The ingenuity of Indigenous business owners is something to be celebrated all year round. In partnership with SBS, IBA is proud to showcase a series of segments with strong Indigenous businesses.

On Sunday 19 January, Robert Dann talks about how he expanded his Kimberley Cultural Adventures Broome business to new ventures with Bindam Mie where he transforms boab nuts into tea, oils and powder.

Watch on SBS World News this Sunday 19 January (7-7.30am and 5-5.30pm AEST) and again on Saturday 25 January at 2-2.30pm AEST.

Read the article or watch the video here.

This segment covered Bianca Stawiarski's business Warida Wholistic Wellness and a touching story of how equine therapy helped transform a young girl's life after a traumatic experience.

As firefighters and victims struggle with the impact of catastrophic fires, Bianca says therapy with horses can help first responders and accident victims overcome a range of traumas. She is a strong women with a gentle way.

We love seeing Indigenous businesses excel and this is a great example. Watch for the next episodes each weekend on SBS Small Business Secrets and check out the video for Bianca's series below or read the article, 'The Indigenous therapist working with horses to help people heal trauma'.

The series runs each weekend on SBS World News (7-7.30am Sundays, 5-5.30pm Sundays, and 2-2.30pm Saturdays) from 12 Jan through 8 Feb.

#ideasinvested #strongwomenstrongbusiness

When Gavin Kelly, a Girudala man from Queensland, came to IBA with Smart Syphon, we knew it was something special. Through hard work and determination, Gavin and his team had created the technology to finally allow cotton farmers the ability to move away from the onerous hand syphon system to an automatic water-irrigation system that can be turned on with the click of a button from anywhere in the world.

'Smart Syphon is a system that allows the farmer to automate his irrigation of cotton, improving the efficiency of water use and reducing the cost,' Gavin said.

Like so many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people all across Australia, getting the much-needed working capital to bring Smart Syphon to life was near impossible, until he engaged with IBA.

'The difference with IBA and a normal bank is that they don't have a prejudice,' Gavin said. 'We could demonstrate that there was a desire for what we were doing and we go their support.'

'If you can back yourself and prove that you can deliver, IBA will support you in where you want to go.'

IBA is thrilled to have been a part of Gavin's journey and to have played a small but vital role in bringing this idea to life.

To find out more about Smart Syphon, please visit https://islex.com.au/smart-syphon.

[This story is reproduced with permission from indigenous.gov.au (1 April 2016)].

Indigenous Business Australia (IBA) has long been in the business of supporting Indigenous Australians to achieve economic independence. IBA has supported people to own businesses, purchase homes and invest in commercial ventures that provide strong financial returns.

Now, IBA has taken it a step further with its new Remote Indigenous Home Loan (RIHL), designed to help Indigenous people in remote Australia achieve the dream of owning their own home. RIHL includes a concessional interest rate loan, as well as additional grants to meet related costs.

One person who has taken advantage of RIHL is Jamie Miller, an Aboriginal woman from Narrabri, about two hundred kilometres north-west of Tamworth in northern New South Wales.

Jamie says that she learnt about the loans through word of mouth.

'I was talking to an auntie in Tamworth who suggested that it would be a good idea for us,' Jamie said.

'My partner and I had been looking at buying our own home for a while but we didn’t think we could afford a home loan, so when I heard about IBA I quickly organised a meeting with them in Narrabri.'

Like many Australians looking to buy a home, Jamie worried that her financial situation meant the mortgage repayments would be more than she could afford.

'We were worried about biting off more than we could chew with the loan, but IBA helped get our finances in order and gave us tips on where we could save in our weekly budget so we could afford the loan,' Jamie said.

'There’s also a low deposit requirement with IBA, which really helps.'

The home loan wasn’t the only thing that helped Jamie’s dreams become a reality. She qualified for a grant from IBA for $20 000 to pay for any housing repairs or renovations during the life of their loan, ensuring that the move into home ownership is as stress free as possible.

Jamie’s life has changed significantly since that day her auntie told her about IBA but she said the biggest change is the emotional difference home ownership has made to her and her family.

“There’s such a big difference between owning and renting a house,” Jamie said.

“Now that I own my home I feel much more positive about the future.”

Find out more about IBA's Remote Indigenous Home Loans.

Franchising is one of the most popular and fastest-growing components of the Australian business sector. A 2014 survey of franchising in Australia revealed a sales turnover of $144 billion, and more than 460,000 people directly employed in the sector.

As the most common form of franchising in Australia, the business format model involves the owner of a business providing products or services (the franchisor), assigning to an individual (the franchisee) the right to market and distribute those products or services, and the right to use the franchisor’s business name to do so. In 2014, there were approximately 1,160 business format franchisors operating in Australia.(1)

A key benefit of buying into a franchise business is that a franchisor has often already invested in creating an established and, in some cases, well-known and respected brand.  Some franchisors will also provide franchisees with significant business support including marketing assistance, operational guidance and advice, and training and skills development. Franchisees can also benefit from increased opportunities to come together locally and nationally to share their franchising experience and learning.

