MuM’s in business
Special issue How to start your Own business Business how-tos from mums who have been there
Interviews from top business mums Your Free ONLINE Parenting magazine
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Special Issue Mums in Business
Contents Articles 5 8 10 23 30
Letter from the editor Advertising your business Success tips from Mumpreneurs 10 Business apps to get you organised Q&A’s
How to’s 6 12 14 16
How to start your own business How to build your online profile How to create effective marketing How to write a killer press release
Case Studies 18 Meeting a need - Bop Along Buddies 20 Making a change - Kili Tinga Tinga Art 22 Touching Lives - Heartfelt Wishes
Interviews 24 Susan Burke of Interactive Lessons Design 26 Jasmine Vanstone of Bambella Designs 28 Debbie Rossi of Bully Zero Australia Foundation
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Letter from the Editor Dear Reader, Owning and running your own business is one of the most rewarding yet challenging things you can do. It allows you to mix family with an income and still be home to care for your precious little family. With the rising cost in childcare and a limit in jobs that allow you to work from home, more women are now choosing to start their own businesses to help contribute to the costs in raising a family. This issue is specially for Mums in business. We have a range of articles to help you get started and grow your business as well and hints and tips from Mums who have been there and some fascinating case studies on what other Mums are doing. Feel free to share this special issue with other mums who are running their own businesses and join us on Facebook as we create a fun and interactive community for parents to share the ups and downs of life. Yours kindly,
Julie-Anne England
Small Steps Parenting Magazine www.smallstepsparenting.com www.facebook.com/smallstepsparenting
Images supplied: Freedigitalphotos.net page 7, page 13, 15, 17, 30 5
to Start your own business w o H There’s never been a better time to start a home based business. Technology is moving and improving so fast that it is making running a business from home more accessible to every day Australians. And for parents who want to be around for their kids, starting a home-based business just makes sense. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, as at June 2013, there were 2,079,666 actively trading businesses in Australia at June of which approximately 67.5% were home based businesses!
clear on your big “Why”, you can lessen the struggle that many home based business owners may find themselves facing. Success is can be directly linked to people being clear about their motivation. The reasons can be as varied as wanting to be your own boss Making lots of money Spending more time with your family Growing and developing a new business idea Expanding an interest or hobby
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Research Research Research So, you’ve decided (or been convinced) Find out as much as you can about that it’s time to start a home based busirunning a business from home. ness. You know you’ve got an awesome Read and learn everything about your comproduct or service that people will buy. petitors and your customers that you can. The internet is a vast and wonderful place, But where do you start? While it is simple for you to create your but don’t just limit yourself to online reproduct and start selling it, all the other search. Conducting surveys, calling your stuff can appear complicated and over- customers to ask them their opinions and whelming. The list of things to do to set up knocking on doors can be just as effective your business can look like a long one. in helping you to learn all there is to learn However, as with anything, once you break about how your product is travelling. it down, there are really just a small series A great place to connect in order to ask of tasks to get your business up and run- questions is also industry associations – there’s one for almost every type of busining. So what sort of things do you need to think ness. about to start a Home Based Business? We are going to assume that you already know Find Out What Permissions You what product or service you are going to Need offer your potential clients. Different councils have different Here are the Top 5 things that you need to rules around running a home based busido to get your business set up and on its ness. Check with your local council to see if you need a planning permit. Things that way: may affect your ability to run a home based Decide if running a Home Based business might include: Business is the Best Choice for Whether the business owner lives in You. the residence; You need to be clear on your reasons for Whether any dangerous chemicals are starting a home based business. By being
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stored on the premises Whether you have staff or not Whether you are offering goods other than those manufactured on the site for sale The affect of cars parked in the street This is just a tiny snapshot of what can affect whether or not you need a permit to operate a business from your home and most councils have easily accessible guidelines on their websites.
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Decide Which Business Structure to Use and Register Your Business In Australia, you are required to apply for an Australian Business Number (ABN) in order to start trading. This number must appear on all Tax Invoices when sending out invoices and there are penalties for failing to do so. There are four main business structures which you need to consider when starting up your business and applying for your ABN. The main business structures available for you are: Sole Trader: an individual trading on their own; Partnership: an association of people or entities running a business together, but not as a company; Trust: an entity that holds property or income for the benefit of others; Company: a legal entity separate from its shareholders. It strongly recommended that you speak to an Accountant or professional in order to get assistance with this very important decision of which business structure will best suit your situation. 7
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Produce a Business Plan A Business Plan is not absolutely required, but is highly recommended if you want to make your business into a viable and profitable enterprise. There are many templates and guides around on the internet to help you get started with writing your business plan. Having a Business Plan assists you in making sure all your i’s are dotted and your t’s are crossed. It should be a fluid and ongoing document which you refer to often – at least every three months – and change as the circumstances surrounding your business changes. Many people use their business plans to help them set their goals and as a measure of how the business is travelling. Good luck with your decision to start a home based business. There is an abundance of help and assistance out there for small business owners…. Including this very magazine! We welcome your questions and look forward to sharing your business journey with you right here in these pages! Written by Chris Crowe, professional archigrapher, mum of four and business owner of C Squared Virtual Admin Services.
