Last week I had the privilege to be on the panel for a “Women in Manufacturing” event in Cairns, Queensland. The event was hosted and sponsored by the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) and the Queensland Government. It was so fun and I loved every minute of it!
To be honest, the strangest thing is that, prior to being asked to be on this panel, I never considered myself in manufacturing. I thought of myself more as an entrepreneur, a mompreneur, a woman in business. But a “Woman in Manufacturing?” Nope.
But it makes sense, and it’s a title I am proud to wear. Why? Because we are food manufacturers. We gather a raw product (coconut) and turn it into something else that consumers can enjoy. We are always creating new products, developing recipes in line with latest food trends, and working with other raw suppliers to create coconut goodness for our customers..
The manufacturing sector in our region is doing very well, too. More and more Australians are prioritizing buying Aussie-grown food and Australian-made goods. And, I am also seeing more food-preneurs coming to the party and launching new Aussie-made food products. It’s great to see!
I love entrepreneurship (I’ve been this way since I was a kid and hired out my cassette tapes to my siblings - true story!), and one of the highlights of the morning was networking with local people to nurture the entrepreneur skills in local school students. My dream is to teach others how to be entrepreneurs and last week I made connections with local high school staff to make that happen. I’m also continuing to develop my teaching skills to empower other mompreneurs to make a living making products they love. Watch this space!
Until then, thank you for your continued support. We appreciate the support of everyday Australians who choose to support our locally grown, handmade products over the cheaper imported stuff. And shout out to the other women on the panel for being strong manufacturing women, too. You inspire me!
I seriously love what I do. Thank you.
Until next time,
Casey