Property Hub - Investment Insights & Inspiration - Get Invested: Dianna Somerville on Serving Others, Being Adaptable and Making the Most Out of Life

Episode Date: April 8, 2018

In this episode of the Get Invested podcast, I was lucky enough to speak with the inspiring burst of energy that is Dianna Somerville. Di has worn a lot of hats in her career. Corporate strategist, network builder, economic development innovator, innovation culture builder, regional Australia advocate, major event designer, geographical diversity implementer, global ecosystem member and community champion - just to name a few! Our conversation was wide-ranging and included plenty of philosophical tangents and anecdotes from Di. We covered her early career and how she invested her time, money and other resources to arrive at where she is today - a leader and advocate for innovation and a better future. Listen to the full episode to hear all this, plus things like: Di’s experience serving in the navy How to make tough choices What to do if you’ve lost or are losing your professional identity The dangers of workaholism Why society needs to rethink its perspective on ‘failure’ The power of storytelling, and showing other people what’s possible The factors an entrepreneur needs to have in order to succeed The difference between ‘country people’ and ‘city people’ How Di has balanced career and family pressures The benefits of having detractors around you The key to stable partnerships   Links: LinkedIn Regional Pitchfest Instagram Facebook TwitterSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of the Get Invested podcast, I was lucky enough to speak with the inspiring burst of energy that is Diana Somerville. Diana has worn a lot of hats in her career, from corporate strategist to network builder, economic development innovator, innovation culture builder, regional Australia advocate, major event designer, geographical diversity implementer, global ecosystem member, and community champion just to name a few. Her conversation was wide-ranging and included plenty of philosophical tangents and anecdotes from Di. We covered her early career and how she invested her time, money and other resources to arrive at where she is today, a leader and

advocate for innovation and a better future. As you listen to the full episode we're going to dive into the conversation and you'll learn a whole bunch of stuff that includes how to make some tough choices, what to do if you've lost or you're losing your professional identity, the dangers of workaholism, why society needs to rethink its perspective on failure, the power of storytelling and showing other people what's possible, how Di has managed to balance career and family pressures, and the benefits of having detractors around you. In particular, I love the way that Di has been able to overcome the challenge of giving up her rapidly advancing career in the Navy, to return to her hometown of Wagga and then

reinvent herself from scratch to become the founder and driver of the Australia Post Regional Pitchfest, where she has successfully created a platform to take country initiatives to the world and reinvigorate economic growth in regional Australia. Please enjoy this fascinating conversation with Di Somerville. Before we get into it, if you're a time poor professional who's interested in investing but don't have the time you don't have the expertise you don't know where to start you don't know who to trust then grab a copy of my book the freedom formula that gives you all of the know-how you can check it out at www.bushymartin.com.au or email me at hello at khgroup.com.au

that's h-e-l-l-o at khgroup.com.au and mention get invested for a special bonus i might add that all of the proceeds of the book are going to Living It Rough and Doing It Tough, a really dedicated group who provide for the needs of the homeless and their pets, so please get involved. And now, I hope you enjoy this interview. The notion of having to save, whether it just be $10 a week, just that notion of saving from the start, and that's something I really want to teach the kids. Welcome to the Get Invested podcast, where we share great conversations with experts from all walks of life to uncover their secret know-how on where they invest their time, their skills, and their money, and the benefits that this has created. You see, the truth is that everyone invests. Every minute of every day, we're investing our time, our skills, our energy, and our money in something.

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be found on itunes or at bushymartin.com.au forward slash get invested thanks for listening and now let's get invested good morning di absolutely fantastic to have you on get invested how are you going i'm living the dream bushy living the dream tell me about that what's living and the dream in your part of the world? Well, look, I don't know whose dream it is, but I think I'm winning in that dream. So anyway, you know, I'm doing, you know, life's good, life's good. You know, it's the start of a new year

and a great opportunity to kick some more goals and do some great things. So I'm fresh, I'm pumped and ready for it. Awesome. Now, for those that are listening that don't have a massive background on Dye, I've had the humbling pleasure to work with Dye and support the AusPost Regional Pitchfest National Circuit

that ran its course right around the country last year. And what a fantastic initiative to really open the opportunity for regional people to innovate and enable. It was a really enjoyable experience for me, Di, and a massive supporter of what you're doing in that area. Tell us about what's happened since then and where's it leading to now? look it was it was a really good program bushing i think um getting to meet people from right across the country and particularly regional remote people with great ideas it kind of spun me out

a little as to how much is actually going on that we need to bring to the surface so i think we just scratched the surface when we did the initial program so you know a lot about where we take this and where we go next will definitely be um around going a little bit deeper and continuing to tell those stories because you know there's a great um startup leader called joe burston and she always says you can't be what you can't see right so for me it's it's continuing on that path of telling the great stories of great regional people with amazing businesses amazing ideas but they're doing something about it right and they're and and they're doing it because technology is allowing them to so you know continuing on that path with pitch fest but i guess the underlying

message uh for me is really about growing you know accelerating business in regional and rural areas and and that comes in a variety of different you know channels for me pitch fest being one of them which you know has been absolutely amazing to work with australia poster and bring that to life but But yeah, definitely got another few things in the pipeline, which are pretty exciting and just continuing in that vein of trying to motivate people and bring great stories to the surface. Awesome. Awesome.

Well, look, just to put some context around where you've got to, I'd like to sort of jump right back to the start of your journey, if we could, Diane, and just tell us a little bit about how life began for you and what did you invest your time, your energy, your money and your skills in to get to where you are today? um well i guess like i started i grew up in waga in regional new south wales and i couldn't wait to get out of the joint i was like get me the hell out of here right which is terrible because i live here now and i absolutely love it but yeah i know that feeling yeah how do you get out of a regional town well you know we're landlocked so i joined the navy

because there's no ocean right you're missing the waterway yeah they're never going to send me back right there's no ocean they can't you know can't drive a warship and walk up so um ran away and joined the navy and that i guess was really um a big start in um in in terms of my desire to serve and to serve others and i think that you know it really built from that and that's still i still carry that very closely to me not just in terms of defense but in in terms of serving others and i guess that's you know a big investment is that i want to make a difference i want to help others so that really started back there in the in the defense force and look I had it I had a

cracking time in the forces and you know people often ask well you know what was it like you know especially as a female and I'm like it was fantastic I was very lucky and I had some amazing commanders and leaders and learned some amazing skills and highly recommend it to anyone not sure about what they're going to do but then as I was on my trajectory to be the first female chief of maybe, which is what I wanted to do, I came back home and went to a little pub in Collingully. Now, Collingully's got about 136 people, and I met a guy called Dane, who's now my husband. So, you know, it really just- The old heart got in the way of the head, did it, Dolly?