Advertising your business “I tried an ad once. It didn’t work.” I love social media. I spend far too much time frolicking through Facebook, pacing through Pinterest and tripping through Twitter. Via Social Media I have made new friends, been educated, and built my ‘network’ and profile which has resulted in new customers. But social media has done marketing a great disservice. There are thousands of small businesses out there who now think that marketing is free. And fast. Just tweet something and folk will contact you. Post something on Facebook and they’ll visit your shop Build it and they will come And – unfortunately – that is just is not the case. The idea that you can do something once – for free – and get traction has spread from social media to other media or channels. Once – and free – doesn’t even work on Social Media. The headline above is not meant to be cute – It is actually what someone said to me. They ran one ad – and when the phones didn’t immediately start ringing they deemed advertising in general to be a failure. The facts are: Marketing is not optional. Nor is it free. And it takes many touch points, including advertising, with the right message, consistently over time to be able to move people towards your business and towards action. Think of your marketing activity as a Sara Lee Danish. To make a great one you can’t just use one thin slice of puff pastry...You need layer upon layer upon layer. And you
have to fill that baby with sweet stuff that people actually want and find appealing – and want again and again and again. Social media has a vitally important role in your marketing mix as do the huge number of ‘communication channels’ available to you: Advertising in traditional publications, advertising on digital publications, blogger outreach, sponsorship, signage, public relations and promotions, publicity – the choice is huge and in comparison the budgets are limited, so you have to be smart about your choices. The Marketing Channels that you use will depend on your overall objectives – for example, to generate leads, to close a sale, to build brand awareness. The process that all customers/clients/ purchasers go through is summarised with the marketing model AIDA / S
Awareness Interest Desire Action Share Let’s look at little closer at that process. We become aware of a brand. We have likely seen or heard a message, an ad, a slogan, a jingle, up to around 7 times before we really notice it. At that point the brand has got our attention. Instantly, some of us will just tune out at 8
that point. There are certain things that we are interested in based on our demographics (age, income, schooling, geography), our psychographics (our values beliefs, behaviours) and our life-stage (things that due to what is occurring in our life become more or less interesting). Some of us, however, are now aware of the brand and will progress to being ‘interested’ enough that we want to know more about the particular product or product category. For example – we have seen a car ad on TV a few times – and now stop and read a feature article in a motoring magazine to find out more. Again – some people will get this far through the process and lose interest; maybe until another day. Maybe to another brand. Or maybe out of the race all together. But for those whose interest has been peaked, they move on to ‘Desire’. Now we want that shiny new thing. At this point we will take recommendations from other people. We will take note of the detail in the advertisement. We will visit their website. Request a brochure. And, if after that research our desire is confirmed – we take action. We buy the thing. Or book the session. Or request the test drive. Keep in mind in this day and age we are able to ‘share’ at each step of the process with our online networks. The time that a potential customer takes to get through AIDA / S will depend on seasonal issues, the size of the purchase, it’s importance to us. It can take seconds in a milk bar choosing an ice-cream. It can take a year or more in the business to business market place where the customer is making a huge commitment to purchase big machinery. However, you can see that if people have to go on a journey to get from being 9
Aware of your product or service to making a decision to purchase, it is obvious that it isn’t going to happen with one ad, once. In summary – and some final points to help you plan your marketing activity: Advertising is NOT dead. Advertising greases the wheels of all of your marketing activity (including Social Media) as it is incredibly successful for building the initial Awareness. Advertising in a channel that clearly matches the interests of your key target market will help you bond with that market and provide them all the information they need at the ‘Interest’ stage. No one activity – once – is going to work. Ever. Even if you promote your business regularly and choose the most appropriate channels – if you don’t highlight the ‘benefits’ of your brand to the customer – the “What’s In It For Me?”, your promotion will fail. And don’t expect any marketing activity to work straight away. You have to be consistent and constant over time. You will build momentum. And it will become easier and more effective. Written by Bambi Gordon, Owner, Strategist & Mentor, The Woo Marketing Strategies, Plans, Implementation & Mentoring phone: 0418 47 97 35
Your Business here
Success tips from Mumpreneurs What do you deem success? How do you become successful? Here we have interviewed some of the tops Australian mum’s in business and learned their tips for success.
Be tenacious! “If it was easy, everyone would be doing it!” I think, as entrepreneurs we all have days where things can seem to be too challenging and perhaps even overwhelming. You’ve just got to hang in there! Sonya Comiskey, Born Country
Connect! Get to know people who you can learn from and who inspire you, via social media, networking events, seminars, and contacting people through their websites. Share connections you think will help others and others will do the same for you. Jo Whitton, Quirky Cooking
Apart from believing in yourself to do it, I think commitment and time. Commitment and time are really crucial steps as often the first two years of business can feel like a hard slog with little return. It is during these years that you are laying the foundations for future successes. Be patient and be authentic in what you are doing. Debbie Rossi, Bully Zero Australia Foundation
Plan ahead, make lists and double check everything. Refer back to your business plan often and listen to your gut! Never compare yourself or your business to anyone else and be proud of everything you achieve. And above all be happy and proud of what you do and who you are. Wanda Ladds, Made with Love Photography
Plan ahead, make lists and double check everything. Refer back to your business plan often and listen to your gut! Never compare yourself or your business to anyone else and be proud of everything you achieve. And above all be happy and proud of what you do and who you are. Wanda Ladds, Made with Love Photography
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I am an innovator. I’m constantly on the look out for new and unique ways to market myself and our brands. We don’t follow the crowd and we don’t get caught up with what our competitiors are trying to do. I am incredibly passionate about the industry I am in and that makes coming to work an exciting part of my day rather than a means to an end. I also surround myself with people who’s strengths are different from my skill set. Emma Marks, Mum Media Group
