Claire Williamson

6:30am. With a workload that runs late most evenings, I'm not an early riser. But I stick with this alarm so I get to see the sun rise over the hills. My day starts with gratitude, usually in the form of a crisp morning walk with my little black-and-white collie, Meg, and connecting to the Waikato maunga I can see from my home.

7:30am. Coffee in hand - I treated myself last year to a coffee machine and it's one of my morning rituals - I sit down to clear some of the more complicated emails off my desk. By mid-morning, I am busy providing support, giving direction to move applications forward and setting the workflow for the day. Today, this is to help a beautiful wahine based in Kēmureti to purchase a family home for her and her son. I love the process of giving advice: it can make a difference to getting a small rural family into their first home faster.

11am. I touch base with Phoebe, my superstar at V&B. She is still learning the ropes but is a million times better than me at social media posts. Our customers love hearing about our wool story and how they can wear their unique coat with what's already in their wardrobe. We collaborate, and she magically turns everything into sparkling pieces of content. We always ask our community on socials for feedback and how to improve - this year we have two new colours coming, chosen by our customers!

2pm. Time to record an episode of Black Heels and Tractor Wheels - a podcast celebrating the stories of our rural women - for Rural Women New Zealand, where I'm part of the national board developing an exciting new strategy for the next generation. Fellow board member Emma Higgins joins me as co-host. Today, we're recording with Sarah Martelli from Strong Woman, who has built an incredible community around the goal of empowering women into better health and well-being.

3pm. I check in with the amazing My Mortgage team to see if I can help solve any problems - about the same time, I remember I need to have lunch. Often, it's whatever is to hand and sometimes as strange as apple and almond butter, or a quick scone if I'm on the go.

4pm. Late afternoon and evening is when I have most of my client meetings, guiding first-time home buyers through the process, or giving advice around purchasing investment properties or building. With changing regulations in the finance industry, there are challenges to overcome, which we work through to make the process as easy as possible. The connection to people is what gives me energy and fuels my passions.

8pm. Evenings are for V&B product development. Collaboration is such a fun part of the process, and our wool growers are amazing - this year we're working to develop a lighter garment: a blazer that can be trans-seasonal but still retain the fun colours, wool properties and quality we're known for.

10pm. At the end of the day I fall into bed exhausted - but I'm also stoked to be able to be impactful in my own way, to support my people and have a lot of fun doing it.

Glossary: Maunga, mountain peaks. Wahine, woman.

This story appeared in the Takurua Winter 2022 Edition of Shepherdess.