Thats Audacious

The Audacious Agency
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The Audacious Agency shares Audacious, entrepreneurs’ stories of challenge and success. Insight, inspiration and motivation, tips, tools and quick-fire questions packed into 20 minutes to share what it takes to stand out, be seen and noticed.

  1. 19 JAN

    EP 54 | The Fusion of Corporate Acumen and Theatrical Artistry

    Carmen Sederino is the visionary founder behind Illuminated Story, a specialist consultancy that helps founders and global leaders transform high-stakes presentations into unforgettable performances. Carmen’s journey is a unique tapestry woven from two distinct worlds: the disciplined, high-pressure environment of corporate leadership and the expressive, creative realm of the performing arts. Despite being a painfully shy child, Carmen discovered her voice on stage at age five, eventually earning a Bachelor of Performing Arts with Honours. However, rather than immediately pursuing the limelight, she pivoted into the corporate sector. Over an 18-year career, she climbed the ladder to become a National Manager and Brand Manager for a major retailer, managing teams and overseeing international manufacturing partnerships. It was here that she identified a critical gap: intelligent, capable leaders who were terrified of public speaking. Carmen realised that communication is a skill, not a birthright. Seven years ago, she left the safety of her corporate career to launch Illuminated Story. Her goal was to blend her theatrical training with her business expertise to help professionals stop hiding behind lecterns and start making an impact. From Standard Keynote to Keynote Show Through her work with Illuminated Story, Carmen has reshaped how leaders approach the stage. She moves her clients away from the ‘standard’ corporate keynote often characterised by boring slides and low energy, toward what she calls a keynote ‘show’. This approach integrates theatrical elements to create an experience that captivates the audience rather than just informing them. A major outcome of Carmen’s coaching is the dismantling of the ‘fear myth’. She teaches that nerves are not an enemy to be eliminated but a source of energy to be harnessed. She emphasises that being a "performer" doesn't mean being inauthentic; it means adapting your natural behaviour to the size of the room. She uses the analogy of how one behaves in a quiet church versus a rowdy football match: both are authentically you, but the energy and vocal projection differ. By helping clients unlock energy for the stage, she enables them to deliver with the necessary passion and volume to command a room. Key Insights for Aspiring Speakers Carmen shared several actionable insights during the podcast for those looking to elevate their profile and stage presence: The Camera Never Lies: You cannot improve what you cannot see. Carmen insists that speakers film their talks. She advises watching the footage twice: once to "get over your ego" and the discomfort of seeing yourself, and a second time to critically analyse what landed with the audience and what fell flat. Relevance is King: Stories are powerful, but only if they serve the point. Carmen advises against telling a story just for the sake of it; it must bridge the gap between concepts or illustrate a specific lesson. The Myth of "No Stories": Many corporate professionals believe they have no stories to tell because they are data-driven. Carmen argues that everyone has stories - even an engineer rowing a boat can derive lessons on leadership and resilience. It is about mining life experiences for moments that resonate with the human condition. Sensory Storytelling: To truly engage an audience, speakers must use the five senses. Good storytelling puts the audience in the scene, making them feel the experience rather than just passively observing it. Carmen’s philosophy is based on the belief that it is never too late to reinvent yourself or master a new skill. Her advice cuts through the noise of perfectionism and encourages leaders to embrace the learning process. "If you're thinking, 'I don't know if I can do that,' my answer is yes, you absolutely can... instead of thinking 'I can't do that,' think 'I don't know how to do that yet.' This is a skill. It's not something you're born with." "Life doesn't stop at 30. You don't need to have a cut-off to something that's a dream of yours. And sometimes you don't know how your dreams are going to show up. Mine has now manifested into this business where I get to use both the 18 years in corporate... and bring back the performance part of myself." Contact To learn more about how to illuminate your own story or to access Carmen’s masterclasses: Website: www.illuminatedstory.com.au

    23 min

  2. 18/12/2025

    EP 53 | From Survival Mode to Standing Ovations: Nikki Langman’s Unbrickable™ Journey

