Aussie Ambitions Podcast

EPISODE 30. BEHIND THE LIGHTS AND CAMERAS ---> For those aspiring to become a model, it’s all about whether you have the “look”. As a talent scout with a trained eye, founder of Que Models, Mandy St George-Crowe has been known to chase someone down when she sees them.

Keen to fully embrace the phenomenal lifestyle here on the Gold Coast, through her Agency Mandy brings back to her home town her years of international experience with high-end models.  From parent to friend, teacher to personal guide, Mandy forms close bonds with her models, mentoring and nurturing them through their career journey as well as maintaining close relationships with clients and photographers.

What does it take to be a model and how can you progress in your career? How important is social media in today’s market? What is the ultimate career goal for a high-end model? Join with us as we explore the glamourous and not so glamourous aspects of model life.

Guest links:

https://quemodels.com/

https://www.facebook.com/quemodels

https://www.instagram.com/quemodels/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandy-st-george-1061b030/

EPISODE 29. MIXING WITH THE BEST ---> Working as a bartender in a restaurant within the Palazzo Versace Hotel in Main Beach, Karen Singh Jandu has had some strange requests for cocktails and drinks. What on earth is a “Dead Green Lizard”?

Passionate about making drinks, Karen joins us and recounts her life as a bartender in a busy high-end restaurant. How do prices in Australia compare to the rest of the world? What is a Happy Hour? She talks about the Government Certification required, the rostering of shifts, casual employment, leave entitlements and career longevity within the hospitality industry. Do customers tip staff in Australia?

Always researching new drinks, maybe one day she will fulfil her dream of managing her own cocktail bar and creating her own cocktail menu.

Guest link:

https://www.palazzoversace.com.au/en/default.html

EPISODE 28. SPORTING TALENT --> After 5 years and 64 games playing professional football for the Gold Coast Suns, AFL player Jesse Joyce tells us his football journey from making the NSW State under 12s team, obtaining a sports scholarship for high school to making it to the AFL list and on to an injury that required a whole new rethink of his future.

How much training is required to be a top athlete? And how much of the game is mental? Hear about the excitement of his debut game, playing with one of Australia’s top footballers and how COVID-19 affected the game.

A firm believer in hard work and a positive mindset, as he recovers Jessie is now playing semi-professionally and embarking on a business career. What is PainPod and how does it assist in the relief of pain and recovery from injury?

Despite his professional AFL career being halted, Jesse still has hopes of playing professionally again and is working hard towards fulfilling that dream.

Guest links:

https://thepainpod.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesse-joyce-084092101/

EPISODE 27. LIFE IS FOR LIVING --> Going for auditions is like a toxic ex-boyfriend, you keep getting rejected, but you keep going back over and over according to Aussie Actor and free spirit, Kaylee Brown.  Then there is the excitement of winning a role, the fun of building a character and telling someone else’s story.

From working on-board the “Yot Club”, the world’s first super yacht entertainment venue, to potential acting opportunities in America, Kaylee’s sense of fun and excitement with life is obvious.  With a passion for spirituality and holistic health, Kaylee has weathered health issues and the disappointment of a co-starring role in a movie in San Francisco being cancelled because of COVID-19 to ultimately living a centred and grounded life.  Convinced TikTok is a “time travelling illusion”, she shares her enjoyment and thoughts about creating content with this popular platform.

Kaylee is open to all life has ahead for her and how it will evolve.  As she says, “If it is meant to be for me, it will happen”.

Guest link:

https://www.tiktok.com/@cactuscash

EPISODE 26. BEHIND THE LENS --> When marketing eyecare, it’s not just about the products, it’s about health care and showing the benefits, Optometrist Chris McMahon tells us.  He shares with us his successful career in optometry from starting his own business on the Gold Coast and its many challenges to his current opportunity to transition his business to a new owner.

He classes himself as driven in the pursuit of his business, not passionate, but prepared to fight with his ultimate goal the care of his customers and their needs.  He discusses how new technology has allowed the vision of many to be saved and the diagnosis of many diseases and health issues.  What new product is available for those with colour confusion?  What is presbyopia and how does it affect so many of us?

Have you had your eyes tested lately?

Guest links:

https://qualityeyecare.com.au/

EPISODE 24. AUSTISM SPECTRUM SUPPORT ---> Having three beautiful children and founding Spectrum Support, Kathrine Peereboom feels that she has found her true purpose in life. She talks with us in the studio about how discovering all her children were on the autism spectrum caused her to research how she could protect her kids.

