To be successful is to be innately happy with what you are doing on the day that you are doing it, and to be looking forward to tomorrow.

Rebel Black is a young outback woman who has never let isolation or age stand in the way of a career change or potential business venture. With her partner Michael, Rebel established ‘Dig In’, a unique restaurant on the edge of the opal fields in the mining town of Lightning Ridge, in 2003 when she was only 25.  Dig In is more than just a place to eat. It is a total outback cultural experience. Diners enjoy the night sky and are entertained by locals, including the Aboriginal dreamtime. Rebel hopes to expand the business model over time. Prior to Dig In, she worked in a wide range of jobs including project management, regional arts development and tourism, and was Editor of the Lightning Ridge newspaper for two years.

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

I’ve been in Lightning Ridge for seven years. The inspiration for our restaurant came after a trip to Alice Springs. While there I visited one of the resorts where they served food and entertained diners under the stars against the backdrop of the MacDonnell Ranges. The sound of the didgeridoo enhanced the incredible atmosphere and I was inspired. As there wasn’t anything in western NSW that compared to the experience, it made me wonder whether it was something we could do in Lightning Ridge.

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?

Twelve months later I spent an afternoon sitting on the block of land Michael and I live on with Michael’s parents, and I began to visualise establishing an outback restaurant. I could ‘see’ where people would sit, where the kitchen would go and where the storytellers and entertainers would be. After much persuasion, Michael finally relented and it snowballed from there.

We gradually transformed the scrubby block of land (about an acre) with its knee-high grass into what Dig In is today. From the road it looks like a miner’s camp but once inside the space there are beautiful Wilga trees and old box trees, which arch over the campfire where people sit. We have literally just fitted the restaurant around the existing natural environment. Our commercial kitchen is in a second-hand shipping container we bought from Sydney.

I do most of the cooking. I had never cooked with a camp oven in my life prior to Dig In, and my previous experience of camp cooking was the doughy damper I inflicted upon my family as a child—solid balls with alfoil stuck in the crevices! I have improved since then! My main hospitality experience was working at functions while I studied an unfinished law degree, and serving in bars and restaurants in Alice Springs. I drew a lot of confidence in my cooking from Michael, who manages the fires and makes sure the food is perfect after its slow coal cooking process.

The turning point, when I knew Dig In was actually going to happen, was the night Michael and I drove for 10 hours to Sydney to go to a catering equipment auction. It was very trying as we ended up buying some useless things like a $1500 dishwasher that needed three-phase power which we didn’t have, and a coolroom (in pieces) with handwritten Hungarian and broken English instructions! We drove off after packing the container for transportation, thinking ‘what have we done?’ But from that point there was no turning back and I knew we had to make it work. And we are making it work.

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

I wanted to be everything. I used to watch other oeople in what they did and I’d think ‘I could do that’, and then I’d see something else and want to do that. In all honesty, I still think like that!

I have always been interested in so many things and consequently have dabbled in many different jobs, crossing them off the list mostly! Actually, the cocktail book that we have in the restaurant now is one that I bought in high school in preparation for the restaurant I was going to have one day—at the time it didn’t look like Dig In, but dreams really can become reality!

How did your childhood influence you in later life?

I grew up on a property east of Coonabarabran and had a very happy childhood. My parents, my grandparents and family friends have always had a strong influence on me. The other day when I was shovelling gravel for a new shed at the restaurant, I reflected on how very privileged I have been to have had the upbringing that I did. My family instilled in me an ability to work physically hard but they also provided opportunities for me to be educated. In the summer holidays my sister, brother and I worked in the shearing shed, mustered stock, chipped burrs and picked rocks. Mum and Dad put us on the payroll very early, which was a good motivation and helped to develop my strong work ethic.

I was told all my life that I could do whatever I wanted to do and that whatever I did was going to be OK. It never occurs to me that I can’t do something—there are always solutions.

Who are your role models?

I’ve never really had anyone I’ve idolised. I admire my Mum, now more than ever. I appreciate and respect her tenacity and her ability to visualise, create and achieve.

I admire people who are committed to a goal and achieve it. At one stage I thought I was a failure as I would start things and not finish them. I then realised that what I was really good at was having an idea, creating the structure and passing it on to others who then run with it.

I am moved by a great real life story, tragedy to triumph. I love it when people beat the odds!

What does success mean to you?

I struggle with the idea of ‘success’; in fact I find it difficult to define. I think that there are many different ways to be outwardly successful, but what you feel on the inside is what matters. I know that success is about the journey rather than the ultimate destination.

A successful life is a fulfilling one in all areas. To be successful is to be innately happy with what you are doing on the day that you are doing it, and to be looking forward to tomorrow.

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

Fear has been the biggest hurdle. Fear of failure, fear of debt, fear of the unknown. Fundamentally it is the voices in my head challenging me by saying ‘can I really do this?’ There have been plenty of times along the journey when I have wondered if it is worth it—especially when we are putting in 15–20 hour days and just making ends meet. Then someone tells us they have had one of the best evenings of their life in a business we have created, and it makes it all worthwhile.

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

I’ll be 37 in 10 years time. I know I’ll be a better person. I’d like to have more time for Michael and to have a business that is sustaining us passively, and there is always the possibility of a family. I want to live in a home that we’ve built together. At the moment we live in a 40 foot caravan, which we love and have created into a beautiful space; however, we’d love to create and build a home ourselves.

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

Keep going, have faith in your dream and know that it will work. Don’t ignore the fear but use it to your advantage and let it drive you forward rather than hold you back. Gather people in your life who will provide you with support and whom you can support in return. Put your dream out there. What you put out is what you get back, so be positive.