    Nikki Langman is not your typical leadership expert. Known as the insatiable agitator, she is a speaker, author, and emotional intelligence (EQ) specialist who challenges the status quo by compelling individuals to confront their greatest obstacles. Her journey into this field was deeply personal, born from a 30-year history with addiction and a quest to understand her own behaviours and reactions. In the late 90s, she discovered the emerging science of emotional intelligence and spent the next 25 years researching and teaching it in the corporate world. Despite her success, Nikki initially kept her skills compartmentalised. She was a master practitioner in emotional intelligence and, separately, certified in the Lego Serious Play methodology - a science-backed approach using constructivist play to unlock innovation. It wasn't until a conversation with a speaker bureau leader, who suggested a merge of Nikki's EQ insight and the Lego Play(™) process. This was a moment Nikki describes as a combination of skills, becoming "the jam to my peanut butter," and the merging of these two worlds created the Unbricklable(™) approach.. Nikki has identified a gap in the mental health and well-being space, particularly within universities. Traditional talk therapy often struggles to engage young adults or those dealing with trauma, as they may lack the vocabulary to articulate their pain. Nikki’s goal was to launch Unbreakable(™) as a proprietary framework combining EQ competencies with the metaphorical language of Lego Play (™), to help people build their way out of survival mode and into a life of purpose. However, to penetrate the academic and corporate markets at scale, she needed to establish immediate credibility and prove that her method was far more than playing with children's toys. Nikki’s audacious move to validate her concept began at the highest level: the Yale School of Medicine, the ‘Mecca’ of emotional intelligence. Launching her proof of concept there, she received a standing ovation, confirming that Unbreakable(™) was a viable and necessary tool for modern mental health. To further cement this credibility and scale her business, Nikki strategically entered the Stevie Awards. She viewed this not as an exercise in ego, but as a critical business decision to speak the language that decision-makers understand. The application process itself proved to be an unexpected asset; it forced her to organise her intellectual property, media kit, and business plan into a cohesive narrative, something that had previously been scattered. The results of becoming a multi-award winner have been transformative. Nikki reports that she now walks taller, and the wins have opened doors to new networks, including influential connections made during the awards ceremony in New York. The recognition has provided the leverage needed to approach universities and large organisations with confidence. Currently, she has interest from 87 schools in the United States alone and is moving toward a "train the trainer" model to scale her impact globally. By validating her innovative approach through awards, she has shifted the perception of her work from a novelty to a serious, award-winning mental health intervention. Result Nikki Langman’s innovative work was recognised with prestigious Silver Stevie Awards in the following categories: Maverick of the Year (Silver) – Recognising her ability to turn the status quo on its head. Most Resilient Female Leader (Silver) – Awarded in the category of Advertising, Business Services, Marketing, or PR. Startup of the Year (Silver) – Competing against major global entities like IBM. Message from the Client Nikki’s philosophy leads with action and resilience. She emphasises that waiting for perfection is a trap that holds leaders back. "Stop waiting to feel ready because you never will. Courage is not a feeling. Don't wait for courage before you act. It's built from surviving your own failures." Regarding her unique methodology, she explains how externalising trauma through Lego bricks facilitates healing: "The bricks have the problem. The bricks are concerned about something... when you externalise it, you no longer hold the pain or the shame." Her advice to aspiring award-winners and entrepreneurs is clear: "Just say the thing, take the seat, build the thing anyway... Stop asking for permission from people who have never built anything worth talking about." Contact To learn more about Nikki Langman and the Unbreakable(™) program, or to inquire about her workshops and speaking engagements: Website: https://unbrickable.co/  Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikkilangman1/

