Claire - Claire Dunne

Claire - Claire Dunne

Looking back at the past 6 years of Graziher…

It’s been six years since Claire Dunne began publishing quarterly magazine, Graziher from her family’s cattle property in the Central Highlands of Queensland. It was a risky move for Claire back in the era of online everything, but she knew the pay-off of risky moves.

We first caught up with Claire in 2016 as our very first Shirt Ambassador (click here to view her original shirt story). During our initial chat with Claire, she mentioned that she “really hopes Graziher will become a staple in rural households across the country.” Five years later, we can all applaud her for what she has achieved.

We recently caught up with Claire again to talk about Graziher’s biggest wins and challenges since the very first issue, her advice for women on the land and the brand’s exciting future direction.

  1.  Have your business goals changed for Graziher since launching in 2015?

Our core goals have stayed the same since launching in 2015, which is to share stories on rural and regional women. To empower our readers to know that there are so many options for different lifestyles, careers etc in rural and regional areas.

  1. Has Graziher moved in the direction you had planned when launching it?

Yes, we started out as only a print publication, and now we have a weekly podcast, we run events for women, and we’re launching a digital news website in the upcoming months to complement our print publication!

  1. How do you measure success for Graziher and has this changed over the past 6 years?

We measure success in our community who we love so much. We use the happiness and connectedness of our community as our compass to guide decision making.

  1. What have been your biggest challenges with Graziher over the past 6 years?

Working with an entirely remote team has always has its challenges. There are still some amazing people in the Graziher team and extended work family who I still have yet to meet!

  1. What have been your biggest wins with Graziher over the past 6 years?

Going on Landline in the first year of launching – still a pinch me moment. Landline would always be on in the background when we would visit my grandparents’ house on weekends when I was a young child and it was such a moment to go on the programme. Another great win was our floods story coverage from the north west Queensland 2019 – the team of photographers and writer Jayne Cuddihy won a Queensland Clarion award for that story.

  1. What are you most proud of since launching Graziher 6 years ago?

Building out our team has been the biggest thing I am proud of. I’ve gone from doing everything to now having a team of 5 other women, as well as the most amazing team of creatives we get to work with on a seasonal basis. Working predominantly with women has also been amazing – love what we do!

  1. What top 3 resources do you think you need for a business like Graziher to succeed?

Internet, fast decision making and a financial plan.

  1. You must have met some incredible women since launching Graziher. What are some top names that come to mind and what do you admire most about them?

There are really too many to name. Some that spring to mind are Jane Cay - founder of Birdsnest who I think is an incredible business owner. The Graziher team and our creative team of photographers, writers and stylists – these are the women who make the wheels of Graziher turn.

  1. What is some advice you would like to share with young women on the land who are thinking about launching a start-up?

I think it’s never been easier to launch a start up with social media, so many great courses to do online to help you launch a business. Some advice would be just start. Don’t hold off until you have the logo 100% correct, for the website to be perfect etc. And Google everything – so many other people in business also use this as an education tool.

  1. What did you wish you had known at 20 years of age?
    Too not worry as much – as an overthinker, looking back sometimes it can be better to not let decisions bog you down. Make the decision and move forward.
  2. What's next for you and Graziher? Any big plans in the near future? (And what are you looking forward to the most about being a mum?!)

I am looking forward to attempting to take some time off with the new arrival in May (we’ll see how that goes). I’m looking forward to the learning experience of being a mother – famous last words, right? Ask me again in 6 months’ time. But very sad to be saying bye to Sunday morning sleep ins – a lot of friends have told me that won’t be a thing anymore!

For 2021 and 2022 we’re so looking forward to being able to bring our Graziher Up Late events back to regional areas, as well as launching more podcasts and a new website! We want to reach more women and start more conversations.

If you would like to subscribe to Graziher magazine, visit www.graziher.com.au
Back to blog

Leave a comment

Please note, comments need to be approved before they are published.