Oh, it stuffed everything up. Well, I shouldn't say that, because I'm very happily married. But, yeah, so, you know, we did the thing. He's a farmer. So it was either he sells the farm and follows me or I leave the Navy and move home. So moved on home after a couple of years and we sort of started our life together on the farm.

Just jumping right in there, I mean, that's a major shift and it must have been pretty challenging for you at the time because I don't know a lot about the forces but there's a very clear career path. There's a hierarchy, a structure, the leadership skills that you get, working with people in all different areas I can see that being a very exciting place to learn some

fantastic skills that obviously probably put you in very good stead for what you're doing now to make that call and make the jump back to a life on the farm talk me through how you felt about that and how you came to grips with it I thought it was going to be like McLeod's

daughters right it was going to be so romantic and oh it was going to be great and I wasn't going to work we were going to have kids and you know I really was very young and naive I think um and really we were second year into a 10-year drought so the reality of that was very different and look I knew also that I wanted to have kids um and I wanted to you know raise them in a place where you know they had more than four by four meters of fake grass to run around on so um moving bringing them up in the country was really important but you know financially

that was a really tough tough period and I had to go back to work to support the farm yeah which is fine um but I couldn't get a job right so here I am university qualified ex-navy officer come back home trying to get a job and could not get a job to save myself and it was harrowing it was um demoralizing it you know and I did struggle mentally really badly with that because I talk about it that i had a real loss of professional identity yes um of course how did you how did you work through that because a lot of people go through the same thing i mean uh whether you're working for someone else or whether you're trying to eke out an existence and let's face it farming is really tough these days it's uh if the if the weather doesn't get to the government or the

overseas markets do uh so it's uh you just can't seem to take a break uh and and the mental pressure and the flow on from that is, I don't think people will appreciate and realise just how tough that can be. What did you do that got you through that time? What was your thinking? What were the things that, the support network around you,

what was it that actually helped you to survive that pretty challenging period? Well, yeah, well, you know, I'm very blessed to have great family and my family definitely rallied around me and I think we're kind of waiting for it to happen, having known what I'd achieved young in the forces. They kind of, and then they saw me move back and they're kind of like,

oh, this is maybe not going to go so well for a while. And, you know, it took probably a good eight years, Bushy, to really pull myself out of it. It's not something that you can do overnight. I think the first piece is the acceptance. Yeah. You know, I ended up going and selling Tupperware. Wow.

How did that go? Used to drive a warship, now I sell Tupperware. But it was such, because I needed the money, but it was such a good thing for me to do because it taught me humility and it taught me the value of a job and not to have an expectation but to work towards. So I think that was, it was hard at the time, but in hindsight, it was a really important step because I had to learn how to start at the bottom again and that it was okay to start there again and work your way up. And, you know, I got back into defence as a public servant, so that really did help. And then I think it probably took a couple of years then for me to get some sort of, I guess, professional satisfaction

in what I was doing. So there was a long period there where I didn't. And I had kids in that period, which puts another layer on top of all of it. Cool. But I always felt that there was something more I could do or I could give. And, you know, I guess we just, we kind of got through the drought.

We got to a point where, you know, I was on a good wage by then working for Defence. So you were working for Defence in Wagga or in the area? Yeah, well, sort of worked in the area. So I spent a lot of time between Wagga and Canberra. Worked on the national contract transition team, base services contract. So I had this contract sort of head on me and, you know, I still had that foot in the door with Defence so I could speak the Defence language.

Of course. And did a lot of project management and that sort of stuff. So it was great. It was exciting. But I got really frustrated. I wanted to stay locally. I couldn't move and I couldn't get promoted any further. So, you know, the ceiling, everyone talks about the glass ceiling.

I talk about the geographical ceiling. Yes. Good call. So, yeah, so it was like, okay, well, I can't go any further. So what do I do? And then I just started looking outside and I'd never considered looking outside and I think that's what really, when I saw the opportunity, it was really about, well, I started with grant writing and tender writing for people because I had that contract knowledge. So, you know, and I was lucky because I built myself up to the point where I could have 12 months leave without pay and have a runway where I could give it a go with the safety net knowing that I could go back. So I was very, very fortunate in that circle.

I don't know whether it's fortunate, but by design, again, you strike me as someone who's quite goal-orientated and then works backwards to what do I need to do now to make that happen. And that's a skill set all of its own, which not many people are born with or actually grow over time. So, again, whether that's something that's inherent in you or whether you picked up through your defence training, just a sensational outlook on life, really.

yeah well you know but it's not all roses and beer and skittles like no and i think you know that first part like the first career was awesome the navy the second career which was scrounging and searching um and finding place and reason yeah um was it was a really tough tough period but it's allowed me to get to a point where i'm at now and you know you can't go you can't expect to arrive at a point without having all of that support or lessons or you know emotions and everything to find your place in the world and i'm still searching like it's never ending no i agree this is the second the third installment and i know there'll be a fourth and a fifth so i'm much more comfortable with that because i think we've gone to the days

of you know having one career and getting a gold watch at the end like it's you've got to be you've got to be able to move and adjust and and you know and i think it's it's just so exciting too absolutely exciting and i think that that flexibility and adaptability uh is a is a mark of uh people who are comfortable with themselves because you've you've been through the desert really you've you've been through the the the 40 years of famine to get in touch with you who you are as a person well yeah but i think the resilience that comes out of that i mean i listening to what you're saying I've been on a similar path I've spent many years as an architect and then uh burnt my family because I was never there I was working seven days a week 14 hours a

day and and turned around and they weren't there anymore and that was that was very challenging for me that you know I was one of these country boys that was brought up you're going to get married uh have kids uh build a career and then retire on your super at the end and uh had that really strong country work ethic where you know it was the old-fashioned the bloke goes and earns the coin and the and the wife looks after the house that's how i was brought up it was very much that sort of routine and that just doesn't work anymore and uh that was a very bitter lesson for me and and really uh made me reflect internally to look at well what do i need to change what do i need to do differently what do i need to come to terms with in myself to be able to uh learn from

