May 29, 2024 • 43 mins
Orianna Edmonds was born to be an entrepreneur.
The founder and CEO of skincare brand Naturally Goat, she has already won multiple awards - including Young business leader of the year and the NBAA business of the year’.
As a teenager on her family farm, Orianna began her journey through trial and error, perfecting the use of sustainable farming to create the most extraordinary Goats Milk beauty and skin products.
Naturally Goat has is now a total family affair with all members on the farm playing an important role in the growth of the business.
This is a wonderful example of persistence, belief in product and running a solution focused business.
Welcome to the Buzz Orianna Edmonds
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Ariana Edmonds is one of my favourite people. She was
absolutely born to be an entrepreneur. The founder and CEO
of cosmetics brand. Naturally, Goat has already won multiple awards,
including Young Business, leader of the Year and the Northern
Business Achievement Award Business of the Year.
(00:23):
As a teenager on her family farm, Oriana began her
journey through trial and error, perfecting the use of sustainable
farming to create the most extraordinary goat's milk, beauty and
skin products.
Naturally, Goat is now a total family affair, with all
members on the farm playing an important role in the
(00:44):
growth of the business. This is a wonderful example of persistence,
belief and product and running a solution focused business. Welcome
to the buzz. Ariana Edmonds.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Thank you. Thanks so much for having me. It's
Speaker 1 (01:00):
awesome. Ah, so good. So good. I'm glad you're here.
Thank you. I want to go back to high school,
which I don't think was that long ago. I would
consider you a high achiever. Were you a high achiever
in those high school years? Always looking for the next
Speaker 2 (01:16):
thing. Yeah, I was I was one of the people
that even just before my high school actually was trying
to sell, you know, like half a dozen eggs at
double the price to the neighbour Because I wanted to
run my own business.
Um, and then you're going into high school years. Obviously,
I started when I was 15, but I was all
about like, Let's not do what other kids are doing.
Now let's do what I can do when I'm 30
(01:36):
but we'll do it now kind of thing.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
And where do you think that came from? Was that
just like you or who your parents kind of always
lead you in that way, Or or Where did it
come
Speaker 2 (01:46):
from? Yeah, Look, I will say that Mom and Dad
definitely kind of always. They never treated us sort of down.
Like they always sort of treated as if we were adults. Um,
And dad,
he ran his own business, and I always saw, you know,
Mom helping him and I'd help out. And then my
uncle ran his own business, and yeah, so it was
kind of just like and we grew up on the
property and with animals. The responsibility was certainly a thing.
(02:07):
Um and then, yeah, as I said, mom and dad
were always like, you know, you wash your dishes, you
do this, you just chip in. You do hard work
and yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1 (02:14):
right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then, yeah, Obviously seeing your
extended family go into to business is like, this is
your normal, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Amazing.
So So what was school life like for you? Because
I did. Read that you did. Homeschooling on the farm. Yeah.
So what? What was that like?
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Yeah, it was awesome. It was the best thing that
my parents ever did. Um, I loved it because it
created a connection and a bond between myself and my parents,
especially my mom. So rather than sort of knowing my
teacher inside out, back to front, it was my mom
and which now she helps me out in the business.
And it's great because we've learned how to get along
and we love each other. And so we like each
other's best friend. Um, and it allowed me flexible time
(02:58):
to start the business and to explore what I really
liked and to make those
high achievements because I wasn't stuck in a classroom with
only my own own age reading from a book. So yeah,
Speaker 1 (03:09):
that's really good. Did you ever have moments, though, During
that time where you're like, Oh, I'm curious about school.
Like being in a school and doing traditional
Speaker 2 (03:18):
school. Yeah. Look, before mom and Dad officially started homeschooling,
I had gone to, like, a school open day, so
I'd sort of done, like, one day of school in
a classroom, and I'd seen what it was like, Um,
And then I had friends that went to school,
and they were like, You don't want to go there.
So I was like, Oh, yeah. So I was always
sort of, like, I had friends that were like, Oh,
you're so lucky. And so I always just, you know,
believed I was I was,
Speaker 1 (03:40):
but yeah. So there was no desperate need to try. What?
The other sort of jump on the other side of
the fence? Yeah. Yeah. Amazing. So, during those last years
in high school, I mean, I know you started the
business when you were 15, but was that the direction
that you were considering or had you considered other you know, career?
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Yeah. So I was actually dead set? Sure. that I
was going to go and do veterinary. So I was
gonna go to uni, do my science degree and do veterinary.
But I sort of sat down and looked at the
whole options. And
basically, it was gonna be seven years at uni doing veterinary,
which meant that I'd sort of come out at 26. 27.
And then I felt like I'd lost all of my
twenties in a classroom, which I had always been out
(04:23):
of the classroom doing home school. And I was like, Oh,
but I was sort of, you know, I was gonna
do that anyway, until one day, I kind of just
realised that I didn't want to waste all those years
doing something that still didn't guarantee me what I really
wanted to do. And that was work with animals and
people and
sort of, you know, be my own boss and that
kind of thing. And I thought, Oh, how would I
cope with putting animals down when I was such an
(04:43):
animal lover and I'd want to take them all home
and I couldn't. And I'd love to know what happened
to them after I treated them and the night shift,
and then I started talking to vets and they were like,
It's really it's not what it looks like. And so
then at that stage, we had the, um farm
and we had the sort of the start of the business.
And I was like, I wonder if I could actually
do something with this and I can have the animals.
(05:06):
I can have the business like It just encompassed everything
that I really wanted to do
Speaker 1 (05:10):
and the people dealing with people.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
And so I kind of was like, OK, let's just
drop veterinary for now and I'll run with the business
And I sort of studied agriculture and business, and
I just loved everything sort of fell into place. So
Speaker 1 (05:23):
when you when you say, study agriculture and business, was
that part of your homeschooling with your mom? Or was
this further studies that you
Speaker 2 (05:30):
did after? Yeah, so, um, while I was finishing up
high school at home, I then studied online through different
universities across the world, like different short courses. And, um, yeah, basically,
just I loved learning, and that's the great thing about
homeschooling was I
sort of just loved learning different things. And so I did. Yeah, like, um,
agriculture at Massey University. And, yeah, business at RMIT and
(05:53):
all that kind of stuff. Just online. So
Speaker 1 (05:55):
great. Oh, and what a huge you know, variety and
even doing them in the in the different countries. You know,
what a wonderful cross section and range of information and
skills and knowledge that you would have gathered.
Amazing. So, yeah, when you started the business going back
(06:16):
to age 15, did you think it was going to
be what it is today? Was that what you were
planning on, or were you just playing around sort of hobby,
crafting your own soaps?
Speaker 2 (06:27):
It certainly started. We were just playing around Hobby crafting soaps. Um,
it certainly worked. Originally, I did it for my mom.
She had really sensitive skin. So that was that. That
is why I did it. And then, yeah, I was
sort of like, oh, friends and family started wanting it,
and I was like, Oh, well, a bit of pocket
money as a 15 year old, you know, this is cool.
And then it was probably, I don't know, maybe six
(06:48):
months in I was like, Hey, I wonder if there's
actually something in this. I wonder if this is actually
a need out there, and I started sort of exploring,
and then it sort of became a bit of a
like a business that I was really enjoying. And it
was something that I I dreamed of taking somewhere, but
really didn't think would be possible. So I said, What
did the
Speaker 1 (07:05):
dreams look like when you say you dreamed of it?
What were the dreams? What did they
Speaker 2 (07:09):
look like? Pretty much where we're headed now, which is awesome.
So it was to expand the farm. It was to
start doing farm tours and educating people about, you know,
the different sort of way of doing it.
Um, and it was to have Yeah, not mass production,
but much more than just a few soaps a week. Um,
and starting to sell across the world and helping people.
(07:29):
And so we've Yeah, we've pretty much reached that. So
you're
Speaker 1 (07:31):
stepping right into that dream now as a reality. It
gives me goose bumps as far as the soap goes.
I read it took two years perfecting the recipe until
it was perfect. Lots of trial and error Batch after batch.
What was the driver to keep you on that path?
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Um, I think the driver was my mom. If I'm
gonna just dump her in the whole order There it
was her, Um
Speaker 1 (07:56):
seriously, what a great motivation when you were so close. Exactly.
Makes sense. That's a
Speaker 2 (08:01):
key driver. So I think, you know, we had a
product that worked, I guess, good enough for our bathroom.
But once I, I sort of started taking, you know,
things a little bit further and said to Mom and Dad, Look,
I think there's something in it and they were like, Yeah, absolutely.
And but my mom was like, Oh, I don't think
people are gonna want to soap.
It goes sludgy and water within a few days, and
I was like, Yeah, true, you know. So she started saying, Well,
(08:22):
if you're going to sell it, then maybe you need
to perfect it. And so I started to realise that
I had a really good formula and the texture was great,
but there was just a few little things I had
to iron out. And they were Yeah, sort of bigger
than I really thought. were, um and so it took
me two years to basically come to a a really happy, um,
perfection
Speaker 1 (08:40):
with it. And how do you work through that, though? Like,
do you consult? Um,
who would you consult or like? Is it research online,
or is it a certain, um, area of expertise or
person that you connect with to ironize out? Get
Speaker 2 (08:57):
through it? Um, personally, from my experience, I just did
a lot of research online and really sort of understanding, um,
chemistry
and science and formulations. And yeah, um, I even took
a short course. Um, it wasn't a degree or anything,
but it was a short course. Um, that was being
run through a university here in Melbourne. And that was yeah,
(09:17):
just on chemistry and formula and all that kind of stuff.
