Love Your Work Archives - Mama's Got This

Ask Her: Cinzia Cozzolino, Smoothie Bombs

Jen — Tue, 02 Jan 2018 05:03:45 +0000

Cinzia Cozzolino is a Melbourne based nutritionist and founder of Smoothie Bombs and the Nutrition Darling brand. Her business story is not conventional. She was a single Mum living on $30,000 per annum before she went back to Uni to study nutriton.

“If someone had told me 8 years ago that I would create a brand that is sold Australia wide and internationally I would have laughed!” Cinzia exclaims.

Cinzia adds: “If you’re a mum with school age children, then you likely know the struggle of getting kids up and ready for the day. You may experience daily the problem I had with trying to get my youngest daughter, Lana, to eat breakfast before school. She wouldn’t have a meal in the morning but she would happily drink something. To give her smoothies some sustenance I started to combine the nuts and seeds and superfood ingredients that we had in our cupboard into pre-portioned boosters.”

Each tube contains 5 smoothie bombs. They are easy to crumble, toddler and kid friendly, great tasting, vegan, gluten free, palm oil free, dairy free, refined sugar free, certified organic and have no preservatives.

My personal favourite is The Defender golden chai (pictured) which I blend with mango and soy milk for a delicious fuss-free breakfast smoothie. So how does one start a business like Smoothie Bombs? Read on!

What motivated you to start your business?

I had a very fussy eater in my family and I needed to do something about it. I had just finished my nutrition degree and the benefit of nutritious food was fresh on my mind. I needed to come up with something that was delicious and easy to make as well as be good for her. The Smoothie Bombs were created!

What has been the most memorable moment in business?

There have been two big ones so far. One is when I went from hand rolling the Smoothie Bombs to finding a factory that enabled me to finally scale my business. And the second one was ranging in Chemist Warehouse, which meant that more people could find my products everywhere, which in turn helped to grow my brand.

What challenges have you faced and how did you overcome them?

There are many challenges when running a business, that’s why it’s super important that you love what you are doing. My challenges has usually been how I could bootstrap my way to growing the brand. I found that I had to leverage my skill sets to keep the cash flow, For example I was supplying cakes to cafes while building the company as it ensured weekly income. I was already delivering the Smoothie Bombs so I provided more value to the store owner, which equally helping me increase my capital.

What is the best or most worthwhile investment you’ve made? Could be an investment of money, time, energy or other resource.

The best investment I made was to believe in what I wanted to do. To trust my instincts and put in the hard yards. I had plenty of people try to talk me out of it but it only made me more focused on making sure I could achieve what I thought could work.

How did you decide to make the investment?

I was already in my late 40s when I finished my degree. I went back to study because I wanted to improve my odds of having a better life. I had been a single mum with two daughters and had experienced the struggle so I wanted to make a change. I had nothing to lose, I could either settle on a safe but uninspiring path or take a risk.

What advice would you give to your 20-, 25- or 30 year old self?

I would tell my 20 year old self to trust my gut and continue to follow my entrepreneurial spirit rather than wasting time in unhealthy relationships with friends and lovers. I think I knew all along what I wanted but I allowed my environment to dictate my moves rather than the other way around. You can change your circumstances!

What have you changed your mind about in the last few years? Why?

I have learnt more than ever to listen to my customers! I have changed the way the product was initially marketed because I saw it wasn’t working so I found who my true market was by asking and adapting. In business, you have to listen, things are constantly changing so you must stay that step ahead and make sure your audience is with you.

What are your morning rituals or any habits you do which set up your day for success?

I have some good rituals and to be honest, I do occasionally fall off the wagon when work gets super busy. I’m still working on this. Usually I wake up and meditate for 10 minutes and focus on the good in the world. Then I try to plan my day straight after so I keep that thought. I have a Smoothie Bombs smoothie for breakfast (of course!), make my bed and get into work before 7.30am. I find that not ‘rushing’ into work in the morning, helps to reduce stress for the whole day.

What is your favourite business book/tool/podcast/resource?

I have lots of great podcasts/audiobooks I listen to. In fact it’s all I do in my spare time. Even when I clean my house, I put on my headphones and catch up on my favourite podcasts. I am a big business nerd as you will see below

My top 3 fav podcasts:

1. How I Built This – great business insights by successful brands

2. The Tim Ferriss Show – because the guy is constantly learning and growing both personally and business wise.

3. The Model Health Show – with Shawn Stephenson about health and nutrition. He really does his research!

Recent 3 Fav audiobooks:

Zero to One – by Peter Thiel – one of the founders of Paypal and serial investor. Very smart and full of great advice.
GRIT – The Power of Passion and Perseverance – by Angela Duckworth – tells of how hard work pays off
Principles – Life and Work by Ray Dalio – again an incredible business leader.

What is your secret to juggling family and business?