Know the market and understand their needs and what’s being serviced in the market. Don’t try to be all things to all people, focus on your niche and work at delivering to that. Be authentic in all your dealings and work hard to build and protect a strong brand. The customer is king! Belinda Jennings, Mum Central
If you want to be a successful entrepreneur and leader in your industry—then you need to always be learning. Lifelong learning is the first step in becoming an outstanding performer and successful business owner. Network yourself, read journal/books associated with your business, discover new mentors/ support groups, listen to podcasts, attend free webinars, keep abreast of industry changes, new marketing trends, learn new skills - stay ahead of the competitors and be intellectually curious every single day. Danielle Grant, Creative Buzz Design and Marketing
Nothing has to be perfect...but it is good to have a plan of attack. You have to start somewhere. If you wait for the stars and moon to align to move forward, it will never happen. Never think of something not working as a disaster because ever misstep and mistake is a learning experience. Opportunity can be hiding where you least expect it. Annette Densham, The PR Superwoman
Have fun! And be the happiness you want to create. Sally Petherbridge-Mortimer, Neat Freak
Follow your passion and listen to your clients, they will tell you one way or another what is working, what they want and need. Steph Holdsworth, Allerchic
Ask questions. Always ask people you meet about their ideas and opinions and learn from their experience. Helle Warming, Luccas Loves Cars
Be different! Be unique! Know your style, develop it and stay in front. Chrystal Ellis, Joe Joe and the Teddy Bear
Always try and get experts in each field to form your core team. Working alone and not delivering depletes you very quickly. Jasmine Vanstone, Bambella Designs Don’t give up until the fat lady sings (hold your hand over her mouth if you have to!) Leanne Guglielmi, Cozy Dozee
Constantly be innovative, you have to be ahead of the game. Think outside the square also think about affiliation with other businesses. Nitty Brown, Markets and Community
It is often said dream, believe and acheive! However take action is missing! Don’t just wait for things to happen. With action you will achieve! Donna Larkin, Drama Stars Academy
to Build your online profile w o H When you start a new business, you’re buzzing with excitement, but the sheer number of avenues for getting noticed can crush your enthusiasm, vaulting you into overwhelming. It’s been shown that the majority of people younger than 50 head straight to their favorite internet search engine when looking for a product or service they aren’t immediately sure where to find. Think about it. When you need a new office chair, unless you know of a store close by, you search Google for an ”office supply store” in your city. So it stands to reason that your online presence could be crucial to the start of your new business. And yet, this doesn’t seem to narrow your marketing options all that much. There are still so many ways to get website traffic and build your brand’s reputation on the internet. So today, I want to give you a step -by-step of which online techniques to pay attention to and which to ignore, at least in your business infancy.
leave your marketing efforts spread too thin and mean you don’t get any attention anywhere! Instead, pick 1-3 social media platforms based on where your target market is spending time and which networks you’re actually likely to use. If you hate the idea of quick little statements and lots of idle chit-chat, then you’re probably not going to enjoy using Twitter, so you probably won’t keep up with it like you’re supposed to. Instead, pick a platform that’s a little fun for you and it will make it more likely you’ll build a strong following there. But social media is a long term strategy that builds slowly, so we’ll need to layer some other marketing techniques that work more quickly.
3. Next, you want to decide if content marketing is the right strategy for you. Content marketing just means writing articles and creating shareable graphics. The idea is that you’ll be helpful to your target market on a relevant topic and they’ll share your work over and over again, extending brand 1. You need a professional website. There awareness and building your reputation for are ways to create this yourself with Wordfree. If you provide a service, this can often press.org, SquareSpace, Wix, or other simibe a really effective strategy because your lar website creators. But the quality you get work dovetails well with sharing knowlfrom hiring a good web developer is unedge through text and images. But if you comparable. Try to fit it in your budget to offer products, it might be more difficult to hire out website creation because you’ll come up with topics for articles that are save a ton of time and frustration and the both interesting to your target market and end-result will be much more effective. If relevant to your business. you just can’t make the money work, you can use a website creator like the ones I 4. You’re starting to see some of your stratmentioned. But make sure to buy your own egy coming together now. If content mardomain name and pay the extra fee to con- keting isn’t a good fit for you, you’ll probanect it. This minimizes the possibility that bly be a great fit for PR strategies. PR your site will look like you did it yourself. stands for ”public relations”, but it just means letting media outlets talk about you. 2. After your website is looking fabulous, This strategy can be great for service proit’s a good time to pick out a couple social viders as well. Typically, a media outlet media networks. In your rush to get seen, will feature your products or services, inyou might be tempted to sign up for every terview you, or write about something inplatform you’ve ever heard of. But this will 12
teresting you’re doing in an editorial. This applies to magazines, television, newspapers, radio, and, of course, the internet. This free marketing can be more effective than paying for advertising because the readers have more trust that you have been vetted and are truly worth their time, rather than knowing that anyone could be paid to be seen in that space so they’re not sure if you provide quality products or services. 5. Contests, giveaways, and competitions can give you a really quick boost of attention because people are more likely to share them with friends and family. This works especially well if you take it to the social networks. Consider carefully what prize you’re offering. While the newest iPhone might get a lot of people to enter your giveaway, most of those people won’t be people who will end up buying from you. It’s much better to create attention amongst people who will then become customers and brand ambassadors. In that vein, a better prize is often just one of your products or services. Only people interested in your business would enter a contest with that prize. 6. You can now consider paid advertising. A well-placed, well-designed paid ad can do a lot, creating customers from people who had never heard of you before. A good place to start testing these is on Facebook. If you’re using Facebook as one of your social networks, it will be easy to get started since you do need to have a Facebook Page in order to run an ad. The reason I suggest Facebook ads is because it’s easy to get very specific with who sees the ad and to dictate how much you’ll spend. If you can only afford $20, you can run a quick ad that shows to just a few people. With these ads, and with most paid advertising, the more specific the people who are seeing it, the better results you’ll see. So don’t be afraid to show your ad solely to people who exactly fit your target market.
