17 February 2017

Rare Birds grassroots entrepreneurial movement comes to Canberra

| Amy M
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Rare Birds launch canberra

The great thing about being a business owner in Canberra is that entrepreneurial inspiration, support and advice are never far away.

When I have problems related to scale, I look at OnTheGo Sports founder Mick Spencer, who turned $150 into one of the world’s fastest growing sports apparel brands.

Dreaming about expanding internationally? Intelledox, my old employer, has been in Singapore and North America for years. Investing in team members? @HomeACT’s Jessica Buffier seems to have the right approach.

Now, with the launch of global entrepreneurial hub Inspiring Rare Birds’ Canberra ambassador program this week, there are even more opportunities to learn from and connect with business owners in the territory.

According to Rare Birds founder and CEO Jo Burston, the hub supports people on their personal and business journeys, while also enabling established entrepreneurs to grow and expand their companies. Its events provide entrepreneurs with the learning, tools and resources to handle the real-life challenges they face in their businesses right now.

With local ambassadors including CapitalHill Advisory managing director Stefanee Lovett, HerCanberra’s Amanda Whitley, and OnTheGo Sports’ Mick Spencer, Rare Birds is making the most of our homegrown entrepreneurial talent.

Rare Birds canberra

Jo says entrepreneurship should be a choice that’s available to women globally and not just to those in big cities where resources are plentiful.

“Entrepreneurs learn from each other, and the notion of solving each other’s problems can occur anywhere, as long as there is a way to connect. The most powerful way of achieving this is face-to-face, within a community,” she says.

“Stef, Amanda and Mick are exceptional entrepreneurs. They totally embody the values of Rare Birds, with their genuine connection to community, passion for women entrepreneurship and desire to not simply send the elevator back down, but to fill it with the tools and resources Rare Birds offers to help other women grow themselves and their businesses.”

crowd at rare birds event parliament house

Rare Birds’ Global Ambassadors are currently placed in seven states, with the plan to be in every state and further rural and regional areas by the end of 2017. To exceed their vision of one million women entrepreneurs in its community by 2020, Rare Birds aims to place 100 Ambassadors globally by the end of 2017, which will see as many as 500 events per year throughout Australia, Asia, the UK and US.

The next Inspiring Rare Birds event in Canberra will be held on 25 May. More details to come.

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Suzanne Kiraly5:11 pm 17 Feb 17

Great article, Amy. We all need inspiration and this sounds like an innovation that does just that!

Serina Huang11:07 am 17 Feb 17

Thanks for sharing. That sounds very interesting. Love the name!

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