Name
Maria Sipka

Birthplace
Bratislava, Slovakia

Lives
Sydney, Australia

Your organisation/community Cherry Design

Profile

Being born in a communist country, formerly known as Czechoslovakia, in 1975, the only thought on my young parents minds was to escape the country as quick as possible. So on a cold winters morning in Bratislava,1977, the car was packed with minimal possessions, including a potty for my 1 year old sister and I. Both my grandparents were worried sick. They all cried as we drove off. At the border, with all the barbed wire surrounding the country and armed soldiers, they did not suspect that our holiday would be one to never return.

We lived in Germany for one year. I remember an old lady took us in. She lived in a small unit within a castle that a wealthy migrant left in his will to refugees. Dad was deciding whether to immigrate to Canada or Australia. He had heard that Australia was a great to country to settle. Sydney it was. I think my parents got the shock of their life when they arrived. Sydney was not the most attractive place in the late 70s. It was desolate, dry, hot and windy. We lived at Bronte hostel for migrants. We were all taught how to speak English. My mother recalls how we used to come home speaking a concoction of Czech, Slovak, German, Spanish and English. We had $1,000 in our pocket and it used to bring my mum to tears when we asked for toys and that they could not afford to buy.

For the next 15 years of our lives I saw mum work her way up from working in the fish section of David Jones as a cashier to advising the Premier on Ethnic Affairs and Dad reaching his dream of bringing his family up to lead healthy, successful lives in an free country. It was always very hard. Dad always said that nothing in life is for free. My weekly pocket money was $1 and I remember asking for a 30 week advance to buy a denim skirt to wear to the school disco. I had to get a job, so at the age of 11 I started selling cakes to neighbours, washing cars (I spent more time making the sign than attracting any customers) and then finally working as a check-out-chick.

University was a bit of a waste of time. Mum said a degree would give me a key that could open some doors when I least expected it. I studied mass communications and absolutely hated it! I didn’t really like what young people around me where doing with their lives – going to raves and doing drugs. I had to find an alternative. My mission in life was to work as hard as I could for the first half of my life and then spend the second half of my life doing what I wanted, with who I wanted and when I wanted. Most people I meet do it the other way around. It is a lot easier when you are young. You have more energy and more opportunity. I started a graphic design business at the age of 20 and bought my first house that year too. Mum and Dad gave me kickstart of $10,000 to spend on either a deposit for a house or my wedding. I chose the house. Over the past six years I have spent 90% of my time thinking, breathing and building a business. I now employ 6 people and really enjoy the challenge of pushing myself to the next level. I have a number of mentors who I meet with on a regular basis and with the very little time that I have left I spend with my family.

Sir Edmund Hillary once said that “It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.”