The Redwoods story

Inception  |  So why Redwoods?  |  Getting back to business

Hi! My name is Tania and I am a founder of Redwoods Work Collaborative. I have always been a passionate advocate for change and bringing out strengths in people. If you check out my LinkedIn page, you will see that I have a diverse professional background, awesome connections and lots of skills to offer.

Inception . . .

A subject of my Executive MBA, Global Business Practice, took us to San Francisco in 2017. Visiting Silicon Valley and some (in)famous organisations was a valuable experience. However, my best takeaways from the trip were experiencing the majestic Redwoods at Muir Woods and ; and visiting an organisation called the Delancey Street Foundation. We had dinner at the restaurant on Embarcadero and learned about their business model from the peer workers who served us.

The foundation is still going strong after over 30 years of operation without government funding and continuing a peer model of learning alongside business continuity and expansion. It inspired me to explore creative ways of business funding and supporting people into meaningful work along the way. Redwoods Work Collaborative Pty Ltd was born mid-Covid, more about that after I explain the name.

So, why Redwoods?

Experiencing the Redwoods at Muir Woods was awe inspiring! The trees are part of a community that supports each other through their root system – making them resilient to extreme weather, illness and injury (unfortunately this does not include the destruction by humans). This community connection enables them to be one of the oldest tree systems in the world. The power of community enhances human beings in much the same way. I wanted to tap into the wonderful energy and contribute to resilient, strong and inclusive communities.

Getting back to business . . .

My goal for the business structure was to become a social enterprise and I am actively working towards BCorp certification. I am keen to explore different ways of working, diverse revenue sources and financial independence / interdependence balance. I have maintained strong business relationships with all of the organisations I have worked with and for and want to continue to build connections and value in and around these communities.

After thorough research and planning, I started a few pilots for my workshops and collaborations and have had the support of really amazing people – some you will see throughout this website – and I attribute the success of each project I work on to teamwork. We are not design to sustainably success on our own.

The business model and way of working is a challenge. Lockdowns and a cancer diagnosis added to the challenge, yet added some amazing insight and experiences for me. At times I was forced to be still, to accept help without payback, and to trust that things work out in the right time. At the time of writing, I am cancer-free but still going through treatment, and slowly getting out there, reconnecting and facilitating change (all in good time).

Due to my current limitations, at the time of writing, Redwoods’ current business model revolves around my consulting work and slowly building funds to resource access to involving young people in paid work experience projects and learning experiences. Learning as we go, my current partners and collaborators are working within our capacity to make this work and work towards the Redwoods vision of “empowered communities that collaborate and succeed financially, socially and environmentally – a whole of community approach”.

Please connect in with us and share your wishlist and goals!