Once you’ve tested the style of your ad’s image, text, and targeting, you can consider moving into paid advertising on websites that are popular in your target market. If you plan kid’s birthday parties, you could run sidebar ads on popular mum blogs. If you’re a virtual assistant, hit up the small business blogs. If you tutor students, try advertising on school websites. 7. The last step to really getting seen on the internet is to plan out your marketing efforts. This is what big companies do, but even though you’re small you should still do it. Take out a calendar and literally decide when you’re going to run that contest, how often you need to pitch the media (and even which publications!), and when you’ll run paid advertisements. Don’t forget to give yourself more regular guidelines for social media. Will you check Twitter twice a day and Pinterest every other day? And how many times will you post on each network? I like to write out a Marketing Plan, which is really just a list of the different
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Continued from page 13 marketing strategies I’ll use and how often I’ll do them. Your Online Marketing Plan might look like:
Create effective marketing
Post on Facebook once a day Interact on Facebook every other day Pitch a parenting blog three times a month Have a product feature on a parenting blog once a month (goal) Get interviewed once a quarter Run a contest on my own blog twice a year Run a Facebook ad in December for the holiday gift giving Run a Facebook ad in May to hype summer products Remember to make all these decisions based on your target market and your business. And don’t be afraid to change your Online Marketing Plan if it isn’t panning out how you expected. Successful businesses are always pivoting.
The wasteland of well-intentioned marketing sits against a grey sky. Lonely and abandoned AdWords campaigns, little DL brochures and half page press ads scatter in the cold wind. Hopes of more customers, easy money and maybe even just a little fame, in a ‘Heeeelloo its Frank Walker from National Tiles’ way…..lost. Bleak huh. Why didn’t work? The path lined with precious marketing leads can be a tricky one and heart breakingly expensive when it doesn’t work. While nothing substitutes for a full review of your brand, your customer and the journey your customers takes to buying your product or service, there are some general rules to follow to make sure your marketing ends up in the ‘city of leads’ and not the virtual dumpster. Top 10 rules for effective marketing Be insightful - show you have an understanding of your customers. People see thousands of messages a day. To get attention you need to create something that will make them laugh, cry or enrich their insides just a little bit. Make it about them – what problem does your product or service solve for people. Talk about that rather than cold, hard facts. Keep it simple – communicate one thing and one thing only.
Laura C George liberates and energizes artists who feel stuck, arming them with the knowledge they need to create a career that supports them emotionally and financially. Or, in short, she’s a business consultant for artists. Learn more on LauraCGeorge.com
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When you try and tell people too much, it is harder for them to absorb the information and they are more likely to just turn off. Say the same thing over and over again – you will be bored to death by your message long before a customer has even seen it. Over a period of time you can use different creative ways to talk to people, just make sure the message remains the same. Only use channels to advertise that your customers use – while you might like ‘the best of the 80’s, 90’s and today’, do a sense check to make sure your customers do too. If your customers aren’t there it doesn’t matter how brilliant your advertising is, they won’t see it. For value for money paid advertising, social media is King – Facebook ads, LinkedIn ads / sponsored updates (depending on your audience) or digital ads on sites relevant to your audience can be very targeted which means less marketing money wasted. Don’t put all your marketing eggs in the ‘free social media posts’ basket – Facebook pages, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram are a great part of your marketing plan. They are however a ‘slow to grow’ and uncontrollable part of marketing e.g basically no one sees your Facebook updates anymore. Insightful, engaging paid advertising in this social media world will still get you much more instant results. Use landing pages – direct people through to landing pages that specifically talk about what you are trying to
sell. If potential customers have clicked through, they want more info or a way to buy. Landing pages vs home pages can make a huge difference to your conversion rate. Make sure your AdWords are driving to a great website – you get one chance at a first impression. If customers click through to a dodgy website chances are they are not coming back. Make sure your back office is ready marketing can buy you leads but it can’t buy you sales if the sales process is not top notch.
Jodi Gaylard is co-Director of The Revery, a marketing coaching and consulting based in Melbourne, Australia. The Revery make leading edge marketing and powerful creative available to businesses that are striving for growth but looking to stay lean. See more at www.therevery.com.au
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Write a killer press release
It’s all well and good to want to get publicity for your business, but where do you start? Well the first, and perhaps one of the most important things you need to do, is prepare. In order to run a campaign effectively, you will need to have the following: Goals - What are you hoping to achieve? Have a think about what you really want to get across and who you want to hear your messages. Media release - make sure you have identified the angle/s that you think will make your story newsworthy. Then write up a media release, as detailed below. Make sure you have your media release ready to go - in electronic format as well as printed versions to send out with samples. Media contacts - you will need some up to date media contact lists before you get started. Remember the wider you cast your net, the better response you should get. Photography - this can be crucial to the success of the campaign. Some good quality, hi-resolution (1-2MB) jpegs will make a big difference to the media. Ideally you will need at least one or two ‘lifestyle shots’. By this we mean that it shows your product or service ‘in use’. It might be a shot of a child riding the scooter you want to publicise, or a customer undergoing your beauty treatment or wearing your jewellery or accessories. You will also need them as lo-res images for the email you send out to the media. If they are interested in using it, they will ask you to send them a hi-res version. Samples - if the media are interested in your product or service then it is likely that they will want to experience it for themselves. You will need to allocate some stock to send out to the media as samples. Be aware that these are