For all the benefits, however, franchising is not a “soft” business option, and requires the same level of planning and commitment as any other business model. Also, a franchisor often requires its franchisees to adhere to strict standards regarding the fit-out of business premises, and other aspects of business administration to uphold the success of their brand and reputation.

Both parties usually sign a franchise agreement detailing any such requirements. The agreement may also cover the rights and responsibilities of both parties, including payment of fees, the area in which the franchise can operate, leasing arrangements, termination and renewal clauses, and the length of the agreement.

Through its Business Development and Assistance Program, IBA assisted Karen Seage (Snap Underwood, Brisbane), and Wendy Brookman (Fernwood Women’s Health Clubs, Canberra City) to negotiate their franchise agreements. IBA also provided both women with business finance and support, including mentoring from an IBA business consultant.

Karen and Wendy agree that seeking appropriate legal and financial advice from an accountant, lawyer or other business expert is vital before signing any legal document.

Both also advise careful consideration of broader personal goals and business objectives such as: the alignment of your personal and professional values with those of the franchisor; the level of control you will have over your own business; the ability of your franchise to grow and match your long-term business goals; and the level of support and training that will be available to you.

Here Karen and Wendy share their experience of buying into a franchise

The Franchise Council of Australia is the peak body for the franchising sector, and frequently holds franchising expos and workshops.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has a Franchisee Start-Up Checklist containing useful information on your rights and responsibilities as a franchisee, available for download.

1. Franchising Australia 2014, Asia-Pacific Centre for Franchising Excellence, Griffith University, with the Franchise Council of Australia; Lorelle Frazer, Scott Weaven and Anthony Grace, 2014.

Both Katrina Stubbs and Rowena Leslie had worked for family-owned businesses so understood the resources, time and commitment required to establish and grow a business within the at-times unpredictable mining industry.

‘Mining and business are in our blood, so to speak’, said Rowena. ‘Our great-grandparents were prospectors, our grandparents were mining speculators, and our mother has run a very successful business – Bundarra Contracting - for the last 14 years’. (Bundarra is an Indigenous-owned and -operated company providing earthworks, labour hire, construction and fencing services to the mining industry.)

Tertiary qualified, Katrina has experience in business administration and Rowena in law. With four young children between them, the sisters were keen to create a business structure that would accommodate their need for professional stimulation while fulfilling their desire to care for their children.

‘Out here in regional WA, there are opportunities to establish new businesses because there are a lot of services that still need developing’, said Rowena. ‘We had been thinking about starting a business together for a long time and had played around with different ideas about what to do’.

‘A contract came up for Bundarra Contracting to supply a water cart to a local mine. But Bundarra couldn’t extend themselves to buy another big asset, so decided to hire one. Instead, Katrina and I said to them, “Why don’t we buy the machinery and Bundarra can hire it off us?” And because they wanted to help us to develop our business and to achieve our goals, they said “yes”’.

Water carts are an important asset within the mining industry and are used primarily to dampen and cool roads, reducing dust and air pollution. Mines also often use them as a back-up firefighting resource in remote locations.

What seemed a straightforward premise - establish a business, purchase a 15,000-litre water cart, lease it to Bundarra, which in turn could sub-lease it to a local mine – proved less straightforward to finance.

‘The opportunity was there for the taking’, said Rowena. ‘We had the contract – a five-year lease via Bundarra to a local mine. That was a given, but securing the capital to get our business started was a problem’.

Initially, the women approached Many Rivers Microfinance Limited in Kalgoorlie, a not-for-profit organisation providing advice and business support to individuals and community organisations.

‘Many Rivers were really helpful in keeping us on track … and they motivated us into getting the business plan done, and seeking out investors’, said Rowena.

'They told us about the IBA Asset Leasing Trust. At first we said, “Leasing a water cart? No way, that’s crazy”. But then we looked at banks and also at the loans IBA offers through its business program, and it was going to be too much for us to take on financially’.

‘Many Rivers kept saying, “Have another look at the leasing option; give it a go”.

So we looked into the terms and costs, and realised that it would be a much better fit with our situation. The mining industry is a bit up and down at the moment and leasing was a safer option for us. We were blessed to have help from Jason Varlet at IBA, and valuable pro bono legal advice from a Perth law firm Squire Sanders. so we knew what we were getting into with leasing’.

After successfully applying to IBA’s Asset Leasing Trust Katrina and Rowena secured a lease on a 15,000-litre water cart, and launched Hamlet Machinery in 2013.

Drawing on their professional skills, work experience and personal strengths, the women have easily – and naturally – fallen into their respective roles within the business. Katrina is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the business - book keeping, organising insurance, and general accounting - while Rowena’s focus is building Hamlet’s Machinery’s profile and nurturing business relationships within the mining industry.

‘We have seen Bundarra go through the good and the bad and have learnt from that and applied it to what we are doing’, said Rowena. ‘So we make sure we both know what our roles are, and luckily we are in agreeance about what we want the business to do, and what we want it to achieve for us’.

