The power hour: how Helensburgh's Jenny White gets ahead before 6am
The business edge of early mornings
She is the co-owner of a business, has three kids under 10, and ran for Australia at the 24-Hour Asia Oceania Championships in Japan last week. The secret isn’t superhuman willpower, it’s just getting up before anyone else does.
Jenny White’s alarm goes off at 4.50am. Not as a punishment, and not because she read a productivity book. Because it’s the only hour of the day that belongs entirely to her.
White is the co-owner of True Potential Sales, a remote-first business that handles sales inquiries for other companies. She’s also the mother of three kids under 10, a runner, and, most recently, a member of the Australian team at the 24-Hour Asia Oceania Championships in Japan, where she and a teammate crossed the finish line together after grinding through the night.
She’s not running on adrenaline and ambition alone. She’s running on routine. White’s weekday structure is deceptively simple. She’s out the door before 5am, covers between 10 and 25kms, and is home before the household wakes up.
“The days I don’t run, I feel so groggy. The days I do run, I can focus, I’m switched on in conversations — and that lasts most of the day.”
Running a remote business makes this possible. True Potential Sales operates through centralised systems, meaning White has never had to commute: a structural advantage she built intentionally. Her core work hours run roughly 10am to 3pm. Everything else is managed around the margins.
How the kilometres help
White is precise about the mental returns on training early. She describes the alternative - afternoons sluggish with brain fog, the quiet annoyance of a skipped session building through the day - as more costly than the 4.50am alarm. Her base weekly “k-count” rarely drops below 70kms, even in off-competition weeks. About 80 per cent of that, she insists, is run at an “easy effort” - conversational pace, low heart rate, music or audiobooks in the ear, she says.
She works with a coach, Adam Keighran of Nuff Fitness, and leads a run club in Helensburgh three mornings a week. The community element of the group resonates but it’s the habit itself which is all-important.
“I talk to myself about how I’ll feel if I don’t go. It’s not guilt — it’s more like: you’ll feel rubbish, and you know it. So just go.”
Of course not everyone needs to morph into an ultra-runner. And to anyone who thinks they already have enough on their plate, White is understanding and suggests starting gently: “It’s all about just finding those minutes, everyone’s got them somewhere, I’m sure.”
In Hirosaki, White had the kind of rough patch that defines ultra running — gut issues, flagging pace, the particular misery of the middle hours. Her teammate Carrie Geeson
was in similar shape. Their captain suggested they fall in together. They ran largely in silence, one tucked in behind the other, neither willing to be the one to drop off. They crossed the line side by side. Over 24 hours they ran a phenomenal 241.229km, equal second overall.
It’s a useful metaphor for how she runs everything else. Not loudly, and not trying to do it all at once, just getting through the next lap.
Headlines you may have missed this week
BlueScope shuffles board
BlueScope has appointed Michael Morley as an independent non-executive director effective June 1, bringing with him senior management experience across industrial and capital-intensive businesses, including deep operational experience across the steel value chain from steelmaking through to fabrication, distribution and M&A.
The appointment was announced alongside the retirement of long-serving director Rebecca Dee-Bradbury, who steps down at the close of the November AGM after 12 years on the board, including as chair of the remuneration and organisation committee.
The 2026 BlueScope AGM is scheduled for Tuesday, November 17.
Hello Gerringong
You know you’ve made it when the New York Times comes calling …
Social media fame brought crowds to the quiet Australian town of Gerringong - and also Aussie correspondent Laura Chung. The Sydney-based reporter wrote an in-depth piece on the pretty-as-a-picture street that’s captured the world’s heart. Read it here.
Battery debates in Kangaroo Valley, Moss Vale
There will be community info sessions about AGL’s proposed grid-scale battery in Kangaroo Valley.
The 350 MW Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) has triggered debate over regional infrastructure costs amid Australia’s renewable energy transition.The energy giant aims to build on a 4.5-hectare Bendeela Road site, leveraging an unused 450 MW capacity at the adjacent Transgrid switching station. Host landowner Mark McLennan backs the development, citing a vital commercial financial lifeline for his local farming operations, Region Illawarra wrote.
Not everyone feels the same and opponents have started a petition, citing an increased bushfire risk and loss of rural tranquility and economic harm to local businesses and residents among their concerns.
The project is classified as a State Significant Development, meaning the final decision bypasses local council, resting entirely with state planning authorities.
The drop‑in sessions at the Kangaroo Valley Community Hall are:
Friday, May 29, 3pm-5pm
Saturday, May 30, 9am-11am
Opposition to a battery proposal in Moss Vale continues to grow in the Southern Highlands on Tuesday, ABC Illawarra reported.
Sydney-based Nakar Property and its subsidiary Cloud Carrier hope to scale up fossil fuel generation in the Southern Highlands, targeting a combined capacity of 703 MW across three gas-fired units.
The 200-people strong protest was held to coincide with an on-site Land and Environment Court conciliation conference to consider the DA for a 16MW power plant.
A decision from the court is expected in June, Wingecarribee Council told the ABC.
Meanwhile, Australian private capital expenditure jumped 6.5% in the March quarter 2026, lifting capex 14.6% above a year earlier, according to new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.
“The lift in investment was the result of investment in data centre equipment, “ Tom Lay, ABS head of business statistics said, “specifically server racks and processing equipment, significantly boosting overall investment figures.”
Uncovered in the federal budget …
Lost among the usual federal budget “winners and losers” lists was a significant change which should resonate with many Illawarra businesses: mandatory Australian Standards referenced in legislation are set to become free to access.
The reform is expected to particularly benefit small and family‑run businesses and apprentices, allowing those responsible for building Australia to access the Australian Standards they need.
Single standards commonly cost anywhere from about $50 to $300+ each, with technical construction and electrical standards often at the higher end.
The announcement follows strong momentum from industries across the economy, where the role of standards and building codes has been a central focus.
The big ticket
You’re spoilt for choice this weekend - always the way, huh?
Friday ranges from An Evening with Matty Johns at the Fraternity Club from 7pm, former Peking Duk star Keli Holiday’s at the UOW Unibar from 8pm, and for something a tad les frenetic, try Jack Jones at Bulli Workers from 8pm.
Then there’s the Rodeo4Life 2026 at the WIN Entertainment Centre over the weekend. It starts with Boots and Ballgowns on Friday and the rodeo on Saturday. Tickets here