Yeah.
So what were your big takeaways from that period? You know, um, well,
a few sort of layers there, but obviously in covid.
But doing such rich, you know, personal growth work What
were some of the big takeaways that you can attribute
(14:27):
to where you are today?
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Um, I found out. So we did a lot of
strengths based stuff, and I found out where my strengths lie.
And I was I'm really hard on myself, so Yeah,
but I'm really crap at at me. I'm really bad
at it. Um,
Speaker 1 (14:42):
come on. We talk about strengths here. Yeah, so
Speaker 2 (14:44):
I went, But I did a strengths analysis, and I
went Oh, hang on. I may not be good at that,
but I've got all of these other wonderful strengths of,
um unconditional and, you know, acceptance and, um,
bring connecting people together and doing all of those things.
So why am I playing to my strengths rather than
beating myself up about the things that I can't do?
(15:06):
How about let's have a look at what I can
do and see where we go from there,
Speaker 1 (15:09):
which I think is kind of human nature too, right?
I think we're very quick to look at the things
there is. We can improve or give ourselves a hard time.
So I think that's really important to stop and take
note of what what your strengths are. And
Speaker 2 (15:24):
I was fortunate that I had that space to be
able to do that. And the guidance. Not everybody has
those opportunities. So I was really fortunate
Speaker 1 (15:31):
that so for someone who doesn't necessarily have that opportunity,
what advice would you give them to start looking at
that kind of thing?
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Sometimes it's easy to get in your own way and
get in your head. And when you're sitting there sitting
with your head all day, every day, especially during lockdowns,
it's very easy to think of the negative stuff. And
I can't do that. I'm hopeless. Who the hell do
you think you are all of those kind of things.
Sometimes it's easy to sit down and think about how
(16:01):
you would speak to somebody else that was feeling like
Speaker 1 (16:04):
that. So how would you prop a friend up if
they were telling you these things?
Speaker 2 (16:10):
That's what we're good at, right at telling everyone else
you're amazing. And then you wake up in the morning
and you go, Oh, my God, look at you. How
can you do this? Da da, da, da
And that negative self talk is always there. Um, but
just take a little step. It doesn't have to be massive.
Speak to someone. Do something that you love like Yeah,
small step. Just a little step. Everything is a is
(16:32):
a good good thing in the right direction. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (16:35):
absolutely. So, um
OK, so you've finished this this course and you're getting
closer and closer to starting imaginary revolution. What does that
look like?
Speaker 2 (16:49):
Ah,
that's exactly what it looks like.
It looked like me sitting in the mirror going OK,
we got to do this. And we'd had we put together.
So art and I Artemus is the girl that I
was talking about for a conscious leg. So Artemus and I,
we'd put together this business plan and we got everything
ready and she goes right, press the button
(17:11):
and I just froze and she'd message me every week
going How's that button looking? I'm like and
Speaker 1 (17:17):
what does press the button look like? What? What what
are the actions
Speaker 2 (17:20):
register the business name, You know, simple little things. But
to me in my head, they were massive because that
was committing
to this big thing. I had to leave where I
was comfortable at big group hug. Um, I had to
do a whole lot of stuff, so I did that
first because you can't work into Not for profits. It's
(17:41):
not fair. Um, I registered the business name. I got
an a BN and then went right. What do we
do next? Right, We're done.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Let's push it. I'm done.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
I'm done. Come on, Universe. Let's do this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So,
um and then from there, I realised it wasn't done. Um,
and we met with a company. We started speaking to
this company, and they my friend, had said, Put something together.
I need to take it to them.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
And what? Like what? Like a pitch document? The
Speaker 2 (18:17):
pitch they wanna hear, they want to help. And I'm, like, mhm.
And so then that pause button was hit again. I go,
I'm not ready. I'm not ready for that. I'm not
ready for that. I'm barely trying to figure out who
we are, who I am in this organisation. Firstly, and
I was really scared about talking about it as well,
just in case I jinxed it a little bit as well. So,
(18:40):
you know, there was all of these emotions going with it.
And then we
Speaker 1 (18:45):
like a whole lot of just unsubstantiated.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
And, you know, we've grown up in a society where
you don't talk about what you're good at at all
that tall poppy syndrome. Where you going? Oh, you're a
bit up yourself. You better be. Yeah. So I had
to get over all of those stereotypes that I've been
conditioned with as well. So,
um and even now it's really uncomfortable to talk about
(19:11):
it because I sit here and go. Who the heck
do you think you are?
Speaker 1 (19:16):
And then taking the focus off you and actually focusing
on the service that you're providing is bigger than you?
It's way bigger than
Speaker 2 (19:25):
you. This is not about me at all. And once
I got that in my head,
everything started to move and everything started to come together
and started to happen. And the minute that I started
to doubt myself, another sign would come, someone would come
along and we'd start talking about it. And I knew
I was on the right track of where I needed
(19:47):
to go. And then we started bringing kids in, and
holy moly, it was little changes. And we're not fully
like massive operation at all. At the moment we're still
starting up, but the difference we're making in these little
kids lives in these kids' lives. It's amazing the connection
of people
(20:07):
that don't usually connect in a society, and it's from
learning how to knit or learning how to crochet or
learning how to break a pot or whatever that is.
But it gives them a purpose that's not centred around
their mental health. It's not centred around what they can
do and can't
Speaker 1 (20:24):
do their background, their families, it's about them. It's just
Speaker 2 (20:28):
about getting in there and trying something and holding the
space for them to be able to do that and
make a
and no judgement at all like you can put break apart,
you can smash something, we just wake it up and
off we go to the next thing so there's there's
no judgement and I think that's the really good thing
that we're trying to
Speaker 1 (20:46):
do at the moment, which is so wonderful because obviously
the judgement and sort of those conditions was something that,
you know, our generation was very much raised with, so
to be, you know, a lot of freedom to just
be able to,
um, provide such a a different perspective for a next generation,
particularly a generation, you know, or or a segment of
(21:07):
the population that so desperately need that, um, that freedom
of judgement 100%. So OK, let's go back to it.
Just can you explain, um, as a not for profit?
What does that actually mean?
What does a not for profit business structure mean? We're
Speaker 2 (21:25):
still a business. So the aim is is that we
still want to pay wages. We've still got operating expenses
that we need to cover. We still want to pay
the kids a maker's fee for the things that they're
making so that there's a value attached to them.
It'd be great if everything in life was free, but
it's not. And so it just means that anything that
(21:47):
we make goes back into the programmes. Everything goes back
in and we're very transparent about where our money goes.
And I think that's really important, as we've now got
our charity status and we're now fully fledged charity. Thank you.
That was That was fun.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
Yeah,
Speaker 2 (22:06):
that was a learning experience. Um, but we've got that
And so we know that transparency and that's where my
accounting background comes into it as well is because transparency
is really important from a financial point of view. But
also from an operational point of view, everybody knows what
we're doing. And it's good for me because I'm really
good with TM. I So I give.
(22:26):
Could I tell everyone about everything that we're doing now?
We got no problems with that.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
So do you have to be? So if you're a
not for profit group, do you have to be charity,
like registered to charities? Well, do they go hand in hand? No, no, no. OK,
so So, yeah,
Speaker 2 (22:42):
so we could be So we started off, um, just
registering as an incorporated association. And that was what would
fit that fitted our business model at, um, best at
that time.
Um, eventually, we probably moved to a company structure. Um,
but we weren't making any money we didn't have, like,
I didn't want to be exposing tax implications, all of
(23:06):
those kind of things when we didn't need to, um
incorporated association also protected our members so that there was
no personal liability, and that was really important as well.
I'd hate for everything to go belly up and everyone
lose everything because of anything that they've invested
into the organisation.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
Um, so then when you talk about when you talk
about that, is that like, um, your investors that they
are like companies or are they your board members or what?
Speaker 2 (23:34):
So we only have financial investment ongoing in financial investment.
At the moment, that would be lovely to have. And
I think that's everyone's dream. Um, but it's just about
making sure that if anything goes wrong,
no one gets sued with all of those things like, Yeah,
we've got insurances. We've got all of those things in place.
But people are really reluctant to come on board if
(23:55):
there's any kind of personal risk, and I get that,
I get that. So, making sure that everyone's protected. But
scouts are incorporated. Associations, clubs and associations are all incorporated associations,
and it keeps them safe as well. So it's important.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
Got it? So can you explain for a non for profit?
Where does your revenue come from?
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Me begging, borrowing, stealing. So we do a lot of fundraising. Um,
we do have some corporate sponsors that are really generous.
And we're We're very, um very, very lucky. Um, but
at the moment, it's big borrow steel kind of stuff
at the moment. Um, with the hope that we can
become more strategic, um, and people can see what we're
(24:38):
doing and invest in the kids and the programmes, scholarship programmes,
those kind of things as well, but also recognise that
we we've got rent. We've got, um, electricity because we
want to have a dedicated space for these kids to
feel safe.
That comes at a cost. And we need to be
able to cover that so hopefully we can find
invest investors that can look after that part for
Speaker 1 (25:00):
us. So for the listener, who's who's looking at going
out on their own, launching a big idea in the
not for profit space? What would your top three tips
would be to make that you know, transition as seamless
as
Speaker 2 (25:14):
possible? Do your homework. Make sure that you've got the
right structure in place for yourself, because
whilst you're not for profit, there's so many different kind
of structures that you could have, um, get the right
people around you because you can't do it by
Speaker 1 (25:28):
yourself? Well, that Yeah, And that leads me on to,
you know, another area. I know. When we caught up,
you had mentioned what your your board of directors, and
you've got this impressive board from such a wonderful range
of expertise. Um, we'll come back to tip number three,
but while we're on that people around you,
(25:48):
how do you pull that together?
