Tea with the Queen

Emma McQueen has been supporting women from all backgrounds to achieve their full potential for more than 20 years. She’s passionately committed to ensuring women have what they need to feel fulfilled and excited by their working lives. We all have it in us to achieve our full potential- sometimes we just need a bit of understanding, some practical and logical actions and a gentle nudge to get that momentum which leads to progress and progress which leads to fulfilment.

Emma McQueen chats with a range of women in leadership and in business to explore the practicalities of how they feel energised by their work and their personal definitions of success.

Join Emma for a tea as she and her guests chat success, failure and optimism, sharing the actionable, results-focused tips and strategies that got them to where they are today.

Episode 16: Reflecting your own powerful personal brand – Fi Mims

Fifteen years ago, Fi Mims left the corporate world to follow her passion: photography. Each day she helps others in business look great on their websites, in social media and their marketing collateral. Fi calls herself a ‘Visual Content Strategist’. In other words, she helps business owners, thought leaders and career professionals look their absolute best in front of the camera.

Check out Fi Mims Photography – https://www.fimimsphotography.com.au/

For a copy of Emma’s book, ‘Go-getter: Raise your mojo, shift your mindset and thrive’. Click here

Episode 15: Your home as a beautiful inviting space – Sophie Kost

Every day Sophie Kost helps homeowners with their interior design. As director and lead designer of My Beautiful Abode, Sophie gets a real kick out of educating people about modern trends and how to use the space in their homes to reflect their personalities. In this episode, she explains to Emma McQueen how she’s as busy as ever making homes beautiful and inviting spaces.

Check out My Beautiful Abode – https://www.mybeautifulabode.com.au/

Episode 14: Success from helping others in business succeed – Julie Doyle

In this episode: Julie Doyle has spent 20+ years building a successful business. She runs Cocoon Business Solutions – a recent rebrand, from what used to be called JEDs Bookkeeping. Julie’s faced her own challenges along the way, but the defining factor in her business’s longevity has been the value she places in the relationships with her staff and her clients.

Check out Cocoon Business Solutions – https://www.cocoonbusinesssolutions.com.au/

Episode 13: Getting the very best out of your team – Melitta Hardenberg

In this episode: Strengths enthusiast Melitta Hardenberg reckons focusing on the positive helps drive better performance and fosters a better team culture. And, she would know: she’s had a career in leadership, culture and organisational development at some of Australia’s leading companies. In this episode, she explains to Emma McQueen about her passion in developing better workplace cultures.

Episode 12: You are what you wear – Nicole Vine

In this episode: Who doesn’t want better self-esteem, a better mind-set and be able to perform better at work? It’s scientifically proven that dressing well can set you up – psychologically – to perform well. Nicole Vine is a personality stylist – she helps curate wardrobes that work…for women who work. She discusses with Emma McQueen some of the biggest challenges women face when it comes to creating their own style; and, she offers some tips on how to find your best look.

Check out Nicole Vine Personal Stylist – https://nicolevine.com.au/

Episode 11: A fitness studio’s life after lockdown – Karen Andrea

In this episode: In March, COVID-19 sent huge shockwaves through the personal health and fitness industries. Karen Andrea felt the full brunt of the lockdown as she was forced to temporarily close her Viva Life Fitness studios in Melbourne’s outer eastern suburbs. Karen’s decision to quickly set up lessons online allowed the business to get through the other side.

Check out Viva Life Fitness – https://www.vivalifefitness.com.au/

Episode 10: Getting on board with property – Lisa Stafford

In this episode: Buying a property is often the biggest purchase you’ll ever make. So how can you make sure you get the right deal and manage the stress levels at the same time? Lisa Stafford has the experience and insights to help buyers and sellers navigate the clandestine world of property. Lisa is a 25-year veteran in real estate and owner of her own successful business, AJ Stafford. She shares some of her buying and selling tips with Emma McQueen.

Check out AJ Stafford – https://www.ajstafford.com.au/

Episode 9: Building knowledge and experience to lead others – Jill Roche

In this episode: To be a Chief Operating Officer of an organisation, you need to know a lot about a wide range of things. Also, you need the experience and the confidence to lead others who are experts in those areas. Jill Roche has built that knowledge from her career both in the corporate world and at not-for-profits. After 10 years with World Vision – a huge organisation – Jill took a sabbatical to be Chief Operating Officer at the much smaller Brave Foundation. Emma McQueen asks, why the change and how that fits with her career goals.

