The room was buzzing.
Pens scratched across paper, and heads nodded as new ideas clicked into place. One participant beamed as she held up her week’s worth of marketing content, while another quietly tapped her screen, building a strategy that finally felt possible.
In that Ipswich workshop room, something shifted. It wasn’t just about marketing, it was about ownership, confidence, and creating a business that fits your life, not the other way around.
At The Growth Manager, we believe everyone deserves the opportunity to build a business that supports their lifestyle, enhances their mental well-being, and aligns with their unique strengths. That’s why we jumped at the chance to collaborate with Carers Queensland’s Be Your Own Boss program.
In May 2025, our Founder and Lead Mentor, Angie Martin, travelled to Carers Queensland’s Ipswich office to deliver an inspiring, practical workshop as part of this incredible initiative. The result? A room full of motivated entrepreneurs, buzzing with energy, creativity, and confidence to grow their businesses in a way that works for them.
About Carers Queensland and the ‘Be Your Own Boss’ Program
Carers Queensland has supported carers and people with disabilities across the state for more than 30 years. As a key NDIS Local Area Coordination Partner, the organisation runs a range of community initiatives aimed at inclusion, empowerment, and capacity building.
Their Be Your Own Boss program is a standout example of this commitment. Designed for people with disabilities, their families, and carers, it helps participants explore the world of entrepreneurship and self-employment in a supported, accessible, and practical way.
Through hands-on workshops, mentoring sessions, and resource sharing, Be Your Own Boss gives individuals the tools and confidence to turn their passions and skills into sustainable businesses. From micro-enterprises to solo ventures, the program nurtures each person’s unique business dream and supports them to bring it to life on their terms.
Why We Wanted to Support the Carers Queensland Team
At The Growth Manager, our work is centred on empowering purpose-driven business owners to grow businesses that align with their lives. That means:
- Supporting sustainable business development
- Encouraging wellness and mental health as a foundation for growth
- Helping people create businesses that suit their lifestyle, capacity, and goals
- Offering practical education, empowering, and easy to implement
When we learned about the values and purpose behind the Be Your Own Boss program, it felt like a natural fit. Many of the participants are navigating unique personal circumstances, juggling care responsibilities, and/or managing disability themselves. These factors make it even more important to create a business that supports (rather than overwhelming) their day-to-day life.
We wanted to show up for this community in a practical, positive, and encouraging way — because entrepreneurship should be accessible to everyone, and because we know how powerful it can be when business is built from a place of passion and purpose.
The Workshop: Accessible Marketing Magic
For our contribution to the program, Angie Martin delivered a 120-minute live workshop at Carers Queensland’s Ipswich office titled “Accessible Marketing Magic: Creating a Marketing Strategy That Works For You.”
This workshop was designed specifically for the Be Your Own Boss cohort, focusing on making marketing feel simple, achievable, and personalised. Marketing can often feel overwhelming, especially for new business owners. Our goal was to break it down into bite-sized, confidence-building pieces that could be applied immediately.
Key topics included:
- The purpose and power of marketing in business growth
- Identifying your ideal customer and their needs
- Understanding the importance of brand messaging and visibility
- Choosing marketing channels that match your strengths (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Email Marketing)
- Using tools like ChatGPT to make content creation more efficient
- Creating a marketing list that aligns with your time, capacity and business goals
- Building an easy-to-follow weekly content planner
An Interactive Experience — Because Learning Should Be Fun!
What made this workshop truly special was the energy and involvement of the participants. Angie facilitated two hands-on activities:
- Build Your Own Marketing List: Participants selected the marketing actions that made the most sense for them, based on their skills, time availability, and confidence level. The result? Each person walked away with a strategy that was uniquely theirs.
- 7-Day Content Planner: Using our simple, visual content planner template, attendees mapped out a week’s worth of marketing content, helping them feel more prepared and in control of their promotional efforts.
The feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Participants appreciated the clarity, simplicity, and warmth Angie brought to the session—many shared feelings of being more motivated, capable, and excited about promoting their businesses.
Reflecting on the Experience
We left the Ipswich workshop feeling genuinely uplifted and inspired by the participants. Their business ideas were as diverse as they were exciting — from handmade jewellery and beauty products to community services and creative ventures.
Everyone brought their own story, their own energy, and their own vision to the room. Seeing them gain confidence in their ideas and discover new ways to share them with the world was nothing short of magical.
At The Growth Manager, this experience reaffirmed our belief that business education needs to be:
- Inclusive and flexible
- Rooted in real-life tools and strategies
- Delivered with heart
We are so proud to have played a part in this event, and we can’t wait to see what these incredible entrepreneurs go on to create.
Want Angie at Your Next Workshop or Event?
If you’re looking for a speaker who will bring clarity, compassion, and real-world knowledge to your next business event, workshop, or training day, Angie Martin is your go-to.
With years of experience in marketing, mentoring and business development, Angie knows how to deliver high-impact sessions that leave people feeling informed, empowered, and inspired to act.
From councils and government programs to private industry events and not-for-profit initiatives, Angie adapts her sessions to suit the audience and goals of the day.
Enquire now to book Angie for your upcoming event:
https://thegrowthmanager.com.au/speaking
Let’s create business magic together!
