IWD RAGE

It’s hard to imagine, I know, but I’ve been quiet for too long. It’s time to break the silence and feel some rage. I’ve been given a stick today, and I’m going to beat it. Hard. All. Day. Long.

Anna Connell said on Twitter this morning, “today isn’t a day of celebration, it should be one of rage” and you know what? She’s absolutely right. Here I am ready to grace the stage at Xero’s International Women’s Day event as a guest speaker, but I’m changing my entrance mode, I’m now coming storming in. 

Why?

Because I’ve had actually had a guts full. And yet outwardly you wouldn’t know it. I’ve been gracious, and understanding, and considerate. I’ve listened to the reasonings, I’ve taken on board advice, I’ve made adjustments. I’ve revisited. Again, and again and again. I’ve heard “no” more times than you could possibly imagine.

But worse, I’ve heard “I don’t get female businesses”, “Isn’t it just a cottage industry”, “my wife would kill me if I invested in a young women’s business”, “I’m bald, how should I understand this”, “I really don’t get women”. 

What are we referring to? Investment. Did you know that less than 4% of VC funding goes to female led businesses? I didn’t until today. Now I’m enraged. I thought it was just me. I thought it was what I wasn’t doing well enough. And maybe that’s true. But anyone who knows my business knows that we have one of the slickest operations around. Our customer stats are off the charts. Our growth is outrageously good. Our ability to create, enhance and turn around product development is world-class. We’ve done global deals, we’re in global markets and when I stand on the global stage I know that I’ve done my 10,000 hours. My 18 years of slogging it out as an entrepreneur is finally paying off.

But here in NZ and Australia? The money is played safe, and female-led businesses are risky. Apparently. 

And don’t think for a second that this is a rant against men. Far from it. I’ve heard even worse from women. In fact, I wholeheartedly believe one of the things holding us back is ourselves. We look each other up and down, we’re harsh and super critical. When women are asked to appraise my business, they’re far harder on it than men are. They don’t want to show bias.

Usually I just get back up and dust myself off. You can’t win them all. That’s what I do, it’s what everyone “loves” about me. I accept that this is our story. That I’m incredibly fortunate to be afforded the opportunity to do what I do (and I am). I accept that the personal cost is high, but I can handle it. I tell myself that every single day. And I’m incredibly proud of myself for doing so. It’s physically, mentally, emotionally and financially draining. Yip, I should have gone corporate and cashed in the big pay cheque and enjoyed somebody else taking up the worry. But I didn’t. 

I choose to innovate, to push harder, to create, to make new jobs, new economies and bring this vision – this big ass, ridiculously huge, grand and global vision to life. And I won’t stop. I won’t go away, I will keep doing this until I can stand up and smile and say, “I did it in spite of the resistance”.

And I will do so graciously, and with humour and I will thank the extremely supportive people – both men and women, who have come on the journey. Who believe in me, in our business, the vision and the opportunity. Stephen Tindall. Roanne Parker. James Sweetbaum. Sandy Burgham. Rob Campbell. Mike Carden. Lain Jager. Scottie Chapman. Adrian Burr. Helena McMullin. Pete Weaver. Richard Todd. Kerry Friend. Peter Cooper. Mark Taylor. Robbie Tindall. Charmaine Newson. Mike Riley. Oliver Lineham. Greg Magness. Bonnie Frankland. Tim Cook. Sharon Hunter. Sarah Paykel. Michael Stokes. Angela Dixon. Andrew Stevens. Shayne Crimp Scott Gilmour. Scobie Ward. Peter Goodfellow. Rowen Greatbatch. Michael Blennerhassett. Hiroko Friend. Rochelle Shaw. Mark Hellier. Theresa Gattung. Andrew Corner. Colin Crombie. You’re all rockstars, game enough to put your money where your mouth is.

And of course, my co-founder, Steven Torrance. Who may never have set foot inside a hair salon in his life, but knows $15b of revenue opportunity when he sees it. Together, we make an exceptional team.

Today I celebrate our journey, but I rage against the status quo. 

NZ Inc. our KPI is 10% for 2018. Let’s make it happen.