NSW Women’s week. SMALL BUSINESS ONLINE FORUM ON 7 MARCH 2022

Pallavi Sinha #Breaksthebias with successful migrant businesswomen Pallavi Sinha, Principal of Lawyers with Solutions (LWS) & her LWS team organised a Small Business Online Forum on 7 March 2022. The Forum was an approved collaboration with NSW Government Small Business Month #RebuildRechargeandRenew, and held during NSW Women’s week. Pallavi, who also moderated the panel and is the President of Global Diverse Connections and Founder of Innate Power of Women, said “My parents migrated to Australia around 40 years ago from India with my brother who was about 10 months old. I was born a few years later & they juggled the challenges of a new country, a young family and setting up their own medical practice.

As part of NSW Government Small Business Month and celebrating International Women’s Day, we are excited that inspiring women business leaders will share their success stories and challenges, and how they overcame barriers to #breakthebias.

This is the third event supported by Innate Power of Women. Small businesses have been impacted by Covid-19. For example, almost half (47%) of all businesses are experiencing supply chain disruptions. My vision is for successful Indian origin businesswomen to help other women who wish to set up a business, or need assistance with an existing business” Both Sheba Nandkeolyar & Esha Oberoi migrated from India to Australia & established their own thriving businesses. Ms Nandkeolyar & Ms Oberoi spoke about how they broke stereotypes & biases about “migrants” and overcame various obstacles to establish multi-award winning businesses with clients all over NSW, Australia & the world.

One of the speakers, Ms Oberoi CEO of Afea, experienced crippling mental health challenges and struggled to find purpose for years, until she began work as a carer in 2007. The experience inspired her to launch Afea, which now supports more than 1,000 families every week. “The past two years have been incredibly challenging for women in NSW, especially small business owners.

NSW Women’s Week is an important time to recognise and celebrate the diversity of women and girls in communities across our State.” NSW Minister for Women Bronnie Taylor said. Federal Member for Reid, and Chair of the Select Committee on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Dr Fiona Martin MP who also spoke at the Forum, commented that her electorate is one of the most multicultural in Australia. She said “These recent times have created mental health challenges while also demonstrating the extraordinary resilience of our community, especially our small business community.

International Women’s Day is a time to celebrate the achievements of women across all fields of endeavour and reflect on the obstacles they have overcome.” There were numerous attendees including business and community leaders and stakeholders across NSW & Australia, such as the Chair of Multicultural NSW Dr Harinath, Mrs Nimeesha Gupta (representing the Consul General of India) President India Club Mrs Shubha Kumar, President Federation of Indian Associations NSW Dr Naveen Shukla & Dr Yadu Singh , President of United Indian Association Dr Sunil Vyas and National Vice-President Hindu Council Australia Mr Surinder Jain and Hindu Federation. It was heartening to see so many community leaders joining together for a good cause.

There was a live Q & A and alot of positive feedback about the event, and many people requested a follow up session. Both Ms Nandkeolyar and Ms Oberoi shared their top 3 tips for those starting or running a small business. These included: • flexibility to adapt your business, your ways of working and mindset. • focus to keep your eye on the end game and the ability to innovate constantly. • fight to keep on going even when things look tough. resilience is key to being a successful small business. • customer: know your customer personas clearly • culture: you must have a clear vision, purpose • you: know your strengths, play in your strengths, sharpen them, and continue to promote yourself through defining your strengths. Proceeds from the event were donated to the Harman Foundation Her House (which provides accommodation to women & their children escaping domestic and family violence, especially women of Indian origin)

Corporate Vision Award Winner for Business Innovation | APAC Award Winner for Trusted Services Provider | AFR & Westpac 100 Women of Influence | 2021 Paul Harris Fellow  www.pallavisinha.com