Despina Karatzias

Is change in your work/career calling or maybe the change is starting a business and something of your own?

I’ve reinvented my career and business more than once, sometimes by choice, and sometimes by sheer necessity.

And while reinvention creates opportunity, it comes with a cost and today, Sarah Poole has created the environment for us to talk honestly about what it takes and how to build, and then rebuild, again without self-abandonment.

Join us live on Instagram today at midday (AEST) - via Business Flow go here https://www.instagram.com/thebusinessflowco?igsi=bnF5NHQ3NGF5ZTUy or yours truly Insta here https://www.instagram.com/thebusinessflowco?igsi=bnF5NHQ3NGF5ZTUy

What about you, what has a new start cost you currently or in the past most, identity, energy, money, relationships, confidence… or something else?

Took the opportunity to play tourist this morning with hostess with mostest, Gillian to step out and Explore Bulloo visiting the Bulloo River.

Also visited the original Thargomindah Hospital built in 1888 using local mud bricks and operated as a medical outpost until 1976. Today, the heritage-listed site functions as an automated self-guided tourist attraction featuring preserved wards, a morgue, and interactive displays. And of course seized the opportunity to soak up some of that beautiful outback sunshine before heading back on that Regional Express Airlines milk run back home ☀️🫶

Red dirt, blue sky and work I love 🫶

The week that was starting with an inspired day in Brisbane visiting superstar tourism sister, Molly for an IRL interview and legend Chief DD from Outback Queensland perfect catch up before getting on my Rex Airlines tiny plane for my first IRL visit to the Queensland Outback landing in Bulloo Shire Council Thargomindah where I have spent the last few days sitting beside local businesses and together rolling up our sleeves and solving real operational roadblocks together using AI tools from the inside out!

And today, our office for the day, local community and business leaders spent their Saturday with me continuing the learning together over two workshops centred around Ethical AI for Community Grant Writing and Smart Social Media using AI.

Personally and professionally this experience, the incredible people I’ve met, the community spirit and the glimpse of life in the outback has been life changing and reaffirming.

Thank you for having me Thargomindah, I adored meeting and working with each and every one of you 🙏🫶

What do Training Girl and Balloon Girl have in common they both work day and night to help people and businesses be better today than they were yesterday!

Spending all them years leading Global Ballooning Australia | #1 Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Flights taught me you can’t control the conditions, especially the wind.

You read it. You adapt. You learn how to navigate with it, not fight against it.

Business feels remarkably similar right now.

We don’t get to choose the conditions. We do get to choose how prepared we are for them.

AI is another shift in those conditions. It’s reshaping business from the inside out, operations, productivity, customer service, discovery and competitive advantage.

Today I had the privilege of delivering three hours of AI for Tourism 101 to this brilliant Beyond the Bays and Mornington Peninsula Shire tourism crew, building practical AI capability for what comes next.

The goal isn’t to control the wind. It’s to become better at navigating it.

And after today, this crew is better equipped for whatever blows in next 💪🙏🫶

InstituteOfExcellence

Spending the colder months learning and hibernating but mostly learning!

Learning new things.
Challenging old thinking.
Building new capabilities.
And preparing for what’s coming next.

Spent the day learning from The Institute of EI founder and GOAT of Emotional Intelligence and Mindfulness Mel Neil whist simultaneously enrolled in the Diploma of Artificial Intelligence, mind blown, heart expanded!

Technology may become more intelligent to help us be more efficient, innovative and apparently add speech bubbles to selfies quicker than it takes to send a text.

But while I’m helping business with the technology that is getting smarter, and become more efficient, I want to make sure I’m helping businesses becoming more human and I am under the wing of the most excellent teacher Xo

Committee Readiness 101 (Governance, Roles & Leadership Essentials) was today’s new Small Business | Tourism | Training & Mentoring training unveiled.

Research shows unclear roles is the strongest single predictor of poor board and committee performance, ahead of experience or training and designing today’s training was built around solving that.

In the room we had leading everyday people making extraordinary contributions in their community representing everything from sporting, performing arts, mental health and diaspora communities from Poland, Phillipines, and Romania, to name a few, exchanging and sharing knowledge with one intention, be better than we were yesterday.

Thank you City of Kingston for the trust in delivering this workshop and thank you to the beautiful humans pictured for sharing your morning with me 🙏🫶

The 2026 Geelong Small Biz Festival is officially open 🎉

One idea shared at my partnership and smart collaboration strategy workshop is that givers gain.

The strongest partnerships aren’t built on what you need, they’re built on what you bring. Before approaching a potential partner, try to package your offer around their gain, not your ask. Show them what’s in it for them, clearly and upfront, and the partnership often builds itself.

Geelong business owners, 3 days left to keep building that business muscle 💪

City of Greater Geelong x

💙 THE PACKAGING PITCH 💙

Alright STOP. COLLABORATE. TAKE ACTION 🎬

If you want to go far, go alone. If you want to go further, go together.

That’s the spirit of collaboration in business behind The Packaging Pitch workshop that will be delivered on day 1 of the Geelong Small Business Festival 2026.

Come meet a Geelong business you’ve never crossed paths with, and see what you can build side by side.

📍 Wurriki Nyal Civic Precinct
📅 Monday 3 August, 1.30–2.30pm

Register ➡️ https://www.instituteofexcellence.com/events/the-packaging-pitch/