Speakers Profile - Leanne Faulkner


Small Business and Wellness Adviser









Travels From:
Regional New South Wales/ACT

Fee Range: B


Leanne Faulkner works at the intersection of small business ownership and mental health support.

She knows what is needed to ensure small business owners can work at their personal best whilst
owning and growing their small business. Leanne was the founder of Australian skincare business
Billie Goat Soap. Starting the brand in her kitchen, she grew the business as an artisan soap maker
to a multi-million dollar international company. Billie Goat Soap was awarded the prestigious NSW
Business Chamber President's Prize for Business of the Year, and was Myer Supplier of the Year in
General Cosmetics. Billie Goat was sold in 2012 and is still available nationwide. Leanne
understands the strains and pressures faced by small/medium business owners because she had
her own struggles growing Billie Goat Soap. It was this lived experience that lead her to advocate
for more resources to be made available to support the wellbeing of small business owners in
Australia. Today she is recognised as a thought-leader in this very unique small business space.

Leanne has consulted on wellbeing small business initiatives undertaken by Beyond Blue, the ATO,
Everymind and several other organisations. She is the Council of Small Business Organisations
Australia mental health Ambassador and represents them at the National Workplace Initiative, on
invitation of the National Mental Health Commissioner. Locally, she works directly with small
business owners linking skill development to their ability to work well. Leanne lectures in small
business growth for the University of Newcastle and is currently completing her PhD focused on
small business ownership and mental health. She knows how to combine theoretical understanding with practical application to communicate lessons learned to thrive in the Australian small business community. Media regularly seek her comment on initiatives underway in this field.

Leanne is a dynamic and engaging speaker. She knows how to give the audience permission to embrace this sensitive and important topic in a way that is easily applied to their situation - either from a corporate business partner perspective or as an individual small business owner.