2024 Women to Watch
This year we showcase over 80 South Australian women to watch throughout the year. From business, to careers, arts to science. This year’s selected women highlight the depth and diversity of the women in our state and also the vast array of opportunities to develop a business or career in South Australia. Find our more about our inaugural Women to Watch initiative here.
Based in the Clare Valley with an office in Gawler, South Australia as well as reaching you wherever you are through Zoom technology, Nan Berrett is a former rural journalist, who has had 24 years’ experience in media and turned her attention to her own media and marketing business 12 years ago. Her wide range of experiences as a journalist and small business owner – which has encompassed MLM sales, art gallery owner, gift shop co-owner, health food store owner and many other roles – have put Nan in a unique position to help other small business owners navigate the new world of business.
With a love for gadgets, new apps and most technology, Nan keeps up with changes in the digital space which often confuse new business owners and others wanting to grow their enterprises or keep pace with the evolving world we live in. She is a mentor for the Australian Government’s Digital Solutions program, a mentor for the SA Government’s Women in Business program as well as offering mentoring services to private clients. Her work has included a specialisation in local government media requirements as well as social media training, support and management for local government and small business.
She presents workshops on the use of the versatile online graphic design tool, Canva, social media best practice, how to set up and optimise your online presence, finding your business niche and so much more. She has held a range of community leadership roles, is a Board member of the Gawler Business Development Group and a Committee member of the Clare Valley Business & Tourism Association and sits on several advisory boards. She maintains her status as a graded journalist and holds a Cert III in Microbusiness, Cert IV in Marketing and Cert IV in Training & Assessment. Nan is a proud older woman in business, an alumnae of the National Rural Women’s Coalition e-Leaders program and she likes nothing better than to help businesses get the most out of digital technology and resources.
// Favourite inspirational quote
‘Do or do not. There is no ‘try’.’- Yoda
// Let’s get to know you
I worked as a journalist for 24 years before ‘retiring’ and because I was in a toxic workplace I felt I had no portable skills. Once I flagged I was leaving my newspaper I was offered some freelance media work with my local council and then undertook the NEIS program for people on Centrelink who wanted to start their own business. That was 12 years ago. My business has grown from zero to a six figure turnover and I have evolved into a business mentor, although I still undertake some client work in media and marketing. My first client, my local council, is still my client and again, my role has evolved to other work, including community engagement. I have had a lot of opportunities for leadership development in this time and have grown a large network of business people. I have presented workshops on a range of business related topics to community groups, for Regional Development, local government, the Polaris Centre, Adelaide Business Hub and others. Currently working on a new business, a partnership with two other women – Three Wise Women – which will launch later this year and aims to connect businesses with consultants and contractors for pivotal but short-term roles.
// What makes you a Women to Watch for 2024?
I am passionate about supporting and encouraging older women to look to their own futures by developing their own enterprises.
On a volunteer basis, I facilitate a monthly women in business networking dinner with a structured agenda that helps us grow our business knowledge, and manage an accompanying Facebook group with more than 200 active members and a regular newsletter. I give workshops and talks on social media and online safety to the wider community and to service clubs and have also volunteered as a mentor through Veterans SA to help Veterans with business startup ideas, and have been a volunteer mentor for the FIXE program (Office of the Chief Entrepreneur SA). I have held a range of community leadership roles, am a Board member of the Gawler Business Development Group and a Committee member of the Clare Valley Business & Tourism Association and sit on several advisory boards – all as a volunteer.
I support my community wherever I can. Last year I was an active part of a small committee of 4 which staged the SA Rural Women’s Gathering in Clare hosting 120 women and offering them a weekend of more than 60 workshop choices and evening events with guest speakers, personally putting in more than 200 volunteer hours which included presenting two workshops at the Gathering. I am passionate about business and the opportunities which can come from an entrepreneurial mindset.
// If you could share one takeaway from your business or career journey, what would it be?
To be afraid and do it anyway. Not to let your fear hold you back. I wasted several years in my early business stage being afraid of what others would think, as I transitioned from well-known local journalist to something completely different!
// What would being a Woman to Watch mean to you?
Validation – I have been a late starter in my business journey, and it’s not over yet. I want to prove to all the chronologically ‘older’ women who are thinking about starting their own businesses, but are hesitating either because they are not receiving appropriate support from family and peers or because they think of themselves as too old, that there is no such thing as too old and that we are NEVER too old to come into and take our power!
// What would you like to see for the future of South Australian women and girls?
I would like to see a future where women in leadership roles are not reported on by the media for their hairstyles and clothing choices. Where a woman can stand in a room as an equal with men and doesn’t have to feel ‘less than’. Where it becomes unnecessary for women to be aggressive and forceful to be on an equal footing with men. Where women are acknowledged for the role they play as primary care givers to their children while still being able to manage their every day household work, juggle employment or business.
I would also like to see the closing of the gender pay gap, positive action to stop family violence, more women’s shelters, no women’s homelessness, more support for older women, more support for young women single mothers, I could go on.
I would also very much like to see the decriminalisation of prostitution and see that sex workers get the same employee rights as workers in any other industry,
Get in touch with Nan:
LinkedIn: Nan Berrett
Website: www.wordsolutions.com.au
Check out all of the incredible Women to Watch for 2024 here as their profiles are uploaded throughout the year.
To become an SA Woman Member, check out our Membership Options here.
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