And so once I understood, I say it's a bit
like cooking. If you know how to make a quiche
like the base of it, you can
add all the different stuff to it. If you know
how to make a stir fry, you can do sweet
and sour. You can do you know, honey, soy chicken,
all that stuff. Um and so ones that understood how
things worked and reacted with each other. It was in
(09:39):
a case of putting those formulas through a few calculators
that are online, and it's a little bit like an
online lab. And you just put all the ingredients you
want to use and how you want to use it. And, um,
eventually you can get somewhere and lots of trial and error.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
So you and so you're all self
Speaker 2 (09:54):
taught. Yeah, pretty
Speaker 1 (09:55):
much good on you. That's that's amazing. Good on you.
So when? OK, so then how long into the business
when you thought, OK, this has really got legs. This
is a legitimate business.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Yeah, it would have been 2019 that we changed the name.
We rebranded the labels and the design and everything. And yeah,
I just I basically quit any part time jobs that
I was doing at the time
and went full time into it, and it was a
Speaker 1 (10:25):
100%. Well, that's it. And you hear, you know often,
you know, we have different chats with different business owners
and they so there's only so long that you can
do the 1 ft in 1 ft out. There's got
to come a time where you just get stuck in.
I mean, you obviously had your, you know, parents farm
and and your support, which I think probably makes it easier. Um,
(10:46):
but were there any sort of big investment pieces that
you needed, you know,
to get together in order to take
Speaker 2 (10:54):
it to the next level? Yeah. Um, yeah. Absolutely. So
one of them was all the labels. So before then,
we'd sort of just been using sort of, like small
companies to print stickers, or we'd been sort of printing
it out ourselves on labels and cutting it out. Um,
so then the next stage was to actually get boxes
and labels printed. Um, so there was a graphic designer
that we bought on on with us, Um, and actually
(11:16):
getting it printed through? Yeah. Um, big printing company.
So we did a first print run of 200,000 labels, and, um, yeah,
I'm very blessed to have had my parents put in
a little bit of capital for that so that I
could pay them. So we've never borrowed money from the bank.
We've done it all from, as I say, like you know,
50 bucks that Mom gave me originally, um and then
after that, if there's ever been capital, outweigh it's either
(11:39):
savings that I've put aside from the business and just
putting every dollar back in or it's been, yeah, Mom
and Dad that have been great help in that regard,
but that was pretty much it. The labels,
the website.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
OK, so no, um, equipment to make the soap
Speaker 2 (11:53):
and the Yeah, look, we pretty much already by that
stage had some more little equipment. And after that it's
just been sort of Yeah, as I said, putting every
dollar back into the business. So there's no been sort
of like, you know, we need 20,000 Suddenly, um, it's
been like we don't have 20,000, so it's like put
in 1000 here, 500 next month kind of thing. So, yeah,
(12:13):
it's been a slow, a slow growth. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (12:17):
and and young in the business world. You know who
What what resources did you lean on to sort of,
you know dot those i's and cross those TS in
the early years of business.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Um, I was very privileged to get a scholarship with
a really amazing company. Um, business blueprint. Who?
Speaker 1 (12:34):
I know business blueprint.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
So Dale and the team were amazing, and, um, I
went over as an intern, um, up to Sydney and
basically helped them out running their events. But in return,
I got all the information and got to talk to
the people, and so that was fantastic.
How did you get on to that? My dad took
me to one of Dale's, like, one day, kind of, um,
(12:56):
on his tour, um, back in those days and took
me to one in Melbourne. And, um, I think it
was just afterwards Dad and I were like, the last
one sitting in the chairs and Dad was like, Oh,
I'd love to sign you up, but we just can't
afford it. And so, um, be at the time he
came up and he was like, Oh, you know,
um, we've got this young person's programme. Did your daughter
want to join? And Dad was like, Oh, yeah. So
(13:18):
I went through the interview process and and got in,
and it was absolutely amazing. I loved
Speaker 1 (13:22):
it. I was like, Good on you. That's fantastic. So,
you know, that's a really good. Um, thing to flack for,
you know, maybe a listener who is looking at that
because I think having that business blueprint
background, um, really does set you up for success from
the business planning and execution perspective, doesn't it? Um, so, yeah,
(13:42):
there are intern opportunities. There are scholarship opportunities,
Speaker 2 (13:46):
So, yeah, and whether it's them or somebody else, there's, Yeah,
all my sort of a little advice on that is
just ask questions. And if you know anybody in the
industry or anything, just yeah, don't be afraid to ask
and sort of find out and hang around the people
Speaker 1 (13:59):
and get along to those free seminars. Yeah, absolutely.
So, what do you think was your biggest lesson in
business in those early days?
Speaker 2 (14:10):
That's a good question. Um, I think one is Don't
rush things. There are a couple of things that, you know,
Mom and Dad were like, Oh, I just don't know yet.
And I was sort of like, Oh, no, no, it'll
be fine. So take risks. Um, but be careful how
you take them, and yeah, if that makes sense. So
there was, um, one. I remember that we sort of
created a bit of a contract or a deal with
(14:31):
another company. We did sort of like a white label,
kind of.
So I made the soaps, but it was his label, Um,
and that didn't turn out as well as we expected. Um, so, yeah,
we lost money on that. And obviously the contract. Um,
but yeah, I think if I'd thought about it beforehand
or if I'd sort of talked to the person a
little bit more to find out exactly what they were
(14:51):
wanting or where they were sort of wanting to go
with this idea that would have helped a little bit
more and sort of
the knowing beforehand. So, yeah, just don't rush into everything
super excited, Um, but definitely take risks. Because if I
hadn't have, we wouldn't be here today, 100%.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
And coming back to your earlier piece of advice, Ask questions. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.
What about all your sort of legalities of it, like
your you know, copywriting and all of that. Were you
pretty much across that
from the get go? Was that a bit of a
tough lesson?
Speaker 2 (15:23):
No, that was pretty good. Um, yeah. As I said,
my dad's from IT background, so he sort of had
all the technology and the legalities and all of that
under his belt. So he was sort of teaching me that,
and we went through that with Blueprint as well. Um,
so yeah, in terms of all of that, it was
fairly straightforward and knowing what we sort of had to
do to set up and start. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (15:44):
yeah, yeah.
And then, you know, and and I don't know if
this is part of that, obviously, it's quite a niche market.
Did you have a formal sort of marketing plan to
get the word out, or was it more organic than that?
Speaker 2 (15:56):
It just happened. It was very accidental. Yeah. Um,
yeah. Look, I guess in some ways it was we
still sort of run on word of mouth, so yeah,
even back then it was just like, Oh, you know,
if you like the soap, tell your friend kind of thing.
Um And then I jumped on social media and and
that was our very wacky start.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
And then I also read that you presented at, um,
Biz vs and the young entrepreneur
show, which was viewed globally by millions of business owners.
How did that opportunity come
Speaker 2 (16:28):
about? That was with, um, business blueprint. That was amazing. So, yeah,
Dale was running that at the time. Um and that
was very similar to this. We just sort of sat
on a panel, and I was interviewed by the the host,
and she basically yeah, just sort of asked questions. And
we had a chat.
Um, about I think it was labelled like, uh, starting
a business from a bottle of milk or something like that.
(16:48):
And it was sort of like, I guess that was
our early days, Um, of how I started and where
we were headed. And that went out to a whole
lot of business owners that were sort of still in
the start up stage. Yeah, I
Speaker 1 (16:59):
love that. And what would you say was your biggest
takeaway from that opportunity?
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Um, that was probably a confidence, actually, that really boosted
my confidence of like, hey, you know, like I'm actually
doing this and really being able to talk about it
and actually share sort of where I was, what we'd
done and where we were headed. Um, yeah, that was
really cool. And I think
Speaker 1 (17:17):
sometimes, yeah, it it doesn't come until you actually have
to repeat it back to someone
Tell the story. Right. We often get that from our entrepreneurs,
and they finish the interview, and they're like, Oh, I
actually did a whole lot more than I ever thought
I did, you know? Absolutely. Yeah, it really is. I
can see how that first presentation will really have boosted
things along.
(17:38):
What would your advice be for the listener who is
looking at setting up a similar operation from the residential
or rural location?
Speaker 2 (17:48):
I was gonna say, Don't be crazy as me. But no.
Go for it. Um, look, I guess just
as long as you're doing what you love and you've
got confidence that you've got a product that can help people. Um,
And if you are going to be as crazy as
us and do the farm side and the manufacturing and everything, Um, yeah,
just legalities. Just make sure that you know your property
(18:08):
is set up for it. That you've got everything in place. Um,
and that financially, you're able to sort of keep it going,
I guess. Um how does
Speaker 1 (18:15):
that work? You would have to have some sort of
council and business person.
Yeah,
Speaker 2 (18:21):
so that's
Speaker 1 (18:21):
all. Did that take a while to come through or
was that pretty
Speaker 2 (18:26):
has been pretty easy for us. Um, I think because yeah,
mom and Dad had the property and we had animals.
And then the goats kind of just slowly grew. And
then by the time we sort of realised, you know, hey,
we actually need to do stuff about this. It sort
of just fell into place. So yeah, that's the
Speaker 1 (18:40):
best way. And what about your global expansion? You know,
again, it sounds like that was more organic or, you know,
were there sort of specific targets or international campaigners such
that you put
Speaker 2 (18:55):
out there. Yeah, so
obviously we by the time we sort of decided that
we actually wanted to go globally. We started with a
very small stepping stone, and we opened up our website
to include worldwide shipping. And so we add a different
country so that we could literally just pack orders and
ship it to the other side of the country. And
then I was privileged to be included in an exporting
(19:17):
incubator course on which I did down, um, in Ballarat,
and that was really amazing. Kind of got us started
thinking about how to actually
to export more than and further just past our website,
if that makes sense. So, um, I was like, Oh,
that would be really cool. But where do I start?
