My labour with Indie unravelled in a way I wasn’t expecting. On Saturday 11 May, I experienced light Braxton Hicks contractions all day (as I had for the two days and nights prior.) We stayed home with my other two girls (Milla, who’d just turned four the weekend before and Honey who’s almost two) and enjoyed our last day as a family of four. Even though the contractions were still very manageable we thought it a good idea to call our wonderful nanny Amy to come and collect Milla and Honey (as we couldn’t get in touch with my parents.) Amy arrived at 2pm and took the girls, and at the same time the labour started to kick in and the contractions began in earnest.

My past two babies were born at night (written about here and here if you didn’t catch them) so I was telling myself to hang in there as I thought I had a while to go. But things were heating up and at about 3.30pm we called our midwife to check in with her. I wasn’t sure she should come over yet but lucky for us, she said she’d come straight away.

Just after speaking to our midwife, my parents (who we’d finally been able to get in touch with) arrived at the house. The plan was for them to take the girls somewhere, but given that Amy had already taken them, they found themselves in the middle of me labouring quite heavily. Needless to say, Dad made a few dad jokes (which I didn’t find too amusing at the time) and quickly exited the scene, and I wanted mum to stay with us, so she did. We had never planned to have her there (she wasn’t at the first two births) but I was so glad that the planets aligned for her to experience it all with us, and welcome in her granddaughter.

At around that time (it would’ve been 4pm by then) I was in the thick of active labour with very strong contractions but still couldn’t believe that I’d have the baby in the day, so kept on saying “hang in there Em, this bubba will come tonight so you’ve got a long journey ahead.” But I couldn’t ignore the fact that there was a lot of pressure going on ‘down there’ and that it felt like the baby was close. I was having intense rolling contractions one after the other walking around the house and out in the backyard and at the kitchen bench – wherever I was at the time!

Our midwife cheerily walked in then (I can’t tell you how much I love this woman and what a joy it has been to go through this pregnancy and birth with her) and suggested I get in the birthing pool which mum and my hubby had started to fill. I hadn’t been in the water at all until then and it was bliss.

I only had about three contractions in total in the pool before my waters broke at 4.20pm, and I was ready to birth the bubba’s head. It was at this moment that our amazing photographer Jerusha Sutton arrived. Jerusha is another phenomenal woman who I was honoured to share Indie’s birth with. At this point, my midwife suggested I change positions so I leant back on my husband to birth the baby. It was exhilarating and incredible! This pic to the right is of me pulling Indie out and you can see I’m smiling because it was just the most wondrous, beautiful experience. I loved it! It’s my wish that every woman can experience birth in such an empowering, positive way.

I loved that my mum got to experience it with us, and I know the memories will stay with her forever. Soon after we’d had the baby we called Amy and she brought the girls over straight away and their reaction was priceless.

I feel very much in two minds about sharing the slideshow of Indie’s birth below with you all. On one hand, it’s a very private and intimate experience, and on the other, I feel so strongly about changing how we view birth that I want to do all I can to support women to believe in themselves. As my midwife says “Birth is safe, and women are strong.” I couldn’t agree more. We must work together to believe in ourselves, in our bodies, and in the beautiful process that is childbirth. Of course there will always be variations to the plan, but if you have a fundamental belief that birth is not something to be feared, and that it should actually be looked forward to, then you’ll be on your way to a fabulous experience (no matter what the outcome.)

I’ve thought loads about the parallels between business and birth. In business as in birth, if you have the right networks, support and mindset, and you’ve done your research, surrounded yourself with positive, skilled people and you believe in yourself, then your probabilities of achieving what you want will be high.

So, I’m putting myself out there by sharing this but I’m proud to do so because it takes courage to live fearlessly. Enjoy the video of Indie’s birth!

I’m now four days overdue with my third baby (my bubs tend to stay put for ages – my first daughter was ten days ‘late’ and the second was fifteen) and this means that I’m missing out on a few things that are important to me.

My best friend turned 40 last weekend in Melbourne and because I couldn’t fly I missed her party. And for the past season, I’ve missed out on playing netball with my beloved Business Chicks team in our corporate comp. I also sit here with my big belly lamenting the fact that my team are now in Adelaide, about to pull off our biggest ever event (with over 1,700 people) tomorrow morning with Sir Richard Branson. Then they’ll fly straight to Brisbane to do it all over again the next day. This happened last time Branson spoke for Business Chicks – I was overdue with my second bub, so I missed out on that too. (The pic below is when he spoke for us in Sydney and hooray – I wasn’t pregnant and about to give birth!)

