Uli leading the way to connect community
A TABLELANDS finalist for the 2020 Queensland Telstra Business Woman of the Year hopes to use her platform to advocate for rural communities.
Travel agent Uli Lenitschek, who will fly to Brisbane later this month for the award’s gala dinner, said the region’s communication infrastructure, including internet and phone services, was her biggest concern.
“Everybody is suffering with the NBN not working properly,” she said.
“It is a huge thing and every business owner I talk to struggles with those services.”
The managing director of TravelExperience.com.au, with two stores, in Atherton and Mareeba, said she was “honoured and proud” to find out she was a finalist, before adding “it didn’t happen overnight”.
She believes the resilience she has shown through the many challenges the industry has faced is what impressed the judges and lists global crises – such as the SARS virus outbreak in 2002/3 and the September 11 terrorist attacks – as well as the rise of online competitors as hurdles.
“When I go through hard times, I look for opportunity,” she said. “I’ve turned the internet around to make it work for us. We have a lot of clients from overseas and are doing better than ever.”
She believes her business’s ability to compete in the digital age lies in her commitment to customer service.
“People still like to sit down and talk to a real person,” Ms Lenitschek said.
“A holiday is a big investment, because it’s not just people’s money but their time, and they’ve often worked all their lives for a dream holiday.”
Ms Lenitschek has 37 years in the industry under her belt and, when asked to give tips to young business owners, said customer service should be their No.1 priority.
“Do your homework. You need to make sure you have a market,” she said.
Telstra group executive Alex Badenoch said this year marked 25 years of the Telstra Business Women’s Awards.
“Many of the most successful women in business have one thing in common. They are pioneers who use their own unique business approach to redefine the status quo both in what they do and how they do it. By undoing traditional approaches to business, they are setting examples to inspire others,” she said.
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