BALLARAT’S Jen Murray is bringing the personal back to service, starting a new business to help elderly people combat the modern world.
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Wonder Women Australia is a venture that has come about from seeing the difficulties many older people face when dealing with modern technology or sometimes just needing someone to be with them.
“The idea came about from seeing friends parents really become limited in what they can do and being overwhelmed by changes in technology and accessing information for things that used to be quite simple for people,” Ms Murray said.
“Perhaps is was going to see a show in Melbourne, even down to getting a Myki card and topping it up, all those things.
“Technology has changed so much in the last few years, and those problems are only going to get bigger.”
Ms Murray said the key to the future success was to keep the service personal.
“I’m keeping it off websites because for a lot of people, sending them to websites does not work,” she said.
“This way, you can ring up and have a chat and I’ll come round, have a chat about what you want or need.”
Having been in various businesses for more than 20 years, Ms Murray said she was keen to use her networks to help people when required.
“The big picture plan is to have a whole team of people who are able to help out,” she said. “I’ve called it Wonder Women, it’s a big name to grow into and we anticipate that women will be the majority of the bigger users.
“A lot of women can be intimidated with dealing with men and I want to help to facilitate what people need to have done.
“It’s a basic transport thing as well, perhaps older people need to take their dog to the vet, it’s basic home maintenance needs, often older women are afraid to ring up a bloke they don’t know to have them come into their house.”
Ms Murray said the key was building a relationship and trust.
“I don’t think there are many out there doing things like this,” she said. “People can access council services and NDIS, but there’s a lot that aren’t eligible for that, but they still require help.
“For my peers, life is really busy and most of them work, but nowadays they might want to spend quality time with their parents, but doing the tasks take that away.”
Wonder Women Australia is on 0444 511 977.