So they sort of went through, like, you know, 1
to 10 of how on earth do you start, And
how do you finish? Um And so then we sort
(19:41):
of the end towards the end of the course that, um,
they took us over to Singapore for like, sort of,
like a practical theory. Um, and so my dad and
I went over, and we sort of yeah, checked out
the market,
Um, and, yeah, talked with, like, three P logistic companies
and distributors and all of that kind of stuff. So so,
Speaker 1 (19:59):
again, a really great way of, you know, expanding your,
you know, knowledge and and keeping all of those tasks
in your house. How did you come across thinking about
a course in
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Ballarat? My dad. My dad. I know. What a leg. Yeah,
he happened to be on LinkedIn with the right person.
He was
advertising it. And then he was like, Oh, he was like, Arian,
I think you'd like this. So, yeah,
Speaker 1 (20:21):
all meant to be. And everything just falls into place. Yeah. So, yeah,
I guess thinking of the listener who's keen to break
into that international market. What would be your top three
tips for
Speaker 2 (20:32):
success? Yeah. So, one, if you can afford to go
over to the country you're looking at, I highly recommend
it because my thoughts and opinions on exporting to Singapore
were
totally different to what they are now having gone over.
So we don't have a market in Singapore, and we
thought we did, so we'll be using it very differently.
It'll probably be a logistics hub versus actually selling to
(20:55):
G over there. Um, they they don't want go to
M so they don't know what it is. Um, and
they've got a completely different sort of desire when it
comes to skin care. And, um yeah, so we discovered
that there was nothing bad, but that's not our customer.
So who is
Speaker 1 (21:10):
your customer internationally? Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
So it's people that are after, um, organic skincare, um,
and goat milk. So it's good for eczema. and all
of that kind of stuff. Um, the problem with Singapore
is that they haven't got to actually wanting organic skincare yet.
They just want an expensive brand. So they will pay, like,
10 times the amount than what we're charging. But it's
because it's like one of their five top brands that,
(21:32):
you know, $1000 million models of model for them. And, yeah,
it was brand focused. Um, and they just didn't see
the reason for goat milk and what that could do
and all of that. So without spending a whole lot
of money in a very risky situation, um, and doing
that consumer education, it just wasn't worth
for us. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (21:51):
right. So who is your number one international market?
Speaker 2 (21:54):
Yeah. So, actually, at the moment, it's US and New
Zealand and a little bit of Europe. We've just started
to hit to what part of Europe? Belgium has been
sort of a big hit at the moment. So
Speaker 1 (22:05):
congratulations. That's so good. Yeah,
I'm a New Zealander. I can imagine how it would
be quite how it would be well received in the
New Zealand market. Yeah, Yeah, yeah. Can you tell us
what your operation looks like. Now, obviously, with this kind
of demand, I expect it looks, you know, a little
(22:25):
bit different to when you were starting out. What would
you say has been your biggest challenge, if you like
with
the with the
Speaker 2 (22:32):
expansion? Yeah, I'm actually going to say capital. So whilst
we have put in every single dollar which has made
it get to where we are, it's been hard not
having that million dollars, if that makes sense. Not that
you know, you need that much upfront, but
Speaker 1 (22:44):
But just that peace of mind to just go as
hard as
Speaker 2 (22:48):
you want. Yeah, exactly. So it's been, you know, stepping
stones versus just all in. Um,
yeah, I'd say that's probably been one of the main things,
but we've come a long way. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
Absolutely. And in what way is that? More Just your
own personal. Oh, my God. I want to get there.
Or is that actually causing sort of hold ups and
issues within the business? The
Speaker 2 (23:09):
capital part? Yeah, Um, look, probably a little bit of both,
but if I look back and think Oh, you know,
if we had a million dollars would we have spent
it the right way, Whereas the organic growth has been
really good and we've actually sort of invested
carefully and in the right sort of ways. Um, so
Speaker 1 (23:27):
it's it it
Speaker 2 (23:28):
has, but yeah. No, look, certainly I guess there's a
hold up, because maybe we'd be five years more advanced
if we could just, you know, put up a bigger
shed and better equipment. But on the other hand, it's
it's cool.
It is what it is. And we love what we've got,
Speaker 1 (23:41):
so yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So you're really just sort
of appreciating where you're at at the moment, we know
where you want to go. So it's just a matter of,
you know,
Speaker 2 (23:51):
just building the plane and yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Got it. Got it.
Now you've got quite the awards hall,
as I mentioned in the intro Young Business Leader of
the Year, Northern Business Achievement Award and the Excellence of
Sustainable and Environmental Practises Award. What was your motivation for
entering these?
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Um,
it was through council. So, um, I was nominated for
pretty much all of them. Um, but yeah, I had
people that were sort of inspired by what we were
doing and just sort of Yeah, wanted to be like, Hey,
do you mind if we put you up? We just
love what you're doing. We'd like you to, you know,
sort of get some encouragement for it. Um, and I
think I went in with Yeah, a very humble sort
(24:32):
of thing of like, Oh, we're not gonna get that,
you know, But thank you. Um and so like, well,
we're gonna nominate you. And so they did. And then
we
went through the process and, yeah, we won them
Speaker 1 (24:41):
on top. What would you say, you know, has been
a major contributing factor to your success in that
Speaker 2 (24:48):
space. Um, certainly the first one. So the young Achiever Award.
I guess that wasn't one. Was very council sort of based.
And so they just yeah, were really sort of impressed
with how much it helped out in the community and
what we'd achieved within the business at a young age. So, yeah,
I think that one was,
um, the other ones. I think the sustainable, um, practises
one environmental. That was the way we do things. And
(25:10):
that's sort of our ethical and sustainable approach to farming
and business and the way we sort of include, like,
a circular economy in the way we we do things. Um,
so that one I wasn't too surprised about because we
sort of basically, we had to do a write up
on what we do.
Um, and they were really excited when they were sort
of reading that, and that was nice.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
Um, and even again. Similar to when you're having those
kind of presentations or, you know, interviews. When you're reading
back your award submission, that must
Speaker 2 (25:39):
feel pretty good. Yeah, it does, actually. It's pretty cool.
It's like, Oh, we actually
that I forgot. We do that like, yeah, you know,
you sort of sometimes you just live life, and it's like, Oh,
we do do that. That is a big thing. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (25:48):
100%. Yeah. So what have those wins done for your
Speaker 2 (25:52):
business? Um, certainly a massive amount of Sort of, I guess. Advertisement.
Um and
yeah, publicity, promotion, all of that kind of stuff. So
that's been great. If nothing else for myself and and
the family and our staff, it's just been encouragement. It's
been like, Yeah, we're on the right track. We're doing
something we're making good in the world. Um, yeah. It's
(26:14):
been a massive encouragement. I'm just, like, keep going. We
got this. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
And,
you know, for for another young business start up who
might be listening. Would you recommend that Awards process? Yeah,
Speaker 2 (26:25):
absolutely.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
And And why, Like what? What satisfaction does it give you?
Speaker 2 (26:30):
Yeah, again, Just the
It's sort of like the push to, like, keep going.
It's like, Yeah, you've come this far. You've won the award.
Like I remember. Actually, it was like about a week
before the awards were announced. Um, and we know we
were We knew we were a finalist and we were
kind of going to the awards night. And I said
to Mom, I was like, Oh, you know,
I don't know, like business. It was just a bad week.
(26:51):
And I was like, I'm just gonna quit. And she's like, No, no,
you can't. She's like you're a finalist in the awards.
And then I was like, Oh, fine. So I keep
going to the awards night and I was like, Well,
if we win, then I'll keep going if you know,
And so then we won I was like, Well, I
have to keep going now, you know, like everybody knows this.
So it was It was a great sort of push
to be like, No, no matter the bad days, you
just got to do it because we
Speaker 1 (27:11):
all have that. And we do, right? And, you know,
without potentially that awards night, how else would you get
up from those days where you just feel like you
want to quit?
Speaker 2 (27:22):
Yeah. I don't know. I guess for us, like we've
got the goats that we milk every morning and we've
got the business, and
yeah, you know, the orders keep coming in, So you
do end up just getting out of bed and doing it.
But sometimes you just kind of lose your spark on
your mojo and be like, Why am I doing this? Yeah,
Speaker 1 (27:37):
but it's yeah. Yeah. And I think you know what?
What you were saying earlier as well, you know, talking
to your mom and you have you, you, your mom
and your dad being, you know, quite tight. And I
that would potentially be a recommendation for someone else if
they're feeling like they're losing their business. Mojo. is to
Speaker 2 (27:55):
have someone you can talk to. Absolutely. And sometimes it's
even a friend. If you've got a close friend, sometimes
it's just staff members. So, you know, even like people that,
like the lady, is our graphic designer and the people
that does our website. And sometimes I'll just be reaching
out to them like, Can you just deal with this
because it's not my day and I don't know what
I'm doing, so and they're great. They'll be like, Yeah, no,
we'll we'll fix the website. I'm like, Thank you. So
(28:15):
you love
Speaker 1 (28:16):
that.
I think it's quite unique for someone of your age to, um,
want to be involved in local council, to be quite honest. Um,
and but you're on the nilly board and you're the
NBE Shire Deputy Youth mayor. What was the motivation to
be involved with community in this
Speaker 2 (28:30):
way?
I loved community, and that probably goes back to when
I was younger and our family went through black Saturday bushfires.
