Olympian Lydia Lassila discusses her small business at Warrnambool festival

She spoke at the feature event of the Great South Coast Small Business Festival Regional Roadshow.

Lassila used a sports injury as motivation to build her successful small business. 

She underwent a knee reconstruction in 2005 only to have her knee collapse six months later at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.

She famously fought back to win a gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic games.

Her journey back to the top of her sport also helped lead her to start building a small business.

“I tore my ACL in my knee twice in six months and struggled to find a cold therapy solution for myself that wouldn’t leak or slip and would stay cold for long enough,” Lassila said.

“Out of frustration and a clear vision for what I wanted in a product, I set out to make it myself. My business, BodyICE, was up and running six months later.”

She spoke about about the challenges she had faced transitioning into small business from sport, the ways she got her product just right and how she juggled her time and calculated risk.

“I’d encourage anyone who has an idea and is passionate about it to open their own business - you’ll find a way to make it happen,” she said.

Lassila encouraged small business owners to attend the festival’s events.

“The Small Business Festival is great for anyone who has an idea for a small business but isn’t sure how to get started, or someone who has already established a small business and wants to grow it,” she said.

The state government’s Acting Minister for Small Business, Innovation and Trade Wade Noonan said Lassila’s story was an inspirational example of how “small business owners could combine great ideas and hard work to achieve amazing results”.

“Small businesses make an incredible contribution to their communities and the economy,” Mr Noonan said.