Caleb always had an interest in cameras and film. He is now living his passion creating video for businesses to help their branding and marketing. As Caleb puts it - story telling with pictures.By Mark and Bill

Michael has a great story to tell from a start in a retail role through to working in sports administration. He is now the CEO for the Committee for Geelong.By Mark and Bill

Jeremy has had an interesting career starting in hospitality, hotel management and a role at a major health insurer. This wide and business focussed career gives him a great perspective in his current role supporting businesses across Geelong.By Mark and Bill

Cameron started his career working as a Roofer. An injury led him to focus on safety at work sites and the eventual launching of his own business. Walker Safety Services has over 250 clients across Australia that Cameron and his team help with in creating safe work places.By Mark and Bill

Bill and Mark chat about their experience in franchising and what to be aware of. Franchising is a huge part of business in Australia and a great way to have your own business - but you need to do your homework.By Mark and Bill

Sonia has had an very interesting career staring as a lawyer with a passion for giving back. This led to a first role on a NFP Board and then to a successful career on other boards including the TAC, Qantm, Vitrafy and TAL.By Mark and Bill

Giulia has had a great career from being a journalist at the ABC, Chief of Staff for the Melbourne Lord Mayor and a role at the ACTU. Giulia is now the leader of the G21 Regional Alliance.By Mark and Bill

David has always been involved in agriculture through a long and varied career. A great story and one that shows the changing face of agriculture in Australia.By Mark and Bill

Tim has had a love of numbers from an early age and this led to a passion for working across a number of financial institutions. He now leads the team at Bendigo Bank working with businesses across Western Victoria.By Mark and Bill

There has been a lot happening in the world over the last month. We chat about the impacts on business and some suggestions on what a business needs to think about now.By Mark and Bill

Alan started life in Ireland and with a desire to be a plumber leading to a constant education that sees him now running an innovative energy solutions company.By Mark and Bill

James has had a long career in agriculture running both chicken and duck processing businesses. He now runs his own consultancy and is working as an advisor to WrkPod - his sons business in the Philippines.By Mark and Bill

Join us this episode as we chat with Andrew Henderson, Principal of Agsecure, on the importance of food security to Australia’s national security. Andrew is a leading strategic policy specialist with a passion for building the sustainability and prosperity of rural and regional Australia and enhancing the recognition of its role in the economy and …

Nat has a great story on how he has become the driving force for development change in Geelong as the Director of Urbis Geelong. Nat is passionate about what he does and where he lives.By Mark and Bill

Jennifer is the CEO of the Geelong Manufacturing Council. Jennifer has had wide experience across Australia and Asia and is passionate about the potential for new and innovative manufacturing businesses.By Mark and Bill

Carmel is the founder and Director of the Proven Group, https://theprovengroup.com.au/ that like so many businesses started at the kitchen table. Carmen has grown from writing resumes to providing a full spread of HR services across Victoria and wider. A great story.By Mark and Bill

Join us this week as we talk with Joanne Stevenson, Principal Consultant at Resilient Organisations as she chats to David Cornish about how we can create Resilient Businesses. Over the past decade, Joanne has accumulated post-disaster research and consulting experience in several countries, examining recovery and resilience of communities, economie…

Nadja has a great story starting with growing up in East Germany and taking a Gap Year to see Australia and stayed. A career through news paper media has led her across the country to Geelong and she is now the Editor of Geelong Advertiser. A really interesting story. https://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/…

Michael wanted to be an architect but ended up starting a computer science degree and ended up joining Gartland as a commercial property trainee agent. The rest is history. Michael has taken Gartland https://www.gartland.com.au/ forward including launching a digital marketing agency https://www.affiliatestudios.com.au/…

Lisa Sweeney as the CEO of Business in Heels is all about championing women in business and life. Lisa started her career with a degree in agriculture but then moved into retail in store operations and then buying women's fashion. Lisa has taken https://businessinheels.com/ to new heights with a passion that is evident in this pod cast.…

Fi started her career as a nurse, this plus being involved in health boards, led to her quest to better understand governance and to the founding of Govern With https://governwith.com/ Fi is not only an incredibly smart and articulate person but her passion for good governance and her governance tools are a must for any board.…

Join us this episode as we chat with Agrista Director and consultant, John Francis, about getting back to basics and looking at Farm Profit Drivers. Agrista is an agricultural consultancy focused on improving farm business performance based in Wagga Wagga in Southern New South Wales. Agrista provides consulting services to corporate and family farm…

Dr Nicole (Nici) Sweaney grew up with a fascinationfor animals and science, and always knew it was something she wanted to pursue. But after completing a PhD in which she studied how native butterfly species interact with farmlands and pine plantations. From this Nici saw the power of information and data and the opportunities AI present to us. Thi…

True Business Stories has chatted with over 70 business owners and leaders over the last year or so. We have loved learning about so many businesses. In this the wrap for the year we highlight the key learnings that we have gained and are relevant to businesses.By Mark and Bill

Bill Winter is the founder and other half of True Business Stories. He has a wealth of experience in running his own businesses and being a non - executive director. Bill is on a path of continual learning and loves working with family businesses to help them meet their goals.By Mark and Bill

