Welcome to the Rural Venture Collective podcast, the show that celebrates the strength, innovation and resilience of women across East Gippsland.
In a region where the land stretches wide and the community spirit runs deep. We're going to share the stories of women who are making their mark, forging their own paths and connecting in ways that transcend distance.
In todays episode we are joined by Jodie Wilmer from Happy Changemakers and we will discuss the Rural Venture Collective and what it's all about. We will also chat to Jodie about her life and work in East Gippsland, and what has led her to this point.
Welcome to the Rural Venture Collective podcast, the show that celebrates the strength, innovation and resilience of women across East Gippsland.
In a region where the land stretches wide and the community spirit runs deep. We're going to share the stories of women who are making their mark, forging their own paths and connecting in ways that transcend distance.
In todays episode we are joined by Jodie Wilmer from Happy Changemakers and we will discuss the Rural Venture Collective and what it's all about. We will also chat to Jodie about her life and work in East Gippsland, and what has led her to this point.
Welcome to the Rural Venture Collective podcast, the show that celebrates the strength, innovation and resilience of women across East Skippsland. I'm your host, liz, and I'm really looking forward to exploring this journey with you In a region where the land stretches wide and the community spirit runs deep. We're here to share the stories of women who are making their mark, forging their own paths and connecting in ways that transcend distance. From the rolling hills to the coastal beauty, east Skippsland is not only a landscape of breathtaking views, but also a home to the adverse and dynamic community of women entrepreneurs, artists, farmers and change makers. Through this podcast, we'll dive into the heart of East Skippsland and shine a spotlight on the incredible women who are shaping business, creating art, nurturing the land and fostering connections. We'd love for you to join us as we uncover the stories of those who have turned challenges into opportunities, who've harnessed their passion to drive change and who've built bridges that bring our community closer together. Whether you're a local resident or someone curious about the unique spirit of East Skippsland, this podcast is for you. We'll explore the triumphs, the lessons learned and the dreams that fuel these East Skippsland women. Get ready to be inspired, to learn and to be a part of a collective that celebrates the shared experiences that make East Skippsland more than just a place but a home. So grab a cup of your favourite local brew, find a cosy spot and tune in as we embark on a journey of connection and discovery together. I'd like to acknowledge the Gunai-Kurnai people as the traditional owners of the land on which we are gathered and pay my respects to their elders, past, present and future.
Speaker 1:Good morning, we are here to have a chat about the new rural venture collective podcast. I'm Liz Whitehill from East Gitchland Marketing and I'd like to welcome Jodi Wilmer, who's joining us in the studio today. Good morning, jodi. Thank you, liz, it's great to be here. Thanks for inviting me. Thanks for coming in to have a chat about our exciting new podcast. We're sitting here in this fabulous James Yates podcast studio. How cool is this? It's fantastic. This fabulous soundproof room with pretty fancy schmancy, speakers and systems set up.
Speaker 2:It's good. So, liz, I'd really love to know more about why did you start the podcast.
Speaker 1:Well, firstly, Jodi, can I just say you have a great voice for radio. I could listen to you day in day out.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 1:Well, look, we had an opportunity to do something in the wellness space, so we secured some funding from the Victorian government and the funding was pitched to wellness for women in small business. And we thought well, we have this huge, fabulous region that we live in, but it is big. There is some distance between communities and community groups and towns, but in every community group, regardless of how big it is, and every hamlet and every town, there are entrepreneurial women, and what we wanted to do was to connect these women and to give them a voice, to allow them to tell their stories, but allow us to listen in and find out about what people are doing. We don't know the person we're standing next to in the cafe when we're getting our three quarter almond latte in the morning, or somebody we walk past in Woolies. We don't know what their story is. They can be fabulously interesting people. We just bump into them every day.
Speaker 2:That's so true. I moved to you five and a half years ago from Melbourne to East Gippsland and I just love it when you do get to understand the talents and the amazing experiences people have and their stories. And through our whole region, whether it's up to Omo in the high country or to Malacuta in the Far East, there are people doing amazing entrepreneurial things not just women men as well, People who are juggling lots of different commitments. They might be doing farming as well as two or three other things online businesses, Micro businesses, micro breweries you know, you name it. We've got it in our region.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and and we're talking there's women involved in running law firms, cafes, farms, families. Everybody has a great story to tell. There's such amazing skill and diversity in this region as well, wouldn't you say?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. One thing I've noticed as well is that a lot of people wear many, many hats. So if you might meet somebody in a particular context, they might be a volunteer committee member for the Ben Stahl show, or they might be involved in a regional food festival or the iskips land winter festival, which is a hallmark event, and yet they're wearing multiple hats and and involved in lots, of, lots of things, and they could also be volunteering in emergency services as well, as you know, running a business on the side. So I think that element of wellness that you're bringing in a better understanding about is really important of keeping ourselves Well, looking after each other, but also so that we can thrive and be more resilient.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, absolutely. We want to hear about how people are harnessing their passion and and the different areas that people are involved in along the way as well, and, as you say, we really are a melting pot of skills and diversity in this region. So my thought today, jodi, is You've probably got some questions, and I'm sure our listeners have some questions about what the rural venture collective is going to be all about. So we asked you today to put on a different hat, for you represent all of the people in the iskips land and perhaps Fire off some questions. What can we tell you about the?
