Great Idea

Melissa Yeomans

Recovery and Reflection

It has now been a week since the 2016 Sydney Sailboat Expo wrapped up. I almost don’t know what to write, there is so much to say.

Firstly to my friends and DeckHardware Ambassadors – I am so proud of you as Ambassadors and so grateful to call you friends. You helped me get through the weekend with your support and willingness to do whatever was needed. Ensuring I ate and drank water especially on Saturday when we were stretched for volunteers. The Sydney Sailboat Expo would not have existed if it weren’t for you being our volunteers. To deliver such an event with just a small team shows the effort you all put in.

Thank you to Jordan Spencer who the week of the Expo stepped in to be the voice of the Expo doing Videos, announcements and more. Thank you to Melissa Williams-Brown Photography for the amazing photos you have taken so we can remember what can be done.

I saw online a number of posts where people asked why this didn’t happen in other states.  I guess the reason is my family decided it was needed after discussing it with a number of people in the sport and industry. We dedicated I would hate to think how many hours to ensuring it happened. Sydney as a location gives us access to so much of the Sailing Industry. We are just a family who love the sport of sailing and work in the Industry. All the posters you saw at clubs leading up to the event and the signs around the expo for instance, were all laminated by my Dad (Phil). We dedicated our time and money to the promotion of our sport and would like to thank in particular our DeckHardware competitors who supported what we were doing.

A huge thank you also to the high profile sailors who came to the Expo or shared that the Expo was on despite being overseas competing. Special thanks to Liesl Tesch and Tom Burton who took hours out of their weekend to come to the Sydney Sailboat Expo and were more than happy to talk to everyone.

The last week for us has been about unpacking, sorting out the DeckHardware Warehouse and getting back to normal work. I’ve looked back and wondered how we achieved it and wonder where we found the time and energy to do what needed doing. I am the first to admit the Sydney Sailboat Expo could be so much more than what it has been the first two years. Having said that I am proud of the fact that we have been able to bring so much of the industry together to work together in promoting and supporting sailing. The range of Associations this year was truly something I was excited and proud of.

As I recover I will do some thinking about where we go now. The effort involved was massive for this year and doing it within our little office whilst still running DeckHardware is difficult I will not lie.  I am exhausted but at the same time can see what the Sydney Sailboat Expo could be if we could continue to grow and for the entire community to get behind it. I look to the shows overseas and I have to admit I would love to achieve so much more.

To those who thanked me for the hours my Mum (Robyn) and I put in, Thank you. I was honestly shocked to receive the thank you gifts from a couple of the exhibitors. I received some wonderful messages of what some of our visitors experienced at the Expo, thank you. Hearing that we were mentioned on two commercial radio stations honestly was fantastic. An Expo about sailing got mentioned! Who would have thought sailing would be on the radio let alone this.

In a few weeks once I have given it some thought I will have a meeting with a few of the exhibitors to discuss what happens now.  The Sydney Sailboat Expo, all it was a few years ago was a dream concept of showcasing sailing after the success we had in London. To show that we are an accessible sport for everyone! I have dedicated so much of my time and energy to this project and still believe it could be so much more. To do it again in 2017 is a big ask of not only myself and my family but my amazing volunteers. So for now, I will rest, reflect and get back to work.

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Melissa Yeomans

Keep on learning

For something different I have had a bit on recently. With the juggling act I have been doing I wanted to increase my knowledge to be able to do it better and more efficiently! In the past few weeks I have attended a 2 day Umpire Seminar, Website and Marketing workshop, Child Safe Seminar, plus the usual work and conference calls that go on.

Big thanks to the Warringah Chamber of Commerce who put together some great training sessions.   Being part of the Chamber has certainly been worthwhile especially when it comes to growing knowledge for small businesses. It sometimes isn’t easy to find the money or funds to further your education so their support is very worthwhile!

It is great to stretch the mind and learn new things. The Child Safe Seminar was something I wanted to do with everything going on at the moment in my life.  It certainly was an eye opener and we are lucky to have a government department taking such great care to do these seminars.  It was emotionally draining as you can imagine but I am glad I have now done it.  If you are in a position that is responsible for the care of children I highly recommend taking the time to do this.

Yesterday after the Child Safe Seminar I had a meeting in the city for the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation’s Australian Committee.  I decided after the slightly emotional morning that a ferry into the city would be the best option to destress and relax a little. How lucky are we in Sydney to have that option! Even though it was raining and South Head was barely visible as we came out of Manly it put me at ease. Being on the water does that.

Winter is certainly now here so this weekend I am going to try to relax and catch up on some cleaning and sorting myself out with work.  As next weekend I will be heading to QLD for the Australian School Teams Racing Championships followed by Queensland Youth Week! Time to get a bit more organised so I can keep up with everything going on. Lots of opportunities that have been amazing have crossed my path this past year and despite getting busier I just could not say no to such moments.


  

Melissa Yeomans

The Sydney Sailboat Expo

I did it!  I have started up my own company all about the promotion of sailing.  The new company is called Animus Productions Pty Ltd which is named after my Adams 10m “Animus”.   I have been asked often about the meaning to me behind the name Animus.  My grandfather was an amazing person living a simply HUGE life both at work and at play.  Those who knew him will laugh when I mention the at play because boy did he!  He was The Big Boss at Tip Top Australia when I was growing up and I spend a great deal of time running around his office, the board room and the factory.   He had the best work ethic I have seen and it is clearly something members of my family have inherited including my Mum and I.  He also played hard and when I was born owned a fantastic Ocean Racer called Defiance.  Defiance was the Original S&S 30, yes THE Original.  With a blue hull and fantastic looking spinnaker design she was a, hmmm well many in the family had different names for her hahaha.  Many of you may remember in the 80’s the Tip Top Australia Ads featuring Sailing the sport he loved.  Like my family now he did what he could to promote and support the sport of sailing, even having a secret bread made for those doing the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race made for the offshore conditions.