Speaker 2 (25:52):
I'm really lucky. Um, through my life, I've been able
to collect people. I'm a collector of people. So, um,
when I talk to people and and people that I
approached to join the board, they were all in, um,
because they were passionate about what we're trying to do. Um,
So we've got educators. We've got marketing specialists, We've got lawyers,
(26:14):
We've got IT specialists. Um, we've got people that are
members of council, those kind of things. So really good.
Well rounded. Which means that the kids get the best
from our organisation as well, Which which helps.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
And for, you know, um, the listener who might not
have be a collector and have that kind of network.
How What would you suggest they they do to to
start building that positive people around them.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
So do what I did tell my husband he's joining.
So that was the first. Find some find some people
that you trust because you want people. So when I
was talking to the board about joining, they have to
be honest. So if I come up with a really
crappy idea, tell me it's a crappy idea. Tell me
to slow my horse down a little bit because I'm so.
I have a sparkle book and I've had this since
(27:04):
Big Group Hug.
We have a sparkle book, and we keep all of
our ideas in it. And it was actually the founder
of Big Group that gave me that idea of keeping
a sparkle book of all the ideas because I'm an
ideas person. I've got lots of ideas coming in the
front and centre, but not all of them practical. Um,
and I've got a really honest board that will sit
there and go. No, we're not doing that. No, we're
(27:25):
not doing that. And I'll
What do you mean? We're not doing that right now
so that honesty is really important. So people that you
trust around you and you don't It's not a forever thing.
It might be to start up. You need this skill set,
and you need these people around you
network join groups like Like what? How we met, You know,
(27:45):
through local councils, women's, um, networking. Go to, you know,
find a like we've got her tribe and those kind
of things, like find somewhere that you find like minded people. Um,
because
once you start pitching your idea, you'll find people just gravitate,
and they're the ones that you want to be part
(28:07):
of your inner circle.
Speaker 1 (28:09):
Yeah, absolutely. Good advice. Just get out there and start
talking about it,
Speaker 2 (28:14):
which is really hard. Trust me. I know.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Yeah. Think of the bigger picture. That's
Speaker 2 (28:19):
it. Get out of your own way. And that was
number three.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
Number three. Beautiful. Love that. I was gonna call you back.
Did you see me
Get out of your own way? I love that. Yeah.
So can you share what your biggest challenge was in
getting this off the ground?
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Um,
apart from me.
And it's still probably a really big challenge. Is financing it? Yeah,
that's a really big thing, because don't we can't afford
to finance it ourselves. um, and that would put my
family under a lot of pressure as well. Um, but
like I said, I'm a I'm a connector and a collector,
(29:02):
so that's been the easy part for me. But I
find speaking from the heart is really important because people
come along for the journey. Then if they're the right people, um,
identifying your values up front. So what is not you
as an individual, but you as an organisation? What does
that look like? Because then you attract like minded people
(29:23):
to the organisation like minded investors. All of those kind
of things happen from that as well.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
So, you know, as far as you overcoming that, that
challenge of getting investors
is that Is that what you you know? What did
you do?
Speaker 2 (29:39):
I haven't yet. Um, I haven't overcome that challenge yet.
I've put together a sponsorship and partnership document that I'm
really proud of, but it's it's on the drive. It
hasn't gone anywhere from there. I don't even know what
to do with it now. It looks really pretty. It's
got pretty colours. Um, it's got pretty pictures,
but I don't know what to do with it now.
And so you know, And that's the constant learning is
(30:02):
starting something new. You look from the outside, people look
in and go Oh, you've got everything happening and and
actually we don't. But we just take little steps. And
so Yeah, OK, we got that document. And when the
opportunity arises, I can pull out that document and talk
to it and know everything
that's in it. Yeah, but I don't know what to
do with that. And so now I see Who do
(30:23):
I speak to? Because there's somebody out in the world
that already does
Speaker 1 (30:27):
this that's going back to your network, going back to
your boards. OK, what happens now? Having the conversation not
being too, you know, proud or worried or fearful. Just
putting it out there
happens next. You've got some a great couple of sponsors.
I think you mentioned you had had bunnings on board.
(30:48):
So how did how did you secure that? I went
Speaker 2 (30:51):
in and just started talking to the wonderful um of
of the activities organiser. I think she's got to think
of the right the right term at Bunnings in, and
she's just amazing. So Lisa is her name and shout
out to her name. But she's she's amazing and we
(31:11):
just started. We really Joel, and that's that's the thing.
You find people, you find your people, especially when you're
speaking from your Yeah, And then we were able to
just do stuff there at the warehouse. So we did
a terrarium building thing and we went, OK, we'll see
how this goes. And then we ran our first school
holiday programme, this last school holiday.
(31:32):
It's begging to come back and 17 Children at one
of Lisa and I look at each other going How
are we gonna manage this? It was it was good
to have Yeah, and so they're really good. In that sense,
they provided all the materials. Lisa was there for every session,
and her and I worked really well together, so that
made it very easy.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
Beautiful, beautiful. What's been your nicest surprise during the startup process? Hm?
Speaker 2 (31:58):
Good question.
I think
the nicest surprise is knowing that my idea that I
was sleeping like waking up in the middle of the
night thinking about has been affirmed a little bit because
of the momentum that we've got and the and the
way people react when we start talking about it, because
(32:19):
that affirms to me that we're on the right track
and we're doing the right things. And when we get
the kids involved and engaged, then we're hitting that nail
on the head. And that's the best thing, because it's
all about them,
Um, and watching little kids get really involved. So when
we hold a bunnings barbecue or a cake stall, my
poor daughter has to come to everything. She's 12. She
(32:43):
now runs our sales department. Um, but the way that
people just engage with kids just beautifully, like
it's it's really magical, Uh, from a from someone having
to go to all of these events, I don't have
to run them anymore. The kids run them, and that's magical.
That empowers them to be whatever they want. And that's
(33:04):
really
Speaker 1 (33:04):
important. That's really rewarding absolutely, in a whole lot of
boxes there. And you've only just begun.
So the board is in place business set up. You've
got some programmes in place. First school holiday programme. Um
what so Yeah, well, I guess actually, this probably answers
the question. What are the measures of success at this
(33:25):
at this point in the business journey. Um, I imagine
Would that be fair to say it's the kids and
the empowerment
Speaker 2 (33:34):
And yeah, and just, you know, we ran. We trialled
a workshop with, um, wonderful Maria who who runs power
of them.
And it was a mindfulness movement and music, um, workshop
and those kids like it was a really small workshop.
We expected more. It was over the school holidays. And
(33:54):
what I've learned is to let go of expectations because
that kind of holds back as well. So just go
with the flow.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
That's good advice for any for
Speaker 2 (34:04):
anyone, anywhere along the line. The only thing that holds
us back is our expectation, Um, and so
removing that we had such a special session with three
beautiful young people that they came, they wrote a song
in five minutes, and then they got up and started
playing the piano and singing, and it was just beautiful.
(34:27):
And I felt really blessed to be part of that group.
They did really well and I knew that. OK, that's
ticked a box. And some people hear mindfulness and go Oh,
we don't want to sit there and go. But this
was far from it. It was all about music and movement,
and it was really lovely.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
Yeah. Gosh, so good. So during our our catch up
couple months ago, you had mentioned your own struggles with
mental health and, you know, obviously again, you know, earlier,
um how does that does that? Sort of still impact
your day to day?
Yeah, Absolutely. Yeah. In this time, how do you get
(35:04):
back up? How do you, you know, get back up
and get back Stuck into your day? Yeah. And
Speaker 2 (35:11):
there's some days that it just doesn't happen. But I've
learned to just have to be kind to myself a
little bit as well and allow myself the space like
I'm holding space for these young people to be their
best Selves. If there's a morning I wake up and
I go, I cannot
adult Today I allow myself the time. But I don't
get stuck in it for hours and hours and hours.
(35:33):
I just allow the space I go and find something
that brings me joy. Go to pottery, go sing somewhere.
Whatever that looks like for me to bring me joy.
It's watching television for an hour, two hours, just something
that clears my head. And then I go and do
something productive. Um, but that's years of therapy.
(35:56):
And, um, you know, self help books and podcasts and
all of those things and maturity
Speaker 1 (36:04):
Maturity, I was just gonna say and and maturity, because
you can be, you know, told throughout all of these
years that this is how you do it. Um, but actually,
doing it and and then feeling the benefit from it
is is very different.
Speaker 2 (36:18):
And I've got a coach that I work with.
Speaker 1 (36:21):
I was gonna ask you that if you had a
mentor or coach. Yeah, so
Speaker 2 (36:24):
I've got So art was my artus was my coach
to get me to this point and I've got um
So I've got a health coach that I work with, Um,
and she's phenomenal. And so
there was Sometimes when I spoke to her last week
was not a good week. I was feeling really overwhelmed
and just really and I got on the phone and
started talking to her, and then all of a sudden
(36:44):
I just burst into tears because we got to the
point of why I was feeling like that. After I
did that, I was off the phone and I was
back to my normal self. Just just having someone to
talk to
can never be underestimated. And it doesn't have to be
someone that you're close to. It doesn't have to be
a a therapist. It could just be a friend over
(37:06):
a glass of wine, like those kind of things are
really important as well. And I have that. I've got
my friends that I catch up for coffee with every
Friday morning. I've got all of those beautiful things that
keep my network. And if I don't have those things,
then I realise that I lose that connection and I
start to withdraw within myself. And that's when it becomes overwhelming.
Speaker 1 (37:26):
So keeping that balance and play, yeah, and that communication open.
