Women on the Go is a joint initiative between Yarra Ranges, Knox & Maroondah Councils.

In 2020, Women on the Go will be virtual with opportunities for you to hear from local business women in a new networking environment. 

This year we will be celebrating 13 years of WOTG, it will be a little different this year due to COVID-19 restrictions; however we still want to hear from all our wonderful women in business and give you all the opportunity to network and promote your businesses.

This pilot event is for women working from home, in retail, manufacturing, health, tourism, agriculture, creative industries, and more.

Event commences with a virtual small business expo, providing an opportunity to learn more and network with business women from across the region. The forum follows with guest speakers, Bree Cleal from Imageffect  and Katie Myles from Immerse Winery along with presentations from Council’s Small Business team.

Bree Cleal 

‘Losing My Husband, Finding Myself’

Bree Cleal is a graphic designer, business woman, mother and now, even though she hates the word… a widow.

15 years ago she started her design studio Imageffect. A young wife and mother, with dreams of a ‘white picket fence’ life – a happy marriage, and a creative life allowing for travel and adventure. Her dreams were shattered in 2009 when her husband was diagnosed with Brain Cancer.

In this inspiring talk, Bree will outline what resilience means to her and how the strategies she implemented and continues to live by now have ensured she moves forward positively, despite the challenges life presents. Her moving story follows the last decade of her life, from her husband’s diagnosis to his subsequent death in 2017, as a sole bread winner, wife, carer, mother and business woman.

Katie Myles

 “Immersing herself in resilience”

Katie Myles is a young business woman who doesn’t let adversity get in her way.

She was only 14 when the Black Saturday Bushfires destroyed much of Immerse, her family’s Yarra Valley winery business. Many said Immerse couldn’t come back, but they did.

At 19, she was diagnosed with chronic fatigue, which kept her bedridden for 18 months. After clawing her way back to some sense of normalcy, and starting her first year of university, circumstances meant that she had to take over her family business, with only a few days notice.

This March, COVID-19 forced Immerse to close its doors. As its leader, Katie had to find ways of keeping 50 staff and over 150 future brides and grooms positive about the future.

Katie will share how a combination of believing in, and living her personal values, learning the lessons that her past experiences have taught her and leveraging a range of tools and techniques, has enabled her to overcome adversity to find success for not just for herself, but the business and those around her.

Join us : Thursday 11th June 9.30am-12pm – registrations now open 

#WOTG2020