So we lost everything. Um, but yeah, and I just
remember like being in that space of community, and in
some ways they're the only people around you that kind
of get you through. Um, I remember, you know, going
(28:50):
with mom and Dad to the community dinners and all
that kind of stuff and just thinking, like,
would love one day to, you know, when I'm older,
to give back and just be part of a community
and make sure that that community never gets torn apart
or lost. And so when the opportunity with council came up,
I was like, OK, I've been through so much and
I've done the business and I just want to, like,
tell other young people that it's possible. And if they've
(29:12):
got a dream like chase it,
Speaker 1 (29:15):
I love it. I love it.
So what do you think has been your most rewarding
experience so far? Working with council in this way?
Speaker 2 (29:24):
Um, I think some of the events that we've done,
um and just yeah, sort of seeing young people come
alive and really sort of blossom like I've seen some
of the the kids that you know we've worked with
and all of that. One of the ones that we
did like a big thing. It was a big event where, like,
it was called the Youth Summit, and, um yeah, all
these sort of young people from high schools and everything
came and I was sitting on the table and yeah,
(29:46):
they were just throwing ideas out and you could just
see in their eyes
in their face like they just kind of lit up.
And it was like they suddenly sort of felt like
they could find themselves and work out. You know, there was, like,
a possibility to their dreams, and I was like, Oh,
this is awesome. So that was
Speaker 1 (29:59):
so good, I guess. Yeah, for other young listeners, or
maybe even not so young. What are the benefits as
an individual being involved in community public service?
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Yeah, I think one of them is.
You help them, and they help you. If that makes sense,
it's connection. Um, and it it really is just community and,
you know, knowing people. And it's sometimes knowing people that
you get ahead and you help them get ahead. Um,
and it's being able to sort of give back and
just support those that need it. Um, I think, yeah. Connection.
(30:33):
If I could put it in a one word, it's connection.
That would be Yeah,
Speaker 1 (30:36):
absolutely.
So now I know you're very passionate about regenerative agriculture.
It's called dairy farming. Holistic living. Um, you You know,
I've read that you're on this mission to make a
change in the world of dairy farming. In your opinion,
what is the most pressing
Speaker 2 (30:55):
issue? Yeah, so this is just sort of my my
little thing, but I really struggle with a lot of
the big commercial dairy farms where they, um
it's all about money and production versus the actual welfare
of the animals. And so one of the the big
things that they do is when the, um, calves or
the lambs or the the kids, um, are born. The
(31:17):
babies get separated from their moms immediately, and the moms
go back into production, and the kids get stuck in
a whole lot of pens like sardines. And the boys
are killed either immediately or five weeks. They go to
the butchers. Um, so, yeah, for me, I really struggle
with that, um, and so for me, I
sort of wanted to set out. Um, it's called like
calf sharing or kids sharing. So where the kids and
(31:38):
the moms stay in the paddy together, and then we
just take the extra milk that the moms have got
rather than stripping them out and taking their kids off. OK,
Speaker 1 (31:46):
so this is an initiative that you're actively participating in
now with your
Speaker 2 (31:50):
farm? Yeah, absolutely. We've done it the whole way along.
And there is another dairy farm who's actually doing the
same thing with their their cows and their calves.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
How did this initiative come about?
Speaker 2 (32:02):
Certainly sort of been something that a lot of the
big commercials have been like. You know, no way, but
sort of little farms have been trying to do it.
So I know of one other that is doing it. Um, yeah,
I don't think we started it, and we certainly haven't
copied anyone. It was just something that we felt was right, Um,
and natural and fair. Um, and something that we wanted
to do. And then slowly but surely, Yeah, there's sort
(32:24):
of been a little bit of yeah, other people go. Oh,
maybe we should be doing that. So I know this
other farm that is doing it, but
yeah, I'm not I don't shy away from telling people that, like, oh,
keep your babies with the MUS. It just It's nice.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
Beautiful.
And can you share a couple of things that everyday
consumers can do to to contribute to this change?
Speaker 2 (32:44):
Yeah, um, one is Know your brand support local support,
small business. Um, And when I say, know your brands? Yeah.
Find out if they do things organically, or if they
do things ethically. How are their animals treated and looked after? Um,
And what are some unique things about that business that
they're doing differently out there?
Um and how? Yeah, how you can support them in
(33:04):
that way. But yeah, I just say, like, you know,
if it's produce or whatever. Know your farmer, um know
your local business owner support local? Um, yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
Great advice. Now I read you travelled through Thailand.
I think we rode 500 kilometres in five days and
50 degrees plus and raised $5000 so there was a
lot of fives there for an orphanage. Now, you know,
a few years later, this life changing experience, you're committed
more than ever to empowering
(33:37):
young people, particularly young girls, to follow their dreams. What
does that commitment look like
Speaker 2 (33:43):
for you right now? Yeah. Yeah. Um, that's continuing what
I do through council and supporting the young people. Um,
this week I was I was in benalla doing stuff
with agriculture, Victoria, because I'm on the young farmers council
for that.
And, um, yeah, that was going up and talking to
uni students and even just a lot of the girls
and just being like, Hey, you know, what are you
wanting and planning to do? And they'd be telling me
(34:05):
and I'd just be like, Yeah, that's cool. And helping
them find different ways that they could do it or
where they could do it or how they could start. Um,
so I think out of that sort of experience in Thailand,
it was, yeah, working with youth in general, but especially
young girls and
and trying to help them get into leadership and and
how they can make a difference. Yeah. What
Speaker 1 (34:20):
are some big ideas that you've heard when you've recently
heard in vanilla? Yeah. Do we need to stay tuned
and listen now? Oh,
Speaker 2 (34:28):
look, mostly those were, um, students going through ag, um,
studies and everything, and yeah, it was amazing. Just the difference. Like,
you know, some wanted to be on the farm. Some
wanted to stay on the family farm. Um, some wanted
to go off and do sort of study and lab
work
behind it. All in in ag science and all of that. So, yeah,
it was just incredible things that all the different pathways
that they were gonna take and what they were gonna
(34:50):
do with it. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (34:50):
I bet they were all pretty much blown away by
what you had done. You would have been really inspiring.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
It's different, but it's it's great to tell them a
different way.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
Yeah, absolutely. So what would you say has been your
proudest moment in the business so far?
Speaker 2 (35:04):
I'm gonna say it was the award last year for
the NBA A awards?
Um, yeah, that was a shock because I didn't really
expect to win the big overall, um, Business of the
Year award. And when they announced it, I was just like, no,
and then to get up on stage and make a
speech that I had no idea I was doing, Um,
that was Yeah. I just felt like we'd made it.
That was That was awesome.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
The pinnacle. Well, not No, you're still going, but Yeah, yeah,
a really good point moment. And what about your toughest
moment in business so far?
Speaker 2 (35:35):
Oh, there's been a few of them. Um,
Speaker 1 (35:38):
tell me about most recent
Speaker 2 (35:39):
one, I think because we got the farm. So we
see a lot sort of on the farm. It's not
just making products. Um,
yeah, probably One of the hardest moments was when we had, um,
like a worm and parasite issue go through. A lot
of farmers were screaming about it, and we sort of
we really enjoy, like, a hot summer because it dries
out the paddocks and we can sort of, you know,
like then grow fresh grass after that. But we were
(36:02):
just getting so much damp weather, um, and yeah, to
to lose goats that you absolutely love because there's nothing
you can do. All the vets don't know or stuff
like that. That's been one of the hardest moments of
really
trying to sort of find out all the nitty gritty
bits of of small farming. Um, so it really has
this been
Speaker 1 (36:19):
this summer? Just
Speaker 2 (36:20):
recently? No, it was a couple of years ago.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
OK, so then just lo the goats, not having the feed,
not knowing the answers. Yeah, Look,
Speaker 2 (36:28):
we had the feed, but it was just, um the there.
It's kind of a farming term, but when it comes
to sort of like you got to drench them. So
you get rid of the worms and parasites
and, um, a lot of those drenches now on the market. Uh,
and all the farmers are screaming, um, are resistant. So
there's a particular worm that runs around like sheep and
cows and goats and everything, and you can worm them
(36:50):
and it doesn't do anything. And so then you end
up losing livestock and stuff like that, and, yeah, just
the heartbreak of feeling like you're sort of powerless trying
to deal with it. Um, but yeah, eventually, we sort
of got over the other side. That was awesome. And
how did you get over the other side?
Um, we started really sort of working on our pastures
and just redoing the land. Um, changing the way we
(37:11):
sort of rotated and did things and where we had
them in different seasons. Um, I did a lot of
sort of study on How do you actually deal with
this and get rid of it, Um, in a in
another way, compared to the chemicals out there that aren't working,
Um and yeah, that was kind of basically how we
did it. And now, looking at actually breeding goats and
genetics that are
actually resi resistant and resilient to the actual so Yeah,
(37:35):
lot of different things.
Speaker 1 (37:36):
Where do you start with that? Good on you. What
do you consider are your measures of success in the
business right now? So we've all got different measures of success.
Every business, every stage. What would be yours right now,
Speaker 2 (37:49):
Right now for us. I think the success is that
we've got a business that's viable. That's heading in the
right direction.
Um, and the allows us to have the lifestyle that
we love to work together as a family, have other
people work with us. We have a programme where people
from overseas come and stay and work on the farm
and learn. I met someone
Speaker 1 (38:10):
from with, um a a young lady at the event
that we meet each other.
Was she from Netherlands?
