At 70, building her fourth business, working 22 hours a week
by design - Jane is the living proof of the thesis she brings
to every stage.
In brief
Years old.
Still building.
Businesses.
All after 50.
Signature
talks.
"The most dangerous assumption about women over 50 is that they are winding down. They are not. They are just getting started."
Jane does not teach transformation from a manual. She has lived every stage of reinvention — the quiet stirring, the frightening crossroads, the uncomfortable middle, and the extraordinary other side.
Women's events and conferences
Women's leadership conferences, professional associations, network events, and retreats where the audience is ready to be challenged on the assumptions that are keeping them where they are.
→ Who Wrote Your Rules? is the signature talk for this audience.
Corporate organisations
HR teams, D&I leads, women's employee networks, and leadership conferences where the conversation about women over 50 needs to move from policy to genuine cultural shift.
→ The Most Expensive Assumption is the keynote for this audience.
Signature talks
Every talk Jane gives is built on the same foundation: most of the rules we live by were inherited, not chosen. And at any point — especially after fifty — we can examine them, question them, and rewrite the ones that no longer fit.
Women's conferences · Leadership events · Professional associations
Nobody told you that because there are two slots in a toaster you have to eat two slices of toast for breakfast. You just assumed it. Most of us are living by rules like this — inherited assumptions about how life is supposed to work that we absorbed without ever choosing. This keynote explores the stories we tell ourselves, the roles others write for us, and what opens up when we stop following rules we never actually chose. Warm, honest, and unexpectedly funny — it leaves audiences with a profound shift and the permission to make different choices.
The two-slot toaster. An everyday object that became a rule nobody chose — and the gateway to every inherited assumption in the room.
Corporate HR · D&I teams · Women's employee networks · Leadership conferences
Every year, organisations lose some of their most experienced, most capable, most emotionally intelligent people — not because those women
stopped performing, but because no one asked them what they needed next. The assumption that women over 50 are winding down is not just ageist.
It is expensive. This keynote makes the business case for reinvention as a retention strategy — and shows what the organisations who get this right
are doing differently.
After Jane's stroke at 53, the assumption was immediate — she could not continue. Nobody asked what she could do. Nobody asked what she needed. That assumption was wrong. It is wrong in most organisations, every day.
Entrepreneurship events · Chambers of commerce · Women in business groups
Most startup culture celebrates the under-30 founder. The evidence tells a different story. Businesses founded by people over fifty have higher
survival rates, clearer customer understanding, stronger networks, and more resilient leadership. This keynote combines Jane's personal story — four businesses built after fifty, including one from a hospital bed — with the research case that experience is not a liability. It is the unfair advantage most founders spend years trying to acquire.
After her stroke, Jane could not speak properly for six months. She could type. She built a social media business from her keyboard. Four years later, she sold it. The right conditions never came. She worked with the actual ones.
Founder, Not Plain Jane
Years old and building her fourth business
Businesses built after fifty
Hour work week by design
Speaker bio
Jane has built four businesses — every one of them after fifty. She has survived an autoimmune disease, raised two children as a single parent, rebuilt her career after a stroke at 53 when she could not speak by selling social media services from her keyboard, and sold two businesses she built from scratch. She now works 22 hours a week by design and helps women 50, 60, 70 and beyond do the same.
Her corporate career spanned marketing, business development, and senior management across multiple industries. She has taught business and marketing at university and TAFE level. She has been a property investor, an interior designer, a social media consultant, and a property stylist.
Jane does not teach transformation from a manual. She demonstrates it — in every talk she gives, at every age she has been, in every room she walks into.
Keynote
45 to 60 minutes. Full talk with opening story, core thesis, and audience outcome. The signature format for conferences and large events.
Workshop
90 minutes to half day. Interactive, with exercises and group discussion. Ideal for teams, employee networks, and smaller professional groups.
Fireside conversation
30 minutes with a host. Intimate, conversational, often the most memorable format for audiences who have heard Jane speak before.
Panel contribution
20 to 30 minutes as a panellist. Jane brings a distinct point of view and does not give careful, diplomatic answers.
What event organisers say
After every speaking engagement, Jane requests a written testimonial
within 48 hours. As these are collected, this section will showcase
feedback from event organisers, HR teams, and audience members across
all three talk formats.
Every booking starts with a conversation. Tell Jane about your event, your audience, and what you are hoping to achieve — and she will tell you honestly whether she is the right fit and which talk would serve your audience best.
Jane is available for events across Australia and internationally. She works with a small number of organisations each year to protect the quality of every engagement.
What to include in your enquiry
Your event name, date, and location
Your audience — who they are and approximately how many
The talk or format you are considering
Any specific themes or outcomes you are working toward
Your budget range if you are able to share it