Speaker 2 (37:31):
But knowing your strength because I'm an extrovert, so that
may not work for someone that's an introvert. Um, just
knowing what what it is that fills your cup that
little bit that gets you through. It is important
Speaker 1 (37:42):
for sure. So now you're a mom to a beautiful
young lady of 12, Um, and as moms with big
careers and business owners. It's often a challenge to find
that balance. And, you know, we just spoke about before that,
You know, that wasn't a thing for you to be
at home 24 7, um,
with your daughter. So how do you find a balance?
(38:04):
I
Speaker 2 (38:04):
wouldn't say that I'm good at it at all. But
I do try my hardest. And she knows that I
love her. She knows that I'm there when she needs
me the most. I try and make time in the day.
But then she also knows that
I've got this other thing going on at the same
time and that I can't be there all the time
and
Speaker 1 (38:24):
which she's part of.
Speaker 2 (38:25):
Yeah, and And she and that's that's part of it.
Like I bring her along on the journey as well.
So we have very open conversations about things just in general.
Um, you know, she she tells everyone, which is kind
of cute. She says, Oh, you know, my mum and
I like the Gilmore girls. You know? I give her advice.
She gives me advice. It's just beautiful. But we have that.
(38:47):
She knows I'm her mum. She knows I'm the parent.
But she also understands what's going on and for me
and for our relationship that works best. There are times
where I'm on my phone all the time because I'm
head in something and she just comes and knocks it
out of my hand and goes, Hey, Mum,
enough. And I go Oh, OK, great. Thanks. But I
(39:08):
was in the middle.
Speaker 1 (39:10):
Give me five minutes. Didn't you say you had to
go to the toilet? You need a shower right now,
Speaker 2 (39:20):
So yeah, I. I wouldn't say that. I'm It's about
finding the balance that works for us. But sometimes I
could be too much to the left or too much
to the right. So centre is never really
Speaker 1 (39:31):
there. But communication is is massive. And, um, yeah, obviously
some boundaries and yeah, a lot of respect for each other.
And the underlying of it all is you know, that
love isn't
Speaker 2 (39:47):
it. It always love comes down and that's
so in everything that I do. Love is at the
heart of everything I do, I can tell. And that's
what imagine is about as well the kids at the
heart of everything that we do when we come and
everything with love. And so what? You asked me earlier
what I did to select my board. That was really important, Love.
(40:07):
What do they love doing? Can they bring love to everything?
And the answer was yes. So it was a nora.
Speaker 1 (40:15):
Yeah, I love it.
So what is? Well, actually, yeah, I think we're answering
my next question, too. It's going to be about personal
characteristics that you, you know, have that has enabled this.
You know, startup. To be so successful and obviously love
is is a huge one, along with empathy. Is there
anything else that you think you know that you can
(40:35):
really own? And, um, you know, attribute to this
success.
Speaker 2 (40:39):
I think most if if I go even back to
my strength profile and all of those things that I've
done unconditional is one is one of the thing. And
what does that mean? It means I accept everyone at
face value for who they are. I don't It doesn't
worry me, sexuality, anything like that religion. I just look
(41:00):
at it as
person to person. So for me, that's a really good
strength that helps me in this area. Because kids come
with and adults as well. Everybody comes with a story,
but they can just be themselves. And so that's the
most important thing. So that's probably a strength of mine.
Speaker 1 (41:21):
So we talk about support network here on the buzz
because I think it's it's It can often be the
difference between, you know, surviving and thriving in a business
who is in your professional support network that, um, lift
you up and and make your day seem a little easier.
And those goals are a little more achievable.
Speaker 2 (41:39):
So my coaches and and I've got coaches for different things. Um,
the networking group that we're part of that's really important
because sometimes there's only some people that will get, you know,
something that's really business related. And he and you speak
to someone else and they go, Oh, yeah, great. Well
done and put it up in the Facebook group and
(42:00):
everyone goes, Oh, yeah, I just needed that. I just
need that little bit of a pat on the back there. Um,
yeah, uh, my family are really so my husband and
my daughter are really critical to that because I can
speak about everything in uh, especially with my husband, even
though
Speaker 1 (42:15):
he is on the board as well, Like
Speaker 2 (42:18):
he's rapped about it. He loves living with his boss.
He says,
Yeah, but, um so professionally. And then I've got mentors
and colleagues from my previous lives. Um, work lives that
I that I speak to about this as well. And
(42:39):
so that really helps as well, because I can get
I can use those networks to get information or to, um,
like I was looking for an accountant the other day,
And so one of my old, um, colleagues put me
in touch with someone that was able to answer my
question really easily. So
just using those networks is really important as well.
Speaker 1 (43:00):
Yeah, absolutely, Absolutely. Now, when we caught up last, we
also had a really good conversation around, um, a self
doubt and, you know, or imposter syndrome. And and I
think I said during our chat, Oh, we need to
cover this on the podcast because you had some, you know,
really great strategies around how you cope with with with,
(43:20):
um
that and and so many people do like, let's just
be really honest here, but I think everybody at some
point has. You know, um, that has featured as a
challenge for them. So can you share some of your
strategies around how you work through
Speaker 2 (43:36):
that? Yeah. Um, it's funny, because
last week had you have asked me this question, I go,
I would have said to you, I don't cope at all.
I'm awful. I can't do anything. So it's isn't it
funny timing of
Speaker 1 (43:50):
that particular period?
Speaker 2 (43:53):
Um, so for me, meditation is really important.
Um, I'm doing a practise, which, which could be deemed
as a bit enough at the moment. But I stand
in the mirror and, like, in my super super, you're
going to do great things today. You're doing great things already.
You are great. You are enough, that kind of stuff
because it's really easy to have your self image
(44:16):
and your professional image just intertwined. And I probably don't
have a lot of self esteem in that space. So, um,
just reminding myself of the things that I've done, um,
writing down three things that I'm grateful for that's really important.
Speaker 1 (44:33):
And this is a practise. You do every day.
Speaker 2 (44:35):
Um, I'd like to say that I'm perfect to do
it every day, but I don't. But I try really hard. Yeah,
just especially when I'm feeling that pressure or stress go. Yep.
What am I grateful for today? What? I've got a
roof over my
You know what? It can be as simple as that,
or it could be massive, but just just finding what
I'm grateful for grounds me a little bit. Um, finding
(44:57):
that thing that grounds me is really important as well,
because the same tool doesn't work all the time. I've
got the calm app on my phone I've got you know,
that my airpods are always with me. So if I
need it, I can do that. Breathing is really important
for me. So when I feel really overwhelmed and I
feel like I am
(45:17):
not worthy, not not able all of those things. It's
the three deep breaths. Just stop three deep breaths and
let's just refocus from doing something that challenges me like
writing a grant. Then I move on to something else
and then come back to it because it just shifts
my focus. I find something that I am good at,
(45:38):
and then I can come back to that.
Speaker 1 (45:39):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Love it really great. Really great strategies.
So what are some achievements you would like to have
accomplished in the next 3 to 5 years for imagine revolution.
Speaker 2 (45:52):
Financial stability would be really good for financial independence, where
we're not having to beg for money all the time. Yes, um,
that we have an alumni community of kids that have
already gone through the programmes that we offer
and then come back as mentors for the for the
next generation.
Speaker 1 (46:08):
What are the ages of the kids like What? What's
the
Speaker 2 (46:12):
Yeah, So we, um, offer programmes for kids from 12
to 25 as our official age group. So it's quite
a broad spectrum of ages. Um and that means that
some of our programmes may not be suitable for all kids,
but that's OK, because someone will find their space in
there or we run it for
the teens and then for the older adults as well. Um,
(46:34):
so if we could do and that we just have
connected communities, so I'd love to have hubs all over Victoria. Well,
if I'm really honest, I'd like to have it globally,
because that's how I roll?
Speaker 1 (46:48):
Yeah, dream
Speaker 2 (46:49):
big 100% but these connected communities is really important, and
I and I don't think this is anything new. This
is something that our parents did our grandparents did before us,
of just places where people feel like they belong. And
we I think we've lost a little bit of that
along the way, and covid hasn't helped. Um, and if
(47:09):
I look at that, disengagement is massive at the moment,
and it's not just in kids, it's across the board.
So we've got
adults that then can feel connected in a space, and
they're teaching and imparting their knowledge to young people in
a way that is self sustainable so that they continue
that on whether imaginary evolution there is there or not
(47:32):
would be
be wonderful. That would be the ultimate goal.
Speaker 1 (47:36):
I'm on board for those 3 to 5. Watch out.
And what do you value most about your business journey
so far, the
Speaker 2 (47:45):
experience that I've been able to gain no matter what,
whether it's positive or not so positive, everything has been
a learning. And so where I am now, I've got
this wealth of knowledge behind me, which is life experience. Um,
and I feel really, I feel really grateful and very
fortunate to have that. I've met some wonderful people along
(48:07):
the way. I've also had some challenging moments
as well, and those challenges, especially personalities. As an empath,
you kind of take all of that on. But learning
how to deal with those is really important. Um, so
they're the things I'm really grateful
Speaker 1 (48:21):
for. Yeah, amazing, for the listener who has started their
own business might be struggling a bit with their business. Mojo.
What powers of wisdom do you have
Speaker 2 (48:31):
back yourself? I. I think I've said this 1000 times.
Do something. It's it's progression,
not perfection. I think this is said so many times now,
but it's so important. Just take that little step. If
you don't know where to start, register your business. There's
the first step. Like, there you go speak to a mentor. Um,
you know, go and get coaching from someone if if
(48:53):
you can afford that, Um and they are in that space.
But you know your business module, sit down and work
out that model. Work it out on a piece of
paper on the back of a serv at whatever that
looks like.
So you're really clear about what it is that you're
trying to achieve?
Speaker 1 (49:10):
Um, so really redefining what your why is but also
Speaker 2 (49:15):
doing just green? Big. Like I just said it before.
