Leadership, resilience and the power of community. From building Tackle World Port Lincoln from the ground up to helping shape the future of the fishing industry, Alicia Bolitho's leadership story is one built on adaptability, community and getting things done.
Leadership in an independent retail business rarely follows a straight line.
For Alicia Bolitho, co-owner of Tackle World Port Lincoln, it has been a journey that began well outside the fishing industry, through administration, wine, real estate and eventually into the world of independent fishing retail.
Today, Alicia is not only helping lead a successful Tackle World store. She contributes to the industry through board roles, community programmes and a strong belief in what independent fishing retailers can achieve when they work together.
And despite the awards and recognition that have come along the way, Alicia describes herself very simply:
"I'm more of a doer. I'd rather be behind the scenes and get things done."
That philosophy says a great deal about her approach to leadership.
From Port Augusta to Port Lincoln
Alicia grew up in Port Augusta at the top of South Australia's Spencer Gulf, where some of her earliest memories of fishing were formed. Fishing with her grandparents from the wharf, catching small fish and crabbing with her dad introduced her to an activity that would eventually become a much bigger part of her life.
But fishing wasn't initially where her career was headed. At 17, Alicia moved to Adelaide and began studying nursing before deciding it wasn't for her. She subsequently entered the wine industry, working for Yalumba Wines in administration and imports before moving to the Clare Valley and continuing her career in wine.
It was only after meeting Shane and moving to Port Lincoln in 2011 that the path towards fishing retail began to emerge. When Shane was made redundant from the mining industry and Alicia was on maternity leave after having their son Charlie, the couple started discussing what might come next.
A fishing store in Port Lincoln was for sale. Rather than simply jumping in, they did their homework. The family embarked on a six-week trip along Australia's east coast, travelling as far north as Cooktown and visiting fishing stores along the way. They spoke with retailers, looked at different businesses and considered what sort of store they wanted to create.
One conclusion became clear. They wanted to be part of Tackle World.
Then the plan changed dramatically. The Port Lincoln fishing store they had intended purchasing burnt down. Suddenly, Alicia and Shane weren't buying an existing business. They were starting one from scratch.
Building a business when the answer was "no"
One of their first significant tests had nothing to do with fishing. It was convincing somebody else that their idea could work. Despite owning property and having capital available, Alicia recalls approaching four banks in search of approximately $200,000 in funding. They struggled to find a lender prepared to back a fishing retail start-up with no existing business to acquire.
Eventually, ANZ supported their plan. In 2015, Tackle World Port Lincoln was born.
Alicia and Shane built Tackle World Port Lincoln from scratch in 2015, after the store they originally set out to buy burnt down.
Alicia believes the complementary skills she and Shane brought to the business became one of its strengths. Shane brought an enormous passion and knowledge of fishing. Alicia brought administration, systems and business experience. As she describes it:
"We were a little bit yin and yang."
A decade later, that partnership has helped them navigate store expansion, relocation, employees, raising a family and some extraordinarily difficult trading conditions for South Australia's fishing industry.
Leadership means being able to adapt
Ask Alicia what makes an effective leader in fishing retail and one word continually comes through: adaptability.
Retail simply doesn't behave according to the plan written at the beginning of the day.
"Not two days are ever the same. You can go in and plan a day and then something completely different will happen."
For Alicia, leadership therefore means being comfortable changing direction. It means recognising what the business needs now, communicating that to the team and moving forward. Her broader leadership philosophy is equally straightforward:
"A good leader listens. A good leader is able to adapt."
That ability has been particularly important in recent years as South Australia's fishing sector has confronted significant environmental and regulatory challenges. Rather than allowing circumstances to dictate everything that happens next, Alicia believes businesses have to continually look for what they can influence.
"You've got to diversify, turn a negative into a positive. You've got to be resilient. You've got to adapt. You learn to change quickly."
The customer experience starts in the first minute
Alicia's leadership philosophy becomes very tangible when it comes to customers. At Tackle World Port Lincoln, customer acknowledgement isn't left to chance. The store has been deliberately designed so customers pass the counter when entering. Eye contact, a hello or simply an acknowledgement should happen almost immediately, and Alicia expects customers to be approached or acknowledged within roughly the first minute of arriving.
It sounds simple. But those small interactions have helped create something much bigger. The relationships between staff and customers often extend well beyond transactions. Staff fish with customers. They share photographs and fishing stories. Friendships develop.
For Alicia, that connection is one of independent retail's greatest strengths:
"The most important thing is ensuring that the customer that comes through the door has the most positive experience in your store straight from the start."
Leadership also needs boundaries
Creating a close team culture doesn't mean leadership becomes friendship without limits. That is another lesson Alicia has learned through experience. She believes owners can have excellent relationships with their employees while maintaining clear boundaries.
"Leadership needs boundaries."
The team fishes together and employees are encouraged to use products and immerse themselves in the industry, but Alicia is conscious of maintaining consistency across the team. Becoming significantly closer to one employee than another can create ambiguity around roles, expectations and accountability.