Finding there was a huge gap between first responders’ education and the autistic community she partnered with the NSW Police force to ensure that they all received intensive training courses.

Hear from Kathrine about the need for education not only for those on the front line, but within our local community, the successes, her ambition for this training to be available to all first responders throughout Australia, New Zealand and the Asia Pacific and the challenges of life with an autistic child.

Through her charity Spectrum Support, this passionate and dedicated woman is making a difference. How can you partner with her in this great cause?

Guest links:

https://www.spectrumsupport.org/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathrine-peereboom-b641a3181/

https://www.facebook.com/spectrumsupportltd

https://www.instagram.com/spectrumsupport/

EPISODE 25. AN EMPOWERED WOMAN --> Australia is an important part of her legacy, highly inspirational personality Dr Hazel Herrington tells us as she recounts her journey in business with us and what an amazing journey! From obtaining her degree in business at a Gold Coast University, to speaking at conferences around the world and interviewing celebrities, Hazel has made an impact worldwide. She is now launching her new online business, Herrington Publications Worldwide.

With a passion for entrepreneurship and leadership, she works as a business strategist and coach keen to empower and train people, particularly women and youth, to achieve success in business. Never forgetting where she has come from, she regularly travels to Zimbabwe to impact and empower women in her homeland and has worked within indigenous communities in Australia.

What advice does she have for us? How important is business coaching, networking and mentorship? Always encouraging, always positive, Hazel comes up with some real gems for us.

Guest links:

https://www.herringtonpublications.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-hazel-herrington/

https://www.facebook.com/hpw_publications-170824104489205

EPISODE 23. FASHION WITH FLAIR ---> Having had a love for fashion since her youth, Sinead James, Head of Design and Branding for Australian label Charlie Holiday, shares with us her journey in the world of fashion.

From her early studies in business, majoring in entrepreneurship and then on to fashion, it becomes evident that Sinead has the passion and drive to pursue her dreams. She tells us of the learning curve of starting her own fashion label, the importance of on-the-job training and experience and on finding her niche working for Charlie Holiday.

With the United States as their biggest market, she tells of the buzz they get seeing celebrities wear their clothes and the impact Instagram influencers can have on sales. Having an interest in sustainability, she describes how the label is pursuing this and is currently working on the launch of a new sustainable brand.

What advice does she have for any future fashion designers?

Guest links:

https://charlieholiday.com.au/

https://www.instagram.com/sinead_james/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sinead-james-3974b851/

EPISODE 22. JOB SEARCH SOLUTIONS ---> “Developing people, changing lives” is the motto of Pivotal Management, a business that links employers, training organizations and employees. We talk in the studio with Managing Director, Belinda, and one of her key team members, Monika, about how the business was formed, it’s philosophy and purpose, and where it is heading in today’s economic circumstances.

From an initial focus in the hospitality industry, hear how COVID-19 has impacted the business. What sort of businesses and jobseekers do they assist and what Government procedures are in place to assist in the recruitment processes?

Unique in their concept of marrying together employers with future employees and providing avenues for upskilling and training and then managing the process, Belinda and Monika have at their heart a genuine desire and passion to help people and mentor them through the employment process.

Guest links:

https://pivotalmanagement.com.au/

https://www.facebook.com/pivotalm

https://www.linkedin.com/in/belinda-fernandez-770254191/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/monika-miler-80a842b1/

EPISODE 21. BEHIND THE PURPLE DOOR --> After 30 years in the beauty industry, doing a job she loves doesn’t feel like work, it feels like play!  Beauty Therapist and Makeup Artist, Lindy-Lou Taylor joins us in the studio to tell us about her business Purple Door Beauty, which is located on Mt Tamborine in the Gold Coast Hinterland, nestled amongst the beautiful rainforests.

Within this village like community, and with a background in natural therapies, this popular and caring practitioner ensures her clients are treated holistically, gain enjoyment from their visit and leave feeling less stressed and lighter. She chats about the effects of the sun on skin in our Aussie climate, her special packages for brides and her dreams to move from a single operator business to a community of practitioners supporting each other in their own specialist fields.

In our busy lives she stresses the importance of health, diet and managing your time to look after yourself, including time for some pampering.  “If you don’t look after yourself, you can’t look after others”.

Guest links:

https://purpledoorbeauty.com.au/

https://www.facebook.com/purpledoorbeauty

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindy-lou-taylor-0a8283119/