I'm just stamping out global poverty,
you know, nothing much. So do that dream that we're
called imaginary evolution, because the only thing that stops us
is our imagination. And how amazing is it to evolve
and move forward with the benefit of history and hindsight
(49:37):
and wipe the slate clean and start again? And so
they're the two things. So for anyone that's started in business,
try and try that. Imagine, throw everything on a piece
of paper and then refine it from there. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (49:51):
love it. Love it. Um, OK, And then what about
a listener who's looking for a not for profit business model? Um,
what can you share? That would have been good to
know when you started.
Speaker 2 (50:04):
It's hard. No, no, it's not that hard. It's not
as hard as you think. Um, as long as you
know you're why, and and knowing you're why
helps that making sure that it's
remove your ego out of it because ego is fantastic.
And I'm not thinking about, you know, just I'm awesome.
(50:24):
But just remove yourself from it and think about the
cause that you're trying to affect, Um,
Speaker 1 (50:31):
the problem that you're trying to solve and
Speaker 2 (50:33):
then have a look at what other people are doing
and talk to them and see how they do it. And,
you know, there's some really great businesses out there that
we can all learn from,
um, and not being afraid to talk to other people
because people really want to talk about what they do,
and they want to share that. So just do it
and just talk to them about it, and that goes
(50:54):
for profit or not, for profit Doesn't matter. Talk to
other businesses because you will learn so much. You will
learn from their mistakes, and you will be better for
Speaker 1 (51:03):
it. That's it.
And and how can the public and our our local
community get involved to support imaginary revolution? Yeah, sure.
Speaker 2 (51:11):
So we have a Facebook page, LinkedIn page, instagram page
and website, but we're looking at volunteers. Come up with
idea. If you've got something that's burning that you want
to teach a kid speak to us because we're at
the Really? We're really fortunate that we're grassroots and we're nimble,
(51:32):
and we can try and make it happen. Or if
we can't, we can at least guide you on how
to do it. Um,
financial help is always good. Come visit us at BUNNINGS
next week. Um, but, you know, there's always things that
so the financial whether it's your business wanting to get involved,
we had a company. Um, well, a little cafe in
(51:53):
Diamond Creek. Um, donate all their tips to us. It
was $285
was amazing. They had to sign up just telling people
who we are, what we did and why we did it.
And people would donate there. That was wonderful. They donate.
It was they might see it as a small thing
to us. It was massive because it got our name
out there. But also, local heroes are really important to us.
(52:16):
So this isn't we're not looking for when we talk
about corporate,
um, support. Yeah, we're looking at big Corporates as well,
but we've got local heroes, and it doesn't have to
always be financial assistance. as well that partnering
that working together is really important. So ideas you wanna
come to us with, we can provide you sausages for
(52:37):
a barbecue. We can do some fundraising for you. We
can organise a high for you. Whatever that looks like.
We're on board to talk about
Speaker 1 (52:45):
it. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Jane, your energy and passion is contagious. Um,
thank you for sharing so openly. Authentically. And, um yeah,
I really appreciate, you know, um,
your your trust and honesty today I love your story.
Your commitment to youth and tackling childhood poverty is so inspiring. Um,
(53:08):
I just know listeners will gain so much knowledge and
motivation from this this episode Keep doing the amazing work
you're doing.
Um, as part of your local community, I'm excited to
witness and hopefully participate in in the growth and the
and the difference. I just know that you and your
team are gonna make so thank you so much. Jane Clark,
for joining me. Thank you for listening
Speaker 2 (53:29):
to me.
Speaker 1 (53:31):
Pleasure.
If you're looking for some free resources to start creating
a buzz with your digital marketing, then go to be
sneeze marketing dot com dot a U backslash free. That's
bene marketing dot com dot a U backslash free. Follow
(53:54):
the prompts and take advantage of our free resource library
and get your business buzzing.
we all dream of living a life of real purpose,
of answering those nagging questions about making a difference, leaving
a legacy and helping the world be a better place.
After a career in corporate, my next guest could no
longer ignore her calling and put aside all herself doubt
(00:22):
to start and build an incredible not for profit organisation.
Imaginary Revolution is now a certified charity that is about
empowering youth to break the poverty cycle. And you'll love
the creative ways in which Jane is changing the world.
Welcome to the Buzz, the amazing, brave and incredibly inspirational
(00:45):
Jane Clark.
Now I met today's guest at the nilly women's business
lunch event. We were in a queue together, and I
was hooked. Once I heard the mission, she was on.
Fueled by passion and determination to make a difference, This
impressive woman here today has gathered together an equally impressive
(01:05):
board of directors with a common aim to empower youth
and help break the cycle of childhood poverty.
I love it an incredible mission in itself, but the
next level of that is where the key projects actually
support and empower young people with the skills and knowledge
to reimagine hard rubbish into upgraded products for sale
(01:27):
and reinvestment. So not only engaging youth, um, but creating
pathways for work opportunities. You really are teaching them how
to fish and diverting the number of items from our, um,
our landfill. So win, win, win, win win.
Absolutely. Love it. It's my great pleasure to welcome founder
(01:49):
of imaginary evolution Jane Clark to the Buzz.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Thank you very much. Karen. This is fun.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Yeah, absolutely. Jane, Look,
I want to go back in time. What did you
study at uni?
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Um, I've done several things at uni, so I started
off in a disability degree. I kind of finished school.
I wanted to be a pharmacist, but didn't get the marks. OK, um,
so I went into disability, um, worked at Key cottages
just after those fires back in the day, and then realised, Wow,
I don't have the life experience to be doing this.
(02:21):
So I went to accounting. Yeah, quite related.
I worked as an accountant for 25 years, and then yeah,
Speaker 1 (02:30):
so quite a big shift. So you're in that disability
and the services and the support and then which is
a very people You know people. It's a people person job. Um,
and then into that accountant
space, which is not people. Peasant.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
I made it people people role. So I worked in
businesses and I worked in project management, and I worked, um,
making sure that I was working with people because otherwise,
sitting with numbers and an Excel spreadsheet all day will
do my
Speaker 1 (03:00):
head to drive you. Absolutely. So you managed to bridge
the two?
Yeah. Beautiful. So why so when you said, Oh, you know,
I need to change because I didn't have the life experience. What?
Can you share a bit more about that? Yeah, I
Speaker 2 (03:15):
was institutions back then had non unskilled, a lot of
unskilled labour. And I think I was in cottages one
day and they grabbed a girl by her ear
and pulled her into the toilets and kind of threw
her in the toilet and held the door shut. And
I went I don't think I can cope with because
(03:35):
I was 19 years old. Um, I'd also worked in
and I take things with humour a lot, So I
worked in a community residential unit. They used to be called,
and they were with people that had, um
they were They were psych disabilities on parole. Um, it
was the best place to be. It was in the community.
(03:57):
It was lovely. But one of the guys who had
a hearing impairment as well, um, decided that he would
chase me around the house with a butter knife because
someone left the butter knife in. So I lock myself
in the toilet, which I thought was apt. And then
I just went, Oh, I don't know if I can
do this. I was in tears. I was scared. Yeah,
I just didn't have the experience behind me. I was
(04:17):
fresh out of school fresh out of uni. Um, so
I just had to figure out what else I needed
to do and business. See, I was
good at accounting. Didn't know if I liked accounting as
Speaker 1 (04:29):
in, like, through high school. And I picked
Speaker 2 (04:31):
it up in year 12 and just liked it. Yeah,
I was good with numbers. Yeah. Thought I'd give it
a go, got it work with, got a job with
my dad in the airlines and went Oh, yeah, doing
accounts receivable accounts payable and then went off to study it,
um, and then kind of went from there.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Yeah, because there were a lot of years you were
in that finance, you know, space I. I read that
you were in, like, the country road group Blockbuster Kingpin.
Um, and then a lot of years in, uh, pharmaceuticals. Yeah. So,
um and you know, all the while in those in
those finance roles, were you contented, or did you ever
(05:11):
think No, there's something more for me? No, no, that
I'm gonna be doing this for the rest of my career.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
I think through my mid twenties, early thirties, I was
really career focused, Um,
and it was paying well, so we had an IVF journey.
And so through that IVF journey, it paid really well
that I could afford to do IV F-15 times so
(05:37):
that that was the piece that really helped me. But
it wasn't fulfilling enough for me like I loved people management.
And I loved, you know, helping people be their best Selves.
But if I came to working by myself, then
I didn't really enjoy it. But it wasn't. It was
once I had my daughter that I really wanted to
try and find a balance. I was working 60 hour weeks. Um,
(06:00):
you know, what more was it? Why did I work
so hard to have a child? So I was just
going to stick her in child care, so I had
to find a balance. Um and so I kind of
had a bit of a breakdown, though. So doing that
much IVF and doing
going through that much of a journey kind of stuffs
you up a bit mentally, not just physically. And so
(06:20):
that constant loss that constant anxiety kind of fell apart.
So I was
Speaker 1 (06:28):
like, That's that's a tough journey.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
But I'm a really firm believer, and my mum and
dad have brought me up to always look on the positive.
So
whilst that was a tough journey, I was really lucky
in the sense that those experiences helped shape me as
to who I am now. And so I've got a
lot more empathy. Um, I've always been that kind of
I'm an empath anyway, so but, um yeah, so that
(06:54):
kind of helped me know what I wanted to do.
And I've been on a journey for seven years of
trying this job, trying that job. And then I found service.
I was like, OK, I found the place. This is
Speaker 1 (07:06):
where I and so what does that feel like? What
does that feel like? Like, you know, you say, Yeah,
I found my place is where I'm supposed to be.
But what? What What? What's the feeling sense behind that realisation?
