#26 - Karlie Cummins: Saying Yes, Building Trust, and Growing a Fun Business

In this episode, Sam Bell speaks with Karlie Cummins about saying yes before you have every answer, building trust through action, and growing a business that feels both effective and fun.

Karlie is the founder of Bali Buddies and Indo Buddies, two influential travel media platforms helping tourism and lifestyle brands reach Australian travellers through trusted storytelling, digital media, brand trips, PR, and strategic partnerships across Bali and Indonesia. Her background in education still shapes the way she leads, teaches, mentors, and builds.

Together, Sam and Karlie explore the accidental beginnings of Bali Buddies, the courage it took to move a family to Bali without a backup plan, the role of trust and generosity in business growth, and why fun is not a distraction from serious work but part of what makes it sustainable. The conversation also moves through online schooling, raising very different daughters, adapting through Covid, and using new technology with curiosity rather than fear.

This is a practical and energising conversation about backing yourself, learning in motion, and building a business and life that keep expanding.

This episode explores

• Saying yes before knowing exactly how
• Turning a passion project into a trusted media business
• Building trust with clients, communities, and tourism partners
• Moving a family to Bali and going all in on a new life
• Adapting business models through uncertainty and recovery
• Teaching, mentoring, and consulting as a through-line in Karlie’s work
• Using AI and new technology to work smarter
• Fun as a strategic choice in brand, team, and client experience
• Designing work that supports family life, adventure, and growth

Guest links

• Karlie Cummins: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karliecummins/
• Bali Buddies: https://balibuddies.com/
• Indo Buddies: https://indobuddies.com/

Chapters

01:34 From classroom teacher to accidental Bali business founder
05:07 The first paid client, clear communication, and backing yourself
08:18 Moving to Bali and nine years of expat life
10:48 Saying yes, figuring it out, and growing through action
13:11 Selling everything, moving a family, and going all in
15:29 Online schooling, family choices, and raising an academic and a hustler
17:03 The 12-year-old candle business and WhatsApp entrepreneurship
20:29 Family influence, multitasking, and being most like her dad
22:35 Building community and becoming known in Bali
24:28 Pandemic in Bali, helping hotels, and the long lead-up to growth
28:22 Learning new tech, using AI well, and staying curious
30:09 How Karlie likes to be seen: genuine, honest, and fun
31:00 Building a brand through parties, delight, and industry connection
34:11 Family, adventure, and moments that make the whole thing worth it

Explore further

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Learn more about Sam: https://samanthabell.com.au
Subscribe to hear future episodes.

About Natural Genius

The Natural Genius podcast explores how people discover and express their natural strengths, instincts, and contributions.

Through conversations with leaders, thinkers, builders, and practitioners across many fields, the podcast explores the signals that guide meaningful work and the choices that shape a life.

More at https://naturalgenius.com.au

Credits

Hosted by Samantha (Sam) Bell in Violet Town and Bali, 27 January, 2026
Produced at the Violet Town, Peregian Beach and Sunshine Motorway offices, 27 January - 25 March, 2026

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:02

Welcome to the Natural Genius Podcast. We're here to help you tap into your natural genius. Let's go. From mining town to Bali influencer. Amazing Carly has done an incredible job of building businesses and two beautiful humans raising them in Bali, and previous to that, a mining town in Queensland in Australia. She is a powerhouse of generosity, kindness, spirit and spunk. She has created these Bali buddies and other businesses and apps. And she's a clever new tech person, picks it up really quickly. And we both don't get to spend enough time together, but when we do, it is full of business conversations and excitement about life. Enjoy hearing from Carly. So good to be here and finally catch up. Oh Carly, I have so been looking forward to this. I it's been way too long. Wait. I I I love how the two of us met. And yeah, do you want to tell the story?

SPEAKER_00 1:34

The story of how we met. Um actually in some of the pre-questions you were um sending through before the the podcast, and you said um, I think one of them goes along the lines of uh something or a moment that's um, you know, made you change. So the way we met is I was a classroom teacher and I'd started this accidental business by starting a Facebook page about Bali that then was turning into at that time a travel agency, which is now a digital media agency. And I was thinking at the time, gee, I need to learn more about social media so that I can figure out how to market this business. And I had no money.

