Neesa starts her own business

Neesa, DL student

My name is Neesa and I come from Thailand.  I met my husband in Thailand and we started a relationship after he visited me many times there.  I came to Australia in 2010 and we got married in 2013.

I was very excited but also nervous at the same time because everything was new and I wasn't familiar with the language or the culture.  It took me a long time to understand the Australian accent so my husband always helped me with that and I now can understand English better than before and have become more confident and independent.

I improved English by studying English at Southbank TAFE for a year in 2011.  After school I went to work every day.  I enjoyed my studies and made lots of new friends and I also talked to many people at work.  Learning English is a never ending story for me.  I am now studying English by distance with the DL program at Navitas.

Before I came to Australia I worked as a massage therapist in Thailand for a year.  This helped me improve my English because I had a lot of English speaking customers that I had to talk to.

In Australia, I worked in a Thai Day Spa in Brisbane for 3 years before starting my own business.  As a result I gained enough experience and confidence to be able to work on my own.  I now work from my home doing Thai massage.  I am planning to grow my business in the future, recruit some staff and have my own shop.

My advice to my migrant friends is to relax and enjoy Australia and the new lifestyle.  They shouldn't worry if at first their English is not great as many new arrivals are in the same boat.

Congratulations to Neesa on improving her English and starting her own business.  We wish her all the best for the future.

• Do you find it hard to understand the Australian accent?  
• How long do you think it takes to gain confidence in English?
• What do you think about Neesa's advice to new migrants?
• If you were to start your own business, what kind of business and what steps would you need to take?