All these experiences are designed to teach me patience, and teach me how I can still lead and inspire without being ‘right there’. So I made sure my bestie was spoilt with flowers, a little gift, and surprise champagne at the place she dined at her for birthday. I got me and my bump down to the side of the netball court on a few occasions and yelled my heart out in encouragement for the netballing Business Chicks.

And today, I know I’ve done all that I can to support my team to pull off the biggest events of their life without me. I know they’re going to be fine. In fact, they’ll blitz it! And while they’re at it, I’ll practice the art of letting go, trusting others and cheering on from the sideline.

What I love is how my team live and breathe the Business Chicks philosophy of supporting other women and doing all we can to help our members where possible. At the wedding on Saturday, Bec had engaged the services of Virginie from Fleur de Sel to create the most beautiful dessert buffet (pics below), and Antonia from Ruby Slipper Floral Design did all the flowers.

All in all it was a beautiful afternoon and evening and such a privilege to create such divine memories with such special people.

You got a special occasion you’re looking forward to?

Looking forward to: This weekend one of my team members, Rebecca Bodman, is getting hitched. Bec has asked me to emcee her reception and all the Business Chicks team will be there. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to be part of her big day; honoured that she thought to ask me; and so proud of the fact that her Business Chicks sisters are so much part of her family that she’d want us all there. Happy wedding Bec!

Challenging myself by: This year I set myself a goal to buy five more investment properties. So far I’ve bought three so I’m feeling good about achieving this goal by the end of the year. I’m also exploring my first property development project. Property is just a way for me to stretch myself and create another income stream without a lot of effort, and I love it. I’m supported by a really fab team of people that I’ve built up around me – they’re all from the Business Chicks community and teach me so much about creating wealth and sourcing deals. One day I’ll share this dream team with you – it’s so easy to do well in property when you have the right people in your corner.

Ringing in my ears: I’m devastated that I missed out on our event in Melbourne last Friday. Alisa Camplin was the speaker and from all reports, she completely brought the house down. Some of the feedback included “WOW! Completely BLOWN AWAY by Alisa’s talk this morning,” then “Lots of laughter and tears this morning. Alisa was just brilliant. Going home to make some plans for my vision,” and then “Absolute silence in the room. Alisa has the room captivated.” Can’t wait to bring her all around Australia and share her with you.

Preparing for: My third child, due in just over two weeks now. My first two girls were 10 days and 15 days ‘overdue’ respectively so who knows, I could still have a month to go of being this pregnant. I’ve decided to work up until my due date this time around as I go crazy without a purpose and am useless to everyone if I just mope about at home, waiting for labour to begin.

Excited for: Giving birth! Really, I am! I’ve been blessed with two incredible homebirths (Milla’s story here, and Honey’s here) and just can’t wait to give life to this new little soul. We have the pool ready to go in our living room and our support team (a fabulous midwife and doula) are at the ready too. Giving birth is without a doubt the most thrilling and rewarding thing I’ve done, and the most privileged I’ve ever felt as a woman.

Not standing still: As I mentioned before, Business Chicks is growing beyond our wildest dreams. Business has doubled for us in the past year and this means managing change and lots of it. It also means that a lot of new opportunities are opening up for us, including new hires to the team. At the mo we’re looking for an Account Coordinator – this is a fab role. Take a look and have a think if anyone you know may fit the bill.

And finally … I’m proud about a few things. Our events around the country are selling out in record time (if you wanted to hear Michelle Bridges, Sir Bob Geldof or Sex and the City creator Candace Bushnell in Sydney and haven’t got your tickets, I’m sorry – you missed the boat!) Next month we’ll present Sir Richard Branson in Adelaide and Brisbane and there’s LOADS more in the plan for the next six months, so keep your eyes and ears open, and if you do come along, be sure to come up and say hi!

Little gifts with big presence: On Zoe’s first day we decorated her desk with a bunch of welcome balloons – the beautiful thing about this is that they’re still flying high a week later, so it’s a nice reminder to her (and to us) that she’s new and the sky’s the limit for her.

Stage the fun: So the balloons were on her desk when Zoe arrived, and then the day unfolded from there. We had flowers, champagne and chocolates delivered to her at mid-morning and then later on in the day we had an afternoon tea for her. If she didn’t know she was welcome after all of this, then I don’t know what else we could have done!

