EO Perth Success Stories

Kate Sinfield – EO Success Story

I have a hotel and a gin distillery. I’ve always been in hospitality and came to Australia in 1986 as a backpacker and then played monopoly and after I had 10 houses I brought The Murray Hotel in West Perth 15 years ago. 6 years ago I was looking at starting a new business and Sin Gin Distillery was born out of a EO forum presentation. We started at the hotel and quickly outgrew the premises so opened in the Swan Valley 3 years ago.

Covid hit the hotel in February 2020 and we could see the crisis coming well before the end of March when both my businesses were effectively closed. Because a hotel and a gin distillery were classed as essential services we remained open although we had no customers or sales and still staff and bills to pay. EO was a lifeline for me with other members supporting me at this time and my monthly forum meetings a safe place for me to declare my financial hardship and disconnectedness from my family in the UK. EO still organised their events and it was at one of these where I learnt the facts behind my Covid depression which made it easier for me to cope and strategise for the future. In 2021 the hotel was still not busy with borders closed so we decided to rapidly scale up the distillery business to support it. These skills had been learnt through previous EO teachings so it was a fun adventure at a tough time.

Now the hotel is busy again and we are filling in the Covid financial hole! The distillery business is growing and we are looking at other markets for our gin. I’ve been a member of EO for 10 years and can’t imagine my business life without the support, learnings and friendships.