Creating a solid set of values is a good foundation for a better business and for better outcomes in the Australian Age Care sector, says NewDirection Care CEO and founder Natasha Chadwick.

There are always people ready to tell you what you can’t do when you start a new business, says Natasha Chadwick, a former Telstra Business Woman of the Year and the CEO and founder of NewDirection Care. But sometimes, Natasha says, the best advice comes from within.

“I think it’s really important to back yourself,” Natasha told TV presenter Natarsha Belling when she recently returned to the set of Game Changers. “There are plenty of people who want to tell you what you can’t do but it’s really important to listen to yourself about what you can do and make sure you plan for it but also be flexible because sometimes things just don’t work out the way we would like.

“I think if you come at a business from a values perspective rather than from a ‘what can I get out of this’ perspective it sets a solid foundation for a business to operate from. It’s really about what can I, as the person leading the business, bring to the table? What are my values? How am I going to operate this business? That really matters.

“You need to think about it from a values perspective, not about profit and not about, what do I get from this? I think those are the important lessons for anyone who is moving into business.”

If anyone knows the importance of values and the difference they make in business, it’s Natasha Chadwick. She was named the 2019 Telstra Business Woman of the Year Award for her pioneering work in the Australian Aged Care sector with the foundation of NewDirection Care, an innovative and original approach to providing more fulfilling lifestyles for the aged and those with dementia.

NewDirection Care, at Bellmere in Queensland, provides care and services in what Natasha calls a “microtown” environment designed to provide a high-quality lifestyle for both the elderly and those with dementia, including younger people.

“What we have done at NewDirection Care is create a small town,” Natasha says. “It’s just like a suburb anywhere in Australia. It has all the shops and services you would find in a small town.

“There are 17 houses each with seven residents that live there. Anything that happens in your home or mine happens at NewDirection Care in Bellmere.

“We also have a full community with shopping, with a hairdressing salon, a GP, a dental clinic and a spa and a gym. All the things you would normally do in your life in any community, you can do at our microtown at Bellmere.”