Australia Day Honours: Busselton business adviser Nikki Griffiths receives Medal of the Order of Australia

A passion for giving back to the community and help business owners achieve success has resulted in a Busselton-based business adviser being nationally recognised for her dedication.

Busselton resident Nikki Griffiths was among hundreds of Australians honoured on Australia Day, receiving a Medal of the Order of Australia for her service to local business and the community.

Speaking to the South Western Times, Mrs Griffiths said she was “very shocked and surprised” to receive such an honour for something that she loves doing.

“To be recognised for something that you love doing and have a passion for it feels strange to be honest,” she said.

“I was very shocked, very surprised and very grateful for whoever nominated me.

“It’s really funny to me because getting an Order of Australia feels kind of strange in a way because I’m getting recognised for something that I just love doing.

“I love giving back so it’s an absolute joy.”

Mrs Griffiths has been in the business world for more than 30 years, having owned and managed numerous businesses in Perth and Busselton in various industries, from IT to retail.

She has also been mentoring other business owners for more than 20 years and has held several board positions throughout the South West.

“I’ve always had a passion for wanting to learn and through that time I’ve gotten really good at looking at niche industries,” she said.

“I’ve had businesses in multiple different industries and wanting to help businesses I think it came from doing very well in business and wanting to give back to the community.”

Between running her businesses and mentoring other business owners, Mrs Griffiths has also picked up several accolades within the business world along the way including a Telstra Business Women’s Award, receiving two WA Business News 40under40 Awards, MBN’s WA Woman in Business, and Ambassador of the Year for Small Business.

Building on her passion for helping female entrepreneurs, Mrs Griffiths has also been conducting a research study into the motivation of female entrepreneurs in the South West during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was understanding more so how they coped with the pandemic and how they changed their business models,” she said.

“At the end of it, it was more working out which businesses innovated, hibernated or liquidated, so that’s the outcome of the research study.”

For those wanting to get into the business world, Mrs Griffiths advised any prospective entrepreneurs to “do your homework” and “talk to somebody first”.

“Business is very different now moving into post-COVID,” she said.

“The world has changed and business is very different.

“I also can’t emphasise enough how important it is to get the right advice and there’s quite a few advisers in the region.”