Glenroy's Bronwyn Robertson is a testament to the mantra you can have anything if you put in the hard work.
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Having a creative upbringing becomes apparent with the work she does in the Border community.
Her professional life has spanned a hairdressing apprenticeship during high school, navigating the corporate world with a stint as an interior designer, then to a flight attendant, and then on to being a dance teacher.
The turning point, however, came with the opening of Bella Events, a business for event planning and management she said "has been very successful".
She is a co-owner with Natasha Polkinghorne.
Mrs Robertson said having a dancing background gave her a huge amount of discipline.
"I never do anything by halves," she said.
"You either do it 100 per cent or you just sort of shelve it and come back to it when you're in the right mind."
From when she began dancing aged four, her mother was her biggest support.
"Mum would drag me out of bed every morning to do my ballet bar exercises," she said.
"I would always get honours and the other kids would always ask their mothers why I always got it and their responses were always the same: 'Because Brownyn works hard.'
"I've been brought up on the fact that you don't get anything unless you work hard at it.
"Through the peak of dancing, I lived to dance.
"I got so burnt out in the end I remember saying to my brother 'what are we doing?' We missed out on all the social events growing up."
Mrs Robertson lives in Glenroy with her "long-lasting" husband, Leigh, daughter Georgia, 12, and their fur babies.
She said it was nice to be named as one of the 15 of the Border region's most influential women.
"It was a real privilege to be able to rub shoulders with some of the best local people," she said.
"When I was 16 I got a hairdressing apprenticeship, but I ended up getting glandular fever and my mum said that if I couldn't work I'd have to go back to school.
"I hated school and I just wanted to get out and start working, so then I got a traineeship at AS Interiors, and I was there for 18 years."
Mrs Roberston said that after going into another direction, "I just stumbled back into dancing".
"I walked into a social class in Albury to check it out and I was offered a teaching position."
Mrs Robertson now holds the position of ballroom principal at Hume Dance School.
She said she loved seeing kids achieve their goals and would always "give credit, where credits are due".
Mrs Robertson was also very proud of how far she had come, especially with Bella Events and volunteering her time as an MC at various events and charities.
"I love to see success," she said.
"I think we should pat each other on the back a little bit more and not compare each other. I feel as though comparison kills creativity.
"I'm a big believer in staying in your own lane and doing what you do really well.
"And don't look left or right, just keep going forward."
Having lost both of her parents had changed her perspective of what mattered in life.
"If I can give someone some advice, help them or nurture them in some way that fills my cup."
Being with her family was equally as important.
Turning 50 this year meant Mrs Robertson wanted to be the best version of herself, with healthy eating, exercise and meditation topping her list.
"If you don't put the right fuel in your engine, you can't get the mileage out of it," she said.
Her advice to anyone needing a pick-me-up was to be "accountable and remember it starts with you".
"My motto in life is say yes to everything and work it out later, because that's how we learn."