Speaker 2 (38:17):
Germany? Yeah. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (38:19):
that's fantastic. So an incredible collection of, you know, life
changing experiences, but what's next for naturally
Speaker 2 (38:28):
go. Yeah, I think it's to continue expanding with what
we've got.
Speaker 1 (38:33):
So what have you got at the moment? What's your
current range?
Speaker 2 (38:36):
We've got 215 products, and so
Speaker 1 (38:40):
that so
Speaker 2 (38:42):
that includes everything. So you give me categories. So basically,
as my dad says, from the day you're born to
the day you die, we've got a product for you
and that's that's like because we've got our main range.
But then we've got our range specifically for, um, toddlers
and babies and newborns. And then we've got our range
for dogs and pets and all of that kind of stuff.
(39:03):
And then we've also got, like, a cleaning range, which, um,
is sort of based in sort of like, um, environmentally friendly,
good for sensitive skin. All of that. So and then,
aside from those ranges, which have probably at least 10
or 15 products in each, we've then got our main range,
which has, like soaps, hand washes, body wash, hair care,
moisturisers, facial cleanses, all of that, um, and different varieties
(39:26):
within each of those. So And
Speaker 1 (39:28):
they're all available online. Yeah. Are you online only, Or
do you stock into shops.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
Yeah, we're mostly online. Um, we've got a few stockers
here and there. Um, but at the we've just been
focusing online. Um, yeah, the stores are are great. Um,
but obviously we sort of sell
wholesale to that. So it's on our main avenue, Um,
and it is hard to sort of crack into the
stores that have already got their shelves full. Um, so
unless we sort of Yeah, kick somebody else off, which
(39:54):
isn't great. Um, we just online and just sort of
say to people, it's on the website. Um
Speaker 1 (40:00):
amazing. What about or personal? What's next for you?
Speaker 2 (40:05):
What's next? Um,
I think that's to get the business to a point
where I know that I can step back and whether
that's step back and have a family step back and
focus on a hobby or something else that I want
to sort of go with, um, but still have the
business and still be part of it. But knowing that
I don't have to be on ground 24 7 micromanaging
every little part because that's
Speaker 1 (40:26):
what it is at the moment and has
Speaker 2 (40:28):
been, it has been It's certainly much like I was
able to get away for three days this week
to do the stuff with agriculture, Victoria. And that was
because we've got systems in place and because things are
a little bit more streamlined, Um, and our amazing yeah,
woofers that we've got over at the moment. Um that
were great. Yeah. I taught them to milk from the
day they came, and they were like, Yeah, you can
(40:50):
go for three days. We got this. And they did. Yeah,
all the milking from where to go. So it was
a first. So how
Speaker 1 (40:55):
big is your team now?
Speaker 2 (40:57):
Depends on how many people we got, um, coming and
staying with us. But obviously, there's a family of five.
usually one or two people from overseas staying with us. Um,
and then we've got graphic designer. Um, we had people
doing our website, and we've still got her. She's an
amazing lady. Um, but we have just brought on a
digital marketing team. Um, so, yeah, they've sort of come
(41:18):
in and was getting beyond us, so
Speaker 1 (41:20):
Yeah, it gets tricky, doesn't it?
Yeah, absolutely. Look, there are not too many 24 year
olds alone. 40 year olds that have, you know, achieved
what you have. What are some of the personality traits
that you think you have that have been integral to
such a successful career in life? So
Speaker 2 (41:39):
far? I'm a bit stubborn And don't give up. Um, yeah,
I'll stick at something, and I'll just go till I
got it kind of thing.
Um, yeah, I can be a very quiet person, but
I can always be a little bit bubbly and energetic
and be like, OK, let's just do this. Um, yeah.
I love seeing something finished. I love being able to
tick something off my list, So yeah, I will go
and go and go until I sort of get that
(42:00):
done and see that achieved and see the next stage accomplished.
So yeah,
Speaker 1 (42:04):
absolutely. For the young listener, you know, who might have
a business idea, you know, they see an opening. They're
passionate about their offering and and don't quite know where
to start. What would your advice be?
Speaker 2 (42:18):
Um,
as I said before, ask questions. Um, explore it, find
out more about it, research, and sometimes just dive in like, yeah,
just take the risk of like, if It's really what
you wanna do, and you feel it's right. Then often
things
fall into place. Um and yeah, as I said, like
(42:40):
for me, If I didn't know something, I'd go and
learn it, or I'd find out who did know it
so that I could learn it and take it back
and apply it to the way we need it. Um, so, yeah,
for me, it's like chase your dreams, learn and find
out what you need to and just do it. I
love
Speaker 1 (42:57):
that Oriana. You are unstoppable. I love your energy. Your clarity,
your passion and commitment to your craft in this community
is unparalleled. I'm so looking forward to witnessing your journey
as you go into, you know, even as you expand
your world of business. That's such an impressive start. Um,
(43:18):
so thank you. Thank you for joining me. It's been
an absolute pleasure
Speaker 2 (43:21):
having you here. Thanks for having me. It's awesome. Good.
Speaker 1 (43:24):
Thank you.
If you're looking for some free resources to start creating
a buzz with your digital marketing, then go to bees
Knees marketing.com dot a U backslash free. That's bees knees
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take advantage of our free resource library and get your
(43:47):
business buzzing
Ariana Edmonds is one of my favourite people. She was
absolutely born to be an entrepreneur. The founder and CEO
of cosmetics brand. Naturally, Goat has already won multiple awards,
including Young Business, leader of the Year and the Northern
Business Achievement Award Business of the Year.
(00:23):
As a teenager on her family farm, Oriana began her
journey through trial and error, perfecting the use of sustainable
farming to create the most extraordinary goat's milk, beauty and
skin products.
Naturally, Goat is now a total family affair, with all
members on the farm playing an important role in the
(00:44):
growth of the business. This is a wonderful example of persistence,
belief and product and running a solution focused business. Welcome
to the buzz. Ariana Edmonds.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Thank you. Thanks so much for having me. It's
Speaker 1 (01:00):
awesome. Ah, so good. So good. I'm glad you're here.
Thank you. I want to go back to high school,
which I don't think was that long ago. I would
consider you a high achiever. Were you a high achiever
in those high school years? Always looking for the next
Speaker 2 (01:16):
thing. Yeah, I was I was one of the people
that even just before my high school actually was trying
to sell, you know, like half a dozen eggs at
double the price to the neighbour Because I wanted to
run my own business.
Um, and then you're going into high school years. Obviously,
I started when I was 15, but I was all
about like, Let's not do what other kids are doing.
Now let's do what I can do when I'm 30
(01:36):
but we'll do it now kind of thing.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
And where do you think that came from? Was that
just like you or who your parents kind of always
lead you in that way, Or or Where did it
come
Speaker 2 (01:46):
from? Yeah, Look, I will say that Mom and Dad
definitely kind of always. They never treated us sort of down.
Like they always sort of treated as if we were adults. Um,
And dad,
he ran his own business, and I always saw, you know,
Mom helping him and I'd help out. And then my
uncle ran his own business, and yeah, so it was
kind of just like and we grew up on the
property and with animals. The responsibility was certainly a thing.
(02:07):
Um and then, yeah, as I said, mom and dad
were always like, you know, you wash your dishes, you
do this, you just chip in. You do hard work
and yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1 (02:14):
right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then, yeah, Obviously seeing your
extended family go into to business is like, this is
your normal, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Amazing.
So So what was school life like for you? Because
I did. Read that you did. Homeschooling on the farm. Yeah.
So what? What was that like?
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Yeah, it was awesome. It was the best thing that
my parents ever did. Um, I loved it because it
created a connection and a bond between myself and my parents,
especially my mom. So rather than sort of knowing my
teacher inside out, back to front, it was my mom
and which now she helps me out in the business.
And it's great because we've learned how to get along
and we love each other. And so we like each
other's best friend. Um, and it allowed me flexible time
(02:58):
to start the business and to explore what I really
liked and to make those
high achievements because I wasn't stuck in a classroom with
only my own own age reading from a book. So yeah,
Speaker 1 (03:09):
that's really good. Did you ever have moments, though, During
that time where you're like, Oh, I'm curious about school.
Like being in a school and doing traditional
Speaker 2 (03:18):
school. Yeah. Look, before mom and Dad officially started homeschooling,
I had gone to, like, a school open day, so
I'd sort of done, like, one day of school in
a classroom, and I'd seen what it was like, Um,
And then I had friends that went to school,
and they were like, You don't want to go there.
So I was like, Oh, yeah. So I was always
sort of, like, I had friends that were like, Oh,
you're so lucky. And so I always just, you know,
believed I was I was,
Speaker 1 (03:40):
but yeah. So there was no desperate need to try. What?
The other sort of jump on the other side of
the fence? Yeah. Yeah. Amazing. So, during those last years
in high school, I mean, I know you started the
business when you were 15, but was that the direction
that you were considering or had you considered other you know, career?
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Yeah. So I was actually dead set? Sure. that I
was going to go and do veterinary. So I was
gonna go to uni, do my science degree and do veterinary.
But I sort of sat down and looked at the
whole options. And
basically, it was gonna be seven years at uni doing veterinary,
which meant that I'd sort of come out at 26. 27.
And then I felt like I'd lost all of my
twenties in a classroom, which I had always been out
(04:23):
of the classroom doing home school. And I was like, Oh,
but I was sort of, you know, I was gonna
do that anyway, until one day, I kind of just
realised that I didn't want to waste all those years
doing something that still didn't guarantee me what I really
wanted to do. And that was work with animals and
people and
sort of, you know, be my own boss and that
kind of thing. And I thought, Oh, how would I
cope with putting animals down when I was such an
(04:43):
animal lover and I'd want to take them all home
and I couldn't. And I'd love to know what happened
to them after I treated them and the night shift,
and then I started talking to vets and they were like,
It's really it's not what it looks like. And so
then at that stage, we had the, um farm
and we had the sort of the start of the business.