i'd consider that a pretty major mistake and then move forward with that it sounds like you went went sort of met your own demons along that similar journey um the uh and i and i think adversity is what brings out the best in us for those of us who are able to learn from those challenging circumstances just makes us better as people what what's your feeling it does it does and like in the startup world like the notion is fail fail fast and fail often because you know that whole nature of failure in australia it's this terrible word and oh my gosh if you're if you fail at something then you swept to the bottom of the pile and we really need to change that way of thinking culturally that it's okay to fail and the best piece of it is it gives you the best

lessons to learn and grow from so I think if we can instill a culture of oh yeah like I'm stuffed up but you know what um I'm getting back on the horse and I'm getting back on the horse with an extra bag of tools in my in my um in my in you know able to use wherever i can and and great lessons so um you know i think it's hard for anyone and for anyone that's out there that's listening like you're not alone and that's probably one of the best um things that i've found i'm very open and talking about my experiences and i find the more i talk about it the more i realize there's so many other people out there that have experienced it but it's very very common but i think don't think that that's the end of your career or whatever it is there's you know there's another

page to turn and another chapter to write and you're the only one that can do that so you know for me yeah I felt like I came out of the wilderness and getting out like you got to think I worked public sector pretty much my whole life yep and then I got out and started a business on my own and like it was like this cap had been lifted off my head and I could innovate and no one was going to tell me no it doesn't you know fall into the legislation or the you know whatever it was and you know so it was like I've had this like suppressed um creativity uh philanthropic nature uh that that just was unleashed when I stepped out and I think sometimes you've got to be brave enough to step out yeah to see what you're missing out on so you know I had no idea

though like i was brought up in a in a small business family and and we you know we spoke a lot about business and it was very much the world that i lived in but you know public sector to running your own business i sat around the farm table for six months having no idea what i was doing but you know i was sure i was you know getting somewhere so you've got to start yeah well that the courage that i'm hearing coming through you you're you're prepared to have a crack and most people get in that comfort zone of well i'm a bit scared of what's uh over the around the corner i'll just sit here and it's not that good it's it's okay it's not that good but but i'm too fearful to make the break what what is it you think that we can do to be making people

more comfortable to have the courage to jump and build the wings as they as they learn to fly um because it's definitely that it's assemble the plane on the parachute on the way down but that i think that you know really it's it's that for me um it's the storytelling it's allowing people to see other people doing this and you know that's really what the pitch fest was about and um and i think too that as we progress as an ecosystem when i talk in startup terms um where it's becoming more and more evident for people, but there's more and more avenues to enter into that pipeline, right? So we call it side hustle, right?

You've got your side hustle. You've got something that you're working on on the side. So you can have your nine to five and you've got your security and you're paying your bills and you're not entirely happy, but it's a sustainability piece there. But on the side, you've got your side hustle and, you know, it's the passion piece. It's finding what you're really passionate about

and then trying to look at how there's problems around that and you're going to solve the problem around that. Yes. And then you have things like there's incubator courses, there's, you know, so many start-up courses now that you can go and work out of hours, a couple of hours a week and sort of chip away at your side hustle and then you'll learn really quickly whether this is something

you want to pursue or not. Yes. And I think, you know, we're making it easier for people to do that through these sort of programs whereas they didn't exist before. You know, you had your job and then you went home, you had family and you had life and that was it like there was no such thing as a side hustle no and um and there's definitely no avenue unless you sort of did it through a TAFE or a business enterprise center or something like that but they weren't geared up to do what we

do now so I think the the culturally we're changing to be much more open to people doing things on the side yeah and we have programs and support there to help people do this stuff on the side to get it up and i think once you dip your toe in you'll know whether this is something you want to do and you know we i run an incubator and we're fourth cohort in and every new cohort is it's funny to watch their progression at the start they're very tentative they're like i've just got this idea i don't know you know blah blah blah and they get to the end of it and you can tell you can tell the ones are going to make it because yeah what about their idea okay i was I was going to say, what separates those that you know are going to make it

from those that don't? What do you see? Passion's probably number one. Right. Passion. Yeah. Like, you've got to have the passion. But the other thing is the problem they're trying to solve.

Like, a lot of people will go, oh, this is really important to me, so I'm going to do something about it. It's like, well, that's just you. And if the problem you're solving isn't relevant to a market, then what's the point, you know? Yeah. So, but passion has a lot to do with it. And I'm very much a people person, so I always look to that person

and go, have they got the passion? Have they got the nows? Have they got the hustle? Like, are they willing to put the hard yards in and make this happen? Like, so those sort of things are really important. But they're things that will come naturally to you if you, you know, if you're passionate about what you do. Yeah, I'd love that.

I really love what you're saying there. The side hustle is a brilliant way of, because what we do is in a parallel with what you're talking about there, Di, because what we say to people who are interested in property that don't know where to start, don't have the time, don't have the expertise and don't know who to trust is, okay, well, let's treat this as a side hustle. I haven't used that expression, but I'm going to start using it now.

Thanks, Di. You better copyright that one. Well, it's not mine. Yeah, well, because a side hustle is a great way to describe it because what I often say to people is, well, a lot of us try and make everything happen through our work and uh it's we've got to enjoy our work and it's got to create our income and it's got to create our wealth well i guess for a bitter experience i found that quite often that's just you can't do it all through the one

vehicle so uh what what uh my wife and i've done in that regard is is very much what you've said We generated income initially that we then sidelined into property and I've always had a passion for property. I mean, as an architect, I was always a sickly, asthmatic country kid designing homes while I was sitting in bed. That's pretty much how I grew up. So that passion there has been very strong and it is a key ingredient of the whole mix.