With the income generated through their first contract, the sisters are hoping to expand their business and acquire further assets.

‘We only have the one water cart at present and it’s contracted for the next five years. So when we approach other clients it’s a juggling act because we are asking them for a contract without having the equipment yet. It’s hard to secure contracts with established working mines because they can just as easily ring up a local hire company and get equipment straightaway. Because it can take years of planning to establish a mine, we are instead talking to those who are at the beginning of the process’.

Katrina and Rowena are aware that this is something of a ‘chicken and egg’ approach to business, which is not without risk. ‘It’s the reason a lot of people can’t get into business in the mining sector’, said Rowena. ‘We have seen it a lot; some mines happen, some don’t. So we need to plan for expansion, but also be aware that it may not happen’.

In making their plans, Katrina and Rowena are committed to maximising any opportunity to generate employment for local Aboriginal people.

‘A big thing with our mother’s business (Bundarra) is about helping others out’, said Rowena. ‘We’ve seen how having a job can help turn lives around, and have seen people come out with experience, training and qualifications. So through Hamlet Machinery we likewise want to build up our community. In empowering ourselves through business ownership we hope to empower others’.

Empowering their children is also a strong motivation for Katrina and Rowena to ensure their business succeeds.

Rowena said, ‘I like the fact that Katrina and I have daughters and we are able to be role models for them and say, “Look, your mums are in business”.

‘The upfront costs of going into business so often make people baulk and walk away, but we want to try and inspire people to look at their options, get out there and take their ideas as far as they can’.

Find out more about Hamlet Machinery or read more about how IBA's Asset Leasing Trust may be able to assist your business.

Daniel Rennie and Alex Burbury admit they wouldn’t have described themselves as “financially savvy” four years ago when they were newly engaged. Since then, pursuing and achieving home ownership has changed that - and much more.

As Program Manager for an Indigenous radio station and State Sales Manager for a gift and homewares company respectively, Daniel and Alex had worked hard to get ahead in their careers.  However, making headway in stabilising their finances was proving harder.

Having made impulsive  spending choices in their youth, each had accrued personal debts which affected their credit rating.

When they got engaged in 2009, Daniel and Alex were renting a home in Brisbane, and had become frustrated with paying off “someone else’s mortgage”. With the encouragement of family, they made a commitment to repair their financial situation in preparation for home ownership.

‘My dad hasn’t owned a home now for the last 20 years, and it was really important to him that when we got engaged we should start thinking about home ownership’, said Alex. ‘He gave us a $1,000 deposit to start our First Home Saver Account Scheme [no longer available], knowing we would need to have that account for four years. He left it up to Daniel and I to make payments every week for four consecutive years. Initially we just put $40 a week in, but as we became more determined to buy, we made a real effort’.

At the same time, the couple were taking control of their spending.

We had been living week to week', said Alex, ‘and at the end of each month we were getting slammed by gas, electricity and phone bills. We thought, “We can’t keep doing this”. So we sat down and wrote a very strict budget to pre-pay everything…  ‘

‘We needed to streamline our finances because I had a personal loan, Dan had a personal loan and a car loan, and we had a store card. So we cancelled Dan’s credit card and now just have one, with a very small credit limit. We consolidated our personal loans and Dan’s car loan into one big loan’.

To ensure the budget is sustainable, the couple allow themselves an individual discretionary spending component.

‘It’s a freedom fund’, said Alex. ‘It had got to the stage where I was asking Dan, “How many coffees have you had today?” and saying, “You know that’s $15 worth of coffee?” But now we don’t fight about money. We get paid separately and 12 hours later most of our two salaries get pulled over into a joint account that pays all the bills. But we keep a little bit of money, and if we want to buy something, we each have the freedom to do it’.

In 2013, with four years of contributions adding up in their home saver account, and their personal spending under control, Daniel and Alex began making enquiries into securing a housing loan.

‘We went to a lender we had both banked with, long before we even started looking at actual houses’, said Alex. ‘We went through all our finances with them, just to see if we would be eligible for finance. We knew we had a bad credit rating in the past, but we thought we were beyond that. They gave us a ballpark figure, but said we would need to formally apply for a loan. We started looking around at houses within that price range, but it was ridiculous. We thought, “We will never be able to get a house for that money”.

A family friend suggested the couple look into IBA’s Indigenous Home Ownership program. IBA housing loans are available to Indigenous Australians who are unable to borrow all of the necessary funds from another lender such as their bank or credit union. In such cases, IBA may provide a loan for part of the finance with customers required to borrow the remaining funds from another lender.  IBA‘s Home Lending staff provide assistance with this process wherever possible.

Daniel and Alex needed such assistance when their bank declined their formal application for the balance of their finance.

'A big part of it was about communication, and with lots of help from Caroline Sheedy at IBA, we were able to work with the bank to make the mortgage agreement happen’, said Alex.

