BUSINESSWOMEN from across the Wheatbelt gathered at Beverley for the fourth WE Shine event on October 15, a day that happened to also be International Day of Rural Women.
Led by the Wheatbelt Business Network (WBN), the event aimed to provide a professional development opportunity for female business owners and senior decision makers.
WBN chief executive officer Caroline Robinson was the master of ceremonies for the day and said the event was well received from the almost 70 attendees.
"Many women did not know each other which was great and gave them the opportunity to make new connections to help support each other in their different businesses," Ms Robinson said.
It was the first time the event was underpinned by a theme, which was resilience - a word that would resonate with many regional and rural businesswomen.
"The theme was peppered throughout the day with the speakers," she said.
"We chose resilience because running a business this year and last year required people to be flexible and change often and we wanted to tell women in business that they were doing a great job."
The event began with Westpac senior agribusiness manager Leisa Van Geest sharing her professional journey and spoke about networking activities to help personal branding.
Ms Robinson said a particular highlight was the presentation by Lucy Peach, who is also known as the Period Queen and a previous TEDXPerth speaker who shared her personal insight into the female hormonal cycle and how to look at the menstrual cycle through the lens of potential and productivity.
WBN board member Melissa Welsh said there were great networking opportunities throughout the day.
"The networking activities gave women an opportunity to engage and connect with others and we hope these connections will provide value going forward," Ms Welsh said.
"A key theme for WE Shine 2021 was building resilience within Wheatbelt businesses.
"Phillippa Henderson from The Sharing Shed offered simple, yet effective strategies business leaders could implement to assist employees improve their mental health, and this was very well received."
WBN member and partner Cullen Macleod Lawyers director Catriona Macleod facilitated a member panel comprising Beverley Hydra Boom managing director Jenifer Petchell, Wave Rock Short Stay Accommodation owner Chloe Whitwell, Three Farmers Quinoa managing director Megan Gooding and Petchell Mechanical proprietor and accounts manager Christy Petchell.
"The experiences and the brave honesty to talk about the more difficult aspects was a highlight of the panel," Ms Macleod said.
Key points raised by the panellists included the need to ask for specialist business help, investing in personal and team professional development and strategies to address pressures within the workplace.
nbn Local was also present at WE Shine and shared an insight into how Wheatbelt businesses could improve their connectivity and apply for the recently announced Innovate with the nbn Grants Program.
Three workshops were held in the afternoon led by 23Fathoms, ProcessWorx and Mind Your Money covering marketing, employment contracts and business finance.
Practical tools were provided to businesswomen to implement within their workplaces.
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