But again, coming back to that courage, to be able to do something in parallel with what you're doing and make the time, whether it be property or whether it be the new business or an app or whatever it is that we're looking at. The thing I constantly encourage people to do is not just focus on the one track, to actually use that track to help create another

that then allows you to leapfrog and make other things happen and to test it. To test it, it may not work. and it doesn't matter if it doesn't work and and coming back to what you said before around making failure uh an acceptable and an expected part of life is a really big step for most sizes because we do we put enormous pressure on ourselves but you know the old she'll be right mate thing is is good but i think we have become a nation where we're expected to be perfect 100% of the time and i'll be interested in your thoughts around how are we going to change

that culture because you're obviously doing it with what you're doing through the incubators and whatnot there in Wagga and getting people to accept that failure is a normal part of life and the steps you need to go through to get to success and however you describe it. How do you think we are going to inculcate that change? Di, what are you doing that's working in that regard? Well, I think a lot of it's about like cultural change can only come from I guess an uprising within the community.

and to me it's getting the community on board and a level of understanding um i think there's a big you know well not not in terms of property but definitely in terms of startups and which is you know where i live and breathe is that there's there's no um there's a real education gap so you've got the believers the people that get it the people that have seen success with it and then you get the people who are sitting on the outside that really don't get it and really don't understand And, you know, I think it's filling that education gap so that everyone in the community is aware, but you don't just go out and just, you know, blast it through the networks. You've got to bring people in and bring them into a safe, nurturing environment. And I think when you can do that with some strong leaders over a period of time, I mean, this stuff doesn't happen overnight.

Like I look at, you know, my mentor, Simone, who lives here in Wagga, and she's been at it for six and a half years. you know it doesn't happen quickly but what we're seeing now is the tides are beginning to turn government's starting to understand the general public now a little bit more interested because because they've seen um a lot of it um in media or whatever it is they're starting to accept this is actually okay and i mean you see the same with with investment like in in terms of investment of financial means like a lot more people are taking a bit more notice of their super they're taking more notice of their long-term financial goals and I think this next generation are going to be far better at looking to how they're going to do that and it's I think the openness of the

internet and access information but people are willing to talk about this stuff now so you know there's there's lots I'm doing in the startup space that's trying to help that not just in Wagga but across the whole nation but you know collectively we've got to be very conscious of rising together and I guess that's something like I've just returned from the States from a trip over there and I spent a fair bit of time in Silicon Valley and San Francisco and I really saw a huge divide between the really wealthy and the really poor and the gap just appears to be growing and I think, you know, and a lot of that's due

to like the extreme success of some start-ups in the valley and the cost of living is just exuberant, like why people do that and work these ridiculous hours just does my head in. But we've got to be conscious in Australia that we don't want to be that. We want to have everyone rise together because when we rise together, everyone is far more successful. So, yeah, I think that was a really cool takeaway from that trip. I don't know if that answered your question at all.

But anyway, that's Di. I just babble on. No, that was some really good insights in that. And I think the other thing that just sparked a thought from talking about the trip to the US and having spent some time myself there, we actually own some property in the States and we spent a bit of time over there. And the thing that we tend to forget is just how bloody good we've got it here in Oz. And I'm a country boy.

I was born in a tiny little two-horse town called Garaka in Western Victoria. I've moved around with my folks. My old man became a stock agent with Dow Gettys for many years, so we were always in rural communities helping them. And the yards? Yeah, you got it. I spent all my holidays in the cattle yards and the sheep yards pushing cattle and sheep, and loved it, by the way.

I love the smell of sale yards now because it takes me straight back to that exercise, the old shit on your shoes routine. Don't tell me about that. I know it sounds a bit scary, but there's something, yeah. Very familiar and it takes me back to a pretty good upbringing because I was lucky enough to live in a town where, and I'm sure Wagga was the same, but we never locked the cars. The tea was always in the ignition.

Our neighbourhood was the whole district because no one cared. It was a really safe place and an awesome place to grow up. And I think the, because I'm one of those that's a bit like yourself, couldn't wait to get out of a small town, went to uni and then followed architecture around the globe, actually worked all over the place, but realised later on just how good life in the country was. And now I'm back there.

So we live on a farm in the hills south of Adelaide, beautiful part of the world, and we've now got the benefit of all of the stuff that the country brings, but the technology like you and I are using right now enables me to talk to people anywhere, anytime, and do anything. So it's a pretty exciting time of their life. It's an amazing opportunity for our regions. And I think regional areas are beginning to see this happen.

And like when we did Pitchfest, I did this quote at the start of every single Pitchfest event. And it's a quote by Brendan Yell. And it's that tech has trumped the tyranny of distance and place no longer matters. Brilliant. Right? So what that means is you can be a regional business. You can start your business, I don't know, in narrow court and your first customer can be in Hong Kong.

You know, that's the power of the internet, right? It's the power of e-commerce. And I think our regions are beginning to go, wait a minute, you know, we've got an opportunity here because you're seeing this massive influx of people moving back to the regions, right? They want to bring their kids up in that regional environment. They can't afford a house in Sydney or Melbourne or Brisbane. They have to get out.

Yeah. But they're coming back and they're starting their businesses back here because it's a really safe environment to do it in. You've got low overheads. Your cost of lease is far less. Exactly. You know, your inputs, you can afford to buy your house outright with, you know, like it's just such a different environment.

And I think that's, we're beginning to see a few stories filter through media and a bit of chatter about this, you know, whole return to the regions piece. And as people look to get outside the city, I did a post just yesterday on density. Why are we concentrating on building more and more and more in one place when we've got the technology now to be connected anywhere in the world? You don't have to be there.

Look at what's happening in Boulder in the States. That's a group of guys and girls that were in the startup scene in the valley and just said, you know what, we don't really want to live in the valley. We love snow skiing. Let's move to Boulder and we'll start something there. And now you've got probably the second largest ecosystem in America. You know, in Boulder, in Colorado. So, you know, it doesn't matter as much as I think it has in the past.

And I think the important thing for people in regional areas is, okay, you've got your job, but if you've got that idea, now is the time to do something about it because it's really, you know, growing, but not just an idea in terms of startup, but, you know, your businesses as well. And I've got some great friends with great stories that have moved back to the region, started their business, kept their clients in Sydney, and are just kicking it out of the park.

