PROBLEMS FOR BREAKFAST, OCT 2023

There's something cool about gathering three business legends with vastly different companies, experiences, approaches, and motivations, and throwing them together on a panel for the benefit of the local biz community.

We're surrounded by some of the best in their respective games and we're always so grateful for their time and knowledge. In October our esteemed panel comprised:

Ebony Eagles

Growing up in Byron throughout her teenage years, Ebony is the designer and director of fashion brand, Auguste The Label. Ebony started working the day she turned 13, beginning with a job at the local fruit market and eventually starting her first fashion label at just 22. Her grandmother taught her to sew early on, so the designing part came naturally, while she claims to have learnt the business side of things along the way. August The Label is driven by sustainability, and giving back, with one of their fundraising campaigns raising awareness about the dangers of bullying and donating $85,000 to help the cause. Oh, and she was also once named as Harper's Bazaar Women of the Year.

Dr Choppy Somjee

For over 10 years, Dr Choppy has been dedicated to learning about the body as an athlete, student, teacher and practitioner. Having grown up in Kenya, and spent time living in Canada, before moving to Australia, Choppy's got an incredibly broad perspective on the body's capacity to perform and heal. His business idea came after being injured as an athlete and searching for a therapist with the expertise to combine manual therapy, exercise rehabilitation, and also provide nutritional support, which was pretty much impossible to find. So, he started BOMI Health, a hub at Habitat, with a growing number of practitioners. Choppy's a registered Osteopath, with an undergraduate degree in biomedical physiology, and he's the co-founder of the Waveblade Sports Roller, successfully launched on Kickstarter after 3 years of research and design, so he's a card-carrying entrepreneur too.

Leah Rettenmaier

Leah's involved in a lot of businesses, foundations, and charities, almost always staying way back behind the scenes. As a mum of three girls (and two boys) her most visible project to date was Future Dreamers, which was a safe house for young women here in Byron, facilitating developmental experiences to nurture women through their formative years. Due to COVID, the Future Dreamers physical clubhouse was forced to close, but Leah quickly replaced it with Channel Void, an online project that's an interactive ecosystem of storytelling and support for a 24,000-strong global community of 18-30-year-olds. Leah's also an investor in a broad range of social impact projects, from recycling to housing, that have a common theme of trying to make the world a better place.

During the course of our one-hour chat, where these three took questions from the crowd of 70 people, a lot of ground was covered, and countless gems shared. We spoke about timing and vision when it comes to starting something, keeping your marketing in-house, because your staff know your brand, authenticity and heart-led businesses and how vulnerability is a strength when leading a business. And one of our favourite quotes was when Leah said, "When an idea keeps me awake at night, that's when I know I'm on the right track."

Thanks to Barrio for providing us such a great space to connect and share, and for the delicious coffee and treats. To soak up more of the vibe, you can watch our video from the event below, but to get the full experience you'll have to come to the next one, which is pencilled in for Feb 2024.

Until then, you can absorb more business wisdom from previous PFB events here and here.