02 ClaireDunne

The WiRE Showcase Series -
Claire Dunne: Claire Dunne, 24 years old, started her first business at age 23. She self-publishes a rural women's magazine, called Graziher. It has been successful and has released seven editions to date as well as build a wide community of like-minded rural women. She currently splits her time between working as a primary producer: working on the magazine in Rockhampton, central Queensland: and living overseas in New Zealand with her partner her who manages a dairy farm. Deferring university at age 19, she moved back to home to Duaringa, QLD. She worked in the family business on several cattle properties in the central Queensland area. Time was spent abroad – six months working and living in Canada. The time spent overseas sparked an interest in journalism which she pursued through a twelve-week course (via distance education) on her return to Australia. The idea of Graziher was a culmination of working in agriculture as a young woman and working as a freelance writer. While Frazier is her first business venture, Claire had spent over four years reading and educating herself through various mediums on business, entrepreneurship and creating a start-up. She had previously played with several business ideas, including mock launching them before closing them down due to lack of interest. She has worked in many areas of the agriculture industry and found that the subject of women, and the role they play throughout the industry and in culture was continued interest. The micro-business venture of Graziher is still in its early days, and there are many avenues Claire is looking to work on with the venture. The most enjoyable part of starting and running business is the learning and self-education. It's been a very
organic process for Claire, and those experiences have been very rewarding.