lishing phenomenon (800,000 copies and count-
ing) Sunshine Coast mums Rachael Bermingham
and Kim McCosker are too busy to play games.
the Lifestyle Channel], a calendar, columns, anoth-
er book coming out and we're going to the UK next
year. Then there are our families [both have young
children]. There is no time to stew on things. We
are open and honest with each other. If there is a
problem we discuss it and deal with it," says Ber-
mingham, a motivational speaker/writer with two
successful self-published titles under her belt. Mc-
Cosker has a background in fi nancial services.
profi ts and workloads divided equally. Roles and
responsibilities are assigned according to their
strengths and they update each other regularly via
email and phone.
Close family friends from childhood, Bermingham
and McCosker knew each other well enough be-
fore they went into business to gauge whether they
were going to make a good team. Bermingham was
wary she'd been in a bad partnership and wasn't
keen on a repeat performance, and she quizzed
McCosker on her intentions. "What was important
to me was that Kim was going to put in the same
amount of energy as me. I am hard working, ef-
fi cient and effective and luckily, Kim is exactly the
same," she says. "We're driven by different things,
but we respect each others' talents."
Bermingham
and Kim
McCosker from
the LifeStyle
Channels 4
Ingredients
Show
lished the stationery brand Corban & Blair more
than 20 years ago. The ties that bind them outside
of their partnership agreement include similar at-
titudes towards money and responsibility.
gal obligations. It is not a game. It is a livelihood
that can hurt others if not done well," Corban says.
"We know now that we can trust each other implicit-
ly to do the right thing socially, in the business for
each other and ourselves." It wasn't always easy, she
adds, but a shared desire to make it work helped. "I
believe you do not want to be in partnership with
anyone who is not prepared to listen to you."
ments and a well-thought-out business plan. "Both
these processes will cause issues to arise that can
be sorted out in the beginning. If there is discomfort
about anything at the beginning it is likely to get
worse not better."
three months. They also use business trips as an op-
portunity to spend time together without daily work-
place distractions, and look at bigger-picture issues
for the company. And to indulge in a spot of retail
bonding: "We buy shoes together," Corban laughs.