Get back up again

By Lia Bichel
EVERYONE is fabulous, you should do things that scare you, and when you fall down, dust yourself off and get back up.
That was the message given to a room of businesswomen and men at the South East Business Networks (SEBN’s) Showcasing Women in Business breakfast last week.
Guest speaker Marcia Griffin, co-founder of griffen + row natural skincare and former CEO of POLA cosmetics addressed the crowd at Sandown Racecourse Friday morning. She shared her personal experiences of overcoming obstacles and reaching success.
Ms Griffin started her working life as a French, history and English teacher at Balmoral, Victoria. A change in career led her to become the first Australia woman to run a Japanese company, POLA Cosmetics, in Australia and New Zealand.
Her driven personality and excellent work ethic help the Tokyo-based company grow to include 4700 sales consultants across the globe, and turn into a $3 billion corporation.
Ms Griffen was also the inaugural Victorian Telstra Business Woman of the Year in 1995, is the author of High Heeled Success which has sold 10,000 copies and has sat on the board of a number of organisations including Tourism Victoria, The World Masters Games and Melbourne Storm.
Currently, Ms Griffen and her business partner Yvonne Row have developed a natural skincare range based on Australian plant extracts to take to the global market. The products are available in 150 Target stores.
Sharing the spotlight at the business breakfast were two other successful women.
Chisholm design students Melanie Mackie and Stacey Courtney unveiled SEBN’s Women in Business rejuvenated look, which they helped design with the input of SEBN’s manager Sandra George, administration assistant Rachel Allen-Burree and under the supervision of their teacher Gary Heath and director Leanne Jenkins.