Standing with women entrepreneurs navigating tough times so their businesses can continue.
Standing with women entrepreneurs navigating tough times so their businesses can continue.
You’re running a business. And at the same time, the ground beneath you is shifting. Someone you love is unwell. A partnership has broken down. Perhaps you're fleeing domestic violence.
And still, the invoices need to be sent. The clients need to be served. The business needs to stay alive, because it’s not just work.
It’s your independence. Your safety. Your legacy. Maybe even your only way out.
What
We Do.
Held+Free exists for one reason: to support Australian women business owners survive crisis without losing everything they’ve built.
Through real lived experience, practical resources, expert guidance, and a judgment-free community, we support self-employed women navigating violence, illness, family crisis, or business breakdowns. And coming as soon as possible, financial support designed to help women stabilise and rebuild.
Who Held+Free
is For.
On the outside, you’re functioning. Inside, you’re carrying crises the usual systems don’t recognise - earning “too much” for help, yet not enough to absorb legal fees, medical costs, or lost work. Like so many self-employed women, you’re falling through the cracks.
Maybe it’s coercive control, chronic illness, domestic violence, major health treatment, or a partnership breakdown that feels like a divorce. You keep showing up because your livelihood depends on it.
You say “I’m fine” because anything else feels unsafe. But you're not fine. Not at all.
We see you. Because we’ve been you. And you don’t have to hold this alone.
How
It Started.
One of us survived cancer and was met with care, specialists, and unquestioned support. The other is surviving coercive control and has been met with disbelief, blame, and barriers at every turn.
What we shared was this: we’re both small business owners, and the safety nets most people rely on simply don’t reach women like us. Even when you have insurance or savings, it never covers the loneliness, the decision fatigue, the emotional labour, the grief, or the exhaustion of being “the strong one.”
This is the part no one warns you about. And it’s the part we refuse to let women face alone anymore.
Discover:
Tools & Resources
Coercive control can undermine decision-making, financial stability and the everyday functioning of your work. This guide explains what coercive control is, how it shows up in business contexts and the early signs that something is not right.
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The Support Wheel helps women in crisis identify the practical, emotional, and protective support they need to keep themselves and their businesses steady. Use this tool to map your network, reduce overwhelm, and share the weight so no one carries more than they can hold.
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When life is falling apart and your business still needs you, even booking a GP appointment can feel too hard. This gentle guide explains how your GP can support your safety, your physical and mental health.
When you're too successful for services but not successful enough to survive without them. When you need someone who gets that running a business while running for your life isn't a metaphor. When you're done pretending you're fine and ready to get the support you actually need.