    27 min

  3. 10/12/2025

    EP 52 | Transforming Professional Connection Through Authentic Story Sharing

    Nimarta Verma, the founder of Story Sharing, is an exceptional professional known for her unique methodology that helps clients articulate and share authentic stories to build trust and connection. With a background spanning a decade in leadership coaching and extensive experience in brand and marketing for major global brands, Nimarta brings a deep understanding of communication to her work. The Need for Authentic Human Connection Nimarta noticed a critical gap between the corporate focus on "personal brand", which often encourages a polished, impressive, but ultimately inauthentic presentation, and the genuine human need for connection. Her initial business successfully created and articulated stories for major brands, but she realised that this framework didn't translate authentically for individuals. The motivation to pivot and develop her own methodology, 'Story Sharing,' emerged organically after a stranger, inspired by her personal podcast interview, asked for help sharing stories in the same way. The realisation that applying a brand framework to a human story results in a "cringe" and inauthentic experience was the catalyst for change. This need for genuine sharing was amplified by Nimarta's own challenging personal experience. While running her business and raising a young child, she endured a period of profound grief, losing six family members in a short time. Instead of maintaining a façade of success, she chose to share her truth, which, contrary to her fears of losing clients, led to more profound trust and even new business. Nimarta’s clients typically fall into two categories: corporate leaders who need to build trust and connection within their teams and for career progression, and entrepreneurs, particularly women, who know they need to share their story but often believe their lives are too "normal" or "boring" to have any stories worth telling. Her goal is to move them beyond the superficiality of traditional 'storytelling', which often focuses on sounding impressive or a 'happily ever after' narrative, to 'story sharing,' which views story as a service, a mirror for others to relate to, and a genuine contribution. Nimarta’s work addresses the growing paradox of today's digital world: the saturation of AI-generated content is leading people to crave and seek out authentic, human connection, making authentic storytelling the "new coding". Validation and Amplified Impact The decision to enter the Stevie Awards was a major personal and professional breakthrough for Nimarta. She experienced the common internal struggle, questioning her worth and the validity of her recently pivoted business. Overcoming this "impostor syndrome" was the first victory, forcing her to stand by her own advice to her clients and demonstrate the courage of sharing her story. Winning the awards was a significant validation that her work is needed in the world. It also helped to silence discouragement from people who believed it would take a very, very long time to establish her new methodology. The wins affirmed that her idea, though recently birthed, had merit and was significant in its own right. Attending the Stevie Awards ceremony in New York, described as the "Oscars of the business award," provided a powerful experience, connecting her with magnificent people and remarkable international women. Winning alongside major international brands like TripAdvisor and IBM in her category cemented her confidence and provided tangible evidence that her business had a global impact. Professionally, the win reinforced her absolute alignment with her purpose, a sense of conviction she had never felt before in her career. For clients, applying her StorySharing framework has led to dramatic increases in engagement, with one client doubling their best-ever impressions on a LinkedIn post. The engagement goes beyond mere numbers; comments show deep resonance, connection, and a feeling among readers that they are not going through this alone. Result: Stevie Awards For Women In Business 2025 Mentor or Coach of the Year – Business - BRONZE Female Thought Leader of The Year - Business Services - BRONZE Lessons in Courage and Intuition "I think a lot of people talk about authenticity. First of all, we've got to acknowledge that the way we've been taught to tell stories doesn't lend itself for that authenticity when it comes to our story." "The breakthrough comes before that. The breakthrough is like me lying in bed at 2am thinking, 'Can I submit this award? Should I? Can I?' And everything in me going, 'No, who are you to be doing this?'" "It pushed me to go, yep, I'm doing it. And then the courage it takes to message 30 past clients... and trusting that they're not going to come back and say, no, you were pretty horrible. Which didn't happen BTW." "I have never felt more aligned with who I am and what I'm doing, and I would tell my old self, younger self to trust her intuition because that's what led me here." More Info To find out more about Nimarta Verma and the Story Sharing methodology, please visit: https://nimartaverma.com.au/storysharing-workshop/ https://disruptor-brand.kit.com/leadwithtrust