SPEAKER_02 2:16

Um, and I was selling, I'm trying to remember 2012.

SPEAKER_00 2:20

2012. Right. So classroom teacher in Queensland, Moranbar, which is a 10,000 people mining town. I also sat on the board of the it's called the Workers' Club in Morinbar, where it's the community club where people, you know, drink, eat, gamble. Um, but we were always putting on things for the community. So I pitched the idea on the board was like, why don't we fund social media is so new and the businesses around town are going to be needing to use social media. Why don't we fund as the workers' club um an expert to come out and run a free community workshop on how to use social media? And they went, yeah, that's a great thing to put our money in because it's a non-for-profit, right? And I was like, great, because that benefited me personally too. And then I can't, oh, I do remember how I found you. You were a friend of Libby Doherty, who was my sister's wedding planner in Bali. Um and Libby somehow, yeah, recommended you and I rang you, and um, you said, Oh, if it's a community thing, I'm happy to do it at a at a good rate because it's for the community, and because I was like, Oh, we only have this much money. And then I was like, Well, what about what's your expectations with accommodation? And you're like, honestly, I don't care where I stay, like it's only for two nights. And I was like, Oh, we've got a spare bedroom in our house, do like a psychopath. Do you want to just stay at our house and um and I'll put it in? Yeah, lucky I wasn't, and so anyway, you came to the house with some eggs, right? Some eggs from your friend's farm because you're right into the organic eggs that you wanted to break first. We did the workshop, which was great because we had people from all over the um community come and join the workshop and we had our computers for the day. And it was like, I don't even think I'd started an Instagram account, or I'd only just started the week before an Instagram account when you came at that stage, right? But I was well into Facebook, but I just started a Facebook, uh, an Instagram account. And and yeah, you were teaching us, and then in the time we obviously had two dinners together and we're chatting back and forth, and I I had no ideas about websites. And I said, I've got this person making one, I don't really know anything about it. And you looked at it and you're like, that's from the 1980s. I'm gonna make you one. And you're like, you made me my first website in two hours, I remember, right? You just went like you're like, look, it's basic, but this is like this is what you need, not whatever that person is is making you, you know.

SPEAKER_02 5:03

Right, right. Memory, sorry, go ahead. Right.

SPEAKER_00 5:07

So so we'd met, and then the but that so that was already like, oh wow, and you're like, you already know so much about social media, you know. And then it was not um a month later, I don't think, you rang me and you said, listen, there's these guys in Melbourne who are setting up a like a cycle or a um a cycling. And you're like, I can't, they want me to help them, I can't help them. I think you should help them. And I was like, help them how? How would I even charge that? But you were the first person that really just went, no, you can do that. And I put together these options for them, like, oh, okay, I can do these online lessons for you, or I can do this. And out of at a what I thought at the time was a very expensive price, I said, Oh, you can fly me down there and I can workshop with you for for two days and get it. And they were like, Yeah, that one. And I was like, uh, what? And then next minute I'm being flown down and staying on Chapel Street and helping these guys, you know, set up their social media. And it for me, that was just wobbled because I was very honest with them too. I was like, listen, Sam's got all this faith in me. She says I know everything. I'm like, I've never done anything like this before. But I this is how I would teach you. And I always remember, and I forget the guy's name, but he said to me, Well, listen, I've spoken to a lot of agencies, and you're the only one making any sense. So I want you to do it.

SPEAKER_02 6:32

Right. Oh gosh, these are just amazing stories.

SPEAKER_00 6:35

So that was actually one of the biggest, like for me, I guess coming from teaching. I was a teacher, I went to university as a teacher, I taught in a classroom, and you kind of think that you're a teacher, and that's where your skill set ends. And I think you were probably the first person that went, no, no, no, no, you can do that. Um then that's what I've always taken since then is that when somebody asks me to do something that I maybe not haven't done before, or I'm not sure how to do, I'm like, no, I can do that.

SPEAKER_02 7:08

I can do that, I can figure out how to do it. So happy to hear because as you were talking, I'm remembering the person like twinkling in my memory from 14 years ago how fast you were to learn when we were in the uh workers' club. And uh and to see how you've flown since then, which we'll get into. I it makes me so happy to hear that story. And uh I don't remember hearing some of those aspects about the fellow in Melbourne, but I uh what a great first client to have.