And I was like, I wonder if I could actually
do something with this and I can have the animals.
(05:06):
I can have the business like It just encompassed everything
that I really wanted to do
Speaker 1 (05:10):
and the people dealing with people.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
And so I kind of was like, OK, let's just
drop veterinary for now and I'll run with the business
And I sort of studied agriculture and business, and
I just loved everything sort of fell into place. So
Speaker 1 (05:23):
when you when you say, study agriculture and business, was
that part of your homeschooling with your mom? Or was
this further studies that you
Speaker 2 (05:30):
did after? Yeah, so, um, while I was finishing up
high school at home, I then studied online through different
universities across the world, like different short courses. And, um, yeah, basically,
just I loved learning, and that's the great thing about
homeschooling was I
sort of just loved learning different things. And so I did. Yeah, like, um,
agriculture at Massey University. And, yeah, business at RMIT and
(05:53):
all that kind of stuff. Just online. So
Speaker 1 (05:55):
great. Oh, and what a huge you know, variety and
even doing them in the in the different countries. You know,
what a wonderful cross section and range of information and
skills and knowledge that you would have gathered.
Amazing. So, yeah, when you started the business going back
(06:16):
to age 15, did you think it was going to
be what it is today? Was that what you were
planning on, or were you just playing around sort of hobby,
crafting your own soaps?
Speaker 2 (06:27):
It certainly started. We were just playing around Hobby crafting soaps. Um,
it certainly worked. Originally, I did it for my mom.
She had really sensitive skin. So that was that. That
is why I did it. And then, yeah, I was
sort of like, oh, friends and family started wanting it,
and I was like, Oh, well, a bit of pocket
money as a 15 year old, you know, this is cool.
And then it was probably, I don't know, maybe six
(06:48):
months in I was like, Hey, I wonder if there's
actually something in this. I wonder if this is actually
a need out there, and I started sort of exploring,
and then it sort of became a bit of a
like a business that I was really enjoying. And it
was something that I I dreamed of taking somewhere, but
really didn't think would be possible. So I said, What
did the
Speaker 1 (07:05):
dreams look like when you say you dreamed of it?
What were the dreams? What did they
Speaker 2 (07:09):
look like? Pretty much where we're headed now, which is awesome.
So it was to expand the farm. It was to
start doing farm tours and educating people about, you know,
the different sort of way of doing it.
Um, and it was to have Yeah, not mass production,
but much more than just a few soaps a week. Um,
and starting to sell across the world and helping people.
(07:29):
And so we've Yeah, we've pretty much reached that. So
you're
Speaker 1 (07:31):
stepping right into that dream now as a reality. It
gives me goose bumps as far as the soap goes.
I read it took two years perfecting the recipe until
it was perfect. Lots of trial and error Batch after batch.
What was the driver to keep you on that path?
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Um, I think the driver was my mom. If I'm
gonna just dump her in the whole order There it
was her, Um
Speaker 1 (07:56):
seriously, what a great motivation when you were so close. Exactly.
Makes sense. That's a
Speaker 2 (08:01):
key driver. So I think, you know, we had a
product that worked, I guess, good enough for our bathroom.
But once I, I sort of started taking, you know,
things a little bit further and said to Mom and Dad, Look,
I think there's something in it and they were like, Yeah, absolutely.
And but my mom was like, Oh, I don't think
people are gonna want to soap.
It goes sludgy and water within a few days, and
I was like, Yeah, true, you know. So she started saying, Well,
(08:22):
if you're going to sell it, then maybe you need
to perfect it. And so I started to realise that
I had a really good formula and the texture was great,
but there was just a few little things I had
to iron out. And they were Yeah, sort of bigger
than I really thought. were, um and so it took
me two years to basically come to a a really happy, um,
perfection
Speaker 1 (08:40):
with it. And how do you work through that, though? Like,
do you consult? Um,
who would you consult or like? Is it research online,
or is it a certain, um, area of expertise or
person that you connect with to ironize out? Get
Speaker 2 (08:57):
through it? Um, personally, from my experience, I just did
a lot of research online and really sort of understanding, um,
chemistry
and science and formulations. And yeah, um, I even took
a short course. Um, it wasn't a degree or anything,
but it was a short course. Um, that was being
run through a university here in Melbourne. And that was yeah,
(09:17):
just on chemistry and formula and all that kind of stuff.
And so once I understood, I say it's a bit
like cooking. If you know how to make a quiche
like the base of it, you can
add all the different stuff to it. If you know
how to make a stir fry, you can do sweet
and sour. You can do you know, honey, soy chicken,
all that stuff. Um and so ones that understood how
things worked and reacted with each other. It was in
(09:39):
a case of putting those formulas through a few calculators
that are online, and it's a little bit like an
online lab. And you just put all the ingredients you
want to use and how you want to use it. And, um,
eventually you can get somewhere and lots of trial and error.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
So you and so you're all self
Speaker 2 (09:54):
taught. Yeah, pretty
Speaker 1 (09:55):
much good on you. That's that's amazing. Good on you.
So when? OK, so then how long into the business
when you thought, OK, this has really got legs. This
is a legitimate business.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Yeah, it would have been 2019 that we changed the name.
We rebranded the labels and the design and everything. And yeah,
I just I basically quit any part time jobs that
I was doing at the time
and went full time into it, and it was a
Speaker 1 (10:25):
100%. Well, that's it. And you hear, you know often,
you know, we have different chats with different business owners
and they so there's only so long that you can
do the 1 ft in 1 ft out. There's got
to come a time where you just get stuck in.
I mean, you obviously had your, you know, parents farm
and and your support, which I think probably makes it easier. Um,
(10:46):
but were there any sort of big investment pieces that
you needed, you know,
to get together in order to take
Speaker 2 (10:54):
it to the next level? Yeah. Um, yeah. Absolutely. So
one of them was all the labels. So before then,
we'd sort of just been using sort of, like small
companies to print stickers, or we'd been sort of printing
it out ourselves on labels and cutting it out. Um,
so then the next stage was to actually get boxes
and labels printed. Um, so there was a graphic designer
that we bought on on with us, Um, and actually
(11:16):
getting it printed through? Yeah. Um, big printing company.
So we did a first print run of 200,000 labels, and, um, yeah,
I'm very blessed to have had my parents put in
a little bit of capital for that so that I
could pay them. So we've never borrowed money from the bank.
We've done it all from, as I say, like you know,
50 bucks that Mom gave me originally, um and then
after that, if there's ever been capital, outweigh it's either
(11:39):
savings that I've put aside from the business and just
putting every dollar back in or it's been, yeah, Mom
and Dad that have been great help in that regard,
but that was pretty much it. The labels,
the website.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
OK, so no, um, equipment to make the soap
Speaker 2 (11:53):
and the Yeah, look, we pretty much already by that
stage had some more little equipment. And after that it's
just been sort of Yeah, as I said, putting every
dollar back into the business. So there's no been sort
of like, you know, we need 20,000 Suddenly, um, it's
been like we don't have 20,000, so it's like put
in 1000 here, 500 next month kind of thing. So, yeah,
(12:13):
it's been a slow, a slow growth. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (12:17):
and and young in the business world. You know who
What what resources did you lean on to sort of,
you know dot those i's and cross those TS in
the early years of business.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Um, I was very privileged to get a scholarship with
a really amazing company. Um, business blueprint. Who?
Speaker 1 (12:34):
I know business blueprint.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
So Dale and the team were amazing, and, um, I
went over as an intern, um, up to Sydney and
basically helped them out running their events. But in return,
I got all the information and got to talk to
the people, and so that was fantastic.
How did you get on to that? My dad took
me to one of Dale's, like, one day, kind of, um,
(12:56):
on his tour, um, back in those days and took
me to one in Melbourne. And, um, I think it
was just afterwards Dad and I were like, the last
one sitting in the chairs and Dad was like, Oh,
I'd love to sign you up, but we just can't
afford it. And so, um, be at the time he
came up and he was like, Oh, you know,
um, we've got this young person's programme. Did your daughter
want to join? And Dad was like, Oh, yeah. So
(13:18):
I went through the interview process and and got in,
and it was absolutely amazing. I loved
Speaker 1 (13:22):
it. I was like, Good on you. That's fantastic. So,
you know, that's a really good. Um, thing to flack for,
you know, maybe a listener who is looking at that
because I think having that business blueprint
background, um, really does set you up for success from
the business planning and execution perspective, doesn't it? Um, so, yeah,
(13:42):
there are intern opportunities. There are scholarship opportunities,
Speaker 2 (13:46):
So, yeah, and whether it's them or somebody else, there's, Yeah,
all my sort of a little advice on that is
just ask questions. And if you know anybody in the
industry or anything, just yeah, don't be afraid to ask
and sort of find out and hang around the people
Speaker 1 (13:59):
and get along to those free seminars. Yeah, absolutely.
So, what do you think was your biggest lesson in
business in those early days?
Speaker 2 (14:10):
That's a good question. Um, I think one is Don't
rush things. There are a couple of things that, you know,
Mom and Dad were like, Oh, I just don't know yet.
And I was sort of like, Oh, no, no, it'll
be fine. So take risks. Um, but be careful how
you take them, and yeah, if that makes sense. So
there was, um, one. I remember that we sort of
created a bit of a contract or a deal with
(14:31):
another company. We did sort of like a white label,
kind of.