    20 min

  4. 08/12/2025

    EP 51 | Empowering Leaders to Build High-Performing Teams

    Angie Dunn, the driving force behind Agile Performance, is a seasoned sales leader with two decades of experience in corporate and start-up environments. After a distinguished career spent building substantial sales revenue for other businesses, Angie made a pivotal decision to focus on her own entrepreneurial dreams. Her initial business venture centred on management and sales training, a natural fit given her background. However, over four years, Angie observed that her most significant and consistent impact was not on the business structure itself, but on the performance mindset of the individuals she coached - be they salespeople, business owners, or managers. She recognised that regardless of how talented a team was, a business would always hit a ceiling if the leader lacked the ability to build and sustain a high-performance culture and engage their people. This insight led to the evolution of her company from Agile Sales and Management to the newly focused Agile Performance. Angie's focus is specifically on developing high-performing female emerging leaders, driven by the belief that there are not enough of them and that high-achieving women are pretty hard on themselves. Her overarching goal is to equip these leaders with the essential skills to manage themselves and their teams, creating highly engaged, high-performing environments. Seeking external recognition to validate the vital work she was doing, Angie made the bold decision to enter the Stevie Awards. While the decision initially brought a mix of self-doubt and fear - a mental experience she notes is common when stepping into a new stage of a personal journey - the outcome was profoundly validating. Winning a Stevie Award created a crucial proof point that the work Agile Performance is doing to support female leaders is both recognised and important. This external validation helped to quiet the imposter syndrome that even high-level executives experience, a phenomenon she addresses within her program. The judges' comments were also invaluable, highlighting the importance placed on women helping women grow. This feedback affirmed that her focus aligns with globally recognised values in leadership development. The experience of applying for the award and the subsequent win reinforced one of her key business philosophies: "You can't sell a secret". After attending a leveraging workshop held by The Audacious Agency, Angie realised she needed to share her achievement more broadly, understanding that she must be her own best supporter to grow her profile. The award win became a powerful tool to amplify her voice, build credibility, and inspire action in others, aligning perfectly with her mission to empower leaders. Result Bronze 2025 Stevie Award For Women In Business - Achievement in Developing and Promoting Women - Advertising, Business Services, Marketing & PR - for the Agile Performance Leadership Blueprint Program. Message from the Client Angie's insights, honed by years in high-stakes roles and now applied to coaching, offer powerful lessons for leaders: "If you engage a great team, you keep them engaged. You'll tap into that top piece of high performance." "Help them doesn't mean do it for them. Help them means show them and then create the space for them to." "The act of applying for the award was something I had to push myself to do. And the validation of it coming back has... it has it's silenced them now." "Continue believing that anything is possible and really let go of the limiting beliefs of what success has to look like... I actually haven't had to sacrifice anything to be successful. It's 100% possible, which is very, very liberating." Angie encourages leaders to get crystal clear on what success looks like for their team, writing it down for both themselves and their people, as a lack of clarity is one of the most common problems in business. She also advises that aiming for "80% as well as you would do is actually enough" to maintain momentum, provided there is a constant feedback loop. Contact To find out more about Angie Dunn and Agile Performance: Website: https://agileperformance.ltd/ Program: https://join.agileperformance.au/

    16 min

  5. 03/12/2025

    EP 50 | From Broker to Brand: Tammie Rimon’s Audacious Approach to Financial Clarity and Profile Building.