Speaker 2:podcast. Well, I'm so glad that you asked, because I've got a number of questions prepared actually I'm sure you have. You're so organized so often people think that To be on a podcast, to be interviewed, you need to have experience with the media. What's your response to that?
Speaker 1:Absolutely not. In fact, the more natural and authentic a guest is, the better they sound and the more interesting they can be. Actually, we don't want this podcast to be a flash in a pan. We want this to be something that's enduring, and so To do that, we've pasted ourselves. We'll be looking at having a new episode drop every fortnight, and we really do welcome people that might like to contact us, that that might like to have a chat. We may be tapping you on the shoulder. Who knows Wherever you're hiding in these skips. Land will find you, but we're keen to talk to everybody and anybody, and Hopefully we can make you feel comfortable enough to come in here and join us in our fabulous studio, or we'll be coming out to your region. So keep an eye out for us. We will be doing podcasts in regions, so we have podcast plan for early next year in Malacuta, orbost and Omeo, but let us know, because we're happy to come to you.
Speaker 2:I think that's really important, liz, because in my experience of doing podcasts in the past and even in our business in happy Changemakers interviewing people, sometimes people really do feel more comfortable when they're in their own environment, in their own community or even, you know, sitting in their kitchen table and and having a casual chat. So you've got some equipment that you can take out on site, which is fantastic, and if you're listening and you know of somebody who's got an amazing story, perhaps you might like to go give them a little nudge and encourage them to Consider being a guest on the rural venture collective podcast.
Speaker 1:That's absolutely right. And talking about nudges, it's a really great time to mention that you, jodi, and your partner, rob, run a small business, happy Changemakers, and we'd love to hear a little bit more about what it is that you do. You're very involved with the community and businesses locally, so can you tell us a little bit about what you do?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely Well.
Speaker 2:Firstly, when we moved here five and a half years ago, from Melbourne to Eskips land, one of the first things we did was get involved as as volunteer judges for the regional tourism awards and business awards, and that's where we first came across EGMI, and so that was really pivotal for us to connect with other like-minded business owners, get involved with destination marketing and tourism and all the things that we really care about so our business actually works with more purpose-led business owners.
Speaker 2:What does that actually mean? Well, most people want to make a difference. They want to make some positive impact on the environment, on community, to leave some sort of great legacy and Create great experiences for people, and so we help people with their business planning. We help them as well to identify the things that are not working and that are working, and we also help them package up their service offerings so that they can then present that to the world in a way that is easy for people to understand but, importantly, delivers great value and benefit for their clients, and can I just say that working with you actually makes what can be complicated processes, marketing plans, strategic plans easy for us to understand as business owners as well, and that's really important.
Speaker 2:Thank you that's great feedback. I guess what we try to do is break things down. A lot of people, especially people who are juggling lots of responsibilities in small business, often feel really overwhelmed. So if we can help make things more simple and clear and break it down and help it be actionable, there's no point creating any sort of plan if it's not going to be implemented. And so you know, anything we do is very practical, and we're actually writing a book at the moment which is quite daunting and exciting. Wow, tell us about the book. Yes, so the book is for consultants, small business owners who are wanting to package up their service offerings and promote that and scale the business in a way that is manageable and aligned with their values. So this is a culmination of about the last 10 years worth of work that we've been doing with not-for-profits, social enterprises and small businesses. So we're up to the third draft now and it'll be released in about April 2024.
Speaker 1:Well, that's really exciting and, of course, you'd be drawing from your experience in many different areas. You haven't always worked in this space and, in point of actual fact, you've worked in tourism, you've worked in hospitality.
Speaker 2:Tell us a little bit about that, yeah, it's more tourism probably than hospitality, so I like to describe it as three horizons. So you know, in my early 20s my first job was in Ayrsrach Resort or Yulara, working in guest relations. These were in the days when you actually hand wrote an application and the job was advertised in the paper. Oh, great.