Check out Brave Foundation – https://bravefoundation.org.au/

Episode 8: The secrets behind small business success – Nicolle Knox

In this episode: Nicolle Knox is an entrepreneur, a leader, and a mum – and she’s been running her business for decades. Nicolle’s the founder of Indulgence Medi Spa, a chain of beauty clinics in small shopping centres in Melbourne. Her clients are loyal; and so is her team, many of whom have stayed with her for years. Emma McQueen asks Nicolle the biggest challenges she’s faced, and what tips she has for other in business who might either be struggling or looking to grow.

Episode 7: Making tracks in the corporate world– Tracy Bell

In this episode: The most challenging and stressful times for any business is often those start-up days. You’re putting in incredible hours, you don’t know what you’re doing is right and the future is far from certain. Tracy Bell experienced all that when she founded Fat Mumma’s many years ago. Fat Mumma’s – which sells handmade bags – is still running, but Tracy moved on after the business was hit hard by the global financial crisis. Since then, Tracy’s has taken a different course. She moved to World Vision as digital capability manager and today she’s Head of Delivery at UniSuper. She tells Emma McQueen how her career has panned out – and she has some encouraging words of advice for others looking to change things for the better.

Episode 6: The heady heights of leadership in digital media – Nadia Hudson

In this episode: Not many of us can live without our smart phones. For those in business, digital technology has been crucial for success. This episode Emma McQueen chats with digital media expert Nadia Hudson about social media trends and how businesses – large and small – can measure success with their media campaigns. Today, Nadia is Director of Platinum Care & Content at Optus – she shares her insights on leadership and career success.

Episode 5: Success from hard work and competence – Jaqui Clark

In this episode: Jaqui Clark had her sights set on being a navy submariner, but started her career applying for the WA police force. After five years in the detective unit in Perth, Jaqui moved into the corporate world. Today she’s a senior business development manager at a major multinational insurance company in Melbourne. She’s also just completed a Psychology degree at Swinburne University. She talks to Emma McQueen about what’s led to her success, and what keeps her grounded.

Episode 4: Mindful living and business growth – Caroline Burrows

In this episode: Clinical social worker and psychotherapist, Caroline Burrows has had to learn pretty quickly how to run a business and all those things that come with it, like cashflow, time management and leading a team of other professionals. Caroline is Director of Mindful Living, a counselling and psychology practice in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. It’s remarkable how level-headed she continues to be while running her own business and at the same time being committed to her own patients. Caroline is also an accredited EMDR trainer and consultant. If you haven’t heard of EMDR before, it’ll blow your socks off. She shares with Emma McQueen what motivates her and how she handles her own stress.
Check out Mindful Living – https://www.mindfulliving.com.au/

Episode 3: Writing for success – Holly Cardamone

In this episode: Do you know how to communicate well? Often neglected, written communication is crucial for credibility and success in business. Holly Cardamone is a communication expert who helps business owners and leaders write effective and impactful copy. She has her own business, Blue51, a job she absolutely loves and the flexibility that comes with it. She chats with Emma about the fulfillment she gets from helping her clients, and the lessons she learnt from running a business for decades.

Check out Holly Cardamone’s Blue 51: https://www.blue51.com.au/

Episode 2: The leader within – Sonia Bilejic

In this episode: Sonia Bilejic has had an incredible career in leadership positions at some of the most iconic brands, including head of marketing at Walt Disney Studios and head of marketing at Cricket Australia. Today, she’s Director of Marketing and Engagement at the Brotherhood of Saint Laurence. She’s also a lecturer at Swinburne University. In this episode, Emma McQueen chats with Sonia about what it means to be a leader and whether anyone can be one.

Episode 1: Doing good work for the greater good – Bel Temby

In this episode: What’s it like to run a business with your partner? How do you switch off when you get home? Can it strain the relationship? Bel Temby admits it can be challenging, but she and her husband, Mike, have discovered they each have certain skills which complement the work they do. Bel discusses with Emma the motivation behind Digital Services Lab, a digital agency servicing charities and the non-profit sector that she founded with Mike three years ago. Check out Digital Services Lab – https://digitalserviceslab.com.au/