    Tammie Rimon is the founder and principal broker of 2020 Finance Brokers and an expert in property and finance, with nearly two decades of experience helping Australians build lasting wealth. She co-founded the business with her husband in 2015, bringing a passion for supporting clients to achieve their financial goals through smart lending structures and strategic property investment. The business name, 2020 Finance, reflects their commitment to providing clients with transparency and clarity, or 2020 vision, regarding their financial goals.   Tammie's expertise is crucial because many clients often overlook the complexities of finance, sometimes going directly to their bank only to be rejected due to strict policy, missing out on opportunities. She and her team take a holistic approach, looking beyond just the lowest rate to ensure the client's structure and product align with their short, medium, and long-term objectives. The wrong structure can significantly hinder a client’s ability to move forward with future projects, like retiring or buying another investment property.   Tammie’s initial situation revealed a passion to bridge the financial literacy gap, especially for two key demographics: the younger generation and women who find themselves on their own. She recognised that many individuals, particularly women facing separation or retirement without equal financial resources, feel disheartened and believe they may never enter the market. Her desire was to educate and empower these groups to start planning earlier, understand how to position themselves financially, and realise that property ownership remains achievable, even if it is an investment property rather than a primary residence.   Leveraging Awards to Build Profile and Impact   The journey of building a profile through awards has been a significant positive for Tammie Rimon and 2020 Finance. The process provided much-needed acknowledgement for the team's efforts. Crucially, preparing the award submissions forced Tammie to dig deep into tracking both leading and lagging indicators, providing real data on the business's activities and revealing a weakness she didn't automatically track.   The accolades and industry recognition have had a really positive impact on the business and Tammie personally. The wins have generated positive attention, with clients and contacts in her LinkedIn network commenting and even leading to networking opportunities with other winners. The awards are now aiding the business's scaling and expansion, including a move into new commercial premises. Tammie also believes the recognition will help attract a higher calibre of team members, as her last new hire had heard about the business and its accolades came up in her research.   In addition to the awards, Tammie has addressed the financial literacy gap by founding the 2020 Wealth Club. She started this as a passion project because she realised not everyone shares her natural interest in property ownership, and many don't know where to start. The club is a free initiative where experts share easy-to-understand information to help people become first-time investors, first-time buyers, or upgraders, focusing on things like avoiding common pitfalls.   Through her business growth, Tammie is also driven to bring more women into the finance industry, specifically into broker or broker support roles, as it is a field that supports a positive work-life balance with massive flexibility.   List of Achievements   2025 Asia Pacific Stevie Awards: Most Innovative Finance Executive of the Year - SILVER 2025 ROAR Awards: Silver Hustle & Heart 2025 Inside Small Business Top 50 listing 2025 International Stevie Awards: Company of The Year - Financial Services - BRONZE 2025 BX Awards Finance - Coaching finalist 2025 BIA (Broker Innovation Awards) Investor lending strategist finalist 2025 Australian Women's Small Business Champion: Financial Services finalist   Featured contributor to Dynamic Business, Money & Finance, Authority Magazine and Learn Magazine. Message from the Client Tammie's advice, gained through experience, is a key lesson on building a successful team: "I have been most successful when I have recruited someone who's new to the industry but has got the right personality fit, the right culture fit, right attitude, work ethic, and we've taught them the industry... I just have really found that's going to be the only way I recruit moving forward, is going to be new to the industry, but with the right attitude and personality fit."   On profile building, Tammie suggests that "The accolades and the recognition from the industry and your peers and the acknowledgement for the efforts that you know you’ve been making can really have a really positive impact on your business and for you as a business leader or owner. Awards also help attract A-grade-quality team members."   To find out more, follow the links below. 2020 Finance Brokers: https://www.2020finance.com.au/ 2020 Wealth Club: https://2020wealth.club/ Tammie Rimon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mortgagebrokerbrisbane/