I am lucky because my kids are older and actually help me in the business. This doesn’t mean I negate my responsibilities as their mum. They still love it when I cook and do mum things but it’s just a little less often. Lana, my youngest literally runs the whole online side of The Smoothie Bombs, dealing with sales, customer support and social media. I couldn’t run this business without her. When we work late, we get Uber Eats, when the house is a mess (a lot of the times) we clean it together. It’s team work at my house and it works well for us.

What’s next for Smoothie Bombs?

I have some new flavours coming next year and have already planned their release. It will help with getting the year to run smoothly. I love releasing new flavours because the customers get excited too and it’s great to have new smoothie varieties to explore. We are also building on my Nutrition Darling brand (the mother brand of the Smoothie Bombs) and will release a new product range in the first half of next year which I can assure you mums will love! I have also re-released my muesli range, which I did 5 years ago. All in all, lots of fun times ahead!

Go to the Smoothie Bombs website for stockists or to shop online

The post Ask Her: Cinzia Cozzolino, Smoothie Bombs appeared first on Mama's Got This.

Ask Her: Kerry Sutcliffe, The Hypnobirthing Mum

Jen — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 00:57:16 +0000

You may recall that I mentioned attending a hypnobirthing course in my birth story. I found the class so life-changing in the way it empowered my birth journey, I’m excited to share this interview with the lovely Kerry aka The Hypnobirthing Mum who ran the class!

What motivated you to start your business?

To be honest I kind of fell into working for myself. We had 3 children in under 3 years and when it came time for my youngest to start day-care I just couldn’t imagine the stress of having to get them to day-care early, leave work on time to collect them and having to take time off work when they were sick and having to explain this to my boss. So I decided that working for myself would still allow me to have my children at home with me for 3 days a week but then I could work the other 2 days along with evenings and weekends. When deciding what I was going to do, it just had to be teaching other women hypnobirthing! I had 3 wonderful births with each of my children and I wanted to support other women towards this and show them that birth can be a really positive experience!

What has been the most memorable moment in business?

Just the fact I am doing it and doing something I really believe in! I never thought I would be working for myself especially with 3 young children in tow. From a business point of view all the little things group together to feel like big wins. Not so long ago I wouldn’t have known how to get a business logo designed, how to advertise on Facebook, or build my own website, whereas now I look forward to learning new things and taking on the next challenge. With regards to the most memorable moments from doing my job, without doubt it is when I hear about a new baby arriving and mum telling me the experience was a positive one, regardless of how baby came into the world. For me, births are on a spectrum and we don’t know how or where baby will make an appearance, but how you feel before, during and after the birth can make all the difference about how you then reflect on this major event.

Hypnobirthing course materials (image supplied)

What challenges have you faced and how did you overcome them?

The biggest challenge for me was taking on all aspects of the business myself. I didn’t have the money to outsource parts of the business at the start so I had to very quickly learn how to do these things. In order to overcome this challenge prioritising the most important things was key so I could focus on them first.

What is the best or most worthwhile investment you’ve made? Could be an investment of money, time, energy or other resource.

The biggest monetary investment I made was in relation to the initial training to be a hypnobirthing and childbirth educator. I researched the various courses available and chose the Hypnobirthing Australia approach. Their training, resources and philosophy is wonderful and I am so proud and confident in the courses I run through them so it was money well spent!

How did you decide to make the investment?

I took the time to research the other hypnobirthing courses available but then ultimately went with my gut – something just felt right about the Hypnobirthing Australia programme and since starting with them my gut decision has been validated time and time again.

The Hypnobirthing Mum course venue

What advice would you give to your 20-, 25- or 30 year old self?

I would tell myself that being a business owner IS for you. Don’t be scared about the prospect of taking the leap and working for yourself, be scared of never taking it and instead always wondering what could have been. As long as you feel passionate about what you are doing and you have a clear purpose about why you are doing it, then go for it!

What have you changed your mind about in the last few years? Why?

I haven’t changed my mind about anything fundamental to my business but my mindset towards it has changed. This change has come about as my business and confidence has grown, and also by having very supportive and inspiring people around me who both motivate me and give me a good balance of constructive criticism and credit where it is due!

What are your morning rituals or any habits you do which set up your day for success?

The evening before a workday I have to get my workspace clean and tidy. I find it very difficult to concentrate when I have clutter around me so this sets me up to start working straight away the next morning and helps me gain momentum for the day ahead.

What is your favourite business book/tool/podcast/resource?

I love watching TedX talks on youtube. Simon Sinek talking about “Start with why” is a favourite, but in general I find that TedX talks are a great way of learning more about business and inspiring my next steps.

What is your secret to juggling family and business?

Juggling a family and business is hard. I am mindful of boundaries and not letting them become so intertwined that neither of them is getting my full attention. Some days I’m still trying to find the right balance!

What’s next for The Hypnobirthing Mum?