When their mortgage agreement was finalised in 2014, the couple realised just how much buying their own home had come to mean to them. ‘We just cried and cried and cried, and we bought a bottle of champagne and cried some more. I’m a bit of a crier!’ laughed Alex. ‘That was a good spend of the freedom fund!’

Having control over their finances has enabled the couple to keep that freedom fund while managing two separate mortgage repayments: one with IBA and one with their other lender. ‘We have worked out we need to pay this much for this loan with IBA, and this much for that loan with the bank. And because we have a budget in place, it’s done and dusted’, said Alex.

Daniel added, ‘And because we are paying a bit more off our loan than we need to,  if there is a surplus at the end of the year we can choose to take it out and buy something for the house, or leave it in place’.

After initially looking at houses in the inner city, Daniel and Alex changed tack and decided to buy land and build a home further afield.

Daniel said, ‘In the price range we were looking at, our options were a one-to-two-bedroom apartment in the city or a run-down fixer-upper in the city. We have two pug dogs, so an apartment wasn’t going to work for us.  And a fixer-upper? Well, I push buttons for a living so I’m not the handyman type, and that was never going to be a reality. We decided to move further out and build the home we wanted, with everything done and finished for us. And that was basically what we needed to do from a monetary point of view, as well.

Our plan is to gradually work our way back towards the city, but for our first home we are going to be happily living here for quite a few years. It’s a half-hour drive out here but during the construction we would come out and see all the different stages. And when the concrete slab was poured, we were so happy. We were high-fiving and running around’.

‘And I cried, of course!’ laughed Alex.

The couple put their growing confidence to work in sourcing a builder who could accommodate their specific needs while staying strictly within budget.

‘The most important things for us were that we had a big enough backyard for the dogs, that Dan got his man cave (because he likes to watch about eight games of rugby each weekend), that I have my own office (because I work from home a lot), and that our bedroom was at the back of the house. And so we had a checklist, and we were asking the builders, "Is this standard or is it extra? What about that, can we move that without extra cost?” We knew what our budget was and the final build had to be that – not a cent more’.

Daniel and Alex moved into their new home in February 2015 and are now looking forward to adding their own (no handyman-required) personal touches.  Having gained a foothold in economic independence they are excitedly looking at the future and the possibility of eventually purchasing an investment property.

The couple said they would encourage other Aboriginal people considering home ownership to explore their options, do the necessary research and, if in doubt, ask for advice and assistance.

Daniel said, ‘I was definitely funny about asking for advice and help to begin with, thinking, “I don’t need help from anyone, I’m just like everyone else”. There’s a lot of pride and self-respect issues among our mob, worrying about, “Am I asking for a handout?”

But I know many Indigenous people do need that help and advice because there are cultural barriers in dealing with banks and asking for money. I hope Alex and I can inspire other people to give it a crack, not to give up, and to push to create the future they want’.

Alex agreed. ‘This experience has given us the opportunity and the confidence to think like that, to think of the future … because we’re on our way now’, she said.

'As a side effect of this I have been able to set other goals for myself, too, like losing weight, training more and quitting smoking. And Alex is doing the same’, said Daniel.

‘So we’re building health as well as a house. And why go harming your health with cigarettes when you are working so hard to build a house and a future that you might not then get to enjoy? Plus all that extra money from not smoking is now going into paying for our house’.

‘These were things that I thought were never achievable but they are so easy now because we have learnt that if we put everything we have into it, then we can. It’s a mindset: nothing seems so impossible anymore’.

Find out more about IBA's Indigenous Home Ownership program

Kathleen Buzzacott lives and works on the fringe of the West MacDonell Ranges, some 20km west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. For 20 years, the natural beauty of her surroundings has fuelled her creative output.

In addition to painting Aboriginal desert artworks, Kathleen creates limited-edition jewellery, combining semi-precious stones with colourful native ininti seeds, which are rare and much sought after by desert women.

Before establishing her own business, Kathleen was working part time as a hairdresser in Alice Springs and devoting any spare time to her art and jewellery, which she sold through galleries and retailers in tourism hubs across Australia. A desire to become a fulltime artist and designer, and to take control of where her products are sold, and at what price, led her to establish Kathleen Buzzacott Aboriginal Jewellery and Art.

‘I gave up hairdressing three years ago and had been relying mostly on the galleries for income’, said Kathleen. ‘I started wondering, “Why am I relying on other people when I could market my own product?” And it just became a really strong desire of mine to start my own business’.

Approaching IBA’s Business Development and Assistance Program, Kathleen was invited to explore the commercial viability of her business idea through its Into Business™ workshops.

Attending those workshops really cemented for me that it is possible to operate a business in a remote area’, said Kathleen.

‘And, I tell you, those workshops were so helpful because I realised all these years I had been underselling myself'.

'The facilitator had me bring in some of my jewellery, and she asked, “How much did it cost to make, how much is your time worth and how much are you going to sell it for to the galleries?” And when I told her, she said, “You’ve just lost $45”, and I just about burst into tears’.