Speaker 2:So if you're listening and thinking, well, that's a weird concept. That's the way it used to be and in my application I wrote that on the sort of person that, no matter where I am in the world, people stop and ask me for directions. They really like that.
Speaker 1:That's a great description, yeah, so that's so right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thank you. So that was the first sort of entree into tourism. I worked a stint in East Gippsland for Lakes and Wilderness Tourism and I worked for Victorian Tourism Operators Association, the peak industry body which is now morphed into the Victorian Tourism Industry Council. So that was the sort of first horizon. And when I was working with Vitoa that had me in touch with a lot of tourism businesses adventure tourism, all sorts of accommodation, working with businesses across the whole state, and that was a peak body and it was a not for profit. So that sort of got me interested in governance and the role of boards and strategy.
Speaker 2:And then I moved into not for profits for the next sort of 10 year horizon and I was the CEO of Travelers Aid Australia, which is a really fabulous organization based in Melbourne, and a lot of people from the country who are listening to this podcast would be familiar with Travelers Aid, especially using their services when they go to Melbourne for medical appointments or needing additional support when they're traveling around. And then the third horizon is really focused on small businesses and social enterprises. And that third horizon is when I met Rob, my partner, and we started our business Happy Changemakers.
Speaker 1:I'm sure you've got some great stories to tell amongst all of that. If we can just go back to time spent working in Ulara, I have a friend who worked in Ulara in the 80s who has a fabulous story about having to run a food trade in one of the rooms and when he knocked on the door he was greeted by a famous 70s rock star in his underwear. Have you got any fabulous stories like that?
Speaker 2:I wish I could have something like that, but actually I don't. But what did happen, which was quite fascinating about the pathway for my career, was that initially I was there in guest relations, so that was about enhancing the guest experience dealing with journalists, you know, running conferences and one day I had a call from the HR department quite late at night and I thought, oh gosh, I'm in trouble. What's happened? And the HR manager said look, we've had something happen. Our German speaking tour guide can't go out tomorrow to do a tour, but we've got a group arriving. We looked up on our database you speak German. Would you be able to help? And you know help make sure that these people arrive and had a great experience.
Speaker 1:Well now can I just check that speaking German wasn't one of those things that you just filled out your resume with no. No, I really do. I really do Great.
Speaker 2:And so I said, yes, of course I'd be delighted to help, but of course I only had this tiny little dictionary with some basic terms in it, and this is pre-internet days.
Speaker 2:So I met with the group and greeted them when they arrived at the airport and, in German, said to them you know, thank you so much, I just want to let you know I'm filling in for someone because they're not available. So you know, be patient with me. And I actually really, really enjoyed it and I thought that this would be something I'd like to do more of. And I was fortunate to then be trained to work in the National Park, the Uluru Karajuda National Park, alongside with the Indigenous Rangers. And then I did more training related to being a tour guide in the National Park context and did that for the next sort of nine months. So that phone call really changed the direction of my career and I have such fond memories of creating those lifelong memories for people, and I think that's what not just in tourism, but what we do in service-based businesses we're creating experiences and memories.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and our next opportunity is just around the corner. It's just a matter of being able to recognise it for what it is or recognise it for having potential. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:That's so true. Now, Liz, I want to bring us back to some last questions about the podcast as well. So if people are interested in getting involved or they know of someone who'd be a fantastic guest, what should they do?
Speaker 1:They should just contact East Skippsland Marketing, or EGMI as it's known locally. If you just search for us, you'll find our website and you can send us an email via EGMI. Or you can pop in and see us. We're located at 48 Bailey Street in Bendisdale. Pop in and say hi, the kettle's always on, but we'd love to talk to anybody who has a story or has feedback. We welcome all of that.
Speaker 2:Excellent, so I really wish you the very best for this amazing podcast. I think it's something that's going to be a huge benefit and richness in the East Skippsland region. I can't wait to hear all these amazing stories, and I think the world's our oyster, you know, especially when we can have things online that people can access and, of course, you have the equipment to be able to go out on site and visit people in our communities across this amazing and large region of ours.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Thank you, jodi. As they like to say in Malakuta, the world is our sea urchin. Thanks for joining us today and we're really excited to be able to bring this podcast to the people of East Skippsland. You'll find us on your favorite podcast platform, but you'll also find cards and posters around town that can link you directly to our podcast. So have a listen, see what you think and, if you like it, let us know where. I open to any feedback. Well, that's us for today. Thanks for joining us on the rural venture collective. Remember to like and subscribe so you'll be updated when our next podcast lands. Most importantly, stay connected and get out there and enjoy our beautiful East Skippsland Bye. This podcast is brought to you by East Skippsland Marketing with the support of the Victorian Government, recorded at the James Yates Studio, bend style.