22 October’s speaker was Laura Douglas who, in 2016, swapped her stilettos and corporate suits in the corporate city world for gumboots and a stockwhip. Born and raised on a sheep farm in Mossburn, her parents encouraged her to venture outside Southland and farming, and she did just that.
After completing a science degree at Otago University then aspiring to be a physiotherapist, and working in a bar, Laura was advised that she was wasted on hospitality and that she should do an MBA (Master of Business Administration degree). At age 23 she became one of the youngest people to graduate from Otago University with an MBA.
She worked in corporate finance and secured her place in the highly competitive Wellington business world. Her life took her to live in Ireland, South Africa, Hawke’s Bay and Auckland where she worked in advertising, real estate, property management and later in the software industry. But it was after she transferred from Auckland to Christchurch to manage a team of data scientists that developed cyber analytical tools, and while daydreaming and doodling one day, that she realised her city life, for all of its charm and financial security, could not give her the picture she had just sketched of ‘Laura’s Life in 5 years’.
The sketch saw her standing on the deck of a house she owned, a glass of whisky in her hand, a dog at her feet, and looking out to the horse in her paddock, her ute and jet boat in the driveway, and the mountains all around her. On this day, the seed of her business idea and a life of her dreams, was planted.
Laura’s idea was to show people the fun things of a rural life and she wanted to get women, in particular, outside their comfort zone by teaching them to do things like backing a trailer, shooting a gun, archery and whip cracking. She quit her job, moved to Queenstown and started refining her business plan while learning how to do things like GST, marketing and making a website. She located the perfect spot on a farm in Kingston.
As soon as the website went up she received an inquiry despite not being ready to any start tours. Late that night saw her at the Warehouse purchasing a chilly-bin, a thermos and coffee cups and was up until midnight making scones and a bacon and egg pie. The trip went off brilliantly and she realised that it wasn’t so much about the activities themselves but the overall experience of people interacting with a ‘real local’. Laura’s presentation was about this background and her story since that time of ‘daydreaming and doodling’ and establishing her business 'Real Conntry'.
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