The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
When we first started out, we had trouble finding a shipping carrier that we could afford that picked up from our house. So, my hubby would leave for mahi 30 minutes early every morning and take all of our orders to the local dairy post office. They didn’t have a computer system, so he’d stand there weighing and measuring every package and attaching the correct shipping sticker to each. He’d then write down every tracking number and send them through to me to send out to our customers. Thinking about it now makes us laugh because we’ve caught up with 2022 and have an awesome carrier now. All we do is print the label, stick it to the package and they pick up from our house! Thinking back, there have been so many challenges – shipping delays, whānau illness, super slow weeks, going back to mahi and having almost no time to push through. Probably the biggest is that we are waiting for our house to be built, so our ‘Company HQ’ has been a corner of our friend’s dining room where all our product and supplies are stored, where we make our products and where we ship our products from. Space is tight, but it makes for good quality time and encourages lots of conversation within our small whānau!
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
I am so passionate about our products. I believe in them, I use them every day and so do lots of our friends. I get to create these products and share them with others. It is fun. I really enjoy creating and I am overwhelmed when I hear stories of how our products have helped babies with eczema or cleared the worst of nappy rashes. Obviously the cons are the time. There just isn’t enough time to get everything done in a day, especially when you have kids, and a job, and other things going on, but when you get that repeat customer for a 4th time, or an order for 20 of 1 product, I feel it’s all worth it!
Hopes and dreams: What next?
Moving into our new place and having a dedicated space for the business is my dream! It will make things so much easier. There are some new products I am looking forward to getting out, including some for the pāpā out there. I would love to move into more wholesale orders, so we can see our products on some shelves in person, and hopefully, we’ll be on a few Christmas wishlists within a few months.
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