SPEAKER_00 7:45

Oh, I know, I know. And I was just talking to him, like, are you sure you want to like spend that money on me? And he was like, Yes, because everything you've told me on the phone, I can understand, and everything I've spoken about to the other people I haven't understood. So I want somebody that I can understand.

SPEAKER_02 8:03

Oh, Carly. I I'm I'm ever so overjoyed to hear that, and obviously to know your success in the last 14 years. Tell me what's it like living as an expat in Bali and tell me how long it's been now.

SPEAKER_00 8:18

So we moved over uh uh nearly nine years ago now, um which has gone so quickly, and of course, we had like a couple of years, and then we had the COVID years, which were different again, and then we've had the rebuild since COVID. So I feel like we've had the different expat eras for us. We've absolutely loved it. There's never been a day that we've gone, oh, wrong move. We we we shouldn't have done that, but we've seen in that time many people come and go, and you know, um, from Bali, different expats come and go. And you know, there's a saying on the island that the expats say that either mum Mama Bali either like wraps her arms around you and embraces you, or she gets you out real quick.

SPEAKER_02 9:09

Yeah, well, I've heard it's different, but a similar sort of thing around the bar and bay area or the shire as well.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So um, yeah, but we've we've loved it. It's obviously super different. Um, super different to doing business in Australia, super different even recently. We've expanded into not just Bali, like the rest of Indonesia. So I do a lot of business in Jakarta now. And in Bali and Jakarta, uh, you know, there's two different Kali's. There's a different wardrobe, there's a different work schedule to Bali Kali. Uh they're they're almost like two different things. Oh my god, I'm telling you about uh tell me about the wardrobe. Uh so Jakarta is far more corporate, right? Uh and far more judgy on what you wear, how you look, what bag you carry, what shoes you're wearing. I love fashion anyway, so it's kind of funny. Yes, I was just thinking, that's fun. But Bali Kali is known for like her bright clothes and loud dresses, and you know, she's a little more tone muted in in Jakarta.

SPEAKER_02 10:18

Oh my gosh, I love hearing about these aspects of life. And I was gonna say, like, I'm such a um believer and supporter in what you're doing, Carly. And tell me, you must just be so proud what you and your husband has have built. What are some of the aspects that just really delight you either in the past or right now?

SPEAKER_00 10:40

Yeah, I think it's crazy because I'm always getting asked about my story, and I just and they're like, How did you do that? And I was like, the only thing I can put it back to is saying yes, right? When I started the Facebook page and people started asking me to plan their holidays, I just said yes, even though I knew nothing about being a travel agent or what that involved. And then the first time that somebody asked me for my rate card, I didn't know what a rate card was. And if you don't, don't feel silly. It's what they ask people in media or an influencer or something, how much they charge to work with them. And but I just said yes, and then I figured out um what a rate card was and what to do and how to pin. Um and so I think, yeah, what stands out is it growing like that because I said yes. And I guess because I consider myself such a person of my word that if I say I'm going to do something, you know, that's what I say. The scariest thing I always say to my friends, the scariest thing is if I've said it out loud, you know it's gonna happen. Um, because I will never say, say I'm going to do something and not do it. So by saying yes, I always put that pressure on myself that I had to figure it out and make it happen and make sure I did a good job at that. So I I continue to do that because things we've added in the last few years, besides then growing the platforms and you know being really successful and having a really strong relationship with our clients and advertising Bali, and now Indonesia is, you know, more recently people have asked me to be a consultant, and I'm like, okay, I have I'm pretty sure I could do it, but I don't know how to price it, I don't know how to package it, I don't know how to yes, you already have been. Remember Chapel Street 14 years ago. I know. So it's actually much easier now because you couldn't ask, you know, AI um to help you with the pitch and things like that. But um, yeah, and also more recently we've been doing PR projects for um for companies here and stuff too. So yeah, I think one of the standout things is just saying yes and feeling a little bit scared, but then figuring out how how to do it.

SPEAKER_02 12:56

And then the next challenge comes and you say yes, and you'd be a little bit scared, and then you figure out oh, and there and there's so much that goes with that because when we first met and in the few years after, that was picking up a family and moving a family to Bali.

