When Karla Way-McPhail is asked about the mantra she lives by, she’s quick to quote the film Coach Carter, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure."

Her ability to dream big has paid huge dividends. A former teacher and school principal, she’s now one of Queensland’s most formidable business leaders, running 16 diverse organisations in a ‘business hub’ of sorts - from a mining contractor to a mechanic workshop, cafes, a hair and beauty salon, fishing charters, a barge company, a dry cleaner and a courier company, just to name a few.

Speaking on the Fearless Females podcast, supported by Westpac, Way-McPhail reveals her entrepreneurship journey began by accident. 

“My husband first directed us into that space. He was from the coal mining industry and he came and saw me one day and said, ‘I want to contract’. 

“At the time, I had three children under six and I was the principal of a huge school… and my husband said, ‘Look, I’m just going to contract myself to the mining industry and all you’ve got to do is one invoice a month.’ I was like, "Oh, that can’t be complicated."

What was supposed to be one invoice turned into a major enterprise.

“Now, we have the biggest contracting company based in central Queensland,” she says.

Way-McPhail says her business formula is simple. “It’s people. There’s nothing else.”

She’s quick to point out that her success isn’t about technical expertise.

“I don’t know how to drive a barge and I’ve never caught a fish in my life. You don’t want me driving for a logistics company because you will not get your parcel on time. I don’t fix machinery. I don’t work in an underground coal mine. You don’t want me styling your hair.

“So, my skill isn’t the businesses by any stretch. My skill is the people. I’ve got the people that do my businesses… I take time and I build the people and then the people are proud of the journey and they want to be part of it.”

Five years ago, Way-McPhail got a phone call that changed everything. Her husband, in his early 50s, had suffered a serious heart attack while working in a remote mining town, far from the nearest hospital. 

“He had what’s called a ‘widow-maker’,” she tells the Fearless Females podcast. “He got to Emerald Hospital on a wing and a prayer.” 

But the hospital wasn’t equipped to treat him. 

“I rang my friend [a cardiologist] and she said, ’This isn’t complicated. You either airlift him out of Emerald Hospital or he’s going to die today.’”

After an emergency flight to Brisbane and a nine-hour heart attack, he survived – but lost 38 per cent of his heart function.

“From that point, our world turned around. He never set foot in a coal mine again,” she says. 

With the help of experts, Way-McPhail and a business partner restructured their businesses. It was a challenging time, but one that shifted her perspective. 

“[I went], hey, I'm not going to live forever and I just need to make sure what I'm doing is what I really want to be doing.”

Her husband has since re-invented his life, too. “He now has a very relaxed life breeding cattle - Wagyu and Brahman - and he just loves it,” she says. 

Her final words for aspiring entrepreneurs? 

“Have a go and really go hard… don’t go halfway. Don’t dream half the dream, dream the whole dream.”
 

About the Fearless Females podcast:

Hosted by Edible Blooms co-founder Kelly Jamieson and Palas Jewellery founder Anna Dimond, the Fearless Females podcasts interviews entrepreneurs and leaders about what it takes to build bold businesses and careers - from first steps to global scale. 

The podcast is proudly supported by Westpac, because even the best ideas need backing. Westpac has committed $1 billion to supporting female entrepreneurs with start-up and scale-up loans. To find out more, visit Business loan for startups | Westpac

Listen to Fearless Females wherever you listen to your podcasts, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.