Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. HELEN KELLER

Lorraine and her husband John began planting olive trees at Borenore near Orange, over nine years ago. They now have around 700 trees and produce award-winning olive oil. Lorraine is involved in the many stages of hand picking, bottling, labelling, marketing and selling their oil. Despite both also working together off-farm, this ‘hobby enterprise’ is fast becoming a successful business enterprise. Abilene Grove includes five olive varieties chosen for the dual purpose of oil and table. Initially Lorraine and John thought they’d just grow the fruit and sell it to a processor. Lorraine, however, wanted to taste their own oil and because it was so good, they went into production and have never looked back.

What gave you the motivation/inspiration to follow your dream?

I was overwhelmed by the smell and taste of our oil after the first pressing within hours of the olives being picked. I thought ‘this is ours and we’ve produced this’. It was a defining moment and gave us the motivation and inspiration to embark on this journey. From that day we gradually expanded our production, targeting boutique niche markets. I am very much the ideas person in the partnership and primarily focus on managing the advertising and marketing side of the business.

At what point did you realise that your dream was actually possible and what was it that made you think you could really do it?

Our farm is only 100 acres. We had tried a number of ‘ventures’ including Merino sheep, crossbred sheep, fat lambs and cashmere goats, but nothing really developed into a sustainable business. We really didn’t have much experience with olives and hardly ever even ate them! Because so many wine grapes were being planted in our area, we thought we needed to do something different. John loves planting trees so it really came out of that. We were thrilled when we started to win awards in big national competitions and that certainly encouraged us to continue with our dream and believe we could do this. Now that we are winning prizes for our oil we even have our children and their partners wanting to be more involved. John and I now go to the local Farmers’ Markets and enjoy the interaction with customers and telling them about our product. We still run a few sheep and some cattle as well, but olives are now the main focus.

When you were a child, what did you want to ‘be’ when you grew up?

I always wanted to be a teacher but I didn’t work hard enough at school and missed out on a scholarship. I contemplated studying for an infants teaching degree as a mature-age student but on reflection decided I would gain more satisfaction from being freely available to be involved in the education of my own four children.

How did your childhood influence you in later life?

I grew up on a farm at Borenore. We bought the 100 acres from my parents. So I really only moved into the next paddock! Growing up on the land was enjoyable and I think I also learned many practical lessons about how to think creatively to solve problems. My Dad was very determined and I am too. My Mum said that even as a child I would never give up even when I was only playing with toys. I guess that influences me as I don’t like taking no for an answer and will find ways around things.

Who are your role models?

My parents were both role models. After school I started looking for work. I never wanted to go on the dole as my parents instilled in us a pride in work and not to take handouts. My first job was as a pathology collector and tester. I was there for nine years. My other role models are my children. I think you can learn a lot from young people as they often have a fresh approach and great enthusiasm. I am very proud of them all.

What does success mean to you?

Success means being happy, having security, enjoying loving and rewarding relationships, and the satisfaction of a job well done.

What has been one of the biggest barriers you have had to face, what happened, and how did you overcome it?

One of the first barriers we had to face was the prospect of selling our oil, as neither John nor I have had any experience in retail. We overcame our reticence and fronted up to the Orange Farmers’ Market and have not looked back since. We now also go to the Bathurst Farmers’ Market and have built up a good clientele. We also have positive feedback from chefs who use our oil and that gives us the confidence to approach new wholesalers.

In our business, a problem we are still trying to overcome is finding an oil bottle we want. We quite like the shape, size and colour of the bottle we are currently using as it complements our label. The problem is that the bottle has a cork finish. Cork is expensive and in declining supplies, and there is always the possibility of leakage. We would prefer a screw cap for our bottles so that we could also include a pouring insert. The overseas manufacturer has a bottle in the same shape and size and with a screw cap finish but in clear glass only. Oil keeps better in dark bottles. The Australian manufacturers are only interested in huge orders and therefore make for the masses. To overcome the problem I just keep contacting different suppliers and requesting what we want. I am sure one day I will convince them to come up with the goods.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years time? What is your vision for the future?

John and I have agreed to be flexible about the future and see what works for us. We hope we’ll be enjoying the ‘fruits of our labour’ and we’ll either be still producing exceptional olive oil or be retired somewhere in a rural area or by the sea.

What would you like to say to other women who may be just starting out on a ‘daring to dream’ journey?

I’d encourage anyone to have a go and not to accept ‘no’ for an answer. Dare to dream. Follow your dream. Share your dream.