Speaker 2 (07:18):
It's just like you're home. I don't know how to
explain it. Like people say When I start talking about it,
I light up like it's a passion. So I've got
no problems talking about trying to help someone else because
it's what lights the fire underneath me. So as much
as I'm helping them, it's kind of helping me as well. Yeah,
it feeds that soul for me. But it took me
(07:39):
a really long time
to realise that as well. And that came with maturity.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Yeah, and so and and maybe even like way back
then when your 19 year old self that was sitting there,
but it wasn't fully, you know, like you, you started
in service, right? So you've kind of then all those
years later, armed with the maturity armed with the life experience,
you've not gone full circle and you're back in that
service service space. But feeling this time like
(08:08):
it's a lot more manageable.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Yeah, and I think I've always been the kid that
was in the playground that would help the other kid. Or,
you know, that was just It's just my nature. Yeah,
I wouldn't say that. I'm feeling 100% because I still
wake up every morning going What the heck do you
think you're doing?
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Which I think we're going to talk about that a
little bit further on because I think every guest I
have had here we've spoken about that particular syndrome.
Um, but let's just so so that first sort of
role in service after accounting was that with the big
Hug group. So
Speaker 2 (08:42):
I started with, um, Vinnie just working in the store.
And I was selling things because I didn't know if
I wanted to be client facing. I still had that
thing in the back of my head from when I
was younger. Yeah, and those experiences I was like, Well,
I don't know if I want to be client facing.
And then I saw an ad on Facebook.
Um, where all good ads are and I went OK, um,
(09:05):
big group hub. They look good. I give them a go.
And I was with them for 5.5 years, and they
are amazing what they do. And so that gave me
really good grounding on. I was working with kids, though,
and I was seeing the same names come through over
and over again. So
Speaker 1 (09:23):
what does what does the big hug? Yeah, so
Speaker 2 (09:25):
they do material aid. So prams, cots, clothes. And I
was
working with them and I loved it, and I loved
what I was doing with them. But then I would
bring the kids in from school groups or go out
and talk to them, and then we'd see the same
names come through over and over again. And for me,
I was What are we doing to disrupt that poverty cycle?
(09:46):
What are we doing to equip those people
with the skills they need to be able to stand
on their own 2 ft? And so I started doing
more research in that space as to why What's missing
and what I was finding in that youth space is
there was nothing really there for them
to support them. The flip side of that is the
kids that would come through the warehouse. We'd have things
(10:07):
that we weren't able to use for whatever reasons, and
they would They were really passionate about sustainability. And so
I was like, Hm, what can we do? They they
they're wanting something. What can we do to do that?
And I'm like, seeing this way go out OK, surely
there's something else we can do with it. And that's
how imagine was born.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
So and and were you thinking at that point? Were
you thinking, um, as as
as a suggestion, to the big hug group to expand
their services? Or were you thinking more? No, no. This
is this is something I'm gonna
Speaker 2 (10:39):
do. No, it was definitely to expand their service, and
then we just that wasn't on their path. And that's
just because their need was to hand out that material.
I think that's what they needed to do. Um and
so all this extra noise of me going, But I
need we need we need was just that noise. It
was it was just not
(11:00):
on their trajectory at that point. Um, but I needed.
And we talked about this in the beginning. I needed
something that was feeding my soul, and it was just
something that just kept nagging
Speaker 1 (11:11):
nagging at you. So for how long was that nagging
before you actually took some action. Probably
Speaker 2 (11:17):
good two years, OK, and then I did some conscious
leadership coaching.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
And why did you do that?
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Because I just needed to find out who I was. OK,
I think I needed to establish who
Jane was before I could move forward to anything else.
Um and I was still pretty lost post a career
that had identified me because the success in a career
was what I was looking for and I was a mom,
(11:45):
and that was fantastic. But that's all I was. Yeah,
and it would be great to be more than just
the mum
Speaker 1 (11:52):
when, particularly when you've come from
such a strong and, um, prestigious career in accounting. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
but
Speaker 2 (12:02):
like and And my daughter was brilliant, and I and
I wanted more kids and we lost more kids, and
it just got to the point that
I couldn't be my best self for her if I
was stuck at home with her all day. It just
was not going to work. Um, I would have resented
it because I had the dream of. I'm going to
be a stay at home mum and it's going to
(12:24):
be beautiful and seven months in and I went back
to work. I can't do
Speaker 1 (12:28):
this anymore.
I know Not the
Speaker 2 (12:34):
lovely if it was, but it's
Speaker 1 (12:36):
not. It is not for everyone.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
It wasn't for me. And that was it. Um, and
I'm nurturing and I love kids, and I love all
of that. But I also like my space. And so
I think it's really important that my mind is challenged
as well.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
So why conscious leadership? Like what? Where did that pop up?
I know you said you want to find yourself, you
want to know who you were, but, like, why that
particular course
Speaker 2 (12:58):
I met, Um, so I was an alumni coordinator at
my old high school, and I met an alumna there
who ran courses, and she was living in Cyprus at
the time. And we did a session during covid for
our alumni community,
um, on burnout and what that looks like and being
your best self. And I was like, I really connected
(13:20):
with that. I really connected with what was being said.
So I explored more and we became friends. Um, and
we started talking more, and I just turned around to
her one time and said, I think I'm ready to
do your course.
So it started with that. And it was the beginning
of the journey to where I'm
Speaker 1 (13:36):
now. Yeah, right, right, right. And how long was that for?
Speaker 2 (13:40):
So I did it. It was a a 16 week
course every Sunday morning with people all over the world
on Zoom during lockdown. So productive during lockdown, which was good.
Um, and just that self discovery. But I still wasn't
quite there yet after that. And so then I engaged
her three months later to do one on one coaching.
(14:02):
And I said, I want to start something myself. And
we did that together
Speaker 1 (14:06):
through the woman who was running the conscious leadership. Yeah. Yeah, OK. Yeah. Yeah.
So what were your big takeaways from that period? You know, um, well,
a few sort of layers there, but obviously in covid.
But doing such rich, you know, personal growth work What
were some of the big takeaways that you can attribute
(14:27):
to where you are today?
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Um, I found out. So we did a lot of
strengths based stuff, and I found out where my strengths lie.
And I was I'm really hard on myself, so Yeah,
but I'm really crap at at me. I'm really bad
at it. Um,
Speaker 1 (14:42):
come on. We talk about strengths here. Yeah, so
Speaker 2 (14:44):
I went, But I did a strengths analysis, and I
went Oh, hang on. I may not be good at that,
but I've got all of these other wonderful strengths of,
um unconditional and, you know, acceptance and, um,
bring connecting people together and doing all of those things.
So why am I playing to my strengths rather than
beating myself up about the things that I can't do?
(15:06):
How about let's have a look at what I can
do and see where we go from there,
Speaker 1 (15:09):
which I think is kind of human nature too, right?
I think we're very quick to look at the things
there is. We can improve or give ourselves a hard time.
So I think that's really important to stop and take
note of what what your strengths are. And
Speaker 2 (15:24):
I was fortunate that I had that space to be
able to do that. And the guidance. Not everybody has
those opportunities. So I was really fortunate
Speaker 1 (15:31):
that so for someone who doesn't necessarily have that opportunity,
what advice would you give them to start looking at
that kind of thing?
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Sometimes it's easy to get in your own way and
get in your head. And when you're sitting there sitting
with your head all day, every day, especially during lockdowns,
it's very easy to think of the negative stuff. And
I can't do that. I'm hopeless. Who the hell do
you think you are all of those kind of things.
Sometimes it's easy to sit down and think about how
(16:01):
you would speak to somebody else that was feeling like
Speaker 1 (16:04):
that. So how would you prop a friend up if
they were telling you these things?
Speaker 2 (16:10):
That's what we're good at, right at telling everyone else
you're amazing. And then you wake up in the morning
and you go, Oh, my God, look at you. How
can you do this? Da da, da, da
And that negative self talk is always there. Um, but
just take a little step. It doesn't have to be massive.
Speak to someone. Do something that you love like Yeah,
small step. Just a little step. Everything is a is
(16:32):
a good good thing in the right direction. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (16:35):
absolutely. So, um
OK, so you've finished this this course and you're getting
closer and closer to starting imaginary revolution. What does that
look like?
Speaker 2 (16:49):
Ah,
that's exactly what it looks like.
It looked like me sitting in the mirror going OK,
we got to do this. And we'd had we put together.
So art and I Artemus is the girl that I
was talking about for a conscious leg. So Artemus and I,
we'd put together this business plan and we got everything
ready and she goes right, press the button
(17:11):
and I just froze and she'd message me every week
going How's that button looking? I'm like and
Speaker 1 (17:17):
what does press the button look like? What? What what
are the actions
Speaker 2 (17:20):
register the business name, You know, simple little things. But
to me in my head, they were massive because that
was committing
to this big thing. I had to leave where I
was comfortable at big group hug. Um, I had to
do a whole lot of stuff, so I did that
first because you can't work into Not for profits. It's
(17:41):
not fair. Um, I registered the business name. I got
an a BN and then went right. What do we
do next? Right, We're done.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Let's push it. I'm done.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
I'm done. Come on, Universe. Let's do this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So,
um and then from there, I realised it wasn't done. Um,
and we met with a company. We started speaking to
this company, and they my friend, had said, Put something together.
I need to take it to them.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
And what? Like what? Like a pitch document? The
Speaker 2 (18:17):
pitch they wanna hear, they want to help. And I'm, like, mhm.
And so then that pause button was hit again. I go,
I'm not ready. I'm not ready for that. I'm not
ready for that. I'm barely trying to figure out who
we are, who I am in this organisation. Firstly, and
I was really scared about talking about it as well,
just in case I jinxed it a little bit as well. So,
(18:40):
you know, there was all of these emotions going with it.
