Disability trailblazer wins small business honour

Barwon Heads entrepreneur and disability advocate Christine Smith has been named among the top 50 small business leaders in Australia.

Christine, who owns the Great Ocean Stays and Destination Accessible accommodation and tourism services, said it was humbling to be recognised among such inspiring company.

“To be part of those 50 forward-thinking businesspeople was something I just never dreamed of, having left school at Year 11 and not being that highly educated,” Christine said.

“I’ve used my smarts from 20 years in the police force, I’ve used my street smarts and I’ve used my ability to communicate with my tribe of people, including the early adopters who believed in me.

“I look at my business as one of many small businesses out there – I think there are two million small businesses in Australia – and as a small business owner it is very hard to get your head up above the slog of everyday to be recognised in this way.

“So not only is it a very humbling experience for me but it’s a very valuable platform for me to promote disability access issues and the plight of people with a disability who may not have an avenue to talk about these things.”

Christine founded Great Ocean Stays in 2007 and was in the process of building a set of four holiday homes with disability access when she was diagnosed with a brain tumour which left her with facial paralysis and other “invisible” physical disabilities.

“It sort of came at the right time because the brain tumour really crystallised for me the stark reality that our community as a whole is really overlooking disability,” she said.

“I talk mainly about the built environment but also the attitude of people toward disability.

“The whole experience of that confirmed to me that something needs to be done and we need to advocate that it’s just not okay to build a place with two steps out the front, why don’t we start from scratch and build a ramp from the get-go? We can be doing so much more.”

Christine is a board member of Tourism Greater Geelong and The Bellarine and a judge of the Geelong Business Excellence Awards, of which she is a former winner.

Her business manages about 15 homes for people with disabilities to holiday or enjoy respite and her Destination Access website provides valuable information on accessible activities within the region.

“We don’t want people to come here and sit on the Bellarine Peninsula and while away their time,” she said.

“We want to show them the best respite they have ever had in their lives.

“We want to be able to say ‘here are some really nice homes that are accessible and meet your physical needs but we also want to provide you with these really awesome activities on the Bellarine and through to Geelong’.”

Christine said her customers are like family and their positive feedback means the world to her, with one online reviewer describing her this way: “I cannot explain how Chris does the intangible thing she does – but she made us feel cared for and understood from the first second we met her – in a way I can’t say I’ve ever had from anyone (including family). She is an amazing person.”

“It makes me cry sometimes,” Christine said of the glowing feedback.

“It is challenging every day and, coming from a 20-year police career that is saying something.

“I have a lot of people say they have never experienced respite in the way I provide it and many people say they can see there is a lot of heart in my business, that I really care.

“And that is a key part of the business success that this cohort of people just keep returning to me for their respite because they know the experience is going to meet their needs.”

Editor of Inside Business magazine’s Top 50 Report, Tim Ladhams, said Christine made the cut of outstanding business leaders who had thrived despite challenging conditions.

“Our winners have demonstrated resilience, innovation and agility to ride the waves of the pandemic and lead their businesses forward to a brighter future,” he said.

Tourism Greater Geelong and The Bellarine CEO Brett Ince described Christine as “an absolute trailblazer in accessible tourism with a passion for ensuring that destinations and experiences are accessible for all that is infectious”.

Discover more on the Great Ocean Stays and Destination Accessible websites.