SWAN business award winners have shared the lessons behind their success, from asking for help and finding their own path to simply having the courage to show up.

Three recent Swan Chamber of Commerce award recipients spoke at the chamber’s September Hour of Power event.

Snap Printing Midland owner Deborah Whitburn, Johnson Property Corp property consultant Tessa Johnson and Oceania Film director AJ Jayalath spoke about their personal and professional journeys.

Ms Whitburn said her path into printing began when she was 19, unemployed and unsure what she wanted to do.

The Salvation Army put her through a computer course before offering her the chance to try working with a printing press.

“Not knowing where you’re going is not a bad thing,” she said.

“Not taking the opportunity is a bad thing because at some point you’ll learn something, as long as you have a takeaway from it, then you’ve benefitted.”

She was later placed with Snap Printing in West Perth, attended Snap training school and became one of the few women working as printers at the time.

Nine years ago, Ms Whitburn became a business owner herself and said transitioning from worker to boss had taught her the importance of relying on others.

“My biggest lesson has been, ask for help,” she said.

“I don’t have all the answers, but a lot of people around me do.”

Young Professional of the Year winner Ms Johnson said she had initially resisted entering real estate despite growing up surrounded by family members working in the industry.

After leaving warehouse management, she began studying real estate before taking a three-year break, including six months of solo travel through Europe.

She later worked in hospitality before returning to her studies and entering property on her own terms.

“The difference was this time, it felt like it was my choice,” she said.

“I came back to property because I decided it suited me, not simply because it was what my family did.”

Ms Johnson said she had also learned not to measure her progress against the milestones of others.

“I’m learning that someone else’s timeline doesn’t necessarily need to be mine,” she said.

“For me, getting back to basics is paying attention to the things that have always been there, people, community, adventure, animals, connection, and the confidence to keep choosing my own path.”

Oceania Film director AJ Jayalath said he arrived in Australia from Sri Lanka at 17 before eventually leaving his original studies to pursue film at Edith Cowan University.

Mr Jayalath said one of his most important business lessons was the value of consistently showing up, even when doing so was uncomfortable.

He recalled attending a Swan Chamber networking event about four years ago, feeling out of place and leaving after only 10 minutes.

On the drive home, he questioned why he had spent about 80 minutes travelling only to leave almost immediately.

“If you feel uncomfortable, just put up with it next time,” he said.

“It’s okay (to) make a mistake and fail once. Let’s just try it again and fail again. Do it until you get it right.”

Mr Jayalath said his approach to business was now based on incremental improvement rather than attempting to transform everything at once.

“It’s all about, for us, being practical and pragmatic,” he said.

“If you can consistently execute every day, you get your goal.”