And then we
Speaker 1 (18:45):
like a whole lot of just unsubstantiated.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
And, you know, we've grown up in a society where
you don't talk about what you're good at at all
that tall poppy syndrome. Where you going? Oh, you're a
bit up yourself. You better be. Yeah. So I had
to get over all of those stereotypes that I've been
conditioned with as well. So,
um and even now it's really uncomfortable to talk about
(19:11):
it because I sit here and go. Who the heck
do you think you are?
Speaker 1 (19:16):
And then taking the focus off you and actually focusing
on the service that you're providing is bigger than you?
It's way bigger than
Speaker 2 (19:25):
you. This is not about me at all. And once
I got that in my head,
everything started to move and everything started to come together
and started to happen. And the minute that I started
to doubt myself, another sign would come, someone would come
along and we'd start talking about it. And I knew
I was on the right track of where I needed
(19:47):
to go. And then we started bringing kids in, and
holy moly, it was little changes. And we're not fully
like massive operation at all. At the moment we're still
starting up, but the difference we're making in these little
kids lives in these kids' lives. It's amazing the connection
of people
(20:07):
that don't usually connect in a society, and it's from
learning how to knit or learning how to crochet or
learning how to break a pot or whatever that is.
But it gives them a purpose that's not centred around
their mental health. It's not centred around what they can
do and can't
Speaker 1 (20:24):
do their background, their families, it's about them. It's just
Speaker 2 (20:28):
about getting in there and trying something and holding the
space for them to be able to do that and
make a
and no judgement at all like you can put break apart,
you can smash something, we just wake it up and
off we go to the next thing so there's there's
no judgement and I think that's the really good thing
that we're trying to
Speaker 1 (20:46):
do at the moment, which is so wonderful because obviously
the judgement and sort of those conditions was something that,
you know, our generation was very much raised with, so
to be, you know, a lot of freedom to just
be able to,
um, provide such a a different perspective for a next generation,
particularly a generation, you know, or or a segment of
(21:07):
the population that so desperately need that, um, that freedom
of judgement 100%. So OK, let's go back to it.
Just can you explain, um, as a not for profit?
What does that actually mean?
What does a not for profit business structure mean? We're
Speaker 2 (21:25):
still a business. So the aim is is that we
still want to pay wages. We've still got operating expenses
that we need to cover. We still want to pay
the kids a maker's fee for the things that they're
making so that there's a value attached to them.
It'd be great if everything in life was free, but
it's not. And so it just means that anything that
(21:47):
we make goes back into the programmes. Everything goes back
in and we're very transparent about where our money goes.
And I think that's really important, as we've now got
our charity status and we're now fully fledged charity. Thank you.
That was That was fun.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
Yeah,
Speaker 2 (22:06):
that was a learning experience. Um, but we've got that
And so we know that transparency and that's where my
accounting background comes into it as well is because transparency
is really important from a financial point of view. But
also from an operational point of view, everybody knows what
we're doing. And it's good for me because I'm really
good with TM. I So I give.
(22:26):
Could I tell everyone about everything that we're doing now?
We got no problems with that.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
So do you have to be? So if you're a
not for profit group, do you have to be charity,
like registered to charities? Well, do they go hand in hand? No, no, no. OK,
so So, yeah,
Speaker 2 (22:42):
so we could be So we started off, um, just
registering as an incorporated association. And that was what would
fit that fitted our business model at, um, best at
that time.
Um, eventually, we probably moved to a company structure. Um,
but we weren't making any money we didn't have, like,
I didn't want to be exposing tax implications, all of
(23:06):
those kind of things when we didn't need to, um
incorporated association also protected our members so that there was
no personal liability, and that was really important as well.
I'd hate for everything to go belly up and everyone
lose everything because of anything that they've invested
into the organisation.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
Um, so then when you talk about when you talk
about that, is that like, um, your investors that they
are like companies or are they your board members or what?
Speaker 2 (23:34):
So we only have financial investment ongoing in financial investment.
At the moment, that would be lovely to have. And
I think that's everyone's dream. Um, but it's just about
making sure that if anything goes wrong,
no one gets sued with all of those things like, Yeah,
we've got insurances. We've got all of those things in place.
But people are really reluctant to come on board if
(23:55):
there's any kind of personal risk, and I get that,
I get that. So, making sure that everyone's protected. But
scouts are incorporated. Associations, clubs and associations are all incorporated associations,
and it keeps them safe as well. So it's important.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
Got it? So can you explain for a non for profit?
Where does your revenue come from?
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Me begging, borrowing, stealing. So we do a lot of fundraising. Um,
we do have some corporate sponsors that are really generous.
And we're We're very, um very, very lucky. Um, but
at the moment, it's big borrow steel kind of stuff
at the moment. Um, with the hope that we can
become more strategic, um, and people can see what we're
(24:38):
doing and invest in the kids and the programmes, scholarship programmes,
those kind of things as well, but also recognise that
we we've got rent. We've got, um, electricity because we
want to have a dedicated space for these kids to
feel safe.
That comes at a cost. And we need to be
able to cover that so hopefully we can find
invest investors that can look after that part for
Speaker 1 (25:00):
us. So for the listener, who's who's looking at going
out on their own, launching a big idea in the
not for profit space? What would your top three tips
would be to make that you know, transition as seamless
as
Speaker 2 (25:14):
possible? Do your homework. Make sure that you've got the
right structure in place for yourself, because
whilst you're not for profit, there's so many different kind
of structures that you could have, um, get the right
people around you because you can't do it by
Speaker 1 (25:28):
yourself? Well, that Yeah, And that leads me on to,
you know, another area. I know. When we caught up,
you had mentioned what your your board of directors, and
you've got this impressive board from such a wonderful range
of expertise. Um, we'll come back to tip number three,
but while we're on that people around you,
(25:48):
how do you pull that together?
Speaker 2 (25:52):
I'm really lucky. Um, through my life, I've been able
to collect people. I'm a collector of people. So, um,
when I talk to people and and people that I
approached to join the board, they were all in, um,
because they were passionate about what we're trying to do. Um,
So we've got educators. We've got marketing specialists, We've got lawyers,
(26:14):
We've got IT specialists. Um, we've got people that are
members of council, those kind of things. So really good.
Well rounded. Which means that the kids get the best
from our organisation as well, Which which helps.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
And for, you know, um, the listener who might not
have be a collector and have that kind of network.
How What would you suggest they they do to to
start building that positive people around them.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
So do what I did tell my husband he's joining.
So that was the first. Find some find some people
that you trust because you want people. So when I
was talking to the board about joining, they have to
be honest. So if I come up with a really
crappy idea, tell me it's a crappy idea. Tell me
to slow my horse down a little bit because I'm so.
I have a sparkle book and I've had this since
(27:04):
Big Group Hug.
We have a sparkle book, and we keep all of
our ideas in it. And it was actually the founder
of Big Group that gave me that idea of keeping
a sparkle book of all the ideas because I'm an
ideas person. I've got lots of ideas coming in the
front and centre, but not all of them practical. Um,
and I've got a really honest board that will sit
there and go. No, we're not doing that. No, we're
(27:25):
not doing that. And I'll
What do you mean? We're not doing that right now
so that honesty is really important. So people that you
trust around you and you don't It's not a forever thing.
It might be to start up. You need this skill set,
and you need these people around you
network join groups like Like what? How we met, You know,
(27:45):
through local councils, women's, um, networking. Go to, you know,
find a like we've got her tribe and those kind
of things, like find somewhere that you find like minded people. Um,
because
once you start pitching your idea, you'll find people just gravitate,
and they're the ones that you want to be part
(28:07):
of your inner circle.
Speaker 1 (28:09):
Yeah, absolutely. Good advice. Just get out there and start
talking about it,
Speaker 2 (28:14):
which is really hard. Trust me. I know.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Yeah. Think of the bigger picture. That's
Speaker 2 (28:19):
it. Get out of your own way. And that was
number three.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
Number three. Beautiful. Love that. I was gonna call you back.
Did you see me
Get out of your own way? I love that. Yeah.
So can you share what your biggest challenge was in
getting this off the ground?
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Um,
apart from me.
And it's still probably a really big challenge. Is financing it? Yeah,
that's a really big thing, because don't we can't afford
to finance it ourselves. um, and that would put my
family under a lot of pressure as well. Um, but
like I said, I'm a I'm a connector and a collector,
(29:02):
so that's been the easy part for me. But I
find speaking from the heart is really important because people
come along for the journey. Then if they're the right people, um,
identifying your values up front. So what is not you
as an individual, but you as an organisation? What does
that look like? Because then you attract like minded people
(29:23):
to the organisation like minded investors. All of those kind
of things happen from that as well.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
So, you know, as far as you overcoming that, that
challenge of getting investors
is that Is that what you you know? What did
you do?
Speaker 2 (29:39):
I haven't yet. Um, I haven't overcome that challenge yet.
I've put together a sponsorship and partnership document that I'm
really proud of, but it's it's on the drive. It
hasn't gone anywhere from there. I don't even know what
to do with it now. It looks really pretty. It's
got pretty colours. Um, it's got pretty pictures,
but I don't know what to do with it now.
And so you know, And that's the constant learning is
(30:02):
starting something new. You look from the outside, people look
in and go Oh, you've got everything happening and and
actually we don't. But we just take little steps. And
so Yeah, OK, we got that document. And when the
opportunity arises, I can pull out that document and talk
to it and know everything
that's in it. Yeah, but I don't know what to
do with that. And so now I see Who do
(30:23):
I speak to? Because there's somebody out in the world
that already does
Speaker 1 (30:27):
this that's going back to your network, going back to
your boards. OK, what happens now? Having the conversation not
being too, you know, proud or worried or fearful. Just
putting it out there
happens next. You've got some a great couple of sponsors.
