Authenticity in business | ELP’s Leadership Camp and Celebration

Late in August, ELP held its annual Leadership Camp and Celebration event in Darwin’s Botanic Gardens. Current and upcoming participants in ELP’s Incubation Program, Mentorship Program, Alumni and Impact North members were invited to join, with the two-day event seeing 13 attendees and 8 businesses in attendance. 

An opportunity for participants to reflect on their business, their time in the Incubation Program and connect with other businesses, every part of the event was designed to be responsive to the participants’ needs from a learning and celebratory event. “Being around like-minded people and hearing their journeys and stories gave me such encouragement,” one participant noted. “Everyone in the room made it feel like a safe space but also made me feel super grounded”.

Marianne White, ELP’s Program Manager, says that while the event was at times referred to as a ‘conference’, with speakers and workshops – it was nothing like what you would expect. “There wasn't an expectation to stand up the front and deliver a presentation; we didn’t want it to feel like a corporate setting,” Marianne says. “It needed to allow people to feel comfortable, not like they had to perform or behave in ways that aren’t natural”, with one participant reflecting “Its really nice to have that local vibe, and with faces from around Darwin. It's nice to not be in a space that feels foreign.”

The workshops were led by guest speakers, Badimaya and Ukrainian woman Bianca Starwiaski and Nyul Nyul man Robert Dann and involved yarning circles, reflections and plenty of butcher’s paper to capture the conversation. Two accomplished business owners, they facilitated conversations through sharing their skills and knowledge learned through their experiences navigating the business world.

Despite the range of industries, regions and different business stages represented in the room, the workshops saw fruitful conversations with participants learning from one another, sharing experiences and guiding each other towards next steps. Workshops focused on several themes that all businesses had in common; 

• Knowing your worth. As one participant noted; “In the early days (of quoting), it was like I was searching for permission, for someone to tell me it was okay”.  Facilitator Bianca stressed the importance of Aboriginal businesses charging the true costs for their products/services, and to  acknowledge the value of their lived experiences and cultural knowledge in the work they do; .“Charging your worth is recognising what you do, what you bring is an amazing knowledge system.”
  
  “The workshop) taught me I’m unique, I’m confident and I’m not shame. I want to be a role model for other Yolngu that we can be different… I want to do it my way”
  – Participant
  

• Reciprocity. Giving back is an inherent part of many First Nations business models, as Rob simply said; “Passing knowledge onto other Indigenous businesses.. (because) history is not my story”. But many face challenges in how to communicate this to their customers. Bianca’s message of “People buy your Why”, encouraged participants to reflect; “I just wanted to support my family, be a mover and shaker for the community, that’s why I’m here. [We want] to be intentional especially with our business messaging…focus on self determination to do things our way”.
   

• Outsourcing and Collaboration. Businesses were encouraged to consider outsourcing work, to tackle the mindset of many business owners that go it alone and feel they must do everything. ELP Director Liandra Gaykamangu encouraged seeking collaboration with other Aboriginal Businesses; “Collaborations, when mutually beneficial, are so powerful and impactful”, with many participants reflecting on where their opportunities lay to support others; “Now I’m thinking about other ideas, pathways and opportunities and employment … getting people that I already know to do a project”. “We want to give community the opportunity to create their own connections”.

To conclude the event, board members, funders, program partners and Impact North members were invited to join participants for a Celebration event, an opportunity to celebrate the strides taken by businesses in the Incubation Program. The event acknowledged the efforts of those present, and the sense of pride and achievement was felt across the room;

“We didn’t know how to engage, tap into information, get in touch with the right organisations. The first business support organisations we were linked with were not suitable for us Yolngu, it was all ‘Balanda-ised’.

ELP let us grow our ideas, validate us, in consulting and involving others who had experience working with Yolngu people. They help teach us our worth and our value, and gave us confidence.

But because we've had this ELP support system to help us to understand, and to navigate new thoughts of decision making.. [it] strengthened us to feel confident with business” – Participant.

Bianca summed up the importance of holding events such as these; “The importance of spaces like this, where we can actually spend time talking and thinking about your business. This is where communities change, in rooms like this. Where people are creating a different future”. Words which will hopefully be carried by participants into their businesses for years to come.