That's exactly what we do. Most of my clients are city-based, metropolitan, but we live – I can't see a neighbour from where we live. A house on the top of the hill looking down the valley and it's just a fantastic way to live. And I wake up in the morning and feel like I've been kissed on the bum diet because kookaburras, the dogs, you know what it's like. you probably do exactly the same it's just just bloody awesome i go for a walk in the morning

with with the dogs on the farm and it's beautiful but you know i think a lot of people i don't know what the the misconception is i just can't understand what the hell is going on in their heads and why do they think living in the city is any better like you know we we do have running water electricity now so you know we're really moving um that's another thing it really frustrates me is a lot of people from the city will be going oh we better get out to the regions we better help them well i think now it's getting a point that i think we need to help them yeah we need to help them see the opportunity that you know why why why are you doing this you idiot yeah like you sit in track for hours on end like i yeah i can't even imagine a lot of people sorry yeah go on

sorry yep yeah just a lot of people will say oh but there's no jobs in the regions well that you know to me that's bs create your own job you know what do they call a job just over broke a job's just over break so uh this is where if we come back to that courage that you spoke about and we talk about the the mindset of re what what i love about country people uh that that i see a massive difference between country people and and those that have been brought up in a more metropolitan suburban environment is that that we our patience and persistence muscles are actually pretty developed and as we all know anything that grows successfully if we want let's take let's take an orchard let's say we're going to grow some fruit well we we plant it today it's it's we've got to

nurture, cultivate, de-weed, take it through the hot summers, the cold winters, and if we're lucky, we're going to get a good crop out of it, maybe 10, 15, more likely 20 years. So we are used to, our expectation around time, I think, is that we treat time as our friend, not as the enemy, because our expectations are right, because we expect that success in that format is going to take that period of time, and therefore we go in with the right mindset because because we expect that success comes from patience persistence and continuing to do the things knowing that eventually the results will come versus uh the unfortunate those that are brought up with the instant iphone everything where everything's at the fingertips

and therefore there is no patience there is no persistence and the expectation that that i'm going to plant a seed tomorrow and i'm going to eat the fruit tomorrow uh is is something that i I think, as you say, those in the regions have got a lot to communicate to those that have misconceptions around expectations in the more suburban environments. What's your thoughts around that? Yeah, look, I agree to a certain extent, but I also think it's not just a metro and a regional piece

in terms of patience and expectation. expectation I think that's probably more a generational thing yeah and yeah and I think they um that that generationally there's an expectation that it's here and it's now but that that that is the world that we're going to live in and but it doesn't take away from a need that for some things that doesn't apply you know like I think it's it's that education piece as to what that can apply to because with that comes great opportunity right so you know because people want they want it now so you know you create something that allows people to get it now well you know you're going to do well out of that um look at amazon like geez um but you know amazon's been

a long time in the in the making to die that there was a years and years and years of this stuff but i think i think also though like when you talk more about financial but also like investing of your own time like if that's something like i look at what i'm trying to achieve i'm probably three years into probably like a 20-year plan in terms of investment of my time and energy into something I'm passionate about. But I'm not going to really reap the benefits as far as from a satisfaction point of view for a long time yet. But my financial goals have to be long-term as well.

So, you know, they've got to match that. But I still have an expectation that if I want something, I do want it now. But I think that's just probably my age and, yeah. But I think to touch back on that piece of what regional people have to offer, I think their intuition, their ability to adapt and overcome, their ability to just get on with it are all such positive things.

We're innovators by nature, but something that we really need to work on as a collective group is the dialogue because if we're telling these stories back into the city of woe is us, it's so hard on the land and it's so terrible and, you know, that negative talk that we talk about and we're so hard done by, you know, I think we've got to flip it. We've got to be talking about what's great about our regions and, you know, what's exciting and put a positive layer over what we do

and live together in that way because, you know, no one in the city wants to hear a whinging, you know, regional person go on about how unlucky they are. Absolutely not. And the difference now is that we can. Like, we can create our own things where we are and not have that reliance as much as we used to have on the cities. Yeah, no, very good call. Awesome call.

Hey, just picking up on something you mentioned around your long-term plan, what are they and what does it look like and what are you going to invest in in terms of your time, energy, money and skills to get from where you are now to where you want to be? Just talk us through that. Yep. You want to know what's really funny is my team sitting at the computers around me and actually laughing because I think they want to know the same thing, right? All right, play tell.

It does sort of change every day, but, yeah. Look, I think long-term, Bushy, for me it's about ensuring our regions have a future, a sustainable future, and that, you know, that my kids and my kids' kids, if they want to choose to stay in the region, that they're going to have a really prosperous and sort of really enjoyable life that they, you know, don't feel the need that they have to go. Or if they do go, which is great, they have the opportunity to come back.

So, you know, for me it's about making our regions in Australia and in the rural areas as much as the regional and remote areas really strong, vibrant communities. So that's, you know, that's my end game there as far as what I'm doing and what I'm driving to get there. You know, things like Pitchfest is a step, the AgriHacks is a step. I'm doing a conference this year, 8.8, which is a regional innovation and small business conference.

There's lots of little things that I'm doing in that piece to try and help build the education in the first sense. So it's about closing the gap, particularly with councils, business chambers, all those feeder agencies and what their role and part is but also what the opportunity is for them to build new businesses within their community through the start-up scene. So that's sort of like the first step. I think then the second step will be the implementation of it

into these communities and helping these communities grow and build further, you know, and then to that point where we have these great satellite towns that are hubs of activity and opportunity, you know, sort of 20 years from now. And I think from a sustainability point of view, we're going to have to because our cities just can't continue to go the way they do unless we want end up like san francisco which we don't no way um so you know so that's that that plan and you know i have a i have a real interest in politics and and having a voice so that's probably maybe

somewhere where i'll end up but you know who knows i've got to behave myself heaven forbid heaven forbid i've been there it's ugly get out you've got you've got uh you've got too much uh positive passion to be compromised by the political environment, but I'm a little bit jaundiced because I spent a lot of time in the Northern Territory and got very heavily involved in the political environment and didn't like what I see, actually. Particularly the big party stuff is pretty ugly,

but that's for another time. Yeah, I think it's a long-term piece and, again, I think it really ties back to my desire to serve, which has sort of been in everything I do. But, you know, look, I'll continue to be and putting my time and energy into telling stories, into helping others rise. But I guess the core part to make my business sustainable as well, like you've got to put food on the table and you've got

to build for the future, right? And I've built a few products now that have allowed me the time and the space and I guess the opportunity to really invest in other things now. So the hard yards are beginning to pay off. but you know my real piece will be around helping communities build from within so going into communities and helping them bring all the players together and and really lifting you know with councils working with councils working with business chambers like business chambers today

they you know they concentrate on the shops that are on the street they don't see all the shops that exist online yes you know and it's about educating them and saying okay there's a whole workforce of people out there in your community and you know you've got to help them lift and And you've got to be aware of them. You've got to be supporting them as much as the shop owners. So, you know, that's sort of where my head's at. I think there's, you know, I'll never say no to too much. I think there's, you know, opportunity will always present itself

