26 Sep Lauren Brown’s 10-year investment as a One Roof Member
My 10-year investment as a One Roof Member
by Lauren Brown
26th September, 2024
A lot has happened since I first walked through the doors
(and into the community) of One Roof Women.
It was 2015, and I had moved from my hometown of Townsville to the big smoke of Melbourne to have a crack at building a Nanny Business after leaving the childcare industry. I was excited but felt alone—and clueless! Apart from graduating high school, I only had a Diploma in childcare and absolutely no business experience.
One of my dear friends shared a link to a Melbourne pop-up co-working space for women in business. Hosted for a week in a gorgeous home in St Kilda, the space connected women entrepreneurs with amazing speakers, empowering workshops, and desk space. I booked it immediately, and my life changed when I walked through the doors and met Sheree Rubinstein.
I had a safe space to start building myself from a sole trader to a CEO. While I hustled on the side as a professional nanny, I levelled up my entrepreneurship journey with One Roof, from a co-work pop-up to a two-year coworking adventure in the heart of Melbourne, to accelerator programs, network for women events, pitch nights, and now a thriving online community. Along the way, I have never stopped meeting interesting, like-minded women in business who inspire me.
From googling “how to get an ABN” to operating two successful companies, I’m completely self-taught in business. One Roof has been a major source for me to connect to the resources, information and experts I needed to become the business owner I am today. My Nanny agency, Nanager, has been operating for 7 years and runs more without me every year. This is followed by my second company, NannyPay, which I purchased in 2021 (from a fellow One Roof Member), which has grown 1000+% in under 4 years. Don’t get me wrong, it has been hard work but so worth it as I look around at my life of freedom where my work hours are going down, but my income is going up.
My first round pitch for the Startup Vic Competition
My first business accelerator with One Roof 2017
As I look back on the last 10 years as a One Roof member, I see that the community has helped me in more ways than I can count, but let me touch on the main three.
Confidence: I was never academic, so the imposter syndrome was loud early on. Over the years, it’s been the One Roof community that has shouted my name in a room, pushed me to make bigger moves, and hyped me up to celebrate my success. Being a business owner can be lonely, so it’s been essential to be around like-minded working women to ride the waves with.
Network: My core business network (I’m talking about the experts I continue to use and work with) has come from connections I made at One Roof. Don’t get me wrong, along the way, I worked with some people for a short time while others became long-term collaborators (because, let’s be honest, working in business is like dating). One Roof allowed me to find and refine the right group of experts who suit my needs based on where I’m at in my business journey.
As a business owner, you can quickly wear too many hats, so I’m glad to have the right experts in areas like legal, marketing, branding, or accounting who are more equipped to wear those hats when the heat is on. Not to mention, they are all kick-ass women in business from the One Roof Community.
Opportunities: It’s hard to articulate the magnitude of opportunities that have come from the smallest of One Roof connections.
- One time, over coffee, a fellow member mentioned her journalist friend was looking for some nanny quotes for an article. I took the call, and the journalist ended up flipping the angle. Nanager was suddenly an entire page spread in the Saturday Sydney Morning Herald. I received 300+ enquiries that weekend, and that article single-handedly launched my agency.
- Or when the One Roof team pushed me to pitch at a Start-Up Vic pitch night and coached me through the process. I won, and the prizes and prize money gave me the space and resources I needed to resign from my job and work in my business full-time.
- Or when a fellow One Roof Member wanted to sell her Nanny Payroll company because her accounting firm was exploding (shout out Emma Bowdler from The Woman’s Accountant) and offered it to me because she saw my work in the industry and trusted me to take over.
- Or the fact that I’m still out and about in women in business circles and run into old connections, meet people “who saw me pitch that one time” or a fellow woman entrepreneur that I was in a One Roof Cohort with. All these little conversations continue to grow a strong network of women in business and keep these opportunities knocking at my door.
One of the many events I hosted in the space!
Winning the Startup Vic Pitch Night
Sheree and Toni – long time One Roof connections life long friends
Photo shoot for the article that launched Nanager
The fact is, I wouldn’t be where I am today without my path through One Roof. This community has given me far more than just business support —it’s gifted me connection, opportunity, resources, expert guidance, and, most importantly, dear friends who have supported and inspired me along the way. In a world where it’s never been easier to build a career from a laptop and craft a life of freedom, One Roof has been instrumental in helping me model the life I want. From those early days of uncertainty to running two growing businesses, I am fortunate to have worked alongside absolute legends. I am forever grateful for One Roof’s role in my success.
One Roof Market Stall!
About Lauren
Lauren Brown, Australia’s leading nanny industry expert, has dedicated the past ten years to building trusted solutions for both nannies and families.
As the founder of Nanager, she helps families recruit nannies/household managers to support their homes.
Through NannyPay, Australia’s leading nanny payroll company, she manages payroll administration and obligations, ensuring families pay their nannies correctly.
Passionate about improving industry standards, Lauren is also an active advocate for nannies as an Australian Nanny Association board member.
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