Elle Australia — May 2017

P

eople think designer clothes, travel and fashion

shows are what make me happy, but I would

give them all up for my team. My happiest

moments aren’t being snapped by photographers,

which is quite stressful, but during our monthly

company breakfasts when we eat together. We’ve grown

to 40 people in the six years since I started Avenue 32.

The average age of people who work for me is under

30, so I feel like I’m mother to a second family.

‘Žȱ ꛜȱ ‘’—ȱ ȱ ˜ȱ  ‘Ž—

ȱŠ››’ŸŽȱŠȱ˜ž›ȱ˜™Ž—Ȭ™•Š—ȱ˜ĜŒŽ

is go around and chat with

everyone, maybe ask how

a business trip went or check

on the interns who sit next to

the directors. I know that even

if I’m having a hard time in my

personal life, the positivity of

my team will cheer me up.

I have workaholic tendencies

and used to wake up in the

night to check emails. I have to

–Š”ŽȱŠȱŒ˜—œŒ’˜žœȱŽě˜›ȱ˜ȱŠ”Ž

time for myself. I don’t get up

at 5.30am anymore but I still

like to exercise, have a bath or

Œ˜˜”ȱŠ—ȱ˜–Ž•ŽĴŽȱŠ—ȱ›ŽŠȱ‘Ž

news. I take my mornings

slowly so that when I arrive at

‘Žȱ˜ĜŒŽȱŠ›˜ž—ȱşǯřŖŠ–ȱȂ–

happy and balanced.

I knew nothing about

e-commerce when I started

Avenue 32. My naivety was

a blessing; had I known how

much money and work it

would take, I would have been

Ž››’ꮍǯȱ ‘Žȱ ‹žœ’—Žœœȱ ’œȱ ŗŖŖ

™Ž›ȱŒŽ—ȱŠ–’•¢Ȭꗊ—ŒŽǰȱ ‘’Œ‘

is a double-edged sword; I’m

lucky to have their mentoring

but it’s a lot of responsibility.

We relaunched the website

recently and faced some big

challenges. It has made the

team stronger though – we all

pulled together and introduced

new reporting structures as

a result. Back when I was

 ˜›”’— ’— ꗊ—ŒŽ  Šœ  Ž••

paid but isolated; I wouldn

it again for the world.

BE CONSCIOUS ABOUT

YOUR CHOICES.Don’t

dothingsjustforthe

sakeofit,dothem

becausetheybenefit

youandpushyou

her.It’sokayto

nosometimes.

MAKE TIME FOR

NON-WORK FRIENDS.

It’sgreattohavepeople

whounderstandthe

complexitiesofyourjob,

butyoualsoneedpeople

whocan’trelatetoit,

becauseitforcesyouto

nottalkaboutwork.

BRUSH OFF THE BAD

DAYS.It’simportantto

takeastepbackand

thinkaboutwhyyou

loveyourjobafter“one

ofthosedays”(because

weallhavethem).

KEEP YOUR TEAM

HAPPY.Everyone

contributestoour

internalnewsletter

–evenifonlyto

mentiontheirnew

haircut,birthday

partyorholiday.

IT’S JUST A JOB.

Whilethisismy

dreamjob,Idon’t

letworkmake

meunhappy.

CRISIS IS

NECESSARY.

Overcoming

challengesmakes

workfun.Ifyoudon’t

haveanyproblems,it

canbecomeroutine.

OW

KR

TI

W

O

RK

IT

WORK

IT

I

always knew I’d work in the

kind of role that helped

others, but I didn’t decide to

be a paramedic until I found

myself assisting the victims

˜ȱŠȱ›ŠĜŒȱŠŒŒ’Ž—ȱȂ

witnessed – that was the

light-bulb moment. The most

challenging part of my job is

dealing with other people’s

emotions; death, major trauma

and mental health are a very

normal part of my day, but for

patients, their family and

friends, those things can be

Ž¡›Ž–Ž•¢ȱ ’ĜŒž•ȱ Š—

distressing. This job is

a never-ending lesson in the

power of positivity. A patient once said to me, “I am

lucky in my bad luck” and I’ve always kept that close

to my heart – I always think about the good in

every bad situation.

My work is physically intense; I lug around a lot of

heavy equipment, and more than once I’ve found

myself carrying a patient out of their house and into

the ambulance. Ever since I moved to London, walking

has been a big part of life here – a lot of my exercise is

incidental. I clock up another hour’s worth of walking

Š’•¢ȱ“žœȱŽĴ’—ȱ˜ȱŠ—ȱ›˜–ȱ ˜›”ȱŠ—ȱȱžœŽȱ‘Šȱ’–Žȱ

as an opportunity to get in and out of the “work

mindset”. When I’m home, I always get straight out of

–¢ȱž—’˜›–ȱŠ—ȱ›ž—ȱŠȱ‘˜ȱ‹Š‘Dzȱȱꗍȱȱ˜Ž—ȱ Š—ȱ˜ȱ

œ ’Œ‘ȱ˜ěȱ ’‘ȱŠȱ–˜Ÿ’ŽȱŠ—ȱŠȱŒž™ȱ˜ȱŽŠȱǻ˜›ȱ•Šœœȱ˜ȱ

wine) after a long day of talking to patients. ‰

TRACEY-LEE

BESWICK, 27

IS A PARAMEDIC

WORKING FOR THE

LONDON AMBULANCE

SERVICE. ASSISTING THE

VICTIMS OF A TRAFFIC

ACCIDENT INSPIRED HER

TO STUDY PARAMEDICINE

AT THE AUSTRALIAN

CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY

IN MELBOURNE. AFTER

WORKING FOR THE

QUEENSLAND

AMBULANCE SERVICE,

SHE MOVED TO LONDON

LAST AUGUST TO HELP

WITH THE NATIONAL

HEALTH SERVICE’S

PARAMEDIC SHORTAGE.

ROBERTA

BENTELER, 33

SPENT HER EARLY CAREER

IN FINANCE. AT 26 SHE

QUIT TO INTERN FOR

INDEPENDENT DESIGNER

SALONI AND STARTED

AVENUE 32, A LUXURY

E-COMMERCE WEBSITE OF

EMERGING DESIGNERS AND

ESTABLISHED BRANDS.

TRACEY-LEE’S

SECRETS

TO SUCCESS

ROBERTA’S

PHILOSOPHY

FOR ENJOYING

WEACH DAY

RO

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ELLE.COM.AU / @ELLEAUS 85
As told to: Tamsin Crimmens. Additional words: Laura Collins. Photography: Alamy; Getty Images