    18 min

  6. 26/11/2025

    EP 49 | Bridging the Knowledge Gap in Family Law

    Laura Furiosi’s journey to becoming a prominent advocate for individuals navigating divorce began with a struggle through her own divorce. When she faced separation, she was met with overwhelming confusion and a significant lack of clarity regarding the legal process, despite being a successful professional. Laura was fortunate to have a significant resource: her mother, a seasoned family lawyer. However, even with direct legal guidance, she identified a gaping gap in knowledge between the client and their lawyer, and within the family court system itself. The prevailing assumption was that clients knew the process, leading to confusion, unnecessary legal fees, and emotional turmoil. Laura’s deficiency was not a lack of intelligence, but a lack of accessible, plain-English guidance on navigating the complex system. This personal challenge sparked an audacious vision: to create a better way for people going through divorce. Her solution was to build a profile and platform that could deliver practical, emotional, and legal guidance, ultimately helping people through one of life's most challenging experiences. Her ultimate aspiration was to help more people by expanding awareness of her resources globally. From Personal Experience to Global Authority From this need, Laura and her mother organically grew their solution. They first created The Divorce Course podcast, which now boasts over a million downloads. This led to the development of the Divorce Course blueprint and the upcoming Court Companion Course, addressing the need for step-by-step videos and explanatory content to fill the knowledge gaps clients commonly face. The approach taken by The Divorce Course is unique, combining the legal expertise of a lawyer with the real-life perspective of a client. Laura focused on two strategic areas to build profile and reach: Cost-Effective Legal Navigation: A key insight was educating people on the three ways to use a lawyer and identifying tasks they could handle themselves, preventing them from burning cash on early-stage, non-legal tasks like disclosure and mediation. Laura noted that many people run out of money before they reach the pointy end where legal expertise is truly critical. Addressing Emotional and Personality Factors: The platform delves into the emotional turmoil and how it affects decision-making, even identifying four distinct divorce personalities (manipulative controlling, avoidant, high conflict, and amicable) to help people approach their situation strategically and reduce emotional draining. Strategic Use of Digital Channels: The podcast's growth was significantly amplified by an organic digital strategy. Laura realised that people wouldn't search for complex terms like property settlement disclosure documents. Instead, they used TikTok and Instagram - the top level of the funnel - to deliver short, relatable videos and snippets that captured attention and directed them to the more detailed podcast. This was a crucial method for reaching people who "didn’t even know what they didn’t know" and for providing help quietly, particularly to women in coercive control who may be unable to leave the house to see a lawyer. The decision to enter the Stevie Awards for Women in Business was a direct action to level up brand awareness and increase their international profile, particularly after realising their content was being consumed globally. The results of this audacious step were immediate and far-reaching. Results Double Gold Stevie Award Winner at the international Stevie Awards for Women in Business. Most Innovative Business Podcast by or for Women Most Innovative TikTok Channel by or for Women The impact of the Gold Stevie Awards was immediately noticeable: Laura was named one of the Top 60 Influencers in Brisbane by The Courier-Mail. Her mother received a formal acknowledgement from the Dean of Law at QUT University. The awards cemented their credibility, allowing them to reach more people who are stuck in coercive control relationships and empowering individuals globally, even where the law is different. A positive outcome of the work is the shift in perspective from the legal community. Initially, some lawyers hated the service, but now, many legal professionals and services refer their clients to the podcast to bridge the knowledge gap. The podcast has become a respected, one-stop shop for divorce-related information. Message from the Client Laura’s story is a compelling call to action for anyone with a valuable idea to help others, regardless of opposition. Her key takeaways highlight the power of conviction and resilience: “The more people who know about it, the more help there will be in the world.” “Once you understand why something is happening, it makes it less scary. It makes you able to deal with it better.” “Our family motto when we were younger and through our whole life is if you're skating on thin ice, you might as well tap dance.” “Don't listen to the people telling you not to do it. Listen to the people who would be begging for you to do it.” Laura’s willingness to ignore the naysayers, especially those in the legal industry who initially opposed her work, proved to be an audacious and successful strategy that has since been validated by multiple awards and the gratitude of a global audience. Contact Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6nkZUryzIeOI229h3wwvl1 Website: https://www.thedivorcecourse.com.au/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thedivorcecoursepodcast

