About Pauline
About Pauline
City girl. Island dreamer. Strategist. Storyteller. Mum at 45.
Twenty years building brands, training business owners, and living proof that bold moves win. These days I split my time between Auckland and our home in Tonga. I write books, run my agency Stockhausen & Co, teach small business owners how to use AI without losing their minds, and I’m writing an adventure series for 8-12 year olds about a Tongan and palangi family living between two worlds. The same worlds I live in myself.
I’m an early adopter by nature. If there’s a tool or tech shift worth knowing about, I’m usually inside it before anyone’s writing about it. But I only teach what I’ve tested in my own business first. Every prompt, every strategy, every tactic gets broken, rebuilt, and run through a real agency with real clients before it ever shows up in a book, a course, or on stage.
My Story
I’ve always been a city girl at heart. Steaming cups of coffee, bustling cafes, people-watching, op shops, sun-kissed beaches. For years I believed my urban roots were unchangeable. Then life nudged me toward an unexpected adventure.
My Story
I convinced my husband to build a house in Tonga, a country I’d never even visited. Audacious? Absolutely. But that gamble gave us a charming sanctuary where I now retreat several times a year, living between two beautifully contrasting worlds.
At 45, I became a mum again. The shock took months to comprehend. The exhaustion was real. The pre-menopause and night sweats were an unwelcome plot twist. But through the brain fog, sleep deprivation, and the painful realisation that some friendships couldn’t survive my new chapter, I found a strength I didn’t know I possessed.
My Story
Running Stockhausen & Co while straddling two countries isn’t just a dream, it’s my reality. I’ve built a thriving brand and communications agency serving clients across New Zealand and Australia. The rise of hybrid work made it possible, but it takes relentless effort, reliable Starlink, and a generator to keep the work flowing from paradise.
I’m also a mum to an adult son who navigates life with sight challenges, proving daily that resilience runs in the family. Being a flight away as I embrace island adventures tugs at my maternal instincts, but I trust in his capability and courage.
Twenty years. Thousands of businesses. Every industry you can name.
I’ve worked inside marketing, brand, and growth for small business owners across New Zealand, Australia, and beyond. From single-operator tradies to multi-site retailers, from first-time cafe owners to Fortune 500 trainers. I know what keeps business owners up at night because I’ve sat across the table from them in every industry that matters.
1,000+ businesses trained • 20+ years experience • 500k+ audience • 2 books published • International speaker
What I Stand For
Be Boldly You
Quirky, flamboyant, unapologetically authentic. The world needs your unique magic, not another carbon copy.
Choose Adventure
Say yes to the outrageous. The photoshoot. The stage. The impossible. The best stories come from bold moves.
Embrace the Chaos
Life is beautifully unpredictable. Coffee helps. So does flexibility, patience, and knowing when to laugh at the mess.
Book Me to Speak
I’ve spoken at Social Media Marketing World, trained audiences on three continents, and my job on stage is simple: give your audience something they can actually use on Monday morning, wrapped in stories they’ll be repeating for months.
1. AI for Small Business Owners
What actually works, what’s hype, and how business owners under $20M revenue can use AI without needing a tech degree.
2. Social Media That Actually Converts
Twenty years of viral campaigns, brand building, and training Fortune 500s. Strategy that drives revenue, not just likes.
3. Building Businesses That Travel
Digital strategies for entrepreneurs who refuse to be tied to one location. From reliable internet on remote islands to scaling agencies across continents.
4. Living Between Two Worlds
How to build the life you actually want whether that’s straddling continents, balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship, or pursuing the impossible with intention and grit.
5. The Ambitiously Tired Truth
Real talk about pursuing big dreams while navigating brain fog, sleep deprivation, menopause, and the chaos of modern life. Practical strategies for getting stuff done anyway.
6. Rewriting the Rules at Any Age
Becoming a mum at 45. Building a house country unseen. Convincing skeptics. Losing friendships. Finding strength. Why age should never be a deterrent to your boldest moves.
