Sydney businesswoman Christine Kininmonth named AusMumpreneur 2014

Sydney businesswoman Christine Kininmonth has been named the 2014 St.George Banking Group AusMumpreneur of the Year at a gala cocktail party in Melbourne. Awards were given out to business mums in 11 categories including Rising Star, Product Innovation and Customer Service.

Christine, who is the founder and director of maternity and baby goods retailer Fertile Mind, took out the major award against nine other finalists who were vying for the title of Australia and New Zealand’s top business mum.

Mother of four Christine was presented with her award by naming sponsor St.George Bank’s Head of SME Chris Screen. Christine said she was excited to be named the 2014 St.George Banking Group AusMumpreneur of the Year against such a talented line up of finalists.

“There are women doing amazing things and I met so many over this weekend. I think that all of us have something to offer and I’m thrilled to be recognised in this group,” Christine said. “Some of the best advice I could give is get advice, get mentoring and talk to women who have already been in business. If I could go back and do it differently I would have probably gone to more conferences to meet other women who’d done it before,” she said.

This is the fifth year the AusMumpreneur Awards have run, with the business mum community growing at lightning speed as mothers look at opportunities to join the ranks of small business owners.

AusMumpreneur Network owners Peace Mitchell and Katy Garner said the awards show the passion of women who want to realise their entrepreneurial dreams as well as be great mums.

“Christine is a such a great ambassador for mumpreneurs. She is an outstanding role model for women in business and is living proof of what you can achieve when you put your mind to it,” Peace said.

There are 11 categories in the 2014 St.George Banking Group AusMumpreneur Awards, with three judged and eight open to public voting. Winners are as follows:

• AusMumpreneur of the Year: Christine Kininmonth, Fertile Mind
• Rising Star AusMumpreneur: Jackie Hall, Parental Stress
• Emerging AusMumpreneur: Marlies Hobbs, Paleo Cafe
• Customer Service Award: Sasha Deacon, Beau Hudson
• Blog Award: Jo Whitton, Quirky Cooking
• Eco-Friendly Award: Lynsey Nichols, Gilbert the Garbage Truck
• Handmade Award: Lauren Harris, Tadah Patterns
• Make a Difference Award: Jenine Dilts-Bayman, Mums with Bubs Fitness
• Product Innovation Award: Kate Curtis, Nits in the Ditch
• Service Business Award: Belinda Jennings, Mum Central
• Retail Business Award: Caroline Africh, Attipas Shoes