Shar Moore
Known as the "YWoman", Shar Moore was born in Thailand and of Indian decent, she unshackled the bridles of a pre-planned life at 15 years of age, in search of a life that knows little constraint and only opportunity.
She has managed, owned and operated, multiple five star spa properties in the Far and Middle East and today is the Founder of the YGroup of companies in Australia, encompassing the Elysian Experience, YMagazine and a host of Training Programs, centred on the development of new and immerging businesses.
Winning the coveted International Stevie Awards in 2015 in New York, Shar is also the author of From Broke To BMW in 18 months, a chronicled memoir of her experience in recovery, after a failed business, the result of the Queensland Floods. Then through to the successful launch and development of the YGroup of companies. Her second book, Your Life Your Purpose, purely and simply illustrates the life that awaits those who elect not to accept the status quo and go in search of their "Y" and then, learn how to apply this purpose in their chosen field of business.
Shar Moore is a sought after Business Mentor to women around the globe, searching for a mentor to guide them step by step to a business that is not only profitable, but built on purpose.
How has your life experience made you the leader you are today?
My life experiences so far have shaped my thinking, my understanding of life and allowed me to have the insight into what truly matters in life. It's not about the money and it's not about how many fans you have on social media. It's about the difference you make with the money you have and how you impact the lives of those that choose to follow you on this journey. My background has taught me so much and the key lesson I have learnt so far, is that those that surround you are the ones who impact your life the most, so choose wisely. Having been told I couldn't achieve most things as a young indian girl, it has allowed me to take that internal grit and fight for what I believe to be the best next step for myself, my family and my clients. I am so grateful for the lessons in my life. A follower is just someone who hasn't been shown that they can also be a leader.
How has your previous employment experience aided your tenure at your company?
Every step of my corporate career and the past 10 years in business has allowed me to sit here at my desk today, as an international awarded business mentor, author, keynote speaker and magazine editor. Every step. Through my corporate days, I was taught many things about accountability, profitability, human resource management, time management and the list goes on. I was taught how to read people and learnt who to trust and who to be careful of. I learnt many skills about business and also life that I apply into my business on a daily basis. Every experience in my life, good and bad, are all important and relevant in my life today.
What have the highlights and challenges been during your tenure at my company?
My biggest challenge was faced when my thriving styling & boutique clothing business was hit indirectly by the Queensland Floods in 2011 and without having any control on it's impact, it was the nail in my coffin. As an entrepreneur we poor ourselves into our business and when something takes it away from you, it destroys you. Well if you let it. I decided after many months that there was a lesson here that I could potentially share with other business owners and so my mentoring journey began. One by one I attracted business owners who wanted to know how I went from Broke to BMW in 18 months, so I was able to take an experience that nearly, bankrupt me and share it with others to help them grow their businesses. As it turns out, it was one of the best things that ever happened to me!
I have a strong passion for helping people connect with others to form strong collaborations in business and launched a very unique networking concept on the East Coast of Australia which successfully ran for nearly 5 years. It had it's challenges as all business that get to a stage in their growth where you can no longer do everything yourself well and a key highlight looking back on that chapter of my business life, was all the incredible relationships that still exist today because of my vision for connecting people.
One of the greatest challenges I have faced over the years in business has been my mindset and believing that this little indian girl can achieve success in life and business. This stems from my childhood and cultural traditions around girls working. I can honestly say that if it wasn't for the many books and workshops I have attended, the numerous mentors I have spent well over a hundred thousand dollars on and the abundant alternative practitioners or 'woo woo' people I like to call them, I would absolutely not be where I am today. We all need a team of support people around us to create our thriving businesses.
What advice can you offer to women who want a careen in your industry?
The best advice I would offer any woman wanting to get into a business based around their passion in life, is to find your passion in life first! Please don't follow in anyones footsteps, or start a business based on your last job, or maybe what your parents have done. Working with as many women as I have over the years, I can hand on heart say, that the ones that have succeeded when the going gets tough, are the ones that have built a business using the 'YFormula' - built it based on their genius zone and their greatest gift in life. Everyone else I have noticed have struggled and ultimately given up. Don't just follow what is out there. Don't say that someone else has done it so you can't as that essentially leaves nothing left as everything has been done before, but it has NOT been done by you! Dig deep, find a mentor that truly sees you for you and allow them to bring out your true purpose in life and share your gifts with the world. If you don't do it now, when will you do it as it is never the right time... never. Your time is now, please shine your light as someone is waiting for you to light their life up with your gifts.
What is the most important lesson you've learned in your career to date?
The most important lesson I have learnt is to trust my internal whisper. Oprah talks about an internal whisper that speaks gently to us and most of us ignore it. I started to listen to it many many years ago and the more I listen, the louder it gets. What I know now is that when I listen to it, everything I touch turns to gold. When I don't everything is a struggle.
How do you maintain a work/life balance?
Well I can't say I have down pat by any stretch of the imagination, however as my hubby has taken us around the world with his career, I've had to manage the 3 kids, our home and my businesses. The one thing I have always tried to do, is have a family dinner at least a few times a week and give everyone a chance to share their high part of the day and their low part. This allowed me to get an insight into how things were going in their lives. We have always been strict on date night and I feel after being married 23 years, this has been a key ingredient. As far as business goes, I don't actually have very good boundaries here, as my business is my passion, it never ever feels like work for me, so I don't get to Friday and say 'thank god it's the weekend' as helping women achieve their grandest goals in business, is not work!
What do you think is the biggest issue for women in the workplace?
So being more of an entrepreneur, I can say that women in business and in the workplace, still have this inferior mindset in general and often place themselves second best. Not just to men, but in general. Women find it hard to make themselves number 1 priority, in work and life. Many of the women I work with are between late 30's and late 40's and they feel invisible. They have been a Mum for so long and juggled many things in their life, they have lost confidence in how amazing they are and what they had achieved before starting their families. This saddens me no end, as when I do value work with my clients, 99.99% cry, as they can finally see themselves again after so long.
How has mentorship made a difference in your professional and personal life?
I am who I am today because of my mentors. Everyone has shaped me in some way, some more than others, but everyone has placed a piece into my life's jigsaw. My mindset is stronger, the bigger the game my mentor plays, the bigger the game I know I can play as we are all equal. The challenges they face and share with me, I know I will be ok, as I am not alone and everyone faces something. Without a mentor you are only living half an experience, in business or life.
Which other female leaders do you admire and why?
I'm not going to say the obvious choices like Oprah, Ellen and all the other fabulous leaders out there, as I believe every woman who has taken a courageous step towards confidently living their true purpose in life, deserves a stage to share her story from and I would be front row. I have huge admiration for any woman who saw a need in the market place for a product or service and fought against all odds, tuned out the critics, sourced a mentor to help them and kept going with quitting, until they made a reality of their vision in their minds eye. I admire each one of you.
What do you want to accomplish in the next year?
The next year for me is my biggest yet! Having recently launched a high end experience for women in Australia that is 'content rich and pitch free', we plan to educate and inspire women around the world. For my first charity fund raising event we have partnered with Hands Across The Water as we work towards raising all funds for a new orphanage in Thailand to house 40 young children. I'm working quietly behind the scenes to put together the first floating conference for sophisticated women in Australia on a cruise ship and also launching my magazine Nationally, focussed on sharing Y female entrepreneurs do what they do. So as you can see, I'm here to live the biggest bravest life I can. Whilst it's scary most days of the week, I'm only here for a short time and I will not let my lack of knowledge, lack of resources, or lack of contacts stop me from achieving my Y.