Emica Penklis runs an organic chocolate business from Byron Bay but she says her life is a world away from the Byron Bay "murfers" featured in a recent viral"I don't have time to surf," says the former model turned entrepreneur whose Loco Love products are ranged at 200 stockists around Australia.The 'murfers' and influencers interviewed byVanity Fair
"Also, there's an entrepreneurial camaraderie among the small business owners. Many people, like myself, moved here in search of a better work-life balance, but salaried jobs are hard to come by. So people live out their dreams of starting a fashion label or a restaurant or a homewares brand.""I struggled to find the right help in the areas of legal and accounting," she says.
Gibbs says she is too busy working to establish her sustainable activewear label Nagnata while striving for some of that much sought-after work/life balance with regular yoga classes. The appeal of Byron Bay for Gibbs is its affordability with the rental on business space cheap in comparison to other locations."Lifestyle-wise, working in such a beautiful environment helps alleviate the stress and I keep a good work/life balance," she says. "There are so many successful young business owners. The whole entrepreneurial thing is booming here.
carawaters Byron Bay is a fad based wannabe hipster community with no real substance.