often not returned unless they are of a very high value. If your business is servicebased, then work out a way to let a journalist try the experience for themselves. Website/list of stockists - you will need to make sure that your website is up to date and that you are happy with the content before you start to tell the world about it! If you sell your product or service from the site, then make it easy for the media to see the prices and the availability. If you sell your product from retail stores, then have them listed or offer a phone number that people can ring to find their nearest stockist. A biography - (background information) about the person who will be available for interviews - whether this is yourself, an expert in the field or someone else you have nominated. Before you get interviewed on radio or TV (and sometimes in magazines), it can be handy to have a short biography to send through to the journalist so they have an idea about the business and can formulate some relevant questions to ask you. The next step is writing a good media release. Don’t panic! It’s not as hard as you might think. There are a few things you need to include: 1. What’s your angle? The best way to think about this is in terms of the benefit to the end user. What problem does it solve? Does your product or service save people time or money? Does it reduce guilt or inspire confidence? Does it improve body image or facilitate growth and learning? Determine the angle you’d like to pitch first off. 2. Write the words “For Immediate Release December 2011” (or current date) in bold at the top of your release. Insert the image you are going to lead with. 16
This will either be an image of your amazing product or service or a lifestyle shot relevant to it. 3. Write a killer headline. It needs to stand out from the sea of releases that flow through a journo’s inbox every day. It should be clear, clever and enticing enough to make the journo read your first paragraph. Here are a few we’ve gone out with: Well Hung! (A release for a picture framer about the best way to hang art in the home) Aussie mum creating champagne means on a beer budget (A release for www.120dollarsfoodchallenge.com) New jeans save flesh and blood! (A release for jeans lined with Kevlar and Vectran) Carry your own interior designer in your handbag! (A release about an interior designer’s Ideas Book) Tantrums lead to new business for clever Aussie dad. (A release about a dad’s visor invention, designed to keep shampoo out of kids’ eyes.) Sometimes the headline will come to you
after you’ve written the body of the release so don’t stress if you can’t think of one straight away. 4. Get to the point in your first paragraph. This is the make or break section. If you ramble you’ll lose the attention of the journo and they won’t bother reading the rest of the release. 5. Use the next two or three paragraphs to cover off the other important points. 6. Include a quote by someone relevant. It could be about why the business or product was established, or about the consumer response to it so far, or even a quote from an independent person. “Hair washing was always a drama in my house,” says inventor, Rod Cassar of his product ‘Drieyes’ “and I detested that this part of the day was supposed to relax our kids. Instead it would constantly end up in tears and a lot of frustration for all of us. That problem has now gone.” 7. Bold the product/service/business name throughout the release. 8. Include where people can buy it and how much it costs and any other details such as different colours available at the end of the release. 9. At the end of the release write the words COPY ENDS on a new line. 10. Then write your contact details for the media. Something like this: For further media information, to request a sample, interview or images please contact: Your name Your email address Your phone numbers (try to include landline and mobile) 11. Make sure you use lo-res images in your email & release so you do not clog up your journalist’s inbox with big files. Written by Jules Brooke, owner of Handle your Own PR, a business designed to help people run their own campaigns easily and effectively. Check out the website for more information www.handleyourownpr.com.au 17
CASE STUDY Meeting a need When Deborah Brodie first launched her brand new business Bop Along Buddies she had a dream of encouraging fitness in children through a fun range of toys. Her years in pharmaceutical sales exposed her to the devastating health related issues in children as a direct result of living a sedentary lifestyle. “Having been exposed to Type Two diabetes and similar weight related conditions prevalent in children I felt there was a way to introduce a fun aerobic activity to target motor skills development.” Deborah says. With two children of her own to think about, Deborah said goodbye to her highprofile corporate position and set her sights on her new focus of business. “I was well aware that although this product could help the wider community of children it would also have a specific application in the areas of cerebral palsy and autism, areas I had a passion for helping.” Boasting a hybrid entrepreneurial skillset: strong academic accomplishments, business acumen and impressive leadership skills, Deborah has become an entrepreneurial figure and thought-leader in the ‘toy engineering’ world, having launched Bop Along Buddies - a farm of inflatable animal shaped bouncers designed to strengthen upper and lower body movement. In an effort to get the Bop Along Buddies name out there, Deborah believes in creating a unique selling point for a business and taking a product into the wider community to build brand awareness. Her work with autistic children has led to an introduction of the inflatable toys in the
break out rooms for the children. These are places that are safe for the kids that they can express their frustrations but where there is nothing that can hurt them. With the addition of the toys in this area the children are able to burn off excess energy by bouncing around but also talking to, yelling at, wrestling or even kicking around the toy. Even though this was not the intended use, by thinking outside the square she was able to grow her market and include an entire new customer base. A staunch supporter of innovation and ready to push boundaries, Bop Along Buddies very quickly made an imprint in the marketplace, and now sells to over 50 stories in Australia and abroad including New Zealand and South Africa. 18
Her future plans display her focus and drive to continue to build her business and impact more and more lives both nationally and globally. When asked about her goals over the next five years Deborah shares “We would be in our own warehouse facility with 2-3 staff, our range would be a little different with some minor changes made and the extensions of range we are working on as well as our completely new product range would be on the shelf across the world. Deborah’s integrated voice across all departmental divisions ensure operations, budgets, marketing, sales and strategy are fully serviced to run smoothly. “To be a successful business owner you need to find something that is unique in the area you love. You also need to have passion for your product, integrity in what you do and how you interact with people and expect to work a lot of hours but also know that if you do the hard yards early it will pay off,” she says. Her life now filled with children, giggles, education and development, Deborah has boundless bounce and her vision has enabled her to join the cavalcade of inspirational Australian business women who are making a change.. “Not only do I get to be with my children during the day, I have had the privilege to see kids that have been told they will never walk take some of their first steps,” she says.