‘My art has always been something that just comes from my heart. And it’s so hard to place a value on what you produce when you are just doing it to put something beautiful out there. How do you put a monetary value on that? So now, I’m still creating from my heart, but I have also developed a good business mind’.

Once Kathleen completed the workshops, IBA provided her with support to develop a business plan and engage a website developer to create her online presence. Working in a remote region, Kathleen acknowledges the business potential that can be unlocked through digital applications such as websites, and online media platforms such as Facebook.

‘Digital and social media is marketing; it’s modern-day marketing’, said Kathleen. ‘You have to move with the times and the technology, and acknowledge things are changing. What I’m trying to do is share something with the world, and opening an online store means I can reach a wider global market. It also means I can keep prices at a level where people can afford my work, because the mark-up in galleries can often put it out of people’s financial reach’.

In engaging a web developer and entering the digital arena, Kathleen was keen to ensure continuity of her brand across both digital and print mediums.

‘I conveyed to the designer what I wanted, and what I’m like, and said I was trying to create a personal experience for people. And he’s done himself proud; he even came all the way out here and taught my son and I how to content-manage it’, she said.

At around the time her website was going live, Kathleen’s profile received a valuable boost when a piece of her jewellery was selected for presentation to HRH the Duchess of Cambridge during the 2014 royal visit to Uluru.

‘Clive Scollay, who is General Manager of Maruku Arts at Uluru, has always been a huge supporter of my painting’, said Kathleen, explaining how the opportunity arose. ‘My mother has traditional affiliations with Uluru, which is how I came to already be selling my artwork out there. I would love to think the Duchess will actually wear the jewellery I created. It was very exciting to be asked, and you can’t buy that kind of exposure’.

Although she launched her website amid that media attention, Kathleen nonetheless continues to experience a challenge common among new online business owners: making her business visible in a busy online marketplace.

‘Going into that online world has not been as easy as I thought it would be’, she said. ‘People don’t know I’m here, and I haven’t done enough marketing of my website as yet’.

‘Also, selling jewellery, I’m aware that a lot of women like to try before they buy, to pick a piece up and look in a mirror, and they can’t do that online. In the meantime, it’s been good to still have other streams of income coming in from the galleries and other collaborative works where I get royalties’.

To raise more awareness of her business, Kathleen created a Facebook page. But while she has built a community of followers interested in both her creative process and her life in the Territory, she finds such interest does not always translate into sales.

'I have found my Facebook followers are not necessarily my customers’, she said. ‘I am finding that people go to Facebook for a chat and to look at photos and interact with me; but they are not necessarily looking to buy’.

Like many small business owners short on time and staff, Kathleen has found it challenging to set aside the time to maintain her online presence while producing enough art and jewellery to sell. However, she understands the importance of nurturing and developing her online business relationships.

‘I’ve noticed with the online shop that some customers still want the one-on-one contact’, she said. ‘They want to engage with me on a personal level, so we will talk on the phone or send emails back and forth. And I make sure there’s that contact. The online world can be quite impersonal and it’s not an environment everyone is comfortable operating in. If I had a shop, I’d be keen to make sure a customer has a good experience in dealing with me, and it’s no different online.

‘Also, when I’m dealing with hotels, new galleries and other potential outlets, I always go and present my work in person, which is how I have established good working relationships over the years. Face-to-face relationships matter, because you develop connections with people and get a better sense of who you will be working with’.

Kathleen’s need for personal contact is one reason she recently opened her own artist’s studio on the family property to complement her online business.

‘I have realised I need to be with people’, she said. ‘I am used to talking to people at the hair salon. And the reason I stayed in hairdressing so long was the people; talking and listening and sharing together’.

The new air-conditioned studio, and much of its interior, was funded through a grant from the Northern Territory Government’s Indigenous Business Development Program. The walls and cabinets give Kathleen the opportunity to showcase her artwork and jewellery, including a replica of the necklace gifted to the Duchess of Cambridge.

‘To open up a studio here, right on the tourist belt of the West MacDonell Ranges with busloads of tourists and lots of traffic passing each day, it’s perfect for turning this from my business into a family business’, she said. ‘The studio will complement the website nicely, and it’s an opportunity for tourists visiting the gaps and gorges in the Ranges to stop in, have a cup of tea, meet my family and see me at work. Hopefully, having seen my art and jewellery first-hand they will be more likely to visit my online shop and tell others about it too.

‘I have taken out membership with Tourism Central Australia, and have created a brochure to distribute here in Alice Springs. A lot of tourists ask, “Where can we go and meet the people who make the art”.

'I will now be able to use Facebook and my website to show photos of people experiencing that interaction with an artist, because that’s part of what I’ll be selling – the experience'.

In offering that experience, I acknowledge the Traditional Owners of this area, the Arrente people. I am blessed to be able to live and work in such a special place’.

Kathleen says the encouragement and support of her husband, two sons and extended family has been crucial during this start-up phase of her business.