I think you mentioned you had had bunnings on board.
(30:48):
So how did how did you secure that? I went
Speaker 2 (30:51):
in and just started talking to the wonderful um of
of the activities organiser. I think she's got to think
of the right the right term at Bunnings in, and
she's just amazing. So Lisa is her name and shout
out to her name. But she's she's amazing and we
(31:11):
just started. We really Joel, and that's that's the thing.
You find people, you find your people, especially when you're
speaking from your Yeah, And then we were able to
just do stuff there at the warehouse. So we did
a terrarium building thing and we went, OK, we'll see
how this goes. And then we ran our first school
holiday programme, this last school holiday.
(31:32):
It's begging to come back and 17 Children at one
of Lisa and I look at each other going How
are we gonna manage this? It was it was good
to have Yeah, and so they're really good. In that sense,
they provided all the materials. Lisa was there for every session,
and her and I worked really well together, so that
made it very easy.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
Beautiful, beautiful. What's been your nicest surprise during the startup process? Hm?
Speaker 2 (31:58):
Good question.
I think
the nicest surprise is knowing that my idea that I
was sleeping like waking up in the middle of the
night thinking about has been affirmed a little bit because
of the momentum that we've got and the and the
way people react when we start talking about it, because
(32:19):
that affirms to me that we're on the right track
and we're doing the right things. And when we get
the kids involved and engaged, then we're hitting that nail
on the head. And that's the best thing, because it's
all about them,
Um, and watching little kids get really involved. So when
we hold a bunnings barbecue or a cake stall, my
poor daughter has to come to everything. She's 12. She
(32:43):
now runs our sales department. Um, but the way that
people just engage with kids just beautifully, like
it's it's really magical, Uh, from a from someone having
to go to all of these events, I don't have
to run them anymore. The kids run them, and that's magical.
That empowers them to be whatever they want. And that's
(33:04):
really
Speaker 1 (33:04):
important. That's really rewarding absolutely, in a whole lot of
boxes there. And you've only just begun.
So the board is in place business set up. You've
got some programmes in place. First school holiday programme. Um
what so Yeah, well, I guess actually, this probably answers
the question. What are the measures of success at this
(33:25):
at this point in the business journey. Um, I imagine
Would that be fair to say it's the kids and
the empowerment
Speaker 2 (33:34):
And yeah, and just, you know, we ran. We trialled
a workshop with, um, wonderful Maria who who runs power
of them.
And it was a mindfulness movement and music, um, workshop
and those kids like it was a really small workshop.
We expected more. It was over the school holidays. And
(33:54):
what I've learned is to let go of expectations because
that kind of holds back as well. So just go
with the flow.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
That's good advice for any for
Speaker 2 (34:04):
anyone, anywhere along the line. The only thing that holds
us back is our expectation, Um, and so
removing that we had such a special session with three
beautiful young people that they came, they wrote a song
in five minutes, and then they got up and started
playing the piano and singing, and it was just beautiful.
(34:27):
And I felt really blessed to be part of that group.
They did really well and I knew that. OK, that's
ticked a box. And some people hear mindfulness and go Oh,
we don't want to sit there and go. But this
was far from it. It was all about music and movement,
and it was really lovely.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
Yeah. Gosh, so good. So during our our catch up
couple months ago, you had mentioned your own struggles with
mental health and, you know, obviously again, you know, earlier,
um how does that does that? Sort of still impact
your day to day?
Yeah, Absolutely. Yeah. In this time, how do you get
(35:04):
back up? How do you, you know, get back up
and get back Stuck into your day? Yeah. And
Speaker 2 (35:11):
there's some days that it just doesn't happen. But I've
learned to just have to be kind to myself a
little bit as well and allow myself the space like
I'm holding space for these young people to be their
best Selves. If there's a morning I wake up and
I go, I cannot
adult Today I allow myself the time. But I don't
get stuck in it for hours and hours and hours.
(35:33):
I just allow the space I go and find something
that brings me joy. Go to pottery, go sing somewhere.
Whatever that looks like for me to bring me joy.
It's watching television for an hour, two hours, just something
that clears my head. And then I go and do
something productive. Um, but that's years of therapy.
(35:56):
And, um, you know, self help books and podcasts and
all of those things and maturity
Speaker 1 (36:04):
Maturity, I was just gonna say and and maturity, because
you can be, you know, told throughout all of these
years that this is how you do it. Um, but actually,
doing it and and then feeling the benefit from it
is is very different.
Speaker 2 (36:18):
And I've got a coach that I work with.
Speaker 1 (36:21):
I was gonna ask you that if you had a
mentor or coach. Yeah, so
Speaker 2 (36:24):
I've got So art was my artus was my coach
to get me to this point and I've got um
So I've got a health coach that I work with, Um,
and she's phenomenal. And so
there was Sometimes when I spoke to her last week
was not a good week. I was feeling really overwhelmed
and just really and I got on the phone and
started talking to her, and then all of a sudden
(36:44):
I just burst into tears because we got to the
point of why I was feeling like that. After I
did that, I was off the phone and I was
back to my normal self. Just just having someone to
talk to
can never be underestimated. And it doesn't have to be
someone that you're close to. It doesn't have to be
a a therapist. It could just be a friend over
(37:06):
a glass of wine, like those kind of things are
really important as well. And I have that. I've got
my friends that I catch up for coffee with every
Friday morning. I've got all of those beautiful things that
keep my network. And if I don't have those things,
then I realise that I lose that connection and I
start to withdraw within myself. And that's when it becomes overwhelming.
Speaker 1 (37:26):
So keeping that balance and play, yeah, and that communication open.
Speaker 2 (37:31):
But knowing your strength because I'm an extrovert, so that
may not work for someone that's an introvert. Um, just
knowing what what it is that fills your cup that
little bit that gets you through. It is important
Speaker 1 (37:42):
for sure. So now you're a mom to a beautiful
young lady of 12, Um, and as moms with big
careers and business owners. It's often a challenge to find
that balance. And, you know, we just spoke about before that,
You know, that wasn't a thing for you to be
at home 24 7, um,
with your daughter. So how do you find a balance?
(38:04):
I
Speaker 2 (38:04):
wouldn't say that I'm good at it at all. But
I do try my hardest. And she knows that I
love her. She knows that I'm there when she needs
me the most. I try and make time in the day.
But then she also knows that
I've got this other thing going on at the same
time and that I can't be there all the time
and
Speaker 1 (38:24):
which she's part of.
Speaker 2 (38:25):
Yeah, and And she and that's that's part of it.
Like I bring her along on the journey as well.
So we have very open conversations about things just in general.
Um, you know, she she tells everyone, which is kind
of cute. She says, Oh, you know, my mum and
I like the Gilmore girls. You know? I give her advice.
She gives me advice. It's just beautiful. But we have that.
(38:47):
She knows I'm her mum. She knows I'm the parent.
But she also understands what's going on and for me
and for our relationship that works best. There are times
where I'm on my phone all the time because I'm
head in something and she just comes and knocks it
out of my hand and goes, Hey, Mum,
enough. And I go Oh, OK, great. Thanks. But I
(39:08):
was in the middle.
Speaker 1 (39:10):
Give me five minutes. Didn't you say you had to
go to the toilet? You need a shower right now,
Speaker 2 (39:20):
So yeah, I. I wouldn't say that. I'm It's about
finding the balance that works for us. But sometimes I
could be too much to the left or too much
to the right. So centre is never really
Speaker 1 (39:31):
there. But communication is is massive. And, um, yeah, obviously
some boundaries and yeah, a lot of respect for each other.
And the underlying of it all is you know, that
love isn't
Speaker 2 (39:47):
it. It always love comes down and that's
so in everything that I do. Love is at the
heart of everything I do, I can tell. And that's
what imagine is about as well the kids at the
heart of everything that we do when we come and
everything with love. And so what? You asked me earlier
what I did to select my board. That was really important, Love.
(40:07):
What do they love doing? Can they bring love to everything?
And the answer was yes. So it was a nora.
Speaker 1 (40:15):
Yeah, I love it.
So what is? Well, actually, yeah, I think we're answering
my next question, too. It's going to be about personal
characteristics that you, you know, have that has enabled this.
You know, startup. To be so successful and obviously love
is is a huge one, along with empathy. Is there
anything else that you think you know that you can
(40:35):
really own? And, um, you know, attribute to this
success.
Speaker 2 (40:39):
I think most if if I go even back to
my strength profile and all of those things that I've
done unconditional is one is one of the thing. And
what does that mean? It means I accept everyone at
face value for who they are. I don't It doesn't
worry me, sexuality, anything like that religion. I just look
(41:00):
at it as
person to person. So for me, that's a really good
strength that helps me in this area. Because kids come
with and adults as well. Everybody comes with a story,
but they can just be themselves. And so that's the
most important thing. So that's probably a strength of mine.
Speaker 1 (41:21):
So we talk about support network here on the buzz
because I think it's it's It can often be the
difference between, you know, surviving and thriving in a business
who is in your professional support network that, um, lift
you up and and make your day seem a little easier.
And those goals are a little more achievable.
Speaker 2 (41:39):
So my coaches and and I've got coaches for different things. Um,
the networking group that we're part of that's really important
because sometimes there's only some people that will get, you know,
something that's really business related. And he and you speak
to someone else and they go, Oh, yeah, great. Well
done and put it up in the Facebook group and
(42:00):
everyone goes, Oh, yeah, I just needed that. I just
need that little bit of a pat on the back there. Um,
yeah, uh, my family are really so my husband and
my daughter are really critical to that because I can
speak about everything in uh, especially with my husband, even
though
Speaker 1 (42:15):
he is on the board as well, Like
Speaker 2 (42:18):
he's rapped about it. He loves living with his boss.