Leading from the top: I always make sure I write a card to every new employee that starts in our business. No one does this for me – I go out and pick a card that reminds me of the person and write a heartfelt message on it. I always have it waiting on the newbies’ desk when they arrive. It shows them that their being with us matters, and that I personally value them.

Get the team involved: We always let the team know the new person’s email address prior to them starting with us, and whoever chooses to do so can send them a note congratulating them on the appointment and welcoming them. That way, there’s already a level of rapport there and it’s easier to put all those new faces to names on day one!

Being organised: We always have the new person’s business cards ready for them from the minute they arrive. Not only does it send a message that we’re organised and on to it, but it says ‘we value you, and by the way – our standards are high and we expect you to hit the ground running.’ No one’s complained yet.

Let them be late: We always ask our new peeps to start a little later, say 9.30am, on their first day so we can make sure the existing team is ready and we can put any finishing touches to their welcome if needed. And anyway, first days are totally information overload and if you can reduce this time down a bit, then everyone wins.

Planning out the first few days: We always have a structured induction program mapped out for the first few days so the new team member gets a thorough introduction to the business and gets to spend time with the department heads or anyone else they’ll work closely with.

First impressions go a long way. Compare the above experience to a friend of ours that recently started a new role and had hardly one person on the floor introduce themselves, and you’ve got two very different experiences. And if given the choice, I know which one I’d choose!

I have a greeting card that someone once gave me, and it sits in my bedroom. Every now and then I try and stop and allow myself the 30 seconds it takes to read it. On the first day of this year as we arise to all the possibilities of 2013, I commit myself to the words on it below and hope you find something in them too.

Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

Look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

Think only of the best, work only for the best, and expect only the best.

Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticise others.

Live in the faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you!

- Christian D. Larson

Happy 2013 everyone.

We were there for the Business Chicks Immersion and Leadership Program, and I couldn’t help but feel on a number of occasions that every single one of the women in the group were meant to be there – they answered the call to a new level of leadership and stepped into the challenge beautifully.

During our time in Uganda we were confronted by chronic hunger and poverty which is just a way of life for too many. We met a woman who had twin babies – both of the children had runny noses and watery eyes and were too weak to swat the flies off their little faces. We asked the woman what she ate each day and she said “I won’t eat today – I may eat tomorrow.” How was this mother meant to breastfeed her two babies when she was so malnourished herself? She had no means to food or income – as she was looking after the children she couldn’t work and her husband was a casual labourer and worked when the work was there. When the work came in he’d receive approximately $1 a day, and on those days, they’d eat.

In one village we asked a man to show us where they got water from and he led us to a small water hole that was bright green (pictured left), completely covered in algae. Half of our group’s hands went to their mouths immediately – surely this couldn’t be where they got water from? Our translator assured us it was, and worse still – a lot of the villagers didn’t like the taste of boiled water, so they used it/drank it as is.

In one hut, a little girl (or boy – you can never be sure because all the children have their heads shaved and usually only have one piece of clothing which doesn’t give you a clue as to their gender) sat on my lap. This little girl weighed less than my 16 month old daughter. I asked the mother how old she was, and she said ‘five and a half.’ That’s years, not months. She was skin and bones, and hers was another family with no income or access to regular food.

The stories I’ve told you above were some of the gravest we experienced. There were however, many moments of tremendous hope and stories of resilience and success – and these were of those women and families who were involved with The Hunger Project. These people had learnt how to grow better quality food and more variety (some families live off a diet of only one food, like bananas), store their food and sell the excess to make an income. They’d been trained in health practises (like washing your hands after going to the ‘bathroom’), and building structures out of sticks to air out their pots and pans after cooking etc.

I am incredibly proud of the Business Chicks women that took part in the trip – each and everyone of them stepped up and played full out, and together with the members who went on the first trip to Bangladesh their efforts contributed a total of over $380,000 to The Hunger Project. Bravo girls! And two of the women on the Uganda trip have pledged $1,000,000 to The Hunger Project Uganda over three years as a result of this experience – how extraordinary is that?

We’ll be running more leadership programs next year to Bangladesh and Uganda and if you think you may be up for it, we’d love for you to apply – send an email to rebecca@businesschicks.com.au and we’ll send you some info.

The emotions the documentary stirred in me and my team (we all went to see the film together) are very raw this week, because it features Somaly Mam, (left) an extraordinary woman who was our guest speaker at Business Chicks in Sydney just last Friday. Somaly was trafficked into sex slavery in Cambodia at the age of 11 or 12 (she doesn’t know how old she was exactly because she’s never known her birth date or her real family). Somaly is a living, breathing example of a courageous woman who has had every wrong card dealt to her, but she’s overcome this with incredible kindness, love and forgiveness.