‘My 20-year-old is right at home in the online world, and his advice and technical know-how is important in building my online presence. He helps me with checking and responding to emails, and keeps my Facebook page and website up-to-date. That takes some of the pressure off me, and allows me to concentrate on creating products to sell, and marketing and promoting the business to let people know I’m here. He is enjoying helping me and I hope eventually to be able to employ him in the business.

‘And then there’s my husband who, as well as being one of my greatest supporters, is my voice of reason when it comes to developing the business. He often reminds me to slow down, and “Stop moving the goalposts”. But in my mind there are no limits; my plan is to kick those goal posts down’.

Find out more about Kathleen Buzzacott Aboriginal Art and Jewellery and IBA's Business Development and Assistance Program.

You may remember reading about Wayne and Lucy McGinness in issue nine of Inspire (‘Hot Property’). The couple established their business Aboriginal Steel Art in 2008, and have steadily grown it with assistance from IBA’s Business Development and Assistance Program. Wayne creates original Aboriginal steel artworks, including functional pieces – fence panels, gates and balustrades – one-off, fine art sculptures, and a range of corporate gifts.

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Wayne and Lucy McGinness have created a charmed life for themselves and their family. Their business is going from strength to strength, with a flood of new commissions and increasing recognition from the corporate world.

In addition to their successful business, Wayne and Lucy have recently finished building a new home in Kuranda, near Cairns in FNQ. Their three children are excited about their new home and have already staked their claims on the bedrooms. The big garden with its lush leafy surrounds is great for playtime and also big enough for Wayne to have a workshop, meaning he can stay close to home and his adored family while he works.

The couple’s diligence, thoughtful planning and faith in each other is certainly paying off.

Wayne and Lucy always planned to buy a home after they moved to Queensland from Darwin to start the business but were waiting for the right time. They were already well aware of the benefits of home ownership.

‘It’s about having security’, said Lucy. ‘You know that every time you make a mortgage payment you are investing in your future. Also, when the kids get older, it will always be our family home – our retreat, our haven. The kids might go off to uni or work but they can always come back. Hopefully we bought enough land for a few granny flats for them to live in!’

The couple applied for a construction home loan through the IBA Indigenous Home Ownership program in 2013 and decided to construct their dream home.

‘We were looking at our options and found something we could afford’, said Wayne. ‘We actually pay only an extra $20 a week on the mortgage than we were paying on rent.

'Of course there are extra costs like rates and insurance’, said Lucy. ‘but when it’s your own home you don’t mind spending that money. It’s your home; you are investing in your future’.

‘To get our income back to a level where we could borrow money, we needed the business to be doing well,’ added Wayne.

‘IBA’s support helped us get to the point where we could borrow the money to build our own home. It’s been an easy process with IBA; they really feel like family now’.

Building their own home was the ideal option for the family’s specific needs, such as Wayne’s workshop. Although the workshop build was not covered as part of the IBA home loan, they were able to fund this through their business.

‘We really needed the space,’ said Wayne. ‘The grinding is noisy, so being on at least an acre provides a good buffer for neighbours’.

‘Having the workshop so close helps with our home life as well’, said Lucy. ‘Sometimes, Wayne will stop at 3.30pm when the kids get off the bus and then go back to work at 5pm. He couldn’t do that if he was in Cairns, commuting to a workshop’.

When they started Aboriginal Steel Art Lucy kept her full-time job in real estate so that they had a steady income and didn’t put “all our financial eggs in one basket”. In time, she reduced her hours to three days a week so that she could work two days on the business with Wayne. Now that Aboriginal Steel Art is flourishing and bringing in new commissions, Lucy has resigned from her job to work in the business full time.

‘At the end of the year, I was quite run down – I was being pulled in too many different directions and couldn’t give 100 per cent to anything’, said Lucy. ‘Thinking about and planning the house also took up a lot of time. Now that it’s done, we can concentrate on the business again’.

Lucy keeps track of the orders and manages the company administration, as well as meeting clients and maintaining relationships. This allows Wayne to focus on designing and fabricating the steel pieces.

At the time of our interview, Wayne was working on an interesting commission to create a large ceiling installation for an exclusive apartment development. Orders for corporate gifts, awards and trophies are also plentiful and the couple have a plethora of plans in the pipeline.

‘I wake up early in morning and have so many ideas’, said Wayne. ‘But they all have to wait their turn. It’s great that we’re so busy, being self-employed though’, added Lucy. ‘Being busy means the company is working’.

Wayne hopes to collaborate with his friend and well-known Aboriginal artist Wayne Quilliam later this year. ‘I want to create something that blows people away’, he said. ‘Watch this space because it’s really going to be something’.

The couple has two further goals for 2014: to create a lifestyle range, including home wares and garden art, and to develop new architectural opportunities for the business.

At the end of 2013, Wayne and Lucy visited San Antonio, Texas as part of the Supply Nation delegation to the NMSDC Business Opportunity Fair, aimed at building supplier diversity networks and opportunities.