at the right time. And, you know, we'll see what happens with Australia Post, with the Pitchfest. And, you know, I think that, you know, the connections I've been able to make over the last 12 months and meeting amazing people like yourself, Bushy, like it's just I think the opportunity will present itself and I've got myself to a position where I can jump at that opportunity if I want to

and I've got a great, great group of people around me, great staff that allow me the freedom to go and do those things but that just hasn't happened overnight. That's a long-term investment into the right people, into the right processes in my business and, you know, that sort of stuff's important to get you to that point. Totally agree and full admiration for what you're doing there. I love your passion and the fact that you do allow the world

to bring opportunity to you because I think you become a magnet if you're emanating that sort of energy level that actually, without getting woo-woo, it does attract people of a similar ilk that see the positive side of where that can all lead and the synergies that come from collaborating with others is just, as you know, the partnerships you've built very quickly have been absolutely awesome.

But let's bring it back to a personal level because I mentioned before that I stuffed it up the first time because I worked too hard and burnt the family. You must have some challenges there because you travel a fair bit. You're clearly very dedicated to what you do. That requires a pretty strong supporting partner. And obviously, Dane's working pretty hard on the farm, I'm guessing, if he's in the classroom.

He's a funny legend. Yeah, there you go. He's a funny legend. Talk to me about that because there's not a lot of relationships that survive that sort of pressure. So how does it work for you at that level? There hasn't been beer and skittles in that either. Like, you know, that's marriage, right?

Yeah, yeah, totally. I mean, we were really young too and, you know, we've got two kids, so Judd's 10 and Lace is 8 and, you know, they require a lot of attention and, you know, they really are at the middle of everything that Dane and I do. We do everything really for them. Dane's working the farm to provide for a future for the kids and, you know, I'm doing the same to provide for a community

for the future for the kids. Yeah, great. So everything really in that sense is joy. And I think Dane and I are extremely different people. We, you know, we're very individual within our marriage, which I find like we love doing stuff together, but we're very happy for the other to go off and do whatever it is that they want to go do.

and I think that comes from trust but also too it may just be our natures that we don't need to live out of each other's pockets and we'd actually prefer not to. But, you know, it hasn't always been like that. I think, you know, for a lot of years I did all of it as far as, you know, the kids and working and I didn't do as much travel in defence as a public server but there was enough and we had nannies live in and all that sort of stuff and then it sort of got to that point

where I was ready to jump out on my own and I'll never forget this conversation at the farm table and I wish I bloody recorded it because I don't think I'll ever hear him say it again. But he leant across the table and he goes, you know what, you've given so much up for the farm, you gave up the Navy, you've given up, you know, everything with the kids. He said, this is your turn and it's not like I felt I needed his approval or his, you know, anything like that

But it was the kicker I needed to lose the guilt I have and I put on myself. Yes. And that's very much the guilt that we do to ourselves. Totally. And, yeah, so it's not that anyone puts that on us. Often we put it heavily on ourselves. And what that allowed me to do was to go, you know what, I can.

Awesome. And that then like it unclipped my wings and I was gone. And I think Dane's like he doesn't understand what I do. He thinks I train unicorns. That's what he tells everyone. I don't produce anything right I don't I don't physically tangibly have something that I can go to a shop and sell like and he just he's like I don't get it I don't get what you do but anyway you build spirit you build spirit which creates community that's what you do

but yeah I do but it's not physical you can't see it you can't touch it you can't You know, yeah, but anyway, I think he enjoys seeing me so happy and so passionate and so driven that that sustains him. He sort of thinks, well, you know, she's off, she's doing that, and I'm like, you know, I'll make a good living out of what I do. Yep, so you should. And he is more than happy being on the farm and, you know, as long as I don't book anything on a Tuesday night

when the darts comp's on, we're all good. yeah i'm a mad mad field hockey player so my whole winter existence revolves around playing hockey on saturday and my good wife sonja knows that that any social event or any business or any other activity is off the table when it comes to hockey so i get it darts and hockey how many events of pitch fest like we did 56 events last year how many of those were on a tuesday night Not many. I love it.

I love it. Yeah, that's brilliant because I think that's important to share, Di, because I think people forget that, you know, there's too much focus globally really on the individual. And at the end of the day, I know myself that without my good wife, Sonia, I wouldn't be enjoying the lifestyle or the success that we have enjoyed and continue to enjoy. and it's the recognition of the differences.

Sonia and I are very different people as well. It's a real yin and yang. I'm the peacock. She makes it happen quietly behind the scenes. No. You hadn't realised that, had you? No. But it works brilliantly and it's that recognition of each other's

strengths and weaknesses and, as you say, giving each other the freedom to fly, knowing that it's actually going to be to the betterment of the relationship and the family long term is fantastic. and absolutely applaud that. I think that if you're both on the same journey and recognise that you've got different paths to trod along that journey, then that's half the battle. I just think that the partnership part of it

is a really important part of what you're talking about in relation to regional people growing their business opportunities through entrepreneurship, and it's no different in property. What we often see in the property scene, for example, is that one of the partners will create the income while the other partner builds the wealth through property and it needs both of those to be doing that to actually make that successful.

That's it. And that's what the farm is for us, Bushy. It's the centrepiece. It's the thing that's a long-term investment because the financial gain of the farm is not in what we get every year. The financial gain is the value of the land over time and that's our big play

and as far as the sustainability piece for the future. Like that's a really important key part of it and Dane's got to be there to do that. And, you know, I've got to be able to provide an income off farm to do that. So, you know, there definitely is. But I did want to touch on too that it's not just your partner in life that's the important piece to success. And I think, you know, I've been really, really fortunate

to have a great tribe around me of supporters. And, you know, there's dream squashes out there and they're important too because, you know, you just get this great motivation to prove them wrong. Yes. I do that. I do like to do that a bit. But, yes, I talk about my mentor, Simone, and she has been phenomenal. She's what I call a cheerleader in life.

You know, she's on the sidelines. She's like, go die, you're awesome. And then it all turns to shit and she's like, go die, it's okay, you know. So those people are really important to have in your life. And I think surrounding yourself with positive people that understand the journey you're on and are willing to support you along the way, it's just as vital as anything in terms of success. So, you know, yes, having support from your life partner is important, but it's also important to have a tribe, a tribe of believers or, you know, believers if you're into that. Swimming in a pond of people who believe the same. It's the old Simon Sinek story of, you know, be with people who believe what you believe and amazing things can happen.