SPEAKER_00 13:15

Yeah, so that was a big thing because we had a seven-year-old and 11-year-old at the time. And I I don't know, I guess it's that you get we got to that part of our life, and the business was like I could see potential in it. We also felt like we were just on this cheese wheel of, you know, get up, pack a lunchbox, get ready for school. Go and mind you, at that time I was still doing relief teaching. So I had the business and I was doing relief teaching and um and you know, maybe go to work, come home, do some work on my computer, kids' birthday party, clean the house. And I guess we got to that point where we were like, oh, there's gotta be more. There's gotta be a bit more. We were just, you know, my husband was working in the mines, and then we just went, you know what? If we don't do it now, we'll just never know. And what's the worst that can happen? We sell everything in Australia and we move to Bali and it doesn't work, we come back, we start again. I'm sure we can. And um, we had what I call was the cleansing, where we, you know, we'd already we've been together a long time, so we'd already lived together at that stage by for 15 years or something. So we had a lot of stuff, you know. We'd been engaged, we'd been married, we'd had kids, and we just had stuff and we just cleansed. Like I even remember crystal glasses we got for our um engagement party, and I was like, do they actually have to be kept? No, they don't. Here you go, lifeline. Wow. The cleanse that we had, we kept a couple of boxes of sentimental things and put them in my husband's parents' garage. And sorry, Auntie Maureen, I hope you're not watching or listening.

SPEAKER_02 14:51

Sure, she's not.

SPEAKER_00 14:53

And we bought as you know, two suitcases over each. And um, honestly, I wish that's all we still owned because you know, after nine years you accumulate stuff again. But at that point, you know, we kept one property in Australia, a rental property. We got rid of the other things we had. We sold our car, we're like, no, we're going all in, and we can't keep a backup plan, or we're not really going to be serious about and um yeah, we turned up with our suitcases, moved into a furnished filler, and um, and then yeah, so the pressure was on, right? You had to make it work then. But we did for the kids. So courageous. We couldn't afford at that stage to put the kids in a in an international school. So I just said to them, Listen, I'd been a teacher, I wasn't worried about their education, they're bright girls. I said, we're gonna do online school back to Australia because it's free. And let's just give ourselves a year to settle in, and then after a year, we can reassess your situation and and stuff. So the kids did, they actually both did um online school for I think well, the first two years, and then COVID happened, and Indonesia went, every school in Indonesia was online 100% for two years. So no point changing then. And then after COVID, my youngest said, okay, I'm ready to go to a school now, and we're in a financial position. We're like, yep, sure, choose your school, off you go. My eldest loved the online, so she did um online school, her whole high school was done online. She used to fly back for camps and fly back for school formal and things like that.

SPEAKER_02 16:30

I can't remember for which uh of you girls, but the um it sounded very entrepreneurial when you were just grabbing.

SPEAKER_00 16:38

Yes, that's the younger. That's my I have an academic and I have a hustler. Um the older one, the the acad the academic is um, she's about to finish her forensic science degree. She did her schooling all online and obviously didn't affect her because she's in, you know, the top five percent of her uni. She's settled into life and back in Australia easily. But the youngest is my hustler, and she um, when she was 12, she'd started this candle business, and she I was teaching her about wholesale pricing and retail pricing and things like that. And I told her I would buy candles for one of my client events to give to clients at the end, and she had to put a Bali Buddy sticker on it. And she put her business details on the bottom and her WhatsApp, and she got contacted by one of the five-star resorts here saying, We're looking for a supplier for um candles in our bathrooms, like a$2,000 a night resort. And because everything's done on WhatsApp here, it's very common, right? So she WhatsApps back and forth quotes. She gojecked, so we have, you know, go jack and grab where you can just put things on a motorbike and it gets delivered. So she's delivering samples to them back and forth. They're happy with the samples, they're happy with the quote, and she started doing these monthly orders of 150 candles from her, and it took six months before they actually make it out. They were ordering from a 12-year-old.

SPEAKER_03 18:11

Oh, but I was like, oh my god, this is wild. The conversations you must have been having as a family.

SPEAKER_00 18:19

Oh, it was hilarious. My husband's like, Do you think she needs to tell them?