    19 min

  7. 24/11/2025

    EP 48 | From Salon Owner to Global Entrepreneur

    Nicole Lamers, an award-winning Australian entrepreneur and educator, dedicated 22 years to the hairdressing industry, including 15 as a salon owner. Driven by a deep passion for well-being and sustainability, she worked hard to implement conscious choices within her salon. Despite her efforts, Nicole was shocked to discover that many products, even luxury and seemingly natural ranges, contained harsh chemicals that contradicted her values. She realised that the industry needed genuinely clean and safe hair care options. This realisation lit a fire in her to protect herself, her loved ones, and her clients, leading her to believe there was a solution she could create herself. The desire to offer a superior, clean, and safe alternative spurred Nicole to spend a couple of years on research and development, collaborating with local chemists and manufacturers. Her goal was to create something Australian-made, sustainable, and luxurious. The brand, AER Wellness Co., was born not just as a business, but as an extension of Nicole's core values, filling a gap she had identified for safe, clean products for professional hairdressers and the general public. As the company grew, Nicole sought to elevate her personal profile and the brand's credibility beyond local and industry recognition. She needed to validate her efforts on a bigger stage to support her dream of becoming a business educator, specifically supporting women in business, and expanding AER Wellness Co. globally. Global Recognition and Increased Self-Belief Nicole's journey into the world of international awards proved to be a pivotal and successful move. Having previously entered skills-based and business awards within the hairdressing industry, she decided to “give it a go” with global recognition programs. The most significant achievement was winning the Bronze Stevie Award for Best Female Entrepreneur in Australia, Asia, and New Zealand at the Stevie Awards for Women in Business. This win provided immense validation, especially considering she was a solo female business owner from Perth competing against large, established corporations like Microsoft and IBM. Key outcomes achieved through this recognition include: Validation and Confidence: The award served as tangible evidence that her work was excellent, significantly boosting her confidence and resilience for future projects. It helped her silence self-doubt and affirmed that her message and expertise are valid. Community and Support: Attending the awards ceremony in New York allowed Nicole to connect with a community of Australian women entrepreneurs. This network of like-minded individuals provided invaluable support and connection, helping to combat the loneliness often experienced by solo business owners. Brand Amplification: The award provided a platform to promote AER Wellness Co. and Nicole's profile as an educator. A highlight was seeing her brand featured on a billboard in Times Square, a "pinch me moment" that cemented the success of her passion project. Strategic Growth: The international recognition supports her next steps: moving further into business education to support women entrepreneurs and expanding AER Wellness Co. globally, starting with distribution to the US. Result Bronze Stevie Award for Best Female Entrepreneur in Australia, Asia, and New Zealand. Nicole crafted her own entry and submission and attended the Stevie Awards in NYC on the Audacious Agency Tour in 2025. Message from the Client Nicole’s story is a testament to trusting one's instincts and the power of taking a chance. "I remember thinking we would never ingest these ingredients so why are we putting them on our body which is like the most absorbent organ we have". "It wasn't born just as a brand, it was an extension of my values". "I just feel very very grateful to have even experienced going to New York and going to the Stevie Awards and being surrounded by amazing other women in business was a real pinch me moment". "It is that conversation you have with yourself... I guess the award gives you more confidence. It gives you a little bit more resilience to go into the next project". "What I what I'm saying and what I'm sharing is actually valid and I know I've got evidence and I've got backing". "I would definitely tell my younger self to trust my intuition. I've always led with my gut and when I question that is when it doesn't feel right. So I guess trusting in myself, backing myself... If it feels uncomfortable, that's generally where you get the most growth. So I always sort of say, you know, there's no comfort in growth". Contact To learn more about Nicole Lamers and AER Wellness Co., please visit the links below: Website: https://AER Wellness.co/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-lamers-9100a716a/

    16 min

  8. 21/11/2025

    EP 47 | The Marketing Factory: Turning Unsexy Strategy into Global Gold

    Marissa Candy, the dynamic force behind The Marketing Factory, has dedicated over 20 years to the media and marketing industry, navigating its complexities and helping businesses thrive. The Marketing Factory specialises in providing key insights and strategies to drive growth and sustainability in the face of constantly evolving customer needs and an overwhelming economy. They are particularly adept at handling franchise marketing with multiple location outlets. Marissa's journey began with a curious start at Stockland Shopping Centres, where she initially didn't even know what marketing was. Under the mentorship of incredible women, she quickly embraced the field, pursuing formal education in the late 90s and 2000s, before the digital revolution. This traditional grounding gave her a deep understanding of foundational marketing principles, which she feels is often lost in today's digital-first, low-barrier-to-entry environment. The core issue The Marketing Factory aims to solve is a lack of strategic clarity. In the modern business world, it's too easy for businesses, particularly small ones, to create marketing content without first asking: "Why am I doing it? Who is it for? And what outcome do we actually want from this?". Many business owners don't fully understand marketing, often assigning marketing roles to undertrained staff, such as a graphic designer, just because they are good at social media, which results in efforts not being attached to a strategic outcome. Marissa and her team at The Marketing Factory address this by deliberately focusing on the unsexy side of marketing: strategy, and by looking at a business holistically. They assess every element, from signage and sales team operations to the front-of-house experience, knowing that every part impacts the marketing result. Marissa's goal and aspiration is to elevate the standard of marketing knowledge and awareness. She is passionate about helping people and finding solutions to problems at the core of marketing. Her forthcoming initiative, the Rebel Marketing Club, launching in 2026, is a testament to this, aiming to provide low-cost, high-value monthly lessons and Q&A sessions to uplift the entire industry.

    26 min
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About

The Audacious Agency shares Audacious, entrepreneurs’ stories of challenge and success. Insight, inspiration and motivation, tips, tools and quick-fire questions packed into 20 minutes to share what it takes to stand out, be seen and noticed.

Information

  • Creator
    The Audacious Agency
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    54
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2021 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Thats Audacious