Central Coast doctor and businesswoman Kelly Needham of Coastal Goddess has been named as a finalist for the AusMumpreneur Awards in the Health Business category.
The AusMumpreneur Awards, presented by The Women’s Business School, celebrate and recognise Australian mums in business achieving outstanding success in areas such as business excellence, product development, customer service and digital innovation.
The awards are designed to recognise the growing number of women who successfully balance motherhood and business in a way that suits their life and family.
Kelly is a 45-year-old Dunghutti woman who has been practising medicine for 10 years.
Prior to studying medicine she worked as a radiographer and sonographer for a decade.
She returned to university to study medicine in 2008 and graduated in 2013 as a single mum, with nine-year-old twins.
After completing her junior medical years at Gosford Hospital, Kelly spent three years as a radiation oncology registrar at the Central Coast Cancer Centre, some of the best and most rewarding time of her career.
For a multitude of reasons, Kelly switched from specialty training to working as a medical officer and surgical assistant in the private sector.
She said despite loving those jobs, she was never completely satisfied.
“As a doctor who didn’t complete specialty training, I felt like a failure,” she said.
“I was always striving for something more; to be able to be more, to do more.
“Cosmetic medicine was always an area of interest, so I went about studying and learning everything I could in this field and I found my true passion.”
When setting up Coastal Goddess, a boutique women’s intimate health and cosmetic clinic, Kelly had the vision of providing women a place of empowerment and choice, to improve their self-confidence.
A clinic not just for the skin and face, but to address intimate health issues, including vaginal dryness, urinary incontinence and vaginal laxity.
She also wanted to use her past oncology experience to help women experiencing side effects of cancer and cancer treatment such as vaginal atrophy and dryness, to improve their intimate health.
In October 2021, as life was returning to normal after COVID lockdowns, Coastal Goddess was born.
Kelly said she was delighted to be named as a finalist and is proud of her achievements, particularly starting a business from scratch.
“Running a business is not something you are taught in medical school,” she said.
“It has been a very steep learning curve, lots of sleepless nights and hours learning how to run a business.
“We have gone from zero patients to several hundred patients in less than two years.”
Coastal Goddess is trying to reduce the stigma and taboo around women’s intimate health issues.
“We are making the words vagina and sex become part of everyday conversations” Kelly said.
“Ladies, you don’t have to suffer in silence.
“Painful sex, or peeing when you laugh or sneeze, dry itchy vaginas are not something we just have to put up with.
“So many women hide these symptoms, but there are treatments available.
“We need to start the conversation and keep it going.
“We can and we are changing and improving women’s quality of life.”
Kelly is also proud to be partnering with WomenCan, registered charity for ANZCOG, raising money for gyneacological cancer research.
Every year 2,000 women die form gynaecological cancer in Australia.
“WomenCan – Save The Box is our chosen charity, and we hold an annual Ladies Lunch to raise money,” she said.
“Our inaugural lunch in 2022 raised $18,500.”
The 2023 Ladies Lunch will take place on August 27 at Terrigal and with double the number of tickets, Kelly has set a fundraising target of $35,000.
“This charity partnership has become even more personal recently, as in May this year I was diagnosed with cervical cancer,” she said.
“I have recovered well from surgery and am going back to work next week.
“I feel very fortunate that my cancer was detected from a screening test, and hence was caught early, giving me an excellent prognosis.
“Other cancers such as ovarian and endometrial cancer don’t have a screening test, and hence prognosis and survival rates are significantly worse.
“This is what we are aiming to change.”
Kelly said there were many benefits to balancing business and motherhood.
“I love being a mumpreneur,” she said.
“I feel like I am being a good role model for my children.
“It also gives me the flexibility to be there for my family, and not miss important events – a complete contrast to my earlier years working in the public hospital system.
“If starting your own business is something you are passionate about, do it.
“It will be hard, it will be long hours, there will be ups and downs, but the feeling of knowing that you have built something out of nothing is incredible.”
The winners of the AusMumpreneur Awards will be announced at a Gala Dinner in August.
Source:
AusMumpreneur Awards