Learn more about Bop Along Buddies online at www.bopalongbuddies.com.au
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CASE STUDY Making a Change nate lives than her. After two years in Nigeria the family moved to South Africa and Yael spend the next 13 years submerged in the beauty and tragedy of this nation. As she grew she found a passion for travelling and spent time seeing the world and creating memories and building friendships. Eventually she settled down and made a home for herself in Australia with her husband. Four years ago she made the decision to travel back to Africa, and decided to visit the Serengeti, Zanzibar and Dar Es Salaam. It was a trip that impacted her deeply. When one is away from extreme poverty it’s easy to forget how it looks. Although as always the people of Africa smiled and find endless reasons to stay happy it was hard not to notice the torn cloths, the knee Yael Maree always had a love for the con- high boreholes in the muddy road and coltinent of Africa. As a child she moved to lapsing old buildings. It was in Dar Es Nigeria with her family as a result of her Salaam that however that she encountered father’s job as a civil engineer . It was dur- the Tingatinga Market, incredible beauty ing this time that her love for the African hidden in the depth of dirt and filth of the savannah became insatiable. But unfortu- city. Amazingly talented artists sat in the shade surrounded by incredibly vivid, and nately beyond the beauty of the land and surreal paintings depicting animals, Africa the people who inhabited it, there were and village life. These artists of the Tingattruths that were too hard to ignore. The poverty in Nigeria was rife and very appar- inga Society worked hard and diligently creating masterpieces to help them feed ent, even to a 9 year old. People would their families and bring pride and worth to practice the art of self-mutilation in order their lives. to be seen as crippled and so that they could beg for money, infrastructure was It was here that she purchased a number of collapsing just as fast as it was being built paintings which still take a place of pride in her home. One particular painting stood out and the hunger and hardship was evident. It was then living in this country as a fortu- to her and that was an artwork she purchased for her unborn daughter which she nate 9 year old that Yael realised how was carrying at the time. After her daughmany others in this world live less fortu20
ter’s birth Yael decided that she wanted to do something to show her new baby that this world could be a better place. Her idea was to create a fair trade business where she would purchase, import feature and sell the Tingatinga Art in Australia, not only creating a tangible income for the artists who create these pieces but also help them feed their families and bring them pride and worth. This is when Kili Tingatinga Art was born. Kili Tingatinga Art proudly supports over 50 artists and adds as many as they can to the list regularly. They are Melbourne based and to date have sold over 155 pieces and have donated a number of art works children’s wards in hospitals across the country, with the latest donation being to the Monash Children’s Hospital. Yael looks excitedly to the future of this world changing business and her goals are to create a modernised and updated website with an informative and fascinating blog using lots of international contributors. Now she strives to grow the Tingatinga Family and the Tingatinga name in Australia so that they can continue to help provide an income and financial means by fair trade purchases. With a few new projects on the horizon and continuous work they hope to find new and better ways to better the lives of the artists and their families. Learn more about Kili Tingatinga Art through their website www.kilitingatinga.com.au
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CASE STUDY Touching Lives needed to start planning her own organisation and this is when Heartfelt Wishes was created.
The creation of many businesses and nonprofit organisations often begin after being confronted with a tough situation from one’s own personal life or through circumstances placed in front of them. This is the case for Liz from Heartfelt Wishes. As a creator at Wedding Cake Boutique, Liz provided cakes for organisations that assisted people through medical situations or serious life challenges. She came across many very lovely couples who upon receiving devastating medical news, had to rush their wedding forward or even cancel it to deal with medical issues or to spend their remaining time with loved ones. Having suffered from cancer herself and grieved the loss of family members in the same situation, Liz is no stranger to life threatening illness and the consequences this can have on family. Liz wondered whether organisations existed to help people plan weddings and commitment ceremonies while having a life-threatening illness. Through her research she was unable to find any within Australia and she broached the idea to her husband. Her husband’s full support and encouragement gave Liz the spur she
Liz then began the exciting and often daunting task of creating a non-profit organisation. Her new business was for couples who are facing a terminal illness or life threatening situation to get married, renew their vows or have a commitment ceremony. Heartfelt Wishes also provides beautiful items to families who have lost a child such as an outfit to go to heaven in. That part of their organisation provides resting gowns and beautiful baby wraps to babies that have passed. The resting gowns are lovingly created from wedding gowns, formal dresses, ball gowns and donated dresses. When trying to think up the perfect name for the new organisation, Liz wanted something that had meaning. “At every wedding we always give our heartfelt wishes to the lovely couple so I only thought it right to make this our business name.” Liz told Small Steps, “This is where ‘Heartfelt Wishes’ was created, and our motto (Creating a moment in time to cherish for eternity) stands behind what we want to do for the people we assist.” For Liz, she describes the process of building this organisation as a “beautiful journey” and cherishes the support from her husband and family. The process in starting a not for profit organisation can be quite a struggle and Liz said there was lots of red tape to get through. Her biggest hurdle was that there did not appear to be any assistance with applications fees, newspaper ads 22
that needed to be placed, marketing materials, logos and so much more. “But I have found that the people of Australia are very kind and do not hesitate to help in any way they can to give back to the community. Heartfelt wishes can only provide this service through the donations and sponsorships.� Currently Heartfelt Wishes are based in Western Australia but they have their sights
on serving all of Australia. You can make a difference to this heartfelt organisation by supporting them with a donation or sponsorship. More details can be found on their facebook page www.facebook.com/heartfeltwisheswa or via email heartfeltwishes@westnet.com.au
Business apps to get you organised Cozy - allows for file sharing between your apps and devices Trello - organise your staff and tasks in one app that syncs between users. Works like a whiteboard with sticky notes. Any.Do - To do list that puts up reminders to accomplish your tasks and provides encouragement
Google Drive - Syncs between your devices to access all your files Asana - a shared task list between staff memners
Camscanner - keep track of receipts and other documents all in one place
Wunderlist - create several to do lists that sync between users and is great for personal and business use Evernote - lists, notes, organise, sync, files and more all in one place
Concur - manage your travel and expenses
StyleNote - Note taker app that allows for keeping information and provides a widget for desktop viewing
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BUSINESS INTERVIEW
Susan Burke Interactive Lessons Design
What gave you the idea for your business? I've always been passionate about education, and in particular, making learning fun and engaging students in the learning process. When I had an Interactive Whiteboard installed in my classroom I was very excited to see how the students responded to learning through this technology. I spent hours at home creating lessons (before I had my own children!) My colleagues often asked me "Where did you get that lesson", and I realised that there was a market for ready-made, high quality IWB lessons for teachers to use in their classrooms. Teachers are incredibly busy people, and creating IWB lessons is a time consuming process. This means that unfortunately some IWBs are not being used to their full potential in classrooms, and I wanted to change that!
