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Women in business

Women in Business is a NSW Government and TAFE NSW initiative that offers a fully subsidised* online program for women who are looking to establish a micro business, a small business, or who are already operating a business.

You'll hear from some of Australia’s leading female entrepreneurs sharing their own business experiences, while also accessing information about upcoming events and services available to assist in setting up and growing your business.

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* Eligibility criteria apply.

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Benefits of the Women in Business program

The flexible design of the Women in Business program means that you can choose exactly what you want to learn.

24/7 online access

The Women in Business program is conveniently offered online through TAFE Digital, and includes online topics you can mix and match to build a program that is completely personalised to your specific needs. New topics that cover the latest trends in Australian business are regularly being added.

Hear from Australia’s leading female entrepreneurs

We’ve interviewed some of Australia’s leading female entrepreneurs, so you can learn from their experiences to help make your business a success. Janine Allis, Taryn Williams, Tory Archbold and many others will share their knowledge and personal experiences.

Share your new skills

Display your achievements with TAFE NSW digital badges. You’ll earn a digital badge upon completion of each online topic, and you can add these to your LinkedIn profile to promote your new skills.

Attend local events

Women in Business provides you with access to small business events happening all over NSW. You will be able to find events in your local area and register your attendance.

Access resources and services for all stages of business

As a NSW Government initiative, Women in Business connects you with the many resources and services available to small business owners. These include:

  • Business Concierge - a free and dedicated service offered through Service NSW to help you open your business.
  • Business Connect - a dedicated and personalised NSW Government program that provides trusted advice to help you start or grow your small business.
  • The Aboriginal Business Advisory Initiative (ABAI) provides local and culturally appropriate business advisory services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people considering starting up their own business or who currently own a business.
  • Women NSW – promotes and recognises the contribution of women across NSW to industry through initiatives including the NSW Women's Strategy.

Women in Business eligibility

To be eligible to register in the Women in Business program, you must:

  • Be aged 18 years or over 
  • Identify as female
  • Be establishing or own a business
    • with a valid ABN;
    • registered or trading in NSW;
    • with 0-199 employees
  • Living or working in NSW
  • Be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident, humanitarian visa holder or New Zealand Citizen

REGISTER NOW

Women in business - Professional interior designer

Skills covered in Women in Business

Build a program that completely suits your needs, by simply selecting from the topics on offer.

Our training topics cover everything from setting up your home office, to creating a business plan, keeping your business cyber-safe, and leveraging social media.

Explore the pros and cons of starting a business as a franchisee.
Access information about the registrations, licences or permits you may need to have in place in order to ensure your business meets its regulatory obligations.
Understand the importance of correctly setting up an office or workspace, as well as WHS obligations to staff, ergonomic factors, emergency planning, and workspace alternatives.
Gain the knowledge and resources to successfully set up a business in Australia, including insights into business structures, registering a business name, and reporting obligations.
Learn about cyber threats and considerations to protect your business and customer data from loss or unauthorised access.
Discover the realistic viability of your business idea or your current business direction.
Determine the value of creating a business plan; a template that can help others understand the value of your business, and assist you with securing finance or investments.
Access resources from government agencies and departments that may help you to recover and rebuild your small business in a post-COVID world.
Meet businesswomen who have set up successful businesses in regional and rural NSW.
Learn about the different types of trade marks, why it is important to consider trade marking when starting a business and how to create a trade markable brand.
Learn how to ensure you have the right number of people with the right skills in the right jobs at the right price and at the right time for your business.
Learn how to effectively recruit, select and induct new workers into your team.
Learn how to successfully take your projects from idea to execution, identifying how to effectively prioritise and resource a project, and developing a flexible, realistic, and achievable plan to deliver your project.
Discover your business loan options, know when you may be eligible for a business loan, and how to apply for a business loan.
Explore how to develop your emotional intelligence to improve your business interactions and relationships.
Learn about the interpersonal and communication skills necessary to be an effective negotiator.
Learn where to go to find a support network of like-minded female entrepreneurs and business mentors.
Explore conflict resolution, build strategies to resolve conflict and discover how resolving conflict can repair relationships.
Information to help you recognise the value of diversity, the benefits it can bring to your business and how you can encourage diversity through inclusiveness.
Learn how to analyse the characteristics of your written communications, as well as how to plan them accordingly, to create more compelling online content.
Discover the principles, practices, and framework to help you build and implement your customer survey strategy; and how you can use surveys to keep your finger on the pulse of your customers' experiences.
Discover the essentials to podcasting including how to start your own podcast, the equipement needed and tips from industry experts.
Discover why email etiquette is important and what you can do to write efficient emails that are clear and professional.
Learn about your tax obligations as a small business owner in Australia, including your tax obligations when paying staff, preparing quarterly Business Activity Statements (BAS), declaring income and claiming tax-deductible expenses.
Find out how to access NSW Government support services, grants and funding information for women in business.
Learn about the business accounting software options available in Australia that can help you streamline your business processes.
Gain a thorough understanding of what cash flow is, and develop strategies to ensure your business has it.
Discover how to make the End of Financial Year (EOFY) as stress free as possible with proven tips and a checklist. Reconciling your business’s financial position can lead to positive changes for future planning and growth strategies.
Understand the use of various social media tools and how social media can help you to grow your business.
Learn how to build an inexpensive business website and set up your business for e-commerce.
Look at effective ways to create a marketing plan, as well as the essential information it needs to contain.
Learn how to write engaging content for your business website, emails, customer communications and marketing materials.
Learn the fundamentals of taking photos to promote your products or services online.
Learn about the concept of market research and how you can use it to help improve and grow your business.
Uncover the secrets behind the Instagram algorithm and reveal strategies that you can use straight away to help your page content be seen by more customers, more often.
Uncover the secrets behind the Facebook algorithm and reveal strategies that you can use straight away to help your page content be seen by more customers, more often.
Explore the concept of building a quality, professional presence to increase your reputation and enhance career success.
Explore strategies to increase your brand credibility though mainstream media and grow your business.
Discover how to create a well-rounded digital marketing strategy to set your business up for success in 2022.
Be guided through the key stages of engaging influencers for marketing, from how to put a strategy together, to key things to consider at each stage of the process and best practice to follow.
Set your business up for success and learn how to develop a digital marketing strategy. Discover the proven tactics to boost your business online using free channels.
Explore strategies to maintain the passion required to steer your business to succeed in the face of challenges and setbacks.
Discover what a healthy and effective work-life balance looks like, and create strategies to achieve it.
Understand how having a good mentor can help you navigate the challenges of running your small business.
Gain an understanding of how developing personal, business and cultural resilience can help you cope better with stress, keep positive and bounce back to a position of strength.
Explore time management strategies to meet objectives, reduce stress and achieve business outcomes in a timely manner.

