Sarah Liu, Founder of The Dream Collective
1) Hi Sarah, and congratulations on being a globelle gal in focus! Where in the world could be currently find you?
Sydney - or travelling interstate around Australia to build our network!
2) What inspired you to first start travelling?
The desire to discover, explore and learn new things. I love being stimulated by scenery, people and spontaneous discoveries.
3) What's been your favourite place to visit, and why?
Where do I start! Japan is my all time favourite as I studied there during my University years, being there always bring back the most wonderful memories. But Winter in Salzburg is a close second!
4) Who would you say has been the most influential person to your travels, and why?
The person most influential to my travel would have to be my Dad. He's a pilot and has set foot in most of the countries there are in the world. He's always mobile, always keen on exploration and discovery. I definitely get my travelling spirit from him! :)
The view from one of Sarah's recent trips to Bali, because everyone deserves a little downtime.
5) What is the worst thing to have happened to you on the road, and how did you deal with it?
I almost got robbed while in Barcelona, when 3 people tried to pickpocket my purse in a cafe. Fortunately, I noticed it quickly and yelled across the cafe to get the restaurant staff to shut the doors so they couldn't get out! We sent them off to the police station and the lesson was learnt - never let your bag leave your body in Spain!
6) Obviously life on the road is about fewer possessions and more moments, but what is the one thing you can't travel without?
My eye-mask - it always give me a good night sleep and undisturbed peace in flight too!
7) You're the founder of The Dream Collective, an organisation that connects and develops high calibre young professional women worldwide. What inspired you to do this?
Having been born in Taiwan, raised in New Zealand and educated in Japan, I moved to Sydney in 2008 to kick-start my career in Branding and Marketing. While pursuing my chosen field, I was confronted by the lack of support and resources available in the corporate world to mentor ambitious young women.
I noticed many other young women were facing the same challenges I was: resulting in them lacking confidence and knowledge to get to the next level. I wanted to address this, to reach out to senior women leaders in Australia to mentor, coach and share their experiences with the younger generation.
From this, I founded The Dream Collective network three years ago. It has now expanded nationally to Melbourne and Perth.
8) What do you hope to achieve through The Dream Collective, and how?
Young women deserve and desire the knowledge and confidence to reach their potential.
The organisation gives young women access to Networking Conferences, Leadership Think Tanks, Career Coaching Workshops and Mentoring Programs around Marketing, Entrepreneurship and Corporate leadership run by highly capable individuals. In these supportive environments, we see our members grow.
From this, I hope to see more women in leadership by empowering them to achieve their goals and equipping them with the skills and knowledge to get there!
:)
(HQ: We've been fortunate enough to participate in The Dream Collective for the past couple of months and cannot recommend it enough! The insight it's given us, as well as the support from women with a similar attitude to make the most out of their dreams has been outstanding!)
One of The Dream Collective's Melbourne Think Tank sessions in action
9) What does your day to day role with Little Girl Big Dream involve?
Meetings with clients, managing the ever growing team, planning content for our sessions and continuously thinking about what else we can do to make it better! It's important to always aim to do better.
10) What does travelling mean to you?
It means discovery and recovery - discovery of new things, recovery from the busy everyday life that we can sometimes get caught up in. It means opportunity: to recharge, refuel and reset for new beginnings :)
11) If you could offer one piece of advice to those travelling for the first time, either as part of a group or solo, what would it be?
Explore and experiment - but look after yourself well!
12) And finally, how can globelle gals get involved with Little Girl Big Dream and get in touch with you?
We have our upcoming Career Summit with 10 incredible speakers to help globelle gals take their career to the next level. This is a once a year only opportunity and you wouldn't want to miss out! Hear from business executives, sporting heroes, tech startup rising starts, best selling author and film director on achieving breakthroughs in your career. Visit www.thedreamcollective.com.au/career-summit/
Sarah leading a workshop for The Dream Collective Members