SPEAKER_02 18:23

And I was like, Oh, well, they haven't asked, so oh, I mean, the WhatsApp is just a whole nother world, too, isn't it? I I must admit, I was gonna ask you about the girls because I wanted to hear what they're up to. And it's like the academic and the hustler. The academic and the hustler. So I interrupted you. You're telling me about their schooling, so then Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:46

So Krista did um, she did online school, so she'd wake up at 6 a.m. in the morning, it was live, the teachers were in Brisbane, the kids were either in Australia or some of them were, you know, actors or um sporting professionals, you know, all different reasons why they didn't go to a regular school. I think online school is far more common now, but back when the girls started, it was, oh my gosh, I can't believe you're going to, you know, take them out of regular school. And I remember being from teaching, I said to one of my friends at the time, you know, this is so efficient. I was like, I really feel like I said back then, within 10 years' time, we're gonna see a big percentage of kids schooling like this. Um, you know, because you think of the money that goes into an actual physical school building and things like that. And then, yeah, COVID happened, and then all of a sudden 100% of the kids were doing it. And then ever since COVID has happened, I think we now see a really big mix of the way kids school. Which I think is more suited. Like my younger one definitely suits the the going to a physical school. She's a social being, she loves that. My younger one's more introverted and she prefers to do her socializing, you know, in smaller groups. And I think school would have been a little bit um, she always says, because I always say to her, Do you ever regret that you did online school versus a regular school? And she's like, Yes, never. No, no way.

SPEAKER_02 20:11

Yeah. Um, Carly, your strength is so admirable, and I love hearing the yes, just like yes, and that because that's how I first met you. Uh, and lovely to have some context as to this. I just saw the yeses. I didn't see the behind the scenes, and lovely to hear a bit more of the behind the scenes. Tell me, who in your family or ancestors are you most like?

SPEAKER_00 20:37

What uh definitely my dad, definitely my dad. Unfortunately, he passed away when I was 21. But I think I am definitely the most like him in the family. He was the big social one, he was the big people connector. He had fingers in a lot of different pies, you know, he had his job, but he was, you know, on the union and he helped in this committee, and he was on the electricity board, and he, you know, had the capacity to work across so many different areas. And I think definitely from him is is where I um is where I get that from.

SPEAKER_02 21:12

Yeah, and a really impressive provider, I'm getting from what you just said.

SPEAKER_00 21:18

Yeah, yeah, of course. You know, he was always like family was always number one, but he always had had time to fit everything in. And I think that's probably one of the biggest comments I get from people is how do you do all that? And that's when I started to realize it was probably in my in my early 30s, I started to get those comments when I had kids. And I also was like, you know, I'd run that, you know, the big event I used to run at the kids' primary school in Australia, and we'd make a hundred thousand dollars from it, you know, and I'd run that. And I was on the workers' club board and I was teaching, and then I started this, and people would just go, I just don't understand how you fit all that in. And it was when I started getting those comments that I realized, okay, multitasking is one of my strong Is one of my strong suits. And that was also from my dad. He was a very good multitask.

SPEAKER_02 22:05

Oh, Carly, there must have been like a a month at least of mourning when you left. If something in this conversation lit you up, there's a signal in that. If you want help tuning your own signal into a clear next move, start with a three-minute signal check-in at naturalgenus.com.au. And if you want focused support, book a signal lab and we'll work through it together. Now back to the natural genius. How did you establish that when you got to Bali? Like you must have so many friends and uh in Bali and contacts. Yeah, we're and all through Indonesia. I mean, you could just turn up there and like just quickly get build community.

