National Telstra Business Award winner 2011 Melanie Summer founder of Flash Fotos
Melanie Summer was born and raised in Germany. After travelling around the world on a sailing boat, a journey that took her three years, she chose to call Australia home.
As a busy single mum Melanie recognised she needed to re-organise her life in order to be flexible enough to care and create security for her young daughter, so she started her own business on the Sunshine Coast, Flash Fotos.
Melanie Summer’s decision to go into business was, as for so many other small business owners, to gain a more flexible lifestyle as a single mum, more independence and to create wealth. But things turned out differently. Within 2 years her business Flash Fotos was in $250,000 debt, and Melanie was stressed to the limits, over-worked and close to bankruptcy. It was her dramatic learning curve. On turning her business into the ongoing success that it is today. She says, “I always knew I’d land on my feet but I just wasn’t sure if I’d be wearing high heels or running shoes”.
Land on her feet is exactly what she did. In 2009 she co-founded the Mind Design Centre and continues to inspire and motivate as an engaging speaker and writer. Melanie won the National Telstra MYOB Small Business Award 2011 for her achievements with Flash Fotos and now inspires and helps other business owners to transform their companies into award winning businesses.
In an amazing journey she changed her business around to the success it is today. Flash Fotos now employs 23 staff and has more than 2,500 customers per year throughout regional Australia. In recognition of their achievements Flash Fotos won the National Telstra MYOB Small Business Awards 2011 in August 2011.