Her philosophy is therefore a useful reminder for any small business owner: create connection, but don't remove clarity.
Learning to lead different generations
One of the more difficult challenges Alicia identifies is managing different attitudes towards work across generations. Her expectations are influenced by her own experience of entering the workforce young and being given significant responsibility. Today, she finds motivating some younger employees can require a very different approach.
Her standards remain high. She wants young people working within the business to develop habits, skills and responsibility that will benefit them long after they leave. In that sense, employment is about more than completing today's tasks. A good workplace can help prepare somebody for their next 20 years.
That belief also connects strongly with Alicia's commitment to young people outside the store.
Community isn't something separate from the business
Some of Alicia's proudest work is happening in the Port Lincoln community. Tackle World Port Lincoln works with the West Coast Youth and Community Support network through fishing clinics and youth initiatives designed to use fishing as a vehicle for connection and development.
One initiative particularly close to Alicia is a fishing ambassador programme. Young participants apply and go through an interview-style process, giving them experience similar to applying for a job. Successful participants receive fishing equipment and clothing before becoming ambassadors through the programme. The concept combines fishing participation with confidence, responsibility and community involvement.
Alicia hopes the programme can ultimately grow beyond Port Lincoln:
"If this takes off, this will be something I'll be pretty proud of if we can get this up and running throughout South Australia."
There are also plans to explore programmes involving Indigenous youth around Port Augusta.
For Alicia, encouraging participation in fishing begins with young people. Get children fishing and parents often become involved too. Fishing becomes a family activity, and participation grows from the bottom up.
What women bring to leadership
Alicia has also seen the fishing industry from well beyond the shop floor. Through her involvement with both the Tackle World Board and AFTA, she has experienced different styles of governance and worked alongside leaders representing retailers and the broader recreational fishing industry.
She believes diversity around a board table strengthens decision-making because people bring different professional experiences. Women entering fishing leadership roles may bring expertise from administration, marketing, finance, governance or other areas that complement the strong product and fishing knowledge already around the table.
"I think we sort of think outside the square a little bit in terms of ideas."
But Alicia also has a pragmatic view about women in what has traditionally been a male-dominated industry. She doesn't believe participation should simply become a numbers exercise. Instead, she sees change occurring naturally as more women fish, work within fishing businesses and take leadership positions.
And when the occasional customer assumes that a male employee must know more about fishing? She doesn't allow it to define the interaction. After ten years owning a fishing store, Alicia is comfortable letting experience speak for itself.
The strength of independence, together
Alicia is equally passionate about the importance of independent fishing retail. She regularly encounters customers who assume Tackle World is a franchise or large corporate chain because of the size and consistency of the brand.
The reality is very different. Behind the Tackle World name are independently owned local businesses that retain their local knowledge, product choices and community relationships while benefiting from being part of something larger. For Alicia, that combination has become increasingly important:
"I could never imagine opening up a fishing store without Tackle World."
National branding, marketing, buying power and collaboration provide scale that would be extraordinarily difficult for a standalone independent retailer to replicate. Yet the individual store remains local. That balance, national strength with local independence, is something Alicia believes will become even more important as independent retailers navigate a rapidly changing market.
Leading without needing the spotlight
Perhaps the clearest insight into Alicia's leadership comes when she talks about recognition. Awards are appreciated. But they aren't the objective. Completion is.
Seeing an idea move from discussion to execution matters more to her than being personally credited for making it happen.
"I'd rather see something from start to finish and be proud that as a team we were able to get it completed."
It is leadership built less around profile and more around contribution. And Alicia sees considerable opportunity ahead. Reflecting on Tackle World's own evolution, she believes the organisation has moved beyond some of the difficult structural conversations of previous years and can increasingly focus on execution: marketing better, planning better and translating ideas into measurable outcomes for stores. Her view of what could come next is ambitious:
"If we can pull that off over the next two or three years, I think we'll be a pretty good powerhouse for the fishing industry."
Alicia's Quick Five
Boat or shore? Boat.
Freshwater or saltwater? Saltwater.
Best eating fish? Nannygai.
Favourite place to fish? The islands around Port Lincoln.
Morning or afternoon fishing? Afternoon.
And a few extras...
Essential piece of fishing gear? Sunnies.
Biggest fish? A gummy shark around 1.4 metres, plus a 10kg snapper.
Coffee order? None, Alicia doesn't drink coffee.
Bucket-list trip? Darwin, hopefully with the caravan.
Women Who Lead
Women Who Lead celebrates the women helping shape Tackle World and Australia's recreational fishing industry. From store owners and managers to team members and industry leaders, the series explores the experiences, lessons and different leadership styles of the women contributing to the future of independent fishing retail.
Read the rest of the series: Julie Ramm, Janis Winkworth and Mary New.
Alicia Bolitho's story reminds us that leadership doesn't always need to be loud. Sometimes it is simply about listening, adapting, doing the work, and making sure things get done.