So I made the soaps, but it was his label, Um,
and that didn't turn out as well as we expected. Um, so, yeah,
we lost money on that. And obviously the contract. Um,
but yeah, I think if I'd thought about it beforehand
or if I'd sort of talked to the person a
little bit more to find out exactly what they were
(14:51):
wanting or where they were sort of wanting to go
with this idea that would have helped a little bit
more and sort of
the knowing beforehand. So, yeah, just don't rush into everything
super excited, Um, but definitely take risks. Because if I
hadn't have, we wouldn't be here today, 100%.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
And coming back to your earlier piece of advice, Ask questions. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.
What about all your sort of legalities of it, like
your you know, copywriting and all of that. Were you
pretty much across that
from the get go? Was that a bit of a
tough lesson?
Speaker 2 (15:23):
No, that was pretty good. Um, yeah. As I said,
my dad's from IT background, so he sort of had
all the technology and the legalities and all of that
under his belt. So he was sort of teaching me that,
and we went through that with Blueprint as well. Um,
so yeah, in terms of all of that, it was
fairly straightforward and knowing what we sort of had to
do to set up and start. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (15:44):
yeah, yeah.
And then, you know, and and I don't know if
this is part of that, obviously, it's quite a niche market.
Did you have a formal sort of marketing plan to
get the word out, or was it more organic than that?
Speaker 2 (15:56):
It just happened. It was very accidental. Yeah. Um,
yeah. Look, I guess in some ways it was we
still sort of run on word of mouth, so yeah,
even back then it was just like, Oh, you know,
if you like the soap, tell your friend kind of thing.
Um And then I jumped on social media and and
that was our very wacky start.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
And then I also read that you presented at, um,
Biz vs and the young entrepreneur
show, which was viewed globally by millions of business owners.
How did that opportunity come
Speaker 2 (16:28):
about? That was with, um, business blueprint. That was amazing. So, yeah,
Dale was running that at the time. Um and that
was very similar to this. We just sort of sat
on a panel, and I was interviewed by the the host,
and she basically yeah, just sort of asked questions. And
we had a chat.
Um, about I think it was labelled like, uh, starting
a business from a bottle of milk or something like that.
(16:48):
And it was sort of like, I guess that was
our early days, Um, of how I started and where
we were headed. And that went out to a whole
lot of business owners that were sort of still in
the start up stage. Yeah, I
Speaker 1 (16:59):
love that. And what would you say was your biggest
takeaway from that opportunity?
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Um, that was probably a confidence, actually, that really boosted
my confidence of like, hey, you know, like I'm actually
doing this and really being able to talk about it
and actually share sort of where I was, what we'd
done and where we were headed. Um, yeah, that was
really cool. And I think
Speaker 1 (17:17):
sometimes, yeah, it it doesn't come until you actually have
to repeat it back to someone
Tell the story. Right. We often get that from our entrepreneurs,
and they finish the interview, and they're like, Oh, I
actually did a whole lot more than I ever thought
I did, you know? Absolutely. Yeah, it really is. I
can see how that first presentation will really have boosted
things along.
(17:38):
What would your advice be for the listener who is
looking at setting up a similar operation from the residential
or rural location?
Speaker 2 (17:48):
I was gonna say, Don't be crazy as me. But no.
Go for it. Um, look, I guess just
as long as you're doing what you love and you've
got confidence that you've got a product that can help people. Um,
And if you are going to be as crazy as
us and do the farm side and the manufacturing and everything, Um, yeah,
just legalities. Just make sure that you know your property
(18:08):
is set up for it. That you've got everything in place. Um,
and that financially, you're able to sort of keep it going,
I guess. Um how does
Speaker 1 (18:15):
that work? You would have to have some sort of
council and business person.
Yeah,
Speaker 2 (18:21):
so that's
Speaker 1 (18:21):
all. Did that take a while to come through or
was that pretty
Speaker 2 (18:26):
has been pretty easy for us. Um, I think because yeah,
mom and Dad had the property and we had animals.
And then the goats kind of just slowly grew. And
then by the time we sort of realised, you know, hey,
we actually need to do stuff about this. It sort
of just fell into place. So yeah, that's the
Speaker 1 (18:40):
best way. And what about your global expansion? You know,
again, it sounds like that was more organic or, you know,
were there sort of specific targets or international campaigners such
that you put
Speaker 2 (18:55):
out there. Yeah, so
obviously we by the time we sort of decided that
we actually wanted to go globally. We started with a
very small stepping stone, and we opened up our website
to include worldwide shipping. And so we add a different
country so that we could literally just pack orders and
ship it to the other side of the country. And
then I was privileged to be included in an exporting
(19:17):
incubator course on which I did down, um, in Ballarat,
and that was really amazing. Kind of got us started
thinking about how to actually
to export more than and further just past our website,
if that makes sense. So, um, I was like, Oh,
that would be really cool. But where do I start?
So they sort of went through, like, you know, 1
to 10 of how on earth do you start, And
how do you finish? Um And so then we sort
(19:41):
of the end towards the end of the course that, um,
they took us over to Singapore for like, sort of,
like a practical theory. Um, and so my dad and
I went over, and we sort of yeah, checked out
the market,
Um, and, yeah, talked with, like, three P logistic companies
and distributors and all of that kind of stuff. So so,
Speaker 1 (19:59):
again, a really great way of, you know, expanding your,
you know, knowledge and and keeping all of those tasks
in your house. How did you come across thinking about
a course in
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Ballarat? My dad. My dad. I know. What a leg. Yeah,
he happened to be on LinkedIn with the right person.
He was
advertising it. And then he was like, Oh, he was like, Arian,
I think you'd like this. So, yeah,
Speaker 1 (20:21):
all meant to be. And everything just falls into place. Yeah. So, yeah,
I guess thinking of the listener who's keen to break
into that international market. What would be your top three
tips for
Speaker 2 (20:32):
success? Yeah. So, one, if you can afford to go
over to the country you're looking at, I highly recommend
it because my thoughts and opinions on exporting to Singapore
were
totally different to what they are now having gone over.
So we don't have a market in Singapore, and we
thought we did, so we'll be using it very differently.
It'll probably be a logistics hub versus actually selling to
(20:55):
G over there. Um, they they don't want go to
M so they don't know what it is. Um, and
they've got a completely different sort of desire when it
comes to skin care. And, um yeah, so we discovered
that there was nothing bad, but that's not our customer.
So who is
Speaker 1 (21:10):
your customer internationally? Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
So it's people that are after, um, organic skincare, um,
and goat milk. So it's good for eczema. and all
of that kind of stuff. Um, the problem with Singapore
is that they haven't got to actually wanting organic skincare yet.
They just want an expensive brand. So they will pay, like,
10 times the amount than what we're charging. But it's
because it's like one of their five top brands that,
(21:32):
you know, $1000 million models of model for them. And, yeah,
it was brand focused. Um, and they just didn't see
the reason for goat milk and what that could do
and all of that. So without spending a whole lot
of money in a very risky situation, um, and doing
that consumer education, it just wasn't worth
for us. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (21:51):
right. So who is your number one international market?
Speaker 2 (21:54):
Yeah. So, actually, at the moment, it's US and New
Zealand and a little bit of Europe. We've just started
to hit to what part of Europe? Belgium has been
sort of a big hit at the moment. So
Speaker 1 (22:05):
congratulations. That's so good. Yeah,
I'm a New Zealander. I can imagine how it would
be quite how it would be well received in the
New Zealand market. Yeah, Yeah, yeah. Can you tell us
what your operation looks like. Now, obviously, with this kind
of demand, I expect it looks, you know, a little
(22:25):
bit different to when you were starting out. What would
you say has been your biggest challenge, if you like
with
the with the
Speaker 2 (22:32):
expansion? Yeah, I'm actually going to say capital. So whilst
we have put in every single dollar which has made
it get to where we are, it's been hard not
having that million dollars, if that makes sense. Not that
you know, you need that much upfront, but
Speaker 1 (22:44):
But just that peace of mind to just go as
hard as
Speaker 2 (22:48):
you want. Yeah, exactly. So it's been, you know, stepping
stones versus just all in. Um,
yeah, I'd say that's probably been one of the main things,
but we've come a long way. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
Absolutely. And in what way is that? More Just your
own personal. Oh, my God. I want to get there.
Or is that actually causing sort of hold ups and
issues within the business? The
Speaker 2 (23:09):
capital part? Yeah, Um, look, probably a little bit of both,
but if I look back and think Oh, you know,
if we had a million dollars would we have spent
it the right way, Whereas the organic growth has been
really good and we've actually sort of invested
carefully and in the right sort of ways. Um, so
Speaker 1 (23:27):
it's it it
Speaker 2 (23:28):
has, but yeah. No, look, certainly I guess there's a
hold up, because maybe we'd be five years more advanced
if we could just, you know, put up a bigger
shed and better equipment. But on the other hand, it's
it's cool.
It is what it is. And we love what we've got,
Speaker 1 (23:41):
so yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So you're really just sort
of appreciating where you're at at the moment, we know
where you want to go. So it's just a matter of,
you know,
Speaker 2 (23:51):
just building the plane and yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Got it. Got it.
Now you've got quite the awards hall,
as I mentioned in the intro Young Business Leader of
the Year, Northern Business Achievement Award and the Excellence of
Sustainable and Environmental Practises Award. What was your motivation for
entering these?
