Sharon Thurin of Slim Secrets has been selected as a finalist in the 2011 Bio-Oil AusMumpreneur Awards.

The 2011 Bio-Oil AusMumpreneur Awards presented by connect2mums celebrate and recognize Mums in business achieving outstanding success in areas such as business, product development, services and innovation in businesses from Australia and New Zealand. The awards are designed to recognize the growing number of women who successfully balance motherhood and business in a way that suits their life and family.

Like many babies, Slim Secrets was born one sleepless night in 2005 as I lay in bed concerned about the growing rate of obesity in Australia. Realising there was a gap in the health and wellbeing market, I set about creating a healthy snack food company and have never looked back. The Slim Secrets philosophy is to promote a healthy lifestyle, be the secret weapon for your snack attacks and connect with consumers through valuable secrets. Thanks to our outstanding packaging, great taste and proven results I have seen the business flourish over the past 5 years. Our range of snack bars, cookies, chips and shots are now distributed nationally and overseas to a wide variety of outlets and are fast
becoming a worldwide favourite. With continued success the Slim Secrets brand is set to become an instantly recognisable global leader.

There are many benefits to balancing business and motherhood as Sharon explains,” I enjoy mentoring others in business, particularly the younger generation. My kids are at the age where they are venturing into the work force and it is great for them to see how a business can start from scratch and build with hard work and enthusiasm. I just found out recently that one of my daughters friends has nominated me for Telstra Business Woman of the Year and what I love about that is not the actual nomination but the fact that she admires the work put into Slim Secrets and the business model.”

It can be challenging to be a successful business woman whilst raising a family and Sharon gives this advice for others thinking about starting their own enterprise “It can look extremely daunting at the beginning and you may be apprehensive to start a business for reasons such as inexperience, gender, competition, family etc. My advice would be find someone in your life who you can talk to and bounce ideas and thoughts off. Get sound advice and don’t be afraid to ask questions from other experienced business owners. Ensure you have a plan but don’t be too rigid with it as sometimes opportunities present themselves that are too good to not to pursue.”

The winners of the 2011 Bio-Oil AusMumpreneur Awards will be announced at a glamorous Awards dinner at Mercure Sydney on Saturday 27 August 2011.

For more information on the AusMumpreneur Awards visit: www.connect2mums.com.au