It was when Kristy Chong was out running when she had her lightbulb moment.
Realising her underwear was failing to protect her from occasional bladder weaknesses and sweat, Kristy came up with an idea which gave women the right kind of support — the Modibodi underwear line. It felt, even more, right for Kristy to develop Modibodi as she found out that so many women at all stages of life suffered from the same leakage issues in silence- a taboo issue that is all too often surrounded with shame. The Modibodi collection aims to not only allow women to ditch their panty liners for a more comfortable underwear that better manage all types of leakages but also opens up conversations on women’s health issues.
Kristy’s 13 years of experience in senior management Public Relations role for multinational organisations including McDonald’s Australia, Sanofi-Aventis and Edelman PR has equipped her for her adventure into starting up ModiBodi. Her choice in employing Australians and operate as an Australian business is something she also feels proud to have achieved in her business.
Advice that Kristy wishes she’d been given when she started her business:
- Be prepared for the challenges you will face in the first two years of starting a business. You won’t be earning a salary and are going to be working longer hours than you have ever imagined. Pull through these years and you will bounce back with better cash flow and resources than you started with.
- Don’t try to do it on your own. Find someone who can mentor you and can be a great sounding board when you don’t have all the answers and are feeling stuck.
- Outsource the areas of the business you don’t have the skillset for or need support in. That way you can focus on strategies to drive business growth.
Kristy’s advice for someone who’s thinking about starting their own business:
- Not everyone is going to like your big ideas and actions, so get over it! You might get knocked back one, two, twenty times, but always get back up and try again!
For Kristy, these knowledge areas and skills are essential for anyone starting in business:
- Become acquainted in business financials, people management, marketing, and growth strategies.
We asked Kristy to identify the problems in her company that HerBusiness membership solves:
HerBusiness provides a one-stop shop for business owners like myself; it can be challenging attending seminars, networking and finding the right opportunities and I am excited to be a part of a community that offers everything under the one network.