While they were there, the couple met the head of the Minority Business Development Agency, David Hinsen, who advises President Obama about minority suppliers. By their own admission, it was a “mind blowing moment”.

‘It was the best networking opportunity; how would we get to speak to him otherwise?’, said Wayne. ‘If we weren’t over there for the delegation, we would never have met him’.

‘He was amazing and so confident that our ideas would work’, said Lucy. ‘He said to us: “just do it”.

‘He also encouraged us to think big’, said Wayne. ‘He gave us ideas and we came home with a plan. We were in a daze!’

The couple acknowledge IBA and Supply Nation in assisting them to make contacts and create opportunities that have helped their business grow, as well as Fortis One - their business mentors - who have been instrumental in helping guide the business.

‘There’s no doubt that if we didn’t know IBA, Fortis One and Supply Nation, we would not be where we are today’, said Wayne. ‘But you need something to bring to the table in first place. You need necessary skills and the drive to put the hard yards in’.

It’s certainly a credit to their hard work and determination that Wayne and Lucy are now at a point where their business and home life complement each other.

And while their workshop and their home are full of spectacular artistic creations, their family’s future is perhaps their best design of all.

Find out more about IBA’s Indigenous Home Ownership program and Business Development and Assistance Program.

‘Geez Kristy, don’t cry; just don’t cry’.

In the days leading up to her guest appearance at last year’s Aboriginal Enterprises in Mining, Exploration and Energy Conference on the Gold Coast, Kristy Marsh was giving herself a stern talking to. She found herself feeling unexpectedly emotional while rehearsing the presentation she would deliver to 150 Indigenous business owners and representatives from the mining and construction industries.

The presentation, titled ‘I Bought a Crane’, provided Kristy with an opportunity to reflect on the personal and professional journey that has taken her from pulling apart starter motors and toasters on the floor of her childhood home, to being co-owner and Managing Director of Wakaya Group her crane hire, labour hire and training company.

Kristy spent more than three years researching, establishing and growing the business, while caring for two young children and undertaking her own professional development training. Opportunities to stop and reflect on what she and partner Jolyon (Jo) Rapley have achieved have been rare.

Speaking with Kristy, though, it’s clear that stopping is not something this focused, passionate and proud Yulluna (pronounced Yull-a-nah) woman intends to do.

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‘Excuse the mess’, says Kristy, opening the door to her Brisbane home. The toys, clothes, and remnants of a family breakfast, alongside the folders, computers, Wakaya Group banners and work boots at the door, speak of a family home filled with high energy, activity and purpose.

Organising to meet Kristy and Jo together is not easy. Aside from juggling the needs of two pre-school age children and managing the day-to-day operations of the business, Kristy also works outside the family home delivering industry-related training. Meanwhile Jo is employed at a construction hire company in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, requiring him to spend four weeks working away from home on a rotation basis.

‘It’s what the industry requires’, said Jo, ‘especially when the work dries up here in Brisbane. All the guys with families want to stay and work here, but when it’s in short supply you don’t earn as much. And when you’ve just bought a $500,000 crane…’

The 25-tonne crane Jo refers to is the primary asset underpinning the couple’s crane hire and training company.

The idea for the Wakaya Group took shape in 2010 after the birth of the couple’s first son when Kristy, who was employed as an open-ticketed crane operator started thinking about how she might continue her career in the industry she loved, while caring for her young family. ‘After my eldest son was born, I had to think about what I was going to do', said Kristy. ‘Child care opens at 6am, but I would have needed to be on a construction site by that time at who knows where across Brisbane. So it wasn’t flexible enough in that way for me"".

I started researching the business idea because I had always wanted to be my own boss', said Kristy, who worked right through both pregnancies operating a 160-tonne track crawler crane. ‘I can’t sit still – it’s just not me’.

That same energy has fueled a lifelong love of taking things apart to examine how they might work better. ‘As a child I would pull everything apart and try and put it back together again but, of course I couldn’t’, said Kristy. ‘Sorry, mum, don’t know what happened to the toaster! My grandfather owned a wrecking yard and I used to hang out with him, and pull apart old cars. The whole house would be littered with carburetors and starter motors. I remember pulling things apart while I was eating breakfast’.

After leaving school at 16, Kristy began an apprenticeship as a fitter and turner, and worked in the local construction industry before travelling overseas and securing a role as Technical Manager for an Italian packaging company. Kristy says that after three years living out of a suitcase, a desire to “get back on the tools” led her home to Australia where she qualified as an open-ticketed crane operator. This qualification allows Kristy to work on the largest of mobile cranes operating on construction sites.

Her love of pulling things apart was central to providing Kristy with the knowledge and confidence to make the move into business ownership. After 18 months of researching the viability of the Wakaya Group, she and Jo approached IBA’s Business Development and Assistance Program for business support.With Jo working interstate, however, it was Kristy - eight-and-a-half months pregnant with their second child - who attended IBA’s three one-day Into Business™ workshops. The workshops aims to assist Indigenous Australians to explore their business idea and readiness for taking on business ownership.

