Warwick entrepreneur taps into the wire
AMAZING things can happen when women put their heads together, Lyn Duncan is discovering.
With a dream to establish a sustainable farming business on her Mt Sturt property, Mrs Duncan joined a group of female entrepreneurs who are divided by distance but connected by ideas, support and a shared sense of enthusiasm as they embark on business ventures together.
The Women in Rural, Regional and Remote enterprises (WiRE) program provides online networking, support and coaching for regional women to make their business dreams a successful reality.
"When you are working in a rural area you can be a bit isolated and a bit of an island,” Mrs Duncan said.
"I've found the program provides a good forum where you can bounce ideas off other like-minded people, especially people who are doing similar things to you.
"When you get a bunch of women together you get that hive mentality and that is very positive - women are happy to help each other out. It's a very supportive.”
Mrs Duncan is a woman of many talents, having worked in education, owned a successful saddlery, studied fine arts with an interest in textiles and completed a graduate diploma in science at the University of Southern Queensland.
She said she liked to have more than one string to her bow.
Her latest idea to start a sustainable farm came when she noticed a growing demand for local and ethically produced goods.
"It's an emerging trend in the market where people are looking at the provenance of the things they buy, and it's providing a lot of opportunities for people in rural areas that probably weren't there five years ago,” Mrs Duncan said.
"In Warwick there's more demand for local and sustainable goods. The Uber markets and farmers markets are more prevalent and I think people are more aware of what they are putting on their plate.”
Currently, Mrs Duncan is in the development stages of her new business and said she was getting a lot of great advice from other women who were coming up against the same challenges.
"You never stop learning when it comes to running a business and technology is changing so fast you need to be very savvy and keep up with it,” she said.
"Nowadays online is as big a marketing tool as having a shop front and things change quickly and you have to keep up with it.”
Mrs Duncan is looking into producing fine wool and growing crops like onions, garlic and other things that do well in the Warwick soil.
"It means I get to follow my heart a bit, because I did textiles as in my university art major, so producing wool means I get to follow the things I love.”