And again, what I admire about yourself is you make it crystal clear what you're about. And by virtue of doing that, people are attracted to it. So you say you're lucky. I don't say you're lucky. I think you've worked bloody hard to be able to attract the sort of people that you need around you to make it happen because they have a lot of faith. and you give them hope, which fuels passion, which actually then achieves results. So that flame that you produce is a big part of attracting that team.

The team hasn't happened by luck. It's happened by people going, I love what Di is doing. I want to be part of that. I'm going to help him make that happen. Oh, thank you. I'll pay you later. Hey, yeah, just before we talk about where to next, If we reflect on your journey so far, Di, and if you were talking to your younger self when you'd just finished high school, what would you say to young Di and what would, in terms of where she should invest her time, energy, income and money and skills, and what would you, if anything, do differently than what you've done to date?

Sure. So I guess, you know, I was really lucky to go to university and get paid to go to university through Defence. You know, like no hex bill on a wage. You know, but I didn't do it. I pissed it off the wall. You know, you do that when you're 18. Of course you do.

I bought myself a nice SS Commodore Ute and I thought I was pretty hot shit. Did you have the foxtails? Sorry? Did you have the foxtails and the rhubarb on the front? No. No? I was classy. I had some B&S stickers, but I was classic.

But I think, you know, from a young self, I think, you know, I really should have saved more from, you know, having a culture then of saving, of putting money aside. And, you know, I think from the start if I'd done that, you know, I could have financially been in a very different position now because I was on a good income. So the notion of having to save, whether it just be $10 a week, like just that notion of saving from the start, you know,

and that's something I really want to teach the kids. So that's probably the first piece that I'd look to that sort of career that I had with Defence in uniform and out of uniform and I've used that opportunity a lot more to build a little bit of a safety net or something for whatever the next thing was, you know. I think I didn't know that there was going to be a next thing, you know. I just thought, oh, this is my life and I'll just keep plodding away and defence is great.

But I should have used that opportunity in a better way. I think too, like I guess one sort of thing that I wish I did do that I didn't do is I didn't deploy when I was in the Navy. I had a chance to and I didn't. And that's something I think I'll always, you know, be a little, I don't know, not regretful but, you know, something I wish I actually did was do some actual active service because you do all that training and to never put it into practice it's um you know and then also to um to really serve to have

done it like fully fledged and um but you know and also the financial benefits like hello like you you know you health card for life you know there's great benefits that if I'd just done that one tour would have set me up long term but I think when you're young you're just not thinking on that big picture and of course and that's you know that's the beauty of hindsight isn't it like you know it is I think also too is um you know and we're in the same position at the moment it feels like we're still fighting to get somewhere financially and um but I think if I can accept that sooner rather than later that that's just life that you are on a journey and you are constantly and you know that whole what you were talking about the expectation that comes tomorrow

like getting more comfortable with that notion for my long-term financial employment is probably you know that so i've probably spent a few more years in the military yep i probably um you know i don't think there's much else i think you know i'd probably choose not to go through a drought again if i could because that was shit um um you know those sort of things and really though if i'd done anything too differently i wouldn't have sort of the mix match of skill sets that i have now that i draw on for all different things so you know that that sort of piece i think i wish i jumped out earlier and started my own thing earlier i think um you know that that fear and yeah and but also too like for the first 6-12 months like i was so scared to

make a decision because i was so used to someone telling me what the decision needed to be yeah You know, it's so hierarchical and I think had I come out and gone, right, Di, you're the boss, you know, you make the decisions and you run with it and it took a long time to get comfortable with that. So I think if you could shorten that timeframe, like you probably would achieve a lot quicker. So, you know, if I hadn't done things the way I'd done them, I wouldn't have held an event in Wagga and Australia Post wouldn't have been

in the audience and I wouldn't have had that great opportunity. So things happen for a reason. Totally agree. And that belief there is one that not a lot of people have either. It's accepting that, well, this is leading to something else. I don't know what it is yet, but I have the faith that it's going to take me in the right direction. So that is awesome. Well, here's hoping.

Yeah, I have no doubt, Guy. I have no doubt. So I'd be right behind you 100% there. One quick one, again, just looking back over the past, what's been your best investment to date? And as I say, that can be investment in time, skills, money, you name it. What would you say has been your best investment? In myself? Yeah.

Yeah. And I think that that's – I don't want that to sound really narcissistic or anything, but just a belief in myself and an investment into an acceptance of what I can be without, you know, the fear of tall poppy syndrome and the fear of those sort of things in that, the building of my brand, the building of who I am and where I want to go, and the taking of the time to give myself the space to think about that. Like, you know, I've just come back from the States and my head's

like spinning and I've already told the girls about 15 new things that I want to do and I think they're picking me up. But, you know, I need to give myself now some space and invest in myself to know what I've got to do next. So I think that taking time out and allowing yourself time to assess, to check in on yourself, you know, that's probably, you know, other than my kids and my husband, probably the best investment I've made in terms of being resilient and being strong to take whatever comes next.

Yeah, I love it. But financially, it's probably the farm. Now we've taken the big leap and we've bought the next block of land and we're to the eyeballs in debt, but it's a good investment because it centres us and it's something for the future that now we have to be patient because we're not going to pay it off tomorrow, unfortunately, unless you could help us out with that. Yeah, I can definitely help you with that, but that's a chat for another time.

