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.

Want to give something back? Add social value and progress your career? 

Why not think about joining a charity board.

Two years ago I had settled into a senior role, and was thinking about the ‘what next’. While starting to research options, an invitation to join the board of Raheli Trust came via my CEO. 

Raheli Trust was set up in 2008, with the aim of providing financial support to access education for disadvantaged Tanzanian youth, in particular girls. I have a background in education including some global experience, and I’m passionate about gender equity, so the invitation felt like a good fit. From the first meeting I knew I had something to offer, but that I was also going to learn a great deal from the passionate women who had founded the trust.

As Kiwis we have a certain ridiculousness about us – you just have to look at some of what we report on in the news. What other country running a Penguin of the Year Competition would make international news?

Melissa Roberts reckons it’s something we need to make the most of, especially in the UK office environment. “It’s nice to accept that we are a little odd, but it’s about making it work to your advantage. People find it quite endearing.”

As well as being able to keep her colleagues in the television and advertising production industry amused, Melissa is also one of our invaluable volunteers working on the events side. She helped pull together our amazing birthday event earlier this year, and believes events and production are fairly similar – “it’s often just herding cats.”

And it sounds as though she’s always been good at that. Growing up back home in Auckland, she spent her free time writing scripts for her younger sister to (often begrudgingly) perform while she recorded them on the family’s old VHS camera.