I can see that hypnobirthing is becoming an increasingly popular approach to birth so in the short-term it’s supporting more couples and delivering more courses. In the longer-term I would love to gain my own premises and expand my business to include counselling focusing specifically on perinatal and postnatal anxiety and depression. I have also started a second (unrelated) business in Inner West Sydney – www.jellybeanstreet.com –3 children, 2 businesses and 1 husband ought to keep me busy for a while!!!

For course dates and more information, go to The Hypnobirthing Mum

The post Ask Her: Kerry Sutcliffe, The Hypnobirthing Mum appeared first on Mama's Got This.

Ask Her: Chloe Blanchette & Jaimee Masters, Bella Buttercup

Jen — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 02:45:40 +0000

Starting a business with your best friend was never going to be easy but Chloe and Jaimee have turned the Bella Buttercup concept into a fully-fledged business.

What motivated you to start your business?

We are two best friends who started our business Bella Buttercup over four years ago. We both come from design and retail management backgrounds and after talking about our shared desire to start a business we decided to join forces and build one together. We started Bella Buttercup knowing we wanted to create stylish baby and toddler products and since beginning we have continued steadily adding to our collection growing it to be what it is today.

What has been the most memorable moment in business?

There are a few special moments along the way and it is hard to choose just one! Getting new samples of something we have designed and brought to life is always an exciting moment and receiving the very first Play Bar prototype was definitely pretty special. There was also the time where our brand was published in British Vogue as part of a Dream Nursery section, that was a memorable moment as we have both grown up admiring Vogue and could never have imagined our designs would one day grace their pages.

Bella Buttercup Play Bar (Image supplied)

What challenges have you faced and how did you overcome them?

Living on different sides of the world when we first started the business was quite a challenge. Chloe was based in Melbourne and I was in London, but with both our passion to succeed and naivety towards what we were about to do, we worked together without distance being much of an issue. We had to rely greatly on skype, email and phone calls to keep us connected for the year that we worked apart from each other.

What is the best or most worthwhile investment you’ve made? Could be an investment of money, time, energy or other resource. How did you decide to make the investment?

Every time we place an order for product this is a large investment for us, but one that is crucial for us to continue to build the business and provide a great range of products for our customers. As we grow we are finding that this investment gets bigger each season, with a higher commitment in terms of spending and sometimes taking a chance on what we believe will be popular. This growing investment also comes with the positive of allowing us to build on the product lines available, offering different styles and colours within our collections.

Bella Buttercup Change Pad Cover (Image supplied)

What advice would you give to your 25 year old self?

Jaimee – Don’t be in a hurry to grow up and get serious about life. Enjoy the time that you have as a young woman who has few commitments around work, life and family. As much as we love our lives now it would be lovely to go back and live in that moment, even just for a little while.

What have you changed your mind about in the last few years? Why?

Jaimee – As my working life balance has changed over the last year and I have moved into more of a role with Bella Buttercup I have realised that a life can be forged around what you want it to be. It doesn’t have to match the perceived norm around 9-5 working days and it is entirely possible for women (mothers or not) to create their own working lifestyle that works best for them. I think I always wanted to believe this was the case but now that I am living and doing it I know it is entirely possible.

What are your morning rituals or any habits you do which set up your day for success?

Chloe – We both have a coffee addiction and need to start the day this way. We have a favourite local coffee shop that we frequent and once we have had our fix we can then begin the day properly. I also often drop Eva off at day-care in the mornings and although it is always hard to say goodbye I love that she is constantly learning and socialising while it allows me time to get my work done more easily too.

What is your favourite business book/tool/podcast/resource?

As much as we would love to say we have a favourite business book we tend to follow more blogs online and are inspired by women/mumpreneurs who are doing things for themselves. We love to read real life experiences and success stories to try to learn from and incorporate any great ideas into the way we do things ourselves. Some that we love are:

Not so much visual but great for practical parenting information:

What is your secret to juggling family and business?

Chloe – This is always an ongoing challenge but one I am getting better at as the years go on. I do try and balance motherhood and work by keeping my days as that, either being a mum with Eva or working when at work. There are some crossovers but I’ve learnt that I’d rather Eva see me working hard at what I love and hope in the future she does understand, plus she has become quite the little helper.

What’s next for Bella Buttercup?

We have recently just brought out two new colours in our soft goods collection and one new product line, the Any Space. This is a large mat big enough for all of the family to enjoy either inside or outdoors at the beach or park. We will be focussing on showing the new collections to our market through new imagery and marketing. So far these new products have been off to a great start with customers loving the sophisticated Midnight and Mist colour-ways. We are always developing new products to sit within the collection and look forward to launching a foam Change Pad insert to go with our very popular Change Pad covers over the next few months.

Shop the full Bella Buttercup range at bellabuttercup.com.au

Bella Buttercup Complete Play Bar (image supplied)

Bella Buttercup Play Space (image supplied)

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