He says,
Yeah, but, um so professionally. And then I've got mentors
and colleagues from my previous lives. Um, work lives that
I that I speak to about this as well. And
(42:39):
so that really helps as well, because I can get
I can use those networks to get information or to, um,
like I was looking for an accountant the other day,
And so one of my old, um, colleagues put me
in touch with someone that was able to answer my
question really easily. So
just using those networks is really important as well.
Speaker 1 (43:00):
Yeah, absolutely, Absolutely. Now, when we caught up last, we
also had a really good conversation around, um, a self
doubt and, you know, or imposter syndrome. And and I
think I said during our chat, Oh, we need to
cover this on the podcast because you had some, you know,
really great strategies around how you cope with with with,
(43:20):
um
that and and so many people do like, let's just
be really honest here, but I think everybody at some
point has. You know, um, that has featured as a
challenge for them. So can you share some of your
strategies around how you work through
Speaker 2 (43:36):
that? Yeah. Um, it's funny, because
last week had you have asked me this question, I go,
I would have said to you, I don't cope at all.
I'm awful. I can't do anything. So it's isn't it
funny timing of
Speaker 1 (43:50):
that particular period?
Speaker 2 (43:53):
Um, so for me, meditation is really important.
Um, I'm doing a practise, which, which could be deemed
as a bit enough at the moment. But I stand
in the mirror and, like, in my super super, you're
going to do great things today. You're doing great things already.
You are great. You are enough, that kind of stuff
because it's really easy to have your self image
(44:16):
and your professional image just intertwined. And I probably don't
have a lot of self esteem in that space. So, um,
just reminding myself of the things that I've done, um,
writing down three things that I'm grateful for that's really important.
Speaker 1 (44:33):
And this is a practise. You do every day.
Speaker 2 (44:35):
Um, I'd like to say that I'm perfect to do
it every day, but I don't. But I try really hard. Yeah,
just especially when I'm feeling that pressure or stress go. Yep.
What am I grateful for today? What? I've got a
roof over my
You know what? It can be as simple as that,
or it could be massive, but just just finding what
I'm grateful for grounds me a little bit. Um, finding
(44:57):
that thing that grounds me is really important as well,
because the same tool doesn't work all the time. I've
got the calm app on my phone I've got you know,
that my airpods are always with me. So if I
need it, I can do that. Breathing is really important
for me. So when I feel really overwhelmed and I
feel like I am
(45:17):
not worthy, not not able all of those things. It's
the three deep breaths. Just stop three deep breaths and
let's just refocus from doing something that challenges me like
writing a grant. Then I move on to something else
and then come back to it because it just shifts
my focus. I find something that I am good at,
(45:38):
and then I can come back to that.
Speaker 1 (45:39):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Love it really great. Really great strategies.
So what are some achievements you would like to have
accomplished in the next 3 to 5 years for imagine revolution.
Speaker 2 (45:52):
Financial stability would be really good for financial independence, where
we're not having to beg for money all the time. Yes, um,
that we have an alumni community of kids that have
already gone through the programmes that we offer
and then come back as mentors for the for the
next generation.
Speaker 1 (46:08):
What are the ages of the kids like What? What's
the
Speaker 2 (46:12):
Yeah, So we, um, offer programmes for kids from 12
to 25 as our official age group. So it's quite
a broad spectrum of ages. Um and that means that
some of our programmes may not be suitable for all kids,
but that's OK, because someone will find their space in
there or we run it for
the teens and then for the older adults as well. Um,
(46:34):
so if we could do and that we just have
connected communities, so I'd love to have hubs all over Victoria. Well,
if I'm really honest, I'd like to have it globally,
because that's how I roll?
Speaker 1 (46:48):
Yeah, dream
Speaker 2 (46:49):
big 100% but these connected communities is really important, and
I and I don't think this is anything new. This
is something that our parents did our grandparents did before us,
of just places where people feel like they belong. And
we I think we've lost a little bit of that
along the way, and covid hasn't helped. Um, and if
(47:09):
I look at that, disengagement is massive at the moment,
and it's not just in kids, it's across the board.
So we've got
adults that then can feel connected in a space, and
they're teaching and imparting their knowledge to young people in
a way that is self sustainable so that they continue
that on whether imaginary evolution there is there or not
(47:32):
would be
be wonderful. That would be the ultimate goal.
Speaker 1 (47:36):
I'm on board for those 3 to 5. Watch out.
And what do you value most about your business journey
so far, the
Speaker 2 (47:45):
experience that I've been able to gain no matter what,
whether it's positive or not so positive, everything has been
a learning. And so where I am now, I've got
this wealth of knowledge behind me, which is life experience. Um,
and I feel really, I feel really grateful and very
fortunate to have that. I've met some wonderful people along
(48:07):
the way. I've also had some challenging moments
as well, and those challenges, especially personalities. As an empath,
you kind of take all of that on. But learning
how to deal with those is really important. Um, so
they're the things I'm really grateful
Speaker 1 (48:21):
for. Yeah, amazing, for the listener who has started their
own business might be struggling a bit with their business. Mojo.
What powers of wisdom do you have
Speaker 2 (48:31):
back yourself? I. I think I've said this 1000 times.
Do something. It's it's progression,
not perfection. I think this is said so many times now,
but it's so important. Just take that little step. If
you don't know where to start, register your business. There's
the first step. Like, there you go speak to a mentor. Um,
you know, go and get coaching from someone if if
(48:53):
you can afford that, Um and they are in that space.
But you know your business module, sit down and work
out that model. Work it out on a piece of
paper on the back of a serv at whatever that
looks like.
So you're really clear about what it is that you're
trying to achieve?
Speaker 1 (49:10):
Um, so really redefining what your why is but also
Speaker 2 (49:15):
doing just green? Big. Like I just said it before.
I'm just stamping out global poverty,
you know, nothing much. So do that dream that we're
called imaginary evolution, because the only thing that stops us
is our imagination. And how amazing is it to evolve
and move forward with the benefit of history and hindsight
(49:37):
and wipe the slate clean and start again? And so
they're the two things. So for anyone that's started in business,
try and try that. Imagine, throw everything on a piece
of paper and then refine it from there. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (49:51):
love it. Love it. Um, OK, And then what about
a listener who's looking for a not for profit business model? Um,
what can you share? That would have been good to
know when you started.
Speaker 2 (50:04):
It's hard. No, no, it's not that hard. It's not
as hard as you think. Um, as long as you
know you're why, and and knowing you're why
helps that making sure that it's
remove your ego out of it because ego is fantastic.
And I'm not thinking about, you know, just I'm awesome.
(50:24):
But just remove yourself from it and think about the
cause that you're trying to affect, Um,
Speaker 1 (50:31):
the problem that you're trying to solve and
Speaker 2 (50:33):
then have a look at what other people are doing
and talk to them and see how they do it. And,
you know, there's some really great businesses out there that
we can all learn from,
um, and not being afraid to talk to other people
because people really want to talk about what they do,
and they want to share that. So just do it
and just talk to them about it, and that goes
(50:54):
for profit or not, for profit Doesn't matter. Talk to
other businesses because you will learn so much. You will
learn from their mistakes, and you will be better for
Speaker 1 (51:03):
it. That's it.
And and how can the public and our our local
community get involved to support imaginary revolution? Yeah, sure.
Speaker 2 (51:11):
So we have a Facebook page, LinkedIn page, instagram page
and website, but we're looking at volunteers. Come up with
idea. If you've got something that's burning that you want
to teach a kid speak to us because we're at
the Really? We're really fortunate that we're grassroots and we're nimble,
(51:32):
and we can try and make it happen. Or if
we can't, we can at least guide you on how
to do it. Um,
financial help is always good. Come visit us at BUNNINGS
next week. Um, but, you know, there's always things that
so the financial whether it's your business wanting to get involved,
we had a company. Um, well, a little cafe in
(51:53):
Diamond Creek. Um, donate all their tips to us. It
was $285
was amazing. They had to sign up just telling people
who we are, what we did and why we did it.
And people would donate there. That was wonderful. They donate.
It was they might see it as a small thing
to us. It was massive because it got our name
out there. But also, local heroes are really important to us.
(52:16):
So this isn't we're not looking for when we talk
about corporate,
um, support. Yeah, we're looking at big Corporates as well,
but we've got local heroes, and it doesn't have to
always be financial assistance. as well that partnering
that working together is really important. So ideas you wanna
come to us with, we can provide you sausages for
(52:37):
a barbecue. We can do some fundraising for you. We
can organise a high for you. Whatever that looks like.
We're on board to talk about
Speaker 1 (52:45):
it. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Jane, your energy and passion is contagious. Um,
thank you for sharing so openly. Authentically. And, um yeah,
I really appreciate, you know, um,
your your trust and honesty today I love your story.
Your commitment to youth and tackling childhood poverty is so inspiring. Um,
(53:08):
I just know listeners will gain so much knowledge and
motivation from this this episode Keep doing the amazing work
you're doing.
Um, as part of your local community, I'm excited to
witness and hopefully participate in in the growth and the
and the difference. I just know that you and your
team are gonna make so thank you so much. Jane Clark,
for joining me. Thank you for listening
Speaker 2 (53:29):
to me.
Speaker 1 (53:31):
Pleasure.
If you're looking for some free resources to start creating
a buzz with your digital marketing, then go to be
sneeze marketing dot com dot a U backslash free. That's
bene marketing dot com dot a U backslash free. Follow
(53:54):
the prompts and take advantage of our free resource library
and get your business buzzing.
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