Being on dealing room floors for a national bank has helped Albion Park woman Emma Bendall-Moon set up her own line of tanning products.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
"You have to be on the ball, you have to be switched on. You can't make excuses, you've just got to do it is where I come from," she said.
"If there's a roadblock, there's no such thing as 'No', you've got to find another solution."
The banker recently launched Sylk Tan while still working in her corporate career and said her new business was a result of being locked down for two years.
"We couldn't go anywhere, I wasn't swamped by work because I just had a new baby, so I thought, 'here's a good opportunity to bring it to life, bring more business back to the Illawarra with a female-led business'."
Having been a dancer for years, Ms Bendall-Moon knew there was a market for a quality fake tan product. Working with a Melbourne-based manufacturer, Sylktan launched earlier in 2022 and Ms Bendall-Moon said she's used the time she saved not having to commute five days a week to start the new business.
"Those days that I am at home, it's easier when I log off just to jump straight back into doing all this."
Ms Bendall-Moon is not alone in using the disruption of COVID to refocus her career.
While the 'Great Resignation' may be talked about in employer circles, for many employees, two years of COVID was the time they ended to pursue a dream they always had.
In the 12 months to June 2021, there was a net increase of 87,806 businesses in Australia, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The ABS also found that many of these new businesses employed less than 5 people, with businesses with 1-4 employees increasing by 15.2 per cent.
Braden Mammone also found the experience of the pandemic led him to start his own business.
Originally from Dapto, Mr Mammone was living in Queensland, managing a chain of barber shops, but felt the pull of his home town in late 2020.
"I didn't see my family for 12 months, I came back down at Christmas time, and then when I was down here, I realised how much I miss my family," he said.
Mr Mammone saw a niche for a men's hair salon that provided a different style of service.
"Here you book in for a half an hour slot, you get a hair wash, you get a coffee or a drink, it's more of a service than just a haircut."
Opening in Globe Lane in May, Mr Mammone said the shop had benefited from the support of its neighbours and the community had been a highlight since opening the business, but it was his personal circumstances that have led him to commit to the venture.
"I had an opportunity to buy a shop when I was first out of my apprenticeship but I wasn't ready, whereas now I'm 28 and I'm ready to take that jump."
We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on the Illawarra Mercury website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. Sign up for a subscription here.