When the opportunity came for me to purchase a yacht at the age of 22 my grandfather gave me his full support and in return I decided to name my new boat as a reflection of this.  Animus was born after a lengthy search in thesaurus’ to find another word for Defiance.  In fact the meaning we found was Strength, Will and Defiance which we figured was a great fit being such a young female skipper in a class like the Adams 10m.  Now many years later I find myself once again stepping out of my comfort zone and doing what I believe in.  Promoting the sport of Sailing that I love.  The love I inherited from my family, I was lucky to be born into Sailing.

After well over a year of discussions with those who dropped by the DeckHardware warehouse it was decided to hold a meeting about putting together something like the RYA Dinghy Show.  A couple of meetings later and some lengthy research and discussions have taken place that have led me here.  Along with my Mum and good friend Locky Pryor we have launched the Sydney Sailboat Expo.

The Sydney Sailboat Expo will be held for the first time in 2015. Venue and Dates (2-3 May 2015) to be confirmed in the near future.

The Sydney Sailboat Expo is a meeting place for Sailors, those interested in becoming Sailors and the Sailing Trade Industry catch up with each other and learn more about the sport of sailing.

To be held over a weekend in 2015 showcasing the very best in Sailing. With the Latest Products for sailors on show, a wide range of classes on display and workshops on topics such as Splicing, Boat Maintenance, Sailing Fitness and more.

What an exciting time as well as being busy the next few months will be!

 

Thanks to the Tip Top Facebook Page for this great shot! We have this on the wall at home and it is a great reminder of what I believe in.
Melissa Yeomans

Never stop learning

Just this morning I attended another seminar which is what has reminded me of everything I want to do. I am lucky enough that I live and work within Warringah Council who have a great Chamber of Commerce setup. It was surprising though I must admit that I was only one of 12 people in the room? A big thanks to Warringah Chamber of Commerce and Industry for putting together some great events for small businesses.

Those who work in Small Businesses will understand this one. The more you do and the more you learn the more there is to learn. DeckHardware is just a small family business and I like to try to keep up on the latest Technology, Laws, Marketing ideas, Products etc as much as possible. It seems though that my list of what I would like to do and learn just keeps getting longer rather than shorter! I see this all as self – growth though which is always good. There is still all the work that needs to be done on a daily basis and all this just adds to the work I do at home after hours and on weekends. After all the real work of running a business and earning enough to keep going has to come first.

The life of those in a small business is an interesting one. The long hours can be tough sometimes and in particular the lack of holidays. Over the past two weekends we have had public holidays in Australia which meant I got to work at home rather than at the warehouse. Which was great as I could focus for a few hours at a time.

It is a well-publicised fact that business owners struggle with a work life balance and I will admit that I do. I am lucky to have a handful of friends who have stood by me and supported me since we bought the business. Over the past few months I have been back working a little more rather than getting out on the water but that was in part due to a fractured foot. It is now healing fairly well and only getting a little stiff and sore when I do too much too soon. So over winter I have decided to focus more on getting my health back on track which will take away some time from volunteering on the water unfortunately. I hope though that I am then able to get out sailing this coming summer to work on that balance just a little bit better. Now that I have been officially diagnosed as Hyper Mobile it is getting a little easier to manage which is great.

Now don’t get me wrong I love my business and I love the research that I do for it I just love it. I just wish I could find the time or money to spend on some of the things I would love to do for DeckHardware as well as have a life. In the meantime I will continue to work on it and watch the business as it changes and grows. I am sure many of the things I would love to do will happen in time! So many dreams for our small family business and I am lucky to have so much support. Even as I type this I am watching our Facebook likes grow closer and closer to 1500 people. That I am extremely proud of!

Melissa Yeomans

Manly Relay for Life

I had an amazing time with some pretty special people over the weekend at Manly Relay for Life. Helping out with the Nix & Johnny Show! You are all amazing people for being there and Nix you were awesome! To think you both pulled off an almost 19hr show was amazing.

To have high profile politicians telling you that you should make it commercially was amazing. I can’t wait to get on air with you and Nic Douglass! Georgia Llewellyn did an awesome job on air when we talked about our new Sailing Chix with Nix show too! Definitely one of our junior Sailing Chix. So proud to be a part of it all.

Check out the photos on the Nix & Johnny Page! Nix and Johnny Show

The target of $175000 was reached with money still coming in to the Manly Relay for life page.

Melissa Yeomans

Marketing that catches the eye!

The Bus StopSitting in the passenger seat of a car it is easy to sometimes drift off and watch the world go by.  Today as we stopped at the set of lights I was caught by surprise as I looked at the top of the bus stop!

I could not believe my eyes!  What a fantastic marketing idea!  Talk about grabbing all my attention.   Well done NT and Virgin Australia.  At first you notice the billboards then you realise that the seat looks like rocks!  What an effort you have gone to.

As some one who is always trying to think up things for my business I am loving this idea.   The bus stop certainly made me smile, stop and talk about it and even take a photo.  Nicely done!