‘I finished the workshops in a week’, said Kristy. ‘I had already done a lot of the business planning and research. And I had limited time because I was due to give birth in two weeks… So it was like, could I come back next month for the next workshop? Probably not!’

‘I remember going in for my first interview with IBA. I was sitting there thinking, “These must be those crazy pregnancy hormones everyone talks about”. There I was eight-and-a-half months pregnant, and asking IBA for a loan and business support.

'I remember the day IBA approved our business loan; it gave me so much courage to think that someone else believed we could pull this off. I never have had the chance to thank whoever was behind that decision’.

Jo says he had no doubt Wakaya Group would succeed with Kristy at the helm. ‘Whatever she sets her mind to, she achieves’, he said. ’Even with her study, she always tops the class in everything she does. As soon as we started talking about the business, I knew she’d make it succeed, there’s nothing going to hold her back, she will just keep going’.

An IBA business consultant has assisted the couple to fine-tune their business financials and operations. ‘Going through the business plan and having a look at all the figures, there were some things I had missed…’ said Kristy. ‘I had thought of all the obvious things like insurances, and I’d researched competitive pricing, fuel and so on. But the consultants got down to the nitty gritty of things, like legal fees for drawing up contracts, print costs; and they really pulled it apart’.

Despite her commitment, Kristy says the reality of what she and Jo were taking on hit home one night just before their new 25-tonne asset was due to be delivered. ‘About a month before the crane was due to arrive, that was my one night of having a bit of a panic, and that was it’, she said. ‘I think it was everything required to launch the business, looking after the two kids, and Jo being so far away working in WA. On paper it all looked so good, but here was the reality coming toward me. I remember being on the phone to Jo in WA that night in a panic, and all Jo said was “wow, so you are human Kristy!”. It made me laugh, and as quick as the worry came, it was gone’.

In a compliance- and regulation-driven industry, Kristy has put considerable energy into ensuring Wakaya Group has the licences, policies and procedures in place so the crane can be hired out onto mine sites where the strictest of safety rules and regulations apply.

‘Kristy has gone above and beyond what a normal small crane business would provide in that regard’, said Jo. ‘She’s got policies and procedures and safety documents that are on par with the company I work for out west, and they’re a huge national company. The work she has been able to do and what she’s accomplished is really quite mind-boggling, especially when she’s looking after the children as well’.

‘You have to’, said Kristy.

‘If you want to play with the big boys then you need to look like one, even if you’re not in terms of size! You have to tick all the boxes, be on the same playing field in terms of your professionalism’.

Both Kristy and Jo admit juggling family, the business and Jo’s absences from home for four weeks at a time is challenging.

‘I’ll be trying to explain something to Jo down the phone, and sometimes I’ll go off on a tangent and the kids are going crazy in the background…’, said Kristy. ‘Everything I do, Jo is really supportive, but he’s also good at saying, “So you’re doing this and this and now this? Really?” He helps rein things in and keep me on track. We just have to work hard to keep the communication going…’

‘It would be good to get to the point where we’re both working in the business together’, continued Kristy. ‘In the New Year I am looking at doing wet hire, which means hiring out the crane with an operator and a dogman – all the personnel. That means taking on employees; I am hoping they’ll be a little more co-operative than toddlers – at least they won’t be teething!’

‘I am laying the foundations for the training side of it now, and I am trying not to bite off more than I can chew’, said Kristy. ‘I already deliver training, and I have just been approved as an accredited trainer and assessor through Workplace Health and Safety, Queensland, which is great because I can start working as a contractor within my own business. Eventually I want Wakaya Group to become a registered training organisation. I want to set up on-the-job training packages for my Indigenous students; kind of like a traineeship where they go out on construction sites or are placed within the work environment so they get that extra hands-on training. I want Indigenous students coming out of my class to be the best of the best, so that companies who want labour will ask for Wakaya trained people. I believe we need to break the negative mindset that still exists out there around utilising Indigenous employees and businesses’.

‘And eventually I am hoping to cross pollinate and grow the business to have a fleet of cranes, Indigenous trainees and labour working for me, and be mostly Indigenous-operated as well as Indigenous-owned’.

Asked about her focus and determination, Kristy said: ‘Í don’t see the obstacles or barriers until someone points them out. So, for example, I have worked in the industry for my whole life, so I don’t see it as male-dominated. And I suppose a lot of things that would hold other people back, I don’t see them; or if I do, or if someone happens to point them out to me, that just makes me even more determined’.

In summoning that determination Kristy says she draws inspiration from her Elders, past and present. ‘My late Uncle was a strong mentor for me; every time I had an idea in my head, he was always very encouraging, but also very direct. He has passed away, but in challenging times when I think “What are you doing”, or “Do you really think you can do this”, I can hear him telling me to “Shut up and do it already”!

Find out more about the Wakaya Group or read more about IBA’s Business Development and Assistance Program.