SPRING 2022 / REAL-LEADERS.COM 19 CHANGEMAKERS “FORTY PERCENT OF OUR MENTORS ARE MEN. THEY ENJOY BEING A PART OF IT BECAUSE THEY WANT A DIFFERENT PATHWAY FOR THEIR DAUGHTERS AND THEIR GRANDDAUGHTERS IN THE FUTURE.” — JO BURSTON Since then, the mentoring program has become a key pillar of Inspiring Rare Birds. The addition of a digital platform to the program enabled rapid scaling and broad access. By 2020, the organization had expanded across 17 locations and built a community of 60,000 members able to network on an online collaborative hub, with full access to an expert resource library. “This is an enormous country with a very dispersed organization. It was essential for us to reach everyone so that Rare Birds wasn’t isolated to big cities. We rolled out the business across regions in Australia and Papua New Guinea, engaging local Rare Birds Ambassadors who would then be the voice of our movement on the ground.” While citing the long flights as a personal challenge during these initial years, Burston adds, “People were ready for this. They wanted this message and were ready to embrace it. The timing was right.” The consistency of the messaging and the storytelling contributed to the successful expansion. In Burston’s second book, #IFSHECANICAN, she recounts 29 young Australian women entrepreneurs’ business journeys, looking at their stories from an academic perspective. “That not only helped spread the message but also changed my view of what entrepreneurs think and how they work,” Burston says. “And it’s not all luck and hard work. There’s a lot of thinking that goes on that could be mapped.” A third book, Brilliant Business Kids, followed, using a cartoon-style format to target a younger audience. “I wanted to demonstrate that young people have and can develop an entrepreneurial mindset.” In 2018, Australia’s Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet Office for Women approached Burston to provide a mentoring program to 100 women entrepreneurs from marginalized communities, including indigenous, migrant, refugee, low socio-economic, and disabled groups. The aim of the 12-month program, spanning 95 different towns throughout metropolitan, regional, and remote Australia, was to grow the businesses and develop the entrepreneurial skills of the members. The program proved successful on various metrics. It boasts a 100% satisfaction rating; 81% of participants reported business growth; 98% felt more confident about business capability; and 96% said the program helped them and their business succeed. From the start, Burston structured the organization as a business capable of producing a return from a viable financial model without charging a membership fee. “I wanted it to be a legitimate business, a purpose-built organization that is profitable, even though all the money gets reinvested into the business,” she says. “I have always built scalable companies. I have the formula to do that, so I played to my strengths. Interestingly, organizations invest in us knowing that we are a for-profit company.” After two years, the organization has become self-sustaining, funded by government and corporations, with ambassadors volunteering their time. Burston adds, “People who are involved with Inspiring Rare Birds do it because they want to give back. Forty percent of our mentors are men. They enjoy being a part of it because they want a different pathway for their daughters and their granddaughters in the future. Rare Birds is not a women’s organization. It’s an organization to support women. And that support comes from all.” An essential part of leading a for-profit, forpurpose business is having a “smart heart,” says Burston. “Having an empathetic heart in this business is essential. We have to listen to people’s stories. We have to hear what they are saying; we have to walk in their shoes. Only then will we be able to provide the support system to help them thrive and flourish. I have become a far more empathetic leader in that process.” As she continues to innovate and expand Rare Birds in Australia and beyond, Burston still finds time for her other entrepreneurship ventures. “I remember hearing people say that ‘If you can’t distinguish the difference between work and fun, you probably are in the right place.’ That’s the place I’m at now.” n
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