My first step was finding out if there was a market for my products. I posted some pictures of my work on a Facebook page and asked the question - "Who'd be interested in these?". I said that if I got 200 likes, I would look into starting a website. Literally overnight I had over 400 likes, so I knew I had to do it. Of course, then I had to find a web developer who could make my vision come to life on a shoestring budget!
Was there something that inspired you to take this step as a business owner? I'd had the idea for a number of years before taking the step to create a website and start my own business. Becoming a mother, and juggling work and family life inspired me to branch out and try to find a better work-life balance. I took some time off teaching, and worked at an online shopping company, which inspired me. It made me realise that living in a rural community didn't mean that I couldn't create a national or global business. The magic of the internet! I met some incredible people and found a way to start my business from the corner of my lounge room in July 2013.
Your business has grown substantially since you started. What do you credit this growth to? Passion and self motivation, and hard work! I truly love what I do, and I work hard at it every day. I'm incredibly fortunate to have a very supportive husband who encourages me every step of the way, and that's important. What do you children think of your business? My children love my business! They get involved and help me to choose images. They "test-drive" the lessons I make and love to watch me ""play" on the computer.
What was your first step into becoming a Do you use social media? Social media is a huge part of my business. business mum? 24
I have over 4,600 Facebook followers, and I also have almost 300 followers on Pinterest. I love using social media to connect with my clients. They often write messages of thanks and provide me with positive feedback that I find incredibly humbling and motivating! When I know that people are using my products, and liking them, it makes me want to create more!
remind myself that ultimately, there are hundreds of children around Australia and the world that are discovering the joys of learning using my IWB lessons, and that I am making life a little bit easier for hundreds of teachers. Even if money is tight, I am achieving something I've dreamed of. Not everyone gets that chance, so I'm lucky.
Name your biggest challenge in this business and how you overcame it. My biggest challenge in business is selfdoubt. I still don't see myself as a "business woman", I'm just a teacher with a particular passion! I'm still working on overcoming this challenge. I'm looking into getting What do you use to keep yourself moti- some professional mentoring to help me vated during the hard times of business? move to the next step. Being involved in I have an awesome network of family and the AusMumpreneur Awards has been fanfriends who are excellent at keeping me tastic in helping me connect with amazing, positive when times are hard. I also read inspirational women in business! testimonials of satisfied customers, and
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BUSINESS INTERVIEW
Jasmine Vanstone Bambella Designs
Tell us about your business? Bambella Designs started as an online boutique stocking gorgeous handmade trolley liners, change table mats, infant head supports, pram liners, pram covers and baby accessories. We are now also stocked in over 30 stores, and have sold over 7,000 pram liners. Where did the idea for your business come from? So it was a warm summer’s day, the birds where chirping, the sun was shining…and a toddler was screaming. For once it wasn’t mine; it was a dear friend’s daughter who flatly refused to get into her seat. My friend was stressed, her daughter was beside herself and my heart was breaking for both of them. Being a mother of two, and having worked with violent and troubled youth as a social worker, I knew the importance of distraction and trying to find therapeutic ways to diffuse tense situations. So I offered to make her a seat cover. It was one of those suggestions with the best of intentions that came out before I thought about it – after all I couldn’t even sew on a button (and still can’t)! Buying some Dora material I muddled through though (aka got someone to sew it for me) and created a seat cover for her. My friend’s daughter was beside herself again – this time for all of the right reasons. To be honest that is where I thought it would end, just a kind gesture for my friend and her daughter. To my surprise though that was just the beginning. It turned out that many parents experienced the same problem and my friend was asked many times where she got her seat cover. 26
Once you decided to start the business what was your first step? To create a plan of action and realistic goals. How did you grow your business? Engaging with our customers and target market on social media. Social media, or more specifically in our case Facebook, has been a powerful, low cost marketing strategy that has increased our web traffic, brand awareness and sales while also allowing us to engage and interact with customers and potential customers on a daily basis.
As a result, we now have 40,000 genuine fans, a list that is growing daily through word-of-mouth and targeted marketing campaigns that include giveaways and competitions.
day as it comes, always remembering that there is a bigger vision.
Your best tip for growth? My number one tip would be to outsource and finding experts in each field to help When did you start to feel successful? the business expand being mindful of When I had a team of people around sup- budget. When it comes to creating a profitporting me sharing my vision. able business, the best advice I can give is to not overspend initially. Make sure your business is viable before spending excesThe hardest part about running your sively on expansion. own business? The greatest challenge for me has been to What has been the best thing that has learn I can’t please 40,000 people at every come out of your business? moment of every day. I’ve had to learn Becoming a finalist in the AusMumsprehow to communicate with a diverse range neur Awards for the handmade secof people and think creatively about how I tion. Travelling overseas representing my can meet customer expectations to achieve brand and having stockist believe in Bamthe desired outcome. Also, as someone bella Designs. who can’t even sew on a button, I had a lot to learn about running a boutique What are your plans for the business of handmade products, from colour charts over the next two years? to fabric densities and thread counts to Looking forward to the next two years, choosing designs. To overcome these iswe’ve got big plans to expand globally and sues I’ve had to learn patience, and to not research the current fabric trends and set unrealistic goals in such short periods styles. We are excited to negotiate national of time. Now I’m dedicated to taking each orders in the coming months.
