The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
As I said earlier, I had always planned to design bedding, baby accessories and like nursery decor. Just before launching, when doing research on manufacturers I found a really cool nappy bag maker – I looooved their sample design and actually wanted one for myself more than anything! But they had quite a low minimum order quantity and the timing worked out perfectly for our launch, so I bought about 30 of them thinking that I’ll just see how they go, we might sell a few here and there. The nappy bags were an absolute hit and sold out within the first day! Which was I guess my first lesson in small business – listen to your customers! It was clear that beautiful, practical nappy bags were in high demand so I had to do something I had no idea about or had even dreamed about doing before – design my very own bags! It’s been such a ride figuring out how to do all of this without any kind of training or background knowledge.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
I’m not going to lie, this can be really really tricky and I think it will always be a work in progress for me. A huge thing that I’ve had to come to realise is that you need to ask for help and you need to accept help when it is offered. Always. My parents and my in-laws are close by and always happy to help us with family demands, my step-nan cooks dinner for us once a week and also comes over to our house once a fortnight to help me with housekeeping. I recently hired some amazing women to help me pack orders – and that has been absolutely life changing. I can’t do it all on my own. I am now very good at calling on people for help without feeling any kind of embarrassment or shame. I’ll call 10 different people until I can get the help I really need! 😂I’ve also done and continue to do a lot of self-development kind of work. I’ve learnt that I really need to look after myself in order to look after others and my business. But also to be kind to myself when I drop a ball or two when I’m juggling. I usually try to set myself a focus or two as well. I call these my “glass balls.” When you’re a mum who wears so many hats and juggles SO many balls, you’re bound to drop some. But if you have some glass balls that can’t be dropped you really focus on them, if you drop a couple of the tennis balls it still sucks – but at least they don’t smash. For example, this weekend I am preparing Milk & Poppy for a baby expo, that’s been my glass ball, my focus. Have the girls eaten some nuggets and chips this week and spent a bit too much time in front of the TV? Yeah! I kinda have dropped the mum ball a bit this week but it’s OK because at the moment it bounces like a tennis ball. Maybe next week mum life will be my glass ball to make up for it.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
Oh gosh… so many! Probably the most obvious being starting up only about 6 months before COVID hit – with a newborn baby AND a nearly two-year-old. Also our house and all our work area has flooded three times since we started Milk & Poppy – a few of those times at the same time as lockdowns which was so so so hard. And I guess we’ve just made SO many mistakes! Which I know is all a part of the process but oh my goodness there are just so many ways you can make mistakes when you run a business.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
The pros far outweigh the cons in my opinion: the amazing community of like-minded women and mums that have surrounded me, being my own boss and making my own schedule that suits my family, getting to be super creative all the time, building an asset from nothing and honestly so much more! The main con is that it’s bloody hard work, it really is. I can neverrrrr switch off, ever, and honestly it’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears… but to be honest, I tend to turn this around into a pro – because I thrive on challenges and absolutely love problem solving. I mean, it’s kinda like having a baby! Constantly pushed to your limits, but it’s a labour of love and the reward is so great.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
Next is a warehouse! We have outgrown our garage for so so long and hope to move into a new M&P warehouse VERY soon – so watch this space. BUT my big big big dream is to have a space for women, mums and families attached to Milk & Poppy. I want to have a baby/child-friendly cafe, services for women and new mums – think massage, self-care, pre-made meals, doulas, midwives, parenting workshops, co-working spaces, little pods where you can take a nap – all of that! With volunteers to hold your baby while you take some time to look after yourself. A place for the village to meet up again and help each other. And I hope that sales from Milk & Poppy can help fund some of these services for women that they otherwise might not be able to afford. OMG. That’s the big dream!
Visit the Milk & Poppy website to browse their gorgeous range of products. You can also follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