One thing that I do want to just zero in on what you said there, and again, it's something that not many of us make the time to do and it's something that I probably take for granted and it's what I call living by design and that is every year taking some time out to reposition and refocus and without the noise that everyday life gets in the road, reflecting on where am I now, where do I want to be,

what do I need to be doing differently now, given the massive opportunity. We're so crowded with the noise of opportunity in this world that it's very easy as an entrepreneur in particular to get distracted and chase the next shiny thing. But what I love about what you're saying, Guy, and it's something that we try and inculcate in the people that we help along this journey,

is that regular reflection exercise to get clearer around your vision, to reflect on, well, where are we now? And the real benefits of that living by design, not by default, is that one, it gives you a magnet to focus your passion and it keeps you on that journey so if you've got clarity around what that looks like then you're not likely to get distracted because it also provides a compass because each

and every opportunity to get straight in your way if it's not taking you closer to where you want to be then it's a lot easier to say no and yeah and it's something that that not many people talk about diet so that you're saying well i need to need to make the time to now to reflect on what the next step is uh i absolutely encourage you to make that time and and and take the time out take four days out and uh yeah put a line through it wow do you guys hear that i reckon you need four days four days every year is what we do and and we need that four days because it's it's a day thinking about it a day brainstorming and then two days actually working out okay what are we what are the action steps to to make it make it happen and if you do that it'll it'll

change your life and the team's life because the clarity that comes out of that is more inspiring so um uh fully encourage you to make the time we do an annual plan and you should see it it's uh it's pretty intense at the moment but yeah but it's definitely something that we do as a group um but because things do change so often we've got to keep coming back to it of course but to keep going you know and for me you talk about that that comforts that north like for me it's about coming back to my why what's my why exactly why am i doing this why and if it doesn't align with the why then why are we doing it you know um so that's that's got a big piece to it so yeah yeah brilliant a couple of couple of other bits and pieces then if it is there one guiding

quote and you mentioned the quote from brendan yells which i think is a cracker for regional people is it is there one quote that either your own quote or a quote that that tends to guide and has been a bit of a guide for you over time that you want to share with? Yeah, okay, so here's one. And this was said to me by my 10th grade homeschool, not homeschool, what are they? Your home group teacher, tutor teacher.

And she said, to thine own self be true, like be true to yourself. And I think that's definitely one that I still think about now that I've got to be true to myself. I've got to be realistic. um i've got to yeah be very honest with myself um that's that's probably one but you know i love nike come on just just do it yeah exactly oh my god yes you know i guess and then and another one like that that i of most like for myself that i do say a lot to people is that ideas are great but they're worth nothing if you do nothing with it and you know it's so true like so many people

come to me oh i've got the best idea and i'm like oh yeah okay well you know let's see some action idea every day of the week so you know i think that's that's probably another guiding principle that i'm more used for other people yeah um and try and look out for example myself so love that love that now if you again uh this a lot of the listeners are avid readers uh and avid podcast listeners for that matter, if you were to talk about the one book that you think everyone should read and or the one podcast that people should listen to, what's your suggestions around that? Me?

Okay, well, I've got it right here. Is this book? Yep. Oh, you probably can't see it. It's a podcast, right? So it's called, especially in the start-up world for people that are, you know, either work for councils or business chambers or any support agencies like that or people that want to get involved,

it's called Startup Communities and it's by Brad Feld, F-E-L-D. So that's probably like my favourite startup-y sort of book. But, yeah, that's where I'm at. But as far as podcasts, like I listen to the Mark Boros show all the time. I think he's fantastic. You know, like the Harvard Business Review is great. I really enjoy it. But there's lots of different ones.

Because I more will go, like I'm really into Elon Musk at the moment and learning about him. And so I'll just listen to all the podcasts that he's in. Yes. So I will, other than podcasts, I'll pick a topic and then try and get across different podcasts. Yeah, love it. I do the same.

I hadn't thought about it, but I do exactly that. Yeah, good call. If you get one podcast, you're really only getting one viewpoint. I agree. And I think you can, yeah, so podcasts are amazing. I like the Rural Business Collective does one as well. That's Fleur Anderson, and she is a firecracker up in Queensland. So she's got some really great stories of people that have been there

and done it as far as start-ups in regional and rural communities and great stories. So, yeah, that's another really good one to look out for. Sensational. No, that's sensational. I'll tune in a couple of days because I'm an absolute podcast freak. I just love them. They're just a great way to soak in energy and avoid the bullshit.

I mean, I stopped listening to the news 15 years ago because it's just all crap and it's all negative and it's all doom and gloom and fear and greed. Yeah, yeah, exactly. So I reckon podcasts are a brilliant way to do it. Sort of bringing it to a close then, Diane, and very mindful of your time, very appreciative of the time we've had to have a chat. What's next on your plate?

What are you doing? And how can people contact you to get involved? So probably the first thing is AgriHack. So we do an agricultural-based hackathon. That's on the 1st and 2nd of March. Okay. But the big piece for this year for me, along with Pitchfest, and more news will be coming out about that in the coming months,

is 8.8. So as I mentioned before, this is the Regional Innovation and Small Business Conference, which will be held in Wagga in August. And we're really hoping to have some great discussions around some more, I guess, challenging topics, but bringing the feeders of our communities, the chambers, the councils, together with the start-ups and the leaders and having that sort of discussion around where our futures are regionally

and how we can use start-ups to really drive commerce in our region. So really excited about that conference. But everything I do, I've got a website that has it all on it. So it's called regionalentrepreneur.com.au, so people can check it out there and keep up with what we're doing. and obviously we're on social and across all the different businesses that we've got going. But, yeah, like really, really just keen to see what else is going

to rise for this year and I'm sure there'll be more. I'm just sort of waiting in the wings to see what happens. Yeah, well, that's a great way to let it happen and I'm sure it's going to happen, Di. And, again, I'm very appreciative of you giving me a bit of time to have a decent chat. Loved your energy right from the get-go when I had the pleasure of meeting you

with the AusPost Regional Pitch Fest, which I had a glow for a week after the exercise here in SA at the Crown Vale. It was just a sensational event and some great people and a really good energy level. So I love the time. Been great to have a chat. Big supporter of what you're doing

and would love to continue to do that when and if the opportunity arises dies so keep on keep on keeping on you have a sensational time and uh we'd love to have you back uh on a regular basis just to check in and find out what's happening sure and thanks bushy i think it's reciprocated your energy too and what you're trying to achieve for for people out there is uh remarkable so anytime buddy anytime awesome excellent well you have a enjoy the rest of your day uh we'll keep in touch and um uh look forward to following your rise and rise. Thanks, son.

Good on you. Thanks, Di. Talk soon. See you. Cheers. Bye. Well, Freedom Fighters, how good was that? To get a summary of all this investment gold in the show notes,

just email me on hello at khgroup.com.au. That's H-E-L-L-O at khgroup.com.au. or check us out at www.bushymartin.com.au forward slash Get Invested. I look forward to joining you next week for another episode of the Get Invested podcast. So thanks for listening. And as always, dream as if you live forever

and live as if you'll die tomorrow. Thank you.