Somaly has devoted her life to rescuing young girls from brothels, and providing them with shelter at one of her centres. She’s gifted them with education, healthcare, and above all, love. She trains these young survivors to become a voice and they travel around educating men on safe sex and encouraging them not to frequent brothels. It’s an incredible result from a tragic situation – these girls are the faces of the world’s third largest crime and multi-billion dollar industry – human trafficking.

As I sat watching this documentary, I was overwhelmed with sadness – particularly the part where they showed a little three year old girl who’d been raped and subsequently sold by her mother to a brothel (I have two daughters – one is three and the other is 16 months) but the emotion I was more overwhelmed with was shame. Shame at the thoughts and questions that fill my head each day by choosing to live the life we all do here, now – I’m ashamed that I worry about which private school my girls will go to; I’m embarrassed by the food my daughters leave on their plate each night or worse, throw on the floor; I’m angry at the conversations my husband and I have about which overseas holiday we’ll enjoy next. All these thoughts and questions seem so trivial and small.

I’m trying to do my bit to wake people up here in Australia, in the same way I’m trying to wake myself up. At Business Chicks we tell the stories of women doing brave, amazing things in our magazine Latte and on our website every day; we find speakers with heroic stories to tell and big lessons to teach and we put them on our stage at our events; and my team and I try and be role models to others through our actions and beliefs. But, as I was last night, I’m often left feeling a sense of emptiness – that we all could be doing much, much more.

This Friday I head to Uganda with a bunch of Business Chicks members to see the on the ground impact on women and girls that The Hunger Project is able to achieve. Business Chicks has now collectively raised more than $355,000 for The Hunger Project, and last week at our event we raised more than $11,000 for Somaly’s foundation.

I’m proud of that, but I’m not done. I hope never to be entirely done.

My Poppy’s a special guy. At 80 years young he still does Meals on Wheels two days a week, driving and delivering food to the ‘oldies’; volunteers every Tuesday at the Maritime Museum working on the old boats (he was a boatbuilder by trade) and every Saturday volunteers again and takes groups out on Sydney Harbour on the tall ships. He still walks with his friends every morning and has been to more Sydney Business Chicks breakfasts than I have (I missed one while on my honeymoon but he was there!).

I suppose Poppy taught me about serving others, and on Saturday night I had an opportunity to make him proud. I’m travelling to Uganda next month for the Business Chicks Immersion and Leadership Project to witness the work of The Hunger Project (THP) there. In order to do this, each member has to raise at least $10,000 for THP and fund their own travel expenses, and collectively Business Chicks has now raised more than $330,000 for them.

So on Saturday night I held a gala dinner. It was an intimate’ish affair (by Business Chicks standards!) of about 100 of my friends and family who outdid themselves bidding on auction items and glamming up with their black tie outfits. Emma Louise Birdsall from The Voice entertained the crowd and Sandra Sully was our emcee (she’ll also host the next Business Chicks event which is a lunch with guest speaker Diane von Furstenberg) – she was superb. Altogether we raised $27,875.43, woot! Enjoy the pics and a big thanks to everyone who supported the event, including the amazing Business Chicks team (some of whom are pictured here.)

I thought nothing more of it until a couple of days later when a delivery arrived for me at the office – a large box adorned with Qantas ribbon. I eagerly unwrapped the gift to find 12 of the same ice creams I had tweeted about – heaven! Score for Qantas (of course I was going to tell a lot of people about it) and score for me (not so much my waistline, but hey, ice cream wins over waistline any day in my world.)

I loved this as one of our core values at Business Chicks is ‘Surprise and Delight’. My team and I are constantly looking for ways that we can surprise and delight our members, and social media is an awesome way to achieve this.

I try and follow as many of our members as I can keep up with on Twitter, and one day I noticed that one of our members Tori Gorman was soon to attempt an English Channel crossing. I immediately thought of a good mate of mine John Maclean who had documented his Channel attempt and subsequent crossing in a book. I wrapped up the book, wrote a note to Tori encouraging her, sent it to her office, and got our content team to write an article about her on the Business Chicks site. I know Tori appreciated the gesture and the support she felt from the Business Chicks community as a result of me noticing her efforts, and most importantly, acting on them.

Have you made a social media win or been the recipient of a score (like my ice cream loot?). Had a complaint handled well? Built a relationship through Twitter or another platform?