SPEAKER_00 22:52

Well, I guess coming over and then being in the media space, you get in right to a lot of things. So I would just go. And once again, I never realized I used to dress really loudly until it became a thing that people would like if I dared wear like black one day, people were going like, What is your and you know if I didn't realize it'd become part of my personality here until people told me it was part of my personality? Oh, I love that. I guess because I'd go and I'm the new person and I'd talk to everyone, and um that skill of being a teacher, I think is always I'm always giving people advice, like, well, why don't you try that? Or why don't you try that? Or why don't you try that? And it wasn't until I got my first sales manager that she said to me after one meeting. Can you stop telling everybody those tips? Because I will sell that as consulting. Please don't give that away for free. Oh my gosh, Carly. But it was always just part of my personality. Good hire. Yeah, it was just always part of my personality that I would just go, you should try this. You know, I saw this happen over here, and you should try that. You should try that there. So um I think that's how it established. So then, yeah, you meet more people and then you meet more people, and then you start working, especially here, you start working with people in one hotel hotel, but then that person may move to another hotel. So then you're still working with that hotel, but then they want you to go and work with their new hotel. So that's a very quick like domino. I will say that COVID was uh a very big building time for me, unintentionally. Um, you know, obviously Bali relies on tourism, tourism's dead. Um, a lot of people went home, especially the Western media. Anyone who who was not a local, they went home. Uh, we stayed because we were like, our house is here, our pets are here, our staff are here. Like we're just gonna take the risk or stay. And during that time, um, you know, hotels would reach out to me and they'd say, hey, we've got no money, but can you just bring your family to stay? Like our staff are bored. Can you just bring your family to stay? Right. So I remember the first one, it was like the Hilton, right? And so we went to one of their villas. What a story. I love it. It's crazy. And we, you think you think you want a five-star resort to yourself, and then you get a five-star resort to yourself and you feel like bad. Uh, but anyway, we went there and so I was just Instagram storing everything we did. Like, look, we're staying at the Hilton, they currently have their their villas open for like$100 Australian dollars a night to stay there, right? You know, you can eat here, look at this water slide, the kids played here. And that after we stayed there at the Hilton for that week, the Hilton then got booked out by expats for the next week. Because the expats who were here were bored. And they were like, great, the Hilton's open, we'll go there. So then that news in the Bali sphere spread quickly. Hey, if you have Carly and her family stay and she does Instagram stories, then other people are going to want to stay. So then every hotel's like, can you come stay? Can you come stay? Can you come stay? Like just staying at all these different hotels. My husband always says we didn't have the um king and queen's bank balance, but we lived like queens. Moving around to the point where my kids were like, no more, mum. Like, no, I always remember the four seasons. The four seasons were like, we want you to come stay in the royal suite for Easter weekend. You know, we've got this and this and this. And the kids go, nah, you and dad go, we're gonna stay here with the nanny. Like, and I was like, No, you don't understand. This is the royal suite at the four seasons, you're coming. I'm like, you may never stay here again. You're coming. Oh gosh, these stories happen in that time because it I got a lot of respect for helping for free, and I was giving a lot of ideas. Then why don't you try like bringing this chef to this place because people like him and follow him? And you know, like so we it was a very nice community feel here for two years. So even though there wasn't a lot of money, everybody was helping each other, everybody was helping each other, everyone was helping each other. And then when the borders did reopen, then of course, once all of these places had budget, the first person they came to to sign a contract with was me. And so from there, really the expansion. Um, so people see it as an overnight success kind of thing, but it wasn't. It was a year of lead up, unintentional lead up, and then it went really big.

SPEAKER_02 27:46

Imagine if we could get in a time machine and go back to when we first met and describe what your life is gonna turn into. Like I would never believe.

SPEAKER_01 27:57

It is just such a credit to you, but well, or to all of you, and the girls going, no, mum, no, I don't want uh what is it, five or six star.

SPEAKER_00 28:10

Yeah, yeah. I don't want to stay in the room sweet. No, I want to stay at my house.

SPEAKER_02 28:15

And uh I want to circle back to you, you are amazing at knowing what new tech is coming, learning it, which possibly sort of heralds back to the being a teacher. Learning it, working out which part of it is useful to your business. Probably teaching a whole lot of other people along the way, and then in integrating it within your business. What are the favorite tips? Because also it's business and life, I think, that you are good at with both uh tech and and picking up good tips. What have you come across lately that you just think is great fun?

