Three entrepreneurs share honest lessons on business, resilience, and backing yourself before you feel ready.
On a rainy Wednesday morning, on the 24th of June 2026, more than 70 women gathered at North Shore Golf Club for Business North Harbour’s Women in Business event to hear three inspiring entrepreneurs share the realities of building a business. As Business North Harbour CEO Janet Marshall noted in her welcome, “Rain isn’t enough to keep determined businesswomen away!” This comment set the tone for a morning filled with honesty, resilience, and practical insights, as speakers Catherine Hackett, Sarah Filipo, and Victoria Roebuck lifted the curtain on the challenges, opportunities, and moments of courage that shaped their entrepreneurial journeys.
Catherine Hackett – Grow my Greens
The first speaker, Catherine, founder of Grow My Greens, shared an honest and inspiring account of her journey from primary school teacher to successful microgreens entrepreneur.
Her message was simple but powerful: don’t wait until you feel ready.
Catherine delivered a beautifully confident, honest presentation with hilarious self-deprecating moments and words of wisdom.
A brilliant opening to the morning was when Cathrine asked questions directed at the crowd, such as “Who here has ever suffered from imposter syndrome”? With many of the hands up in the room, she asked, “Stand up if you have ever thought, I’m not ready”, then, “Stand up if you have ever thought I’m not experienced enough”.
With the room standing, it was apparent how our own hesitations and self-doubts are not unique to ourselves, but are a shared feeling, and Cathrine hammered home the idea that we should get out there, follow our passion and stop doubting our own worth “Don’t wait until you are ready”, she said.
Five years ago, Catherine was teaching in the classroom and had no plans to become a commercial grower. The idea for Grow My Greens emerged during the COVID lockdown after discovering microgreens while visiting Great Barrier Island. With no gardening background and no business plan, she turned to online research, taught herself how to grow microgreens, and began experimenting from her garage.
What started as a small side project quickly grew. As demand increased, Catherine gradually expanded throughout her home, taking over the garage, then additional spaces, before eventually signing her first commercial lease.
Despite her success, she admitted that self-doubt never disappeared.
“Every opportunity I’ve had over the last five years has come with exactly the same voice: you’re not ready, you don’t know enough, someone else would be better at this,” she told the audience.
“For a long time, I thought confidence was something you got first, then you took the opportunity. What I’ve noticed is it’s the other way around. You take the opportunity first, you step up first, you have a crack, you make mistakes, and the confidence slowly catches up afterwards.”
“Don’t wait until you’re ready,” she said. “You probably know more than you think you do.”
Sarah Filipo – Edible Blooms
The journey that Sarah spoke of, from opening edible Blooms at 24, to growing a thriving business, collaborating with large brands such as Trumpet and Griffins Shrewsberry biscuits, is an entrepreneurial success story. Recently married, she and Kiwi actor Semu Filipo’s love story and dream wedding was also just featured in the Women’s Day magazine.
Sarah is a market leader who continues to delight customers with ‘Edible Blooms’.
“I knew I wanted to be a florist at 14,” she told the crowd, recalling how she left school early to pursue her career. After training and working in floristry in Brisbane, she later met the founder of Edible Blooms and became involved in the early stages of the business in Australia.
The turning point came at 24, when, newly a mother, Sarah’s own mum encouraged her to bring the concept to New Zealand. “My mum said, ‘You should just do Edible Blooms in New Zealand,’” she shared. Within two months, she had moved back and launched the business, balancing a newborn baby and a growing enterprise from a small Albany premises where she even lived upstairs.
What began as a leap of faith quickly grew into a nationwide gifting brand. Today, Edible Blooms supplies hampers, chocolate arrangements, and gift products across New Zealand through retail and wholesale channels, including pharmacies, supermarkets, and gift stores.
Despite the growth, Sarah emphasised that the heart of the business remains unchanged: creating meaningful moments for customers. “It’s that impact you have when you see someone’s reaction,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be a big gift; it’s about making someone’s day.”
For Sarah, success is not only about expansion, but about connection, kindness, and the simple joy of giving.
Victoria Roebuck – Baby Buck Baking
Victoria, founder of Baby Back, shared an honest and reflective story tracing her journey from home baker to the owner of a growing Newmarket-based cake business built on creativity, resilience, and community.
Before Baby Back became a recognised name, Victoria spent years experimenting in makeshift spaces that were never designed for a busy baking business. She started in her boyfriend’s shared flat kitchen, moved through temporary setups, and eventually built a small operation from a garage before upgrading to a commercial space.
“I definitely don’t have it all worked out,” she said. “But I can share what it actually looked like to start something small, make plenty of things wrong, and slowly turn it into something I never planned for.”
Her journey began during lockdown while studying at university, when baking became a creative outlet and eventually a business opportunity. Early customers were friends celebrating milestone birthdays, providing both income and immediate feedback.
As demand grew, so did the complexity. Victoria spoke candidly about long nights, limited equipment, and the reality of scaling a handmade business. “I was baking 45 cakes in a 24-hour shift,” she said. “It was one of those moments where you think this is either impressive or slightly concerning.”
A turning point came when she realised she couldn’t do everything alone. Family members stepped in, including her father, who learned to bake to help with production. “The business only really became sustainable once I let other people into it,” she reflected.
Today, Baby Back has evolved into a public-facing studio, shopfront, and workshop space with a growing community of customers who return not just for cakes, but for the experience.
“If there’s one thing I’d leave you with,” Victoria said, “it’s that you don’t need the perfect setup to start. And you don’t need to do it alone.”
Together, the three talks painted a grounded picture of entrepreneurship as something built step by step, often under pressure, but sustained by creativity, adaptability, and connection. Rather than polished success stories, they were honest accounts of trial, error, and growth showing that small beginnings, when combined with consistency and support, can evolve into lasting and impactful businesses. The reception was overwhelmingly positive with the audience.
Congratulations to Di Yao from Ignite Growth Consulting, who took away the Women in Business prize, a 1‑night Maxim Hotel stay, Grow My Greens Microgreens, a Baby Buck cake and an Edible Blooms bouquet.
