More Business Lessons from my Surfboard

Eighteen months ago I took the plunge to fulfil a long held Go Big Goal from my Life List – I signed myself up to learn to surf. I spent a week in Bali at surf school and discovered a new passion that has become a full blown love affair. A love affair to rival my passion for my business. As I paddled out today for my morning surf, I reflected on the article I wrote for CEOWorld Magazine eighteen months ago about the 7 business lessons I took from surf camp. And I realised that I am continuing to learn more business lessons from surfing.   

So, here’s an update – 4 more lessons surfing has taught me about business:

1. Women are starting to rule the world
   When I was growing up in 1970s and 1980s Australia, surfing was essentially a male sport (think Puberty Blues). I didn’t know any female surfers. I never contemplated actually being able to surf myself, as a young woman or as a mid-life woman. The idea of picking up a board and paddling out to a male dominated lineup was incredibly daunting and seemed impossible.

   Fast forward to today at Ocean Grove beach – March 2025 – and there were more women lining up to catch a wave, than men. More so, the male surfers appeared to be surfing alone, while the women were surfing in groups. The male surfers were silent. The women surfers were laughing and shrieking and cheering each other on. I am not making any judgements here – I am just sharing what I saw.

   Since Covid essentially locked us down and forced us to work from home, surfing has became one of the most popular new sports for women with 60% of beginners during the pandemic – nearly 120,000 people – being female. According to the latest data from the Australian Sports Commission, surfing was the third fastest-growing activity during the pandemic. Globally, women surfers now make up 40% of the surfing population.

   

   Just as I found myself learning to surf at 53, more and more women are paddling out into the lineup later in life. And guess what? The same trend is happening in business. We’re seeing a surge of women in their 40s, 50s, and beyond starting businesses and riding the entrepreneurial wave. Why? Because we’ve got the life experience, the confidence, the courage and frankly, we’re done waiting for permission. Since 1991 women’s small business ownership has grown by 77.4% as compared to men’s growth of 43.2%. Today, women account for a third of all Australian small businesses and than number is growing.

2. Courage is a skill-set
   The more I push myself to chase my goals and experience a glorious life, the more people who comment that I am ‘courageous’. At first I felt confused by this – don’t we all try to live this way? Writing out our goals and then putting them into action? But then I realised that we don’t. It can be very daunting pushing yourself outside your comfort zone. So, each time I set a new goal one of the first things I do is to identify my ‘resisting forces’ – the things that I fear or that I lack and which might stop me chasing my goal. And then I think about what it is that I value most – my family, my business and my health and wellbeing. And in every case, what I value most always crushes what I think I fear and what I think I lack.

   Paddling out into the waves can be terrifying. When I get to the point where my feet can’t touch the sandy bottom my heart starts to pound. When I see a wave barrelling towards me my heart skips a beat. But here’s the thing – without that initial burst of courage to get on the board and into the water, I never would have experienced the thrill of catching my first wave. I would never have experienced the thrill of catching my 100th wave.

   In life – as in surfing and in business – I think the biggest regrets come not from the things we tried and failed at, but from the opportunities we were too scared to take. So whether you’re thinking of starting a new hobby at 53 (ahem) or launching that business idea you’ve been sitting on, remember this: courage is a skill set that you can hone. The more you use it, the stronger it gets.

   Starting a new side hustle, launching a new product, or pitching a new deal will, and should, take you outside your comfort zone. But courage isn’t about not being afraid – it’s about experiencing the fear and doing it anyway. It’s about trusting yourself.  And yes, sometimes it’s about just closing your eyes, holding your breath and taking on the wave.

3. Patience is a strategy
   I can not count how many times I have waited and waited for a set of waves to arrive, to finally see the set and then try to catch the very first wave, only to completely wipe out and then miss every other wave in the set. I have learned the hard way that patience pays off. Now, as I see a set coming, I don’t rush for the first wave, I bide my time and wait for the right wave for me.

   In business, it’s tempting to jump on every single opportunity that comes your way. But sometimes, the best move is to wait. Wait for the right investor, the right hire, the right moment to launch. Because when you catch that perfect wave – whether it’s in the ocean or in business – it’s worth every second of the wait.

4. Sometimes it hurts – a lot
   In January I received my first surfing injury. I bit off a little more than I could chew, tried for a big wave which promptly dumped me in a white wash of water which left me without a clue as to whether I was facing up or down. Instinct from my lessons kicked in and I raised my hand to protect my head. But not my face. The force of the wave pulled the board from me, and my ankle rope snapped the board back and straight into my mouth. There was blood on my face and I could feel pieces of teeth in my mouth. A fat lip, a broken tooth and 3 teeth with their back shaved off.

   The next day before heading back to town to see my dentist, I went for a quick surf – to get back on the board, rather than let the fear set in which might keep me out of the water.

In business, you are going to suffer injures too. There might not be blood and broken teeth, but there will be just as much pain and bruising from a partnership that fails, products that you are so invested in but which don’t work out, global pandemics that hit you like a tidal wave that dumps you and turns your world upside down.

The key is to learn from the experience – slow down a little, dissect what went wrong, and make a plan for how to do it better next time. Know that once you make improvements, the next wave or the next deal won’t be as brutal, that sustaining a few injuries along the way makes you the real deal, and that having the resilience to get back on the board and to get wet again is what will separate you from the rest of the pack.

And let me tell you, the view from the top of the wave, just like the rush of winning a new deal, is well worth it. So be brave my friends. The water’s fine, the sky is blue and your business is booming.

Written by Kate Christie.
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