BUSINESS INTERVIEW
Debbie Rossi Bully Zero Australia Foundation
If there were no limits what would your business look like in a years time? My business would be world wide – helping lots of Mums out there who have also experienced bullying or are currently experiencing it with themselves or their children. My aim is to help millions of women all around the world. What gave you the idea for this business? I got involved in Kinesiology when my second daughter Sofia was suffering from continual headaches. I tried a kinesiologist to help her and I was amazed that she was able to pin point what was causing the headaches and ultimately stop them! I had to learn kinesiology on how I could also help my children. During my kinesiology schooling I received numerous kinesiology sessions on helping myself overcome my low self-esteem and low self-worth which was a result of the bullying I experienced in high school. I had such a profound experience and I am now feeling more confident and at peace within myself that I wanted to share this with as many people that I know. Through helping myself to feel better within and deal with my negative thoughts and negative past, I have been able to help my children to grow up loving themselves and feeling confident within themselves. This is my ultimate goal – to help my children to be happy and confident. At the end of the day – Happy Mum = Happy Kids. Where was the turning point that made 28
you realise this could be a viable business? Once I decided to focus on the bullying and overcoming bullying, I started to talk to people about it, nearly everyone I spoke to said that was me or that is my story. I felt obliged to help these women to also overcome their negative thoughts so they too can learn to love themselves again. Why did you want to be a business owner? For the flexibility, with 4 children my house is crazy. We have many mayhem afternoons between, dancing, drama, soccer, cheerleading, tutoring, singing and play dates. I needed a job that was flexible to fit into school hours and also allow me to be present with my children for them
and at the same time to be able to help out within the schools in the classrooms and tuckshops. I also wanted to role-model to my 3 daughters that as a woman you can do anything you want to do, they do not need to be pigeon holed into thinking that they cannot do something, as anything is possible when they believe in themselves. What is the hardest part of being a business mum? Time management. I love my work and I love my children, so I often feel torn between the two. I have lots of to-do-lists and use many time management techniques which keep me organised. Do you feel like you are successful? I feel like I am successful when I see my clients feeling happy within themselves, I have had many women tell me that I have changed their life (for the better). I love this ability to make such a profound effect on people and ultimately their children as well. I started feeling this as soon as I can see the changes happening in people and their lives.
What do you think has been the best thing for growing your business? Meeting people and getting myself out from behind my computer or in my clinic. You need to be the face and person of your business, people buy people!
What are your goals for the next 3-5 years? To reach a wide audience of women to help How did you make people aware of your them overcome their negative past experiences. To be doing lots of talks and speakproduct? Social media, publicity, word of mouth and ing engagements to reach a wider audience. Bully Zero Foundation Australia endorsement. The most valuable piece of advice you could give to other mums who want to own a business.... Do the work, but do not be attached to the outcome. Ultimately all you can do is your very best and if people do not want it, then that is not your concern. What you need to be able to each night when you go to bed is say to yourself “I did my very best today from a true and authentic place�. PH: Sam 0408 660 673 29
Business Q&A’s
I have a brand new business which is bringing in some money but I have so much to do and so little time. Is there a way I can simplify my tasks or is there a cheaper way of hiring help? Starting a new business is so difficult! Until you can afford to hire help, my suggestion is to use your network. I've been lucky to find friends who are happy to help me. Don't be afraid to ask for help. You'd be surprised at the breadth of talents in people you already know. Mostly, people are genuinely interested in helping you to succeed. It's amazing how a bunch of flowers or a dinner out can be payment enough for someone's help. Susan Burke, Interactive Lessons Design I have a small business. How do I get the word out there so people know to come to my site? When you are starting out as a small business one of the most powerful tools and least expensive is finding networking groups in your field that you can join. There are lots of groups on social media that you can liaise with and these groups can be a great source of knowledge and cross promotion. Also find out where your demographic is most likely to be found. Depending on your demographic there may be a social media platform that is better to focus on than another. This will help instead of trying to cover all platforms, to focus on a relevant one to your industry. Research the demographic you are targeting. This may lead to a unique way of marketing to them that hasn’t been done by everyone else and may offer you a point of difference. Emma Marks, Mum Media Group.
I want to start my own business but my husband says I don’t have the time with caring for the kids. How do you create work time and allow time for family? Easy! If you are; determined, ambitious, resilient and motivated, you will get past having to care for your children 24/7. I chose not to use daycare. I do have an aupair. The greatest part of my life is being a mum. At the same time, I need mental stimulation. That has come in the form of my home based tutoring business. I once worked 7 days, the hours that suited me. Now, I work five days each week so I can truly focus on the whole family on the weekend. Hope this helps! Kate Gurjian, Time to Shine Professional Tutoring Service I have been running my own business for just over a year but am getting bogged down in all the little things. Is there an app I can use to keep on top of all the things I need to do? I simply use my e-diary (Outlook in cloud mode) synced across all my devices, to keep track of daily priorities, meetings, to-do-lists, reminders and I ensure my personal diary and work diary don’t overlap with colour coding. In terms of an app I also trialled Cozy and found it worked well as it takes things one step further with grocery lists, journal notes and you can sync with other family members. Tara O’Connell, The Baby Diaries I am a stay-at–home mum and I was thinking of starting my own business for when the kids start school. I like the thought of being in charge of my own career. How do I know that I have what it takes? Running a business takes a variety of skills as you need to be able to handle various aspects of the business. Before you begin a business you want to ask yourself… can I handle working without a wage for a period of time until the business is able to support itself? Are you motivated? Can you handle the long hours needed to start a business? Do you have support network to encourage you in the tough times? Do you know enough about what it takes to run a business? Have you done the research into your planned business to see if there is a need for it? Honestly sit down and answer these questions. If you answer “Yes” to these questions then the chances are that you would be able to be a business owner. Julie-Anne England, Small Steps Parenting Magazine I have started a business from home. Do I really need a business plan? Absolutely! Having a plan is always a great idea, helps with keeping everything organised—business wise and home wise. A business plan will keep you on track to achieve your goals. I think it’s equally important to have a business plan in place when it’s a home based business as we are surrounded by constant distractions (kids, housework, pets etc.) - so it’s always great to look at your plan and remind yourself where you need to be! Stefanie Hinkley, Fun Cakes
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