The first buds of Rebecca Page’s entrepreneurial spirit sprouted when at 10 years old she would put on performances at home and sell tickets around the neighbourhood at 50 cents a pop.

With that kind of intrepid approach, it’s hardly surprising that today, three decades later, she has a team of six fulltime staff and a burgeoning online business selling online patterns around the globe.

Online sewing patterns? You may be forgiven for thinking that sounds like an obscure or niche sector but in fact, as part of the sewing sector with an annual value of USD 50 billion, it is anything but. However, the path Rebecca took to marrying her commercial bent with what she previously had considered a mere hobby, was a winding one.
Rebecca set up her first business at age 19 whilst at Auckland University when she noticed queues of people wanting to get their assignments typed and spotted an opportunity. She didn’t actually own a computer so went out and purchased one, thus chalking up her first business expense. She put up a sign offering her services for typing up assignments, which she squeezed in between classes and in so doing, paid her way through university.

While Christmas can be a time when we feel the distance from family and friends in NZ, it is also one of the best times to be in this magnificent city. Read on to discover some of the many ways you can make the most of a London Christmas.

• Volunteering - Christmas can be a very challenging time for those less fortunate in this city; the good news is there are many ways in which you can help. The Londonist has rounded up just some of the ways you can give your time and make a difference this Christmas to those in need.

• Christmas markets - there really is nothing like rugging up and heading out to sip steaming mulled wine amid the excitement of a fairground or Christmas market and London is teeming with them. Check out Secret London’s guide to the top 15 for a market near you.

Introduced as the ‘serial smasher of ceilings’, Dame Judith Mayhew Jonas DBE has served on more boards than there were canapés at the Women On Boards event this week.  That might be a slight exaggeration but Dame Judith was serious when she told the audience she’d had “spectacular failures, I mean spectacular” doing things she should never have done.  

That kind of honesty might not be what you’d expect from the panel at an event to encourage women to take their place on the newly announced NZBWN’s Executive Board.  But this was a panel of highly successful experienced Kiwis so it was always going to be informative and to the point.