Starting a business from scratch is no easy feat, as it requires many years of effort and persistence. Therefore, what is useful when getting started is to be surrounded by people who have prior business experience and advice that will help you navigate through the early stages of your business. In the How I Got Started webinar, CEO of Adore Beauty, Kate Morris, founder of Nudie juice, James Ajaka, and creator of Little Flowers, Sarah Regan, joined Suzi Dafnis in discussion about the inspiration and challenges to new businesses. There are many reasons to start a business. But one thing that Kate, James and Sarah share in common is that their business inspirations were birthed from identifying a need within their communities.
For James Ajaka, creating Nudie juice was a natural step after he realised that he was not able to find quality chilled juices in the market. Success though, as he recalls, was not immediate. It took seven years before his business started making profitable revenue. As of today, Aztec’s market research ranks Nudie juice as the number 1 chilled juice brand in Australia.
The secret to James’ story comes from building a solid foundation in the early stages. “You have to have a great set of people around you, at work and at home,” he says. This is because like-minded people that share a common purpose with you will motivate you to grow your business. Beyond the business side of things, staying in business requires you to have a product that customers will be able to value. Products that are enduring are the ones that guarantee success today and tomorrow. With that however, challenges to staying in business are also guaranteed. For Kate Morris, founding and maintaining the business of Adore Beauty has required much resilience and tenacity.
Undoubtedly, there has been a lot of challenges and roadblocks in running her business. But her point of difference comes with the ability to seek for solutions and adapt to the situations of different challenges. In her words, “business plans can evolve over the years — things are going to change quickly so you have to change with it”.
If you are thinking of starting or have started a new business, one thing that Sarah Regan, founder of Little Flowers has learned to do is not to be afraid of making mistakes. “Sometimes, making a mistake is the biggest way to learn,” she says. It is inevitable that there will be a lack of knowledge, but not letting that stop you from staying in business is essential. In the end, having a great sense of optimism in relentlessly pursuing your passion and dreams are going to make a crucial difference to your business journey.
In the How I Got Started webinar with Kate Morris, James Ajaka and Sarah Regan, you will also be able to learn more about:
- What it takes to make a great business
- How to stay in business
- Start-up challenges and how to overcome them
- How to scale your business for growth
- How to obtain customers (then retain them)
- How the right technology can accelerate your business growth
Watch the webinar here. (Premium Members get free access to this event and over 165 others. Learn more about Premium Membership here.)
This post was co-authored by Natalie Ong. Natalie completed a journalism internship at HerBusiness. She studies a Media degree at the University of New South Wales.
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