Women in Business will give you the opportunity to learn from the experiences of some of Australia’s leading entrepreneurs.

They will share stories of their own business wins and challenges, helping you make your business venture a success – whether you’re managing cash flow, launching a start-up, or even growing your customer base using the latest in digital and social marketing.

Janine Allis

Founder of Boost Juice and Retail Zoo, Janine has successfully turned her business idea into reality. With sales of over 2 billion dollars globally, there are now over 500 Boost Juice bars across 13 countries.

Taryn Williams

As Founder and CEO of The Right Fit and Wink Models, Taryn is one of Australia’s most prolific tech startup and media industry entrepreneurs.

Ashley Kim

Ashley made the career switch from the banking industry to business owner and CEO of Matrix, a multi-million dollar tuition business.

Jane Cay

Jane Cay is the founder of Birdsnest, an online fashion retailer. After completing a commerce degree in Sydney, Jane joined the team at IBM and had her sights set on a life in the big smoke. However, when she married a farmer, and moved back to Cooma, NSW her career took a different direction.

Sahera Sumar

As Founder and Director of Arete: Full Potential, Sahera's mission is to develop "Leaders for a Better World", enabling women to be more self-reliant and self-empowered to become women of influence so they can better impact their world.

Tory Archbold

As one of Australia's most powerful publicists, Tory Archbold is passionate about sharing her learnings and knowledge to mentor and empower others.

Dixie Crawford

Dixie is a Barkindji woman from Broken Hill and Brewarrina in New South Wales. She is the Director of Source Nation, an Aboriginal owned and operated business.

Leanne Faulkner

Leanne is the founder of Australian skincare business Billie Goat Soap, which she grew into a multi-million dollar international company. Leanne now runs Fortitude at Work, where she works as a small business mentor and wellbeing advisor.

Edwina Sharrock

Edwina is a passionate health advocate, who has embraced technology and innovation to build the online childbirth education platform, birthbeat.com.

Bronwyn Pearson

Bronwyn is a multi-award-winning human resources specialist, with more than 25 years’ experience in providing strategic and operational human resource advice and solutions, to both the public and private sectors.

Anita Taylor and Sarah Burrows

Anita and Sarah both live on properties in the Northern Tablelands of NSW, and are the founders of Red 8 Produce – a new way of processing meat on-farm. Their families all consider themselves custodians of their land, producing naturally reared cattle and sheep in a sustainable, low-stress environment.

Kate Toon

Kate is an award-winning digital marketing entrepreneur who has helped more than 10,000 businesses to demystify digital marketing, improve their SEO rankings, and grow their overall business.

 

Are you interested in sharing your business experience with others through the Women in Business program? We’re looking for women with experience in establishing or operating a business to feature in new program topics and case studies. Register your interest.

Course fees

The Women in Business program is fully subsidised by the NSW Government. So provided you meet the eligibility criteria, you won’t pay anything to access the program.

There may be fees associated with some optional events promoted through the Women in Business program. All costs will be outlined in the overview of each event.

English and maths support

TAFE NSW offers support and courses to help develop your basic education skills, including reading, writing, spelling and maths. Please complete this form if you would like more information and a teacher will contact you.

Student support services

The following support services are available for TAFE NSW students who need assistance to engage with their studies at TAFE NSW. Through the Women in Business program you will also have access to these services.

Please select the link within each area for additional information and contact details.

Support from these services can also be requested after registration in the Women in Business program.
 

FAQs

If you’ve got a great business idea, it’s time to get started! The Women in Business program will give you the information and resources you need to start your small business. Once you register for Women in Business, you’ll have immediate access to the dashboard where you can select from the small business topics on offer. You can discover the realistic viability of your business idea or current business direction in the ‘Are you business ready?’ topic, and then learn how to use a business plan to understand the value of your business to assist you with securing finance or investments in the ‘Planning for success’ topic.
There are many grants and funding programs to help your business grow and succeed. By registering for the Women in Business program you’ll learn more about accessing grants and support programs for small businesses.
To be eligible to register in the Women in Business program, you must: Be aged 18 years or over; Identify as female; Be establishing or own a business; with a valid ABN; registered or trading in NSW; with 0-199 employees; Living or working in NSW; Be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident, humanitarian visa holder or New Zealand Citizen.
As a NSW Government and TAFE NSW initiative, Women in Business is open to women who are living or working in NSW, and are establishing (or already own) a business that is registered or trading in NSW.
The Women in Business program topics cover everything from finding out if you’re business ready, to setting up your home office, creating a business plan, keeping your business cyber-safe, and leveraging social media. New topics are regularly being added to the Women in Business program, so you can stay up to date with the latest trends in Australian business.