Project management firm, skincare and eco-friendly toy brands among the 2023 Australian Women’s Small Business Champions

Sixty-two of Australia’s most inspiring and influential female small business owners, including a pioneer of Australia’s construction industry and a speech pathologist, have won the 2023 Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards across a range of champion categories and individual awards.

Project management firm Planix Projects founder Mel Gholami won the 2023 Australian Women’s Small Business Champion ICON award.

Queensland-based Roccoco Botanicals founder Jacine Greenwood was awarded the 2023 Small Business Champion Influential Woman and the Australian Small Business Champion Award for Best Beauty Product.

Victoria-based The Sports Injury Clinic co-founder and CEO Pippa Hanson won the 2023 Small Business Champion Entrepreneur, while speech pathologist Erin Criticos, one of the directors of Moving Mountains Therapy in New South Wales, walked away with the 2023 Young Small Business Champion Entrepreneur award.

From the range of Australian Women’s Small Business Champions, 33 are NSW-based, while a dozen come from Queensland and Victoria each, two from South Australia, and one each from the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania and Western Australia.

Awards help ‘shatter glass ceilings’, says Planix Projects founder

CEO and founder of Planix Projects Mel Gholami says being named 2023 Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards Icon is an incredible honour.

“This recognition validates my vision and serves as a powerful motivator for me and the entire Planix Projects team to keep pushing boundaries and striving for excellence in the project management sector,” she told SmartCompany.  

“I believe that the work that I do in the construction industry has helped set the pace for young women looking to enter a male-dominated industry.

 “My long-held dream of running a business that gives back to the community has also been realised. I take great pride in the fact that both Planix and I, as an individual, have made a positive impact on our community, achieving a sense of fulfillment that exceeds business success.”

Gholami says the Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards are of immense importance when it comes to recognising and celebrating women small business owners.

“Such award programs help to shatter glass ceilings and pave the way for future generations of women in business,” she says. 

“They offer a source of inspiration and empowerment, demonstrating that success knows no boundaries and it fosters a more diverse and entrepreneurial landscape. They highlight the successes women can achieve simultaneously whilst having a family.”

Gholami’s goal is to expand Planix on a national level, partner with more culturally-aligned clients and provide valuable services to more customers across the country.

“This expansion is a significant part of our strategic vision, and we are dedicated to diversifying our scope and impact in the coming years,” she says. 

“Planix is very passionate about giving back to our community and we aim to further expand to provide more to communities. I also aim to continue providing more opportunities to team members for volunteering days, and making charity events a quarterly activity so we can make a bigger difference to more people. 

“I also plan to continue inspiring and mentoring other women both in the construction industry and beyond to continue shattering glass ceilings to show women they don’t have to choose between a career and a family, there is a way to integrate both.”

‘Long hours and hard work’ pays off for Roccoco Botanicals

Roccoco Botanicals founder Jacine Greenwood told SmartCompany she cried when she found out she had won.

“I was overwhelmed with such joy and surprise. It is such an incredible honour to be recognised for your achievements,” she says.  

“Winning the Australian Small Business Champion Awards for Best Beauty Product was a dream come true. I have put my heart and soul into developing my brand Roccoco Botanicals.  

Roccoco Botanicals founder Jacine Greenwood. Source: Supplied

“From developing individual products for a single person to creating a new range, each and every formula is focused on making people feel comfortable in their skin.  

“To see it recognised for the impact that it has had on people’s lives was truly an honour and humbling. Winning was a testament to our long hours and hard work to grow my brand over the past ten years. 

“Winning the Influential Women category was such an honour to have my ability as a leader to be recognised. It is a testament to the inspiration and leadership that I bring to my company Roccoco Botanicals.

“To be able to inspire your team to reach new heights and to bring out the best in them is something I relish.”

Greenwood says she started her business because she couldn’t find any products suitable for her on the market.  

“With multiple sensitivities as well as acne, rosacea and seborrheic dermatitis, finding a product that didn’t make me break out or sting was impossible,” she explains.  

“I did not want my children to go through the same experience as I had, feeling uncomfortable with my skin and its appearance. It took me until I was 40 to feel comfortable enough to look in a bathroom mirror, with acne leaving such an indelible mark on my self-esteem.  

“It was my goal to have people have confidence in their skin and to provide solutions that delivered real results so that they could feel ‘normal'”.    

Having now helped “thousands” of customers feel better about their skin, Rococco Botanicals is now gearing up to expand into Canada, the UK and India, as well as preparing to fully automate its manufacturing in January. 

Striving for excellence with HeyDoodle

Victorian-based business HeyDoodle CEO Beatrice Toh was the 2023 Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards – Specialised Retail Small Business category winner.

HeyDoodle provides eco-conscious creative play products for kids, including a silicone mat that can be washed and reused over and over and is mum-designed by Toh.

Hey Doodle took home the top honour in the Specialised Retail Small Business category. Source: Supplied

Toh said to be considered a finalist was an honour enough, but to have won the award is a testament to perseverance and a huge motivator to keep innovating and paving the way. 

“Submitting an award entry creates an opportunity for business owners to stop and reflect, evaluate, and learn to tell our story to those who may not know our journey thus far,” she said. “It allows us a platform to build a community with other women in the industry who also strive for excellence in their small business.”

Toh said the business has plans for exponential growth internationally.

“Locally, we are pursuing new avenues in the NDIS sector and creating opportunities to collaborate with corporations to extend our reach,” she said. “Internally, we are continuously innovating to challenge what is available in the market and produce better products for the consumers as well as the earth.”