Your Say – Rebecca Hutchinson
FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF LASH NOIR
I’d name my autobiography…
I wouldn’t ever write a book about myself, I can barely manage to pull together a blurb of my credentials for our website!
To me success means…
Being in charge of your future. Cultivating your own opportunities, living an inspired life. And designer pool slides.
Best advice I’ve been given…
To just get on with it! There is nearly no value in complaining about the injustices that have set you off track.
I made my first dollar:
When I was 15 years old at the Welcome Bay Fish & Chip shop down in Tauranga. Working and earning your own money is the best opportunity for growth that anyone could ever give you.
The most rewarding part of my job…
Seeing the women that work with me and for me come into their own power within their roles. The attitude and playfulness these girls display on a daily basis in everything they do makes me so incredibly grateful to play such a huge role in their professional journey. I also love to travel and being able to take them with me to expand their horizons is also something that is so rewarding.
Favourite book:
‘The Fire Starter Sessions’ by Danielle La Porte. It’s all about cutting through dull thinking and fear, saying no to the wrong opportunities and creating the mental space within yourself to succeed on your own terms.
The women who inspire me:
My Grandmother Liz; her strength and determination is incomparable. Coco Chanel for making mens shirts wearable by women. Dame Stephanie Shirley for upending the expectations of her time, and not being too proud to call herself “Steve” in order to create success within her company.
The gender stereotype I can’t stand:
That women should be clean and tidy. I have no chance.
The main challenge for women in business is…
I believe there are equal challenges in business for men as there are women. The way we deal with those challenges differs. But paying attention to your own strengths and working on your weaknesses is a much more progressive and productive approach rather than to focus on gender inequalities in the workplace.
We need pay equality because…
I believe pay should be based on merit and team fit, not gender.
I advocate for change by…
Encouraging people to focus on being their very best selves, find clarity in what you want and be consistent in your pursuit.
The change I want to see in 2018 is…
Women to be focused and unafraid about going out and taking what they want, rather than waiting for what they feel they are owed. If you adopt the right attitude, you will do just as well as anyone else in any other industry. Nothing good was ever easy.