SPEAKER_00 28:56

And well, I I just think there's so much at the moment that I actually I'm always trying to learn it. Like even with ChatGPT, I'm always trying to teach my team how to, you know, how we can use it better and smarter and not to be because you know, sometimes in the writing community, like a media community, people try to shame you for using it. And I was like, absolutely no, it's there to assist you, you know, and this is how we keep everything our own, but use this to assist us so that we can make it faster. Um, but for me, it's just always talking to other people and then learning from them. So I've had this virtual assistant, um, her name is Princess actually, for um 12 years in the Philippines. We've never met, but um, you know, she put a post on her social media the other day saying, Oh, we just helped one of our other clients consolidate all their subscriptions. You know, they have email subscriptions and accounting subscriptions and you know, into one platform. So as soon as I see something like that, like I've got an appointment with Princess this afternoon, like talk me through it, tell me it, show me it. So I just think there's always something new that can make things easier. How do you enjoy being seen, Carly? I think what's most important to me is that people see me as genuine, honest, and fun. Um so one of the things I've really tried to do through building this business is to keep it as fun as possible. Fun for my team, fun for me, fun for my clients. Um, because I always want them to think of like, oh, we've got a meeting with Bali buddies, and they think, yay, and they don't think, oh, we've got a meeting with Bali buddies.

SPEAKER_02 30:39

It's all been a constant the whole of the business life cycle. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like from the moment of meeting you, it doesn't surprise me that that's been the through line. That's so impressive to uphold.

SPEAKER_00 30:53

Yeah, actually, one of our like big moments for Bali Buddies now is back when we were 10 years old, I was like, Oh, I can't believe this thing is 10 years old. We have to throw a big party, right? I love parties. And we threw a big party, and it was an epic party. And everyone's like, and I'd plan to only do it for the 10 years, right? Then and I invited all my clients, and then everybody's like, oh no, no, no, no, you've got to do this every year. Um, and so now we're up to the fifth party this year, and it's a big thing, and we're sponsored by like the biggest um alcohol importers into Indonesia because they've come on as our our big partner because they're like we've been looking for an industry party to sponsor, and everybody tells us you throw the best parties, and now they've like gone crazy. Like we all we always call them BB something. So, you know, the other year we had BB Chella, like a Coachella themed, and we had a big Ferris wheel built for the for the background, and like last year we was it was so you know, I was like the ringmaster, so it's actually become like a big branding moment, all because I wanted to have a party, it's now become like yeah, like my gosh finality.

SPEAKER_02 32:15

Charlie, let's full circle this. You've got to invite but um Libby Doherty. So that's she organized so many events in Bali, but also because she's part of the can the OG story. Yeah, exactly. Oh gosh, I um I was talking about uh a dear friend of mine in Wales that has put on when I was involved in do lectures in Australia, she had done heaps of the operations and curations in Wales, and we had her at the Australian Do Lectures as a participant, and I just sat her in a chair and said, Enjoy. I'm like, stop, don't get back set back of the house and don't don't uh help out.

SPEAKER_03 33:00

And uh like Libby, it would be fun for her to actually somewhere where she didn't have to organise those carpenters to build that terrace wheel and those, you know, all the amazing things she was.

SPEAKER_02 33:14

And Carly, I just want to really acknowledge how amazing you are for all the support and advice and ideas that you've passed on to other people, and how you just do it so effortlessly. I I love that your background is teaching and that you're an entrepreneur. It just it's so there's so much in your story of how you have had courage, the relationship with your husband. Like you too have had to make some big choices, and your beautiful daughters have what lives they've led, and then all the experiences that all four of you and your staff and your family and all your friends that have come to visit and all your community and village there. Wow, I mean, just keep the fun rolling. You are the fun, the fun, and happy person. I love it.

SPEAKER_00 34:10

Me being able to do it with the family too. Like last year for Indobuds, we went to Sumatra and we stayed in this little eco village with with four friends as well. But my kids came and my husband came as well. And um, and it was a it was an adventure where you can only like once you're in that village, the only modes of transport are walking or floating on the river. That's your two ways of of getting around. And um, we're all and then at one stage we were like following elephants through the jungle. So we just you follow them and you watch their behavior and and you know, you watch how they make their way to the water and stuff. Yeah, that was one moment where I'm walking with my kids and my husband and I'm working, and um my friends are there that I was like, Oh yeah, this is a pretty cool like job.

SPEAKER_02 34:59

What a beautiful way to end this. I'm gonna end it right there. Carly, thank you so much for your time. So great to catch up and thank you for having me, Sam. Thanks for listening to the Natural Genius podcast. Please share this with anyone who came to mind and visit us at naturalgenious.com.au. Thanks so much.