3 women entrepreneurs on building businesses, opportunities and community

Already in Australia, the number of women owning small businesses increased by 24% between 2006 and 2021. 

To celebrate International Women’s Day, we’re spotlighting three young, Australian women who founded their own businesses – and flourished. 

Cassandra Hili, founder, Millennium Communications

There’s no such thing as too young to get started. Cassandra Hili launched her first business, as a babysitter, when she was 12.

At 17, she founded a blog, telling the story of her health and fitness journey.

“It blew up,” she says.

“Within a few years, I had more than 250,000 followers across Youtube, Instagram and Tumblr.”

This success attracted invitations to feature in newspapers and magazines, and to speak at events around Australia, followed by contracts for consulting and content creation.

“I had no idea that what I was doing was PR,” says Hili.

“I thought I was just doing what I had to do to build my personal brand in the industry.”

In fact, it wasn’t till Hili saw Roxy Jacenko, founder of Sweaty Betty PR, on Celebrity Apprentice, that she saw PR in her future. 

She enrolled in a degree, and, within six months, met someone who offered her the opportunity to start a business. 

“Millennium Communications was born. I was only 22. We started with social media, then, in 2018, began tapping into PR, media relations and events.”

Millennium is now a four-strong team with more than 20 clients.

“One of the biggest challenges has been maturing with my business, because I started off quite young. 

“Navigating that has been interesting – from branding and positioning to changing clients and prices. These have been growing pains, in a way.”

The navigation was made easier with the help of a mentor, who guided Hili through finessing her brand, ensuring her business would be sustainable and gaining the clients she was looking for. 

Next, she’s considering founding a sister agency and launching an event series that will connect business owners with the media. 

When young women ask Hili for advice, she’s an “open book”.

“I’m always willing to sit down and have a chat,” she says.

“I’m a big believer that women should claim their own lives and step into their power. If that means encouraging them to take the first step, then I’ll always support them through that. 

“[Many people] have imposter syndrome, which can affect anyone – I’ve gone through it in the past. It comes down to ourselves, and what we think about ourselves. 

“When you get an outside perspective challenging your limiting beliefs or narratives, I think it can help you to see another perspective – that your beliefs aren’t true. 

“When you look at the actual facts, your achievements and your credibility, you’re more than capable of doing what you want to do – you’re amazing and you deserve your seat at the table.”

Cassandra Kalpaxis, founder, Kalpaxis Legal

When lawyer Cassandra Kalpaxis started commuting to work with a six-week-old, she decided it was time to make a change.

“It was a nightmare,” she says.

“I was really unhappy, so I decided to go out on my own.”

Having worked as a solicitor for more than five years, Kalpaxis established her own firm, specialising in family law. 

“Setting it up was easy, but building it wasn’t so easy,” she says. 

“When we first opened, we had a letterhead and equipment, but no clients. It took two years to become a fully functional, operating business.”

Today, Kalpaxis Legal is a busy practice with eight employees. 

Kalpaxis’s rare approach to family law, which traditionally involves long, drawn-out, adversarial cases, has been a great part of her success.

“We do a lot of amicable family law,” she says.

“We’re very much a ‘court as a last resort’ firm. We offer about seven different pathways for families to choose from, with a heavy focus on dispute resolution. We’re often able to resolve matters fairly quickly.” 

Kalpaxis also supports women going through separation by running retreats where they can meet women in similar situations and speak to experts from various fields. 

Kalpaxis’s wins have enabled her to branch into other areas, including certifying, and working as, a life and business coach. 

This year, she’s collaborating with local businesses to develop a holistic approach to educating people facing separation. 

“For example, if an accountant is working with a client going through a divorce, they might be able to advise that they won’t have to be concerned with litigation, and help them understand their financial prospects” she says.

“Education can put financially vulnerable women in a much better situation – and lead to less homelessness.”

Founding her own business has also empowered Kalpaxis to raise her three children the way she wanted.

“I get to do what I love every day, but I also get to be mum. My children travel with me, and see me working. 

“There are ways to ‘have it all’ – you just need to work out what you want and how to make it fit. 

“I came from a low socio-economic background in western Sydney. I wasn’t given any assistance to get into the legal industry, and I didn’t have my parents paying for my education. 

“I got where I am through a lot of hustle and hard work, and asking people who aligned with me for help.”

Rita Agoulian, founder, Lick Your Phone Media

Like that of many entrepreneurs, Agoulian’s journey began with a passion. For her, it was a love of food.

“I created a social media account and I started recommending restaurants,” she says. 

A hunger for success drove her to transform that passion into an enterprise.

“I wanted to be not just a business owner, but a successful businesswoman,” she says. 

“I had to figure out how I could make money beyond one-off campaigns, which didn’t provide security.”

‘Figuring out’ meant trying – and failing. 

“At first, I went down the line of ecommerce, with the goal of creating products to sell, and failed miserably,” she says.

“That’s not my jam. I, personally, hated the process.”

But then an opportunity presented itself. 

In 2020, another business owner saw Agoulian’s social media, fell in love with it and asked if she’d help them. 

“I started with low-hanging fruit – a quick sale – with EDMs. I then sent our work out to our followers and got a couple more clients.”

As the clients grew, so, too, did the marketing budget. 

Four years on, Lick Your Phone has 2.1 million followers, more than 20 (mostly female) employees and clients “in the three digits”. Many high-profile brands, including Cadbury, Coca-Cola and Hungry Jack’s, appear in the portfolio. 

Agoulian was featured in Forbes and has won 10 awards for best social media marketing agency. 

Next, she is considering founding a second business with the goal of developing industry-changing software for social media – but she isn’t yet ready to share the details. 

To encourage young female leaders of the future, Agoulian strives to ensure her company is a happy place, where people love what they do. She starts every day with a mentoring session. 

“I used to work in corporate finance, which is a male-dominated industry,” she says. 

“I never felt valued as a human being, and I promised myself I’d never create an environment like that. 

“Team happiness and valuing people come first. I’m taking my staff to the Easter Show this year.”