I started my business in September 2013, 6 months out of a 17 year career in finance recruitment and HR. I knew few people in the entertainment game, had never worked in marketing or media and didn’t really know what being an ‘agent’ meant.

Watching ‘Jerry Maguire’ was a light bulb moment for me in exposing me to the job of agent and manager. In February 2013, I left my job at Macquarie Bank with nothing to go to and a very loose plan to become an agent.

Six months later, SL Talent Management (TLS former business name) was born. Running a business in an industry you’ve never worked in is tough, and I had to build relationships from scratch. The learning curve was steep but there was a freedom that came with designing my own business. Here’s what I knew:

• To compete with the existing agencies (many with strong reputations and years of experience and contacts) – I had to find a niche I could own, something unique
• I had what the other agencies didn’t have – time – to develop, foster and nurture talent
• I wanted a business I could be proud of – working with people making a difference to other people’s lives;
• Health and lifestyle was a growing area; and
• I needed to find that next crop of credible health talent, strong communicators, well respected in their local clinics and practices, and who wanted to build their profile

I launched with 6 relatively unknown (developing) talent utilising outlets and publishers like Social Diary and Mumbrella to build my database. I read voraciously and picked up the phone to just about anyone off the back of an article I read. I had nothing to lose and everything to gain and it’s a philosophy that still drives The Lifestyle Suite business today.

The business grew quickly, and before long had grown a stable of 30 experts, a strong pool of fantastic clients, a reputation as the only true experts agency in town, and strong year on year increases in revenue and profitability.

I am often asked what makes The Lifestyle Suite different. I believes it’s the recognition that the business is built on people; the talent TLS manage, the clients they service and the audiences they communicate with; and the people are at the heart of every decision they make.

TLS Creative, Australia’s only health content creation service underpinned by experts, was  launched in 2016, and is now headed up by Medical Journalist and TV presenter and producer, Casey Beros. The development of this unique offering has further grown the TLS business in an authentic and sustainable way. The success of this area of the business requires a unique ability to understand and communicate medical information in a way that is both entertaining and educational. The Lifestyle Suite’s specialist team of health-focused content creators develop trusted content for organisations, and some of Australia’s leading brands such as Bupa, CSIRO and Pharmacare as well as a raft of publishers and the media.

I believe what makes us different is that we recognise our business is built on people who all strive for the same goal; to improve the health literacy across this country. No other agency is specifically dedicated to promoting the profiles of key health and lifestyle experts to ensure their voices are heard. As the digital and social media sphere permeate so much of society, the flow of health information is constant and wide-reaching. Due to this, false and unreliable information is disseminated across the web where consumers are often confused and led-stray. Our ultimate goal by partnering with medical, health, sports and lifestyle experts with relevant qualifications is to drive improved health literacy across this country. We believe that everyone has the right to reliable, credible and correct information, especially when it deals with something as precious as our health.