Aaron Finch runs DirectBor, that was started by his Grand father with a small boring machine. He now deals with major drilling contracts as the leader in boring. DirectBor was the winner of the Business of the Year for the Geelong Business Excellence Awards in 2023. A great story, sitting under our noses, here in Geelong.…

Jarod has always had a passion about design and building and this path has now taken him to being the Director for the Plan Group delivering on exciting projects across Geelong and Ballarat.By Mark and Bill

Join us for the first episode of season four of the AgTalk podcast as we discuss meat and wool commodity markets with Robert Herrmann. Robert is a founder of Mecardo, a specialist in agricultural advisory with a focus firmly on the financial enhancement of primary production and price risk management. The company was established by Robert in Adelai…

Mathew has gone from playing brass instruments with the Salvation Army to being an Associate Director for KPMG in their new office in Geelong. Matthew has a passion for Geelong and is the driver behind the Economic Blueprint for Geelong.By Mark and Bill

Rachel Patterson was appointed General Manager of Geelong Broadcasters in January 2023, after a long career in radio. Geelong Broadcaster keep us informed and entertained via Bay 93.9FM and K Rock. Rachel would be one of the nicest people you could ever meet. Enjoy listening.By Mark and Bill

Kody Thompson has a fascinating story. Raised in Country Victoria and starting out as a youth Pastor, Kody has used his passion and values to create an outstanding business in the Philippines. Enjoy listening to his journey.By Mark and Bill

As one half of the True Business Stories podcast team, Bill Winter wanted to do a more thorough interview. Mark grew up in India and has had a long retail career and now enjoys helping other businesses.By Mark and Bill

Xavier grew up on the family farm and then headed off over seas to travel and work in many different industries. He came back to farming and his desire to ensure his practices are sustainable has led to his free range chicken business. A story of determination and passion.By Mark and Bill

Gail has had a great journey working across roles in many well known brands in business and aviation. Gail now runs the Geelong Community Foundation and brilliant concept that through sound investment of donations and bequeaths can make grants to help the community.By Mark and Bill

Tim found him self in his early twenties thrust into running the family business due to the poor health of his Father. Tim has a great story of making every opportunity to learn and recognising he needs to reach out to others to help him self grow.By Mark and Bill

Lyndal has had a fascinating journey as a teacher across a wide range of roles in schools and business and across the world. Her quest to make learning accessible for all has led to her own business making engaging, inclusive and accessible learning design outcomes for businesses, not-for-profit and government organisations.…

Robert started life wanting to be an architect and his journey has presented many opportunities. He started his own business after being told by his family 'why don't you - rather than work for someone else'. Another interesting journey.By Mark and Bill

By Mark and Bill

Allison (Ally) has a long retail career including General Manager roles at Target and The Reject Shop. Ally operates her own consulting business working with organisations providing operational support across finance, supply chain & logistics, merchandise & planning amongst other skills. Ally is also a Non Executive Director for the Geelong Bank an…

John is one of the great people working around Geelong. He has played for the Geelong Cats, coached school football teams and worked in banking and business development. He now runs his own business helping other businesses with strategy and with not-for-profit organisations in philanthropic support strategising. He is also the producer for Propped…

Trisha took a long path from Ireland to Australia with a career spanning a number of countries in finance and banking. Moving to Australia and becoming involved with the Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce (a great organisation that provides support and networking opportunities for Irish immigrants) finally led to Apollo Bay and starting GoodLife …

By Mark and Bill

Milo has a story of immigration from the former Yugoslavia to Australia and created a business from his love of video. Milo creates great video content for businesses.By Mark and Bill

Jodi has an extensive career in human resources and identified a gap in helping businesses outsource their HR needs and support. After working with many different companies she took the plunge and opened her own business that has been growing since 2013. A story of passion and determination.By Mark and Bill

Having been to Davidsons Restaurant at The Gordon we met and interviewed the Apprentice Chef that fed us so well. Pippa has won awards in her short journey and has a great future ahead of her. Leonie is the Commercial Food and Hospitality Manager for The Culinary Collective that encompasses the food scene at The Gordon.…

Chris is an inspiration with her work in the disability sector providing respite care and holiday accommodation. Chris is passionate about inclusivity and the need for businesses to be accessible to all.By Mark and Bill

Kate Ware has a passion for marketing and helping businesses with her team of marketing and brand professionals. MadeGreat is a one stop digital marketing agency.By Mark and Bill

Jo Plummer had an extensive career working across corporate Australia and now as a Non- Executive Director looks to champion young and aspiring directors in performing at their optimum. This is done through her business Out of the Box Executive.By Mark and Bill

Tracy has worked in tourism her whole life. Tracy's passion for sharing her knowledge and love of the Greater Geelong and The Bellarine as a tourism destination shines through in out chat.By Mark and Bill

June O'Brien has a rich and diverse cultural melting pot ancestry. New Guinean, Danish, Chinese and Melanesian - and a passion for food and wine. June has a story of a journey to create a tourism business with a difference. Giving her clients a memorable experience.By Mark and Bill