Wine maker CEO cheers on business

ELIZA Brown, CEO All Saints Estate describes making good mistakes as never believing people when they say you can’t do something.

“When you do it anyway and you make a mistake, you will learn a lot more from your mistake than any of your successes,” she said.

Ms Brown will share this message with the Ballarat business community at Commerce Ballarat’s Business Day Out on Wednesday, 29 May.

Ms Brown is the fourth generation of the Brown family, together with her two siblings, own and run All Saints Estate in Rutherglen.

Coming into the family wine making business from outside the sector made a difference for Ms Brown.

“For me I saw only opportunities not barriers,” she said.

She said in the initial stages of her career, especially in the winery, she made lots of good mistakes because she wasn’t trained to be running a winery, she was trained in marketing and advertising.

“I bumbled along and a lot of those good mistakes I made, set me in good stead for the future because I didn’t have any preconceptions about what I could or couldn’t do,” Ms Brown said.

When she was told you can’t do that, she knew she would give it a go anyway.

“We as a family business have been successful because the three of us and our mother back each other up,” Ms Brown said.

Ms Brown, who is CEO of four other wine focussed businesses in Rutherglen, sees the opportunities in the town due to its beauty and authenticity.

“There are so many opportunities that can be taken advantage of from a marketing perspective and I see the same applying to Ballarat,” she said.

She believes people and families who are moving to Ballarat and smaller regional towns and centres want the same things they’ve had in Melbourne.

“They want the same places to eat, to drink and great facilities for their kids,” Ms Brown said. “There are all these amazing opportunities for regional and rural Victoria to really pursue and provide the things that people have in the major cities.”

Ms Brown said the barriers are consistency of visitation, with the challenge to keep managing and growing your business until your town reaches the tipping point.

“Rural businesses do not need to act like rural business now with the aid of modern technology,” she said.

Ms Brown is looking forward to speaking at Business Day Out.

“Commerce Ballarat is a professional organisation running a valuable business event,” she said. “They have some great people coming to speak and I am excited to listen to what the others have to say as well.”

Business Day Out 2019 is on Wednesday, May 29 at Mercure Ballarat Hotel and Convention Centre, 613 Main Road Golden Point commencing at 8.30am.

Tickets are Commerce Ballarat members $225, non-members $280. Register online at commerceballarat.com.au.