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Um,
it was through council. So, um, I was nominated for
pretty much all of them. Um, but yeah, I had
people that were sort of inspired by what we were
doing and just sort of Yeah, wanted to be like, Hey,
do you mind if we put you up? We just
love what you're doing. We'd like you to, you know,
sort of get some encouragement for it. Um, and I
think I went in with Yeah, a very humble sort
(24:32):
of thing of like, Oh, we're not gonna get that,
you know, But thank you. Um and so like, well,
we're gonna nominate you. And so they did. And then
we
went through the process and, yeah, we won them
Speaker 1 (24:41):
on top. What would you say, you know, has been
a major contributing factor to your success in that
Speaker 2 (24:48):
space. Um, certainly the first one. So the young Achiever Award.
I guess that wasn't one. Was very council sort of based.
And so they just yeah, were really sort of impressed
with how much it helped out in the community and
what we'd achieved within the business at a young age. So, yeah,
I think that one was,
um, the other ones. I think the sustainable, um, practises
one environmental. That was the way we do things. And
(25:10):
that's sort of our ethical and sustainable approach to farming
and business and the way we sort of include, like,
a circular economy in the way we we do things. Um,
so that one I wasn't too surprised about because we
sort of basically, we had to do a write up
on what we do.
Um, and they were really excited when they were sort
of reading that, and that was nice.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
Um, and even again. Similar to when you're having those
kind of presentations or, you know, interviews. When you're reading
back your award submission, that must
Speaker 2 (25:39):
feel pretty good. Yeah, it does, actually. It's pretty cool.
It's like, Oh, we actually
that I forgot. We do that like, yeah, you know,
you sort of sometimes you just live life, and it's like, Oh,
we do do that. That is a big thing. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (25:48):
100%. Yeah. So what have those wins done for your
Speaker 2 (25:52):
business? Um, certainly a massive amount of Sort of, I guess. Advertisement.
Um and
yeah, publicity, promotion, all of that kind of stuff. So
that's been great. If nothing else for myself and and
the family and our staff, it's just been encouragement. It's
been like, Yeah, we're on the right track. We're doing
something we're making good in the world. Um, yeah. It's
(26:14):
been a massive encouragement. I'm just, like, keep going. We
got this. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
And,
you know, for for another young business start up who
might be listening. Would you recommend that Awards process? Yeah,
Speaker 2 (26:25):
absolutely.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
And And why, Like what? What satisfaction does it give you?
Speaker 2 (26:30):
Yeah, again, Just the
It's sort of like the push to, like, keep going.
It's like, Yeah, you've come this far. You've won the award.
Like I remember. Actually, it was like about a week
before the awards were announced. Um, and we know we
were We knew we were a finalist and we were
kind of going to the awards night. And I said
to Mom, I was like, Oh, you know,
I don't know, like business. It was just a bad week.
(26:51):
And I was like, I'm just gonna quit. And she's like, No, no,
you can't. She's like you're a finalist in the awards.
And then I was like, Oh, fine. So I keep
going to the awards night and I was like, Well,
if we win, then I'll keep going if you know,
And so then we won I was like, Well, I
have to keep going now, you know, like everybody knows this.
So it was It was a great sort of push
to be like, No, no matter the bad days, you
just got to do it because we
Speaker 1 (27:11):
all have that. And we do, right? And, you know,
without potentially that awards night, how else would you get
up from those days where you just feel like you
want to quit?
Speaker 2 (27:22):
Yeah. I don't know. I guess for us, like we've
got the goats that we milk every morning and we've
got the business, and
yeah, you know, the orders keep coming in, So you
do end up just getting out of bed and doing it.
But sometimes you just kind of lose your spark on
your mojo and be like, Why am I doing this? Yeah,
Speaker 1 (27:37):
but it's yeah. Yeah. And I think you know what?
What you were saying earlier as well, you know, talking
to your mom and you have you, you, your mom
and your dad being, you know, quite tight. And I
that would potentially be a recommendation for someone else if
they're feeling like they're losing their business. Mojo. is to
Speaker 2 (27:55):
have someone you can talk to. Absolutely. And sometimes it's
even a friend. If you've got a close friend, sometimes
it's just staff members. So, you know, even like people that,
like the lady, is our graphic designer and the people
that does our website. And sometimes I'll just be reaching
out to them like, Can you just deal with this
because it's not my day and I don't know what
I'm doing, so and they're great. They'll be like, Yeah, no,
we'll we'll fix the website. I'm like, Thank you. So
(28:15):
you love
Speaker 1 (28:16):
that.
I think it's quite unique for someone of your age to, um,
want to be involved in local council, to be quite honest. Um,
and but you're on the nilly board and you're the
NBE Shire Deputy Youth mayor. What was the motivation to
be involved with community in this
Speaker 2 (28:30):
way?
I loved community, and that probably goes back to when
I was younger and our family went through black Saturday bushfires.
So we lost everything. Um, but yeah, and I just
remember like being in that space of community, and in
some ways they're the only people around you that kind
of get you through. Um, I remember, you know, going
(28:50):
with mom and Dad to the community dinners and all
that kind of stuff and just thinking, like,
would love one day to, you know, when I'm older,
to give back and just be part of a community
and make sure that that community never gets torn apart
or lost. And so when the opportunity with council came up,
I was like, OK, I've been through so much and
I've done the business and I just want to, like,
tell other young people that it's possible. And if they've
(29:12):
got a dream like chase it,
Speaker 1 (29:15):
I love it. I love it.
So what do you think has been your most rewarding
experience so far? Working with council in this way?
Speaker 2 (29:24):
Um, I think some of the events that we've done,
um and just yeah, sort of seeing young people come
alive and really sort of blossom like I've seen some
of the the kids that you know we've worked with
and all of that. One of the ones that we
did like a big thing. It was a big event where, like,
it was called the Youth Summit, and, um yeah, all
these sort of young people from high schools and everything
came and I was sitting on the table and yeah,
(29:46):
they were just throwing ideas out and you could just
see in their eyes
in their face like they just kind of lit up.
And it was like they suddenly sort of felt like
they could find themselves and work out. You know, there was, like,
a possibility to their dreams, and I was like, Oh,
this is awesome. So that was
Speaker 1 (29:59):
so good, I guess. Yeah, for other young listeners, or
maybe even not so young. What are the benefits as
an individual being involved in community public service?
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Yeah, I think one of them is.
You help them, and they help you. If that makes sense,
it's connection. Um, and it it really is just community and,
you know, knowing people. And it's sometimes knowing people that
you get ahead and you help them get ahead. Um,
and it's being able to sort of give back and
just support those that need it. Um, I think, yeah. Connection.
(30:33):
If I could put it in a one word, it's connection.
That would be Yeah,
Speaker 1 (30:36):
absolutely.
So now I know you're very passionate about regenerative agriculture.
It's called dairy farming. Holistic living. Um, you You know,
I've read that you're on this mission to make a
change in the world of dairy farming. In your opinion,
what is the most pressing
Speaker 2 (30:55):
issue? Yeah, so this is just sort of my my
little thing, but I really struggle with a lot of
the big commercial dairy farms where they, um
it's all about money and production versus the actual welfare
of the animals. And so one of the the big
things that they do is when the, um, calves or
the lambs or the the kids, um, are born. The
(31:17):
babies get separated from their moms immediately, and the moms
go back into production, and the kids get stuck in
a whole lot of pens like sardines. And the boys
are killed either immediately or five weeks. They go to
the butchers. Um, so, yeah, for me, I really struggle
with that, um, and so for me, I
sort of wanted to set out. Um, it's called like
calf sharing or kids sharing. So where the kids and
(31:38):
the moms stay in the paddy together, and then we
just take the extra milk that the moms have got
rather than stripping them out and taking their kids off. OK,
Speaker 1 (31:46):
so this is an initiative that you're actively participating in
now with your
Speaker 2 (31:50):
farm? Yeah, absolutely. We've done it the whole way along.
And there is another dairy farm who's actually doing the
same thing with their their cows and their calves.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
How did this initiative come about?
Speaker 2 (32:02):
Certainly sort of been something that a lot of the
big commercials have been like. You know, no way, but
sort of little farms have been trying to do it.
So I know of one other that is doing it. Um, yeah,
I don't think we started it, and we certainly haven't
copied anyone. It was just something that we felt was right, Um,
and natural and fair. Um, and something that we wanted
to do. And then slowly but surely, Yeah, there's sort
(32:24):
of been a little bit of yeah, other people go. Oh,
maybe we should be doing that. So I know this
other farm that is doing it, but
yeah, I'm not I don't shy away from telling people that, like, oh,
keep your babies with the MUS. It just It's nice.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
Beautiful.
And can you share a couple of things that everyday
consumers can do to to contribute to this change?
Speaker 2 (32:44):
Yeah, um, one is Know your brand support local support,
small business. Um, And when I say, know your brands? Yeah.
Find out if they do things organically, or if they
do things ethically. How are their animals treated and looked after? Um,
And what are some unique things about that business that
they're doing differently out there?
Um and how? Yeah, how you can support them in
(33:04):
that way. But yeah, I just say, like, you know,
if it's produce or whatever. Know your farmer, um know
your local business owner support local? Um, yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
Great advice. Now I read you travelled through Thailand.
I think we rode 500 kilometres in five days and
50 degrees plus and raised $5000 so there was a
lot of fives there for an orphanage. Now, you know,
a few years later, this life changing experience, you're committed
more than ever to empowering
(33:37):
young people, particularly young girls, to follow their dreams. What
does that commitment look like
Speaker 2 (33:43):
for you right now? Yeah. Yeah. Um, that's continuing what
I do through council and supporting the young people. Um,
this week I was I was in benalla doing stuff
with agriculture, Victoria, because I'm on the young farmers council
for that.
And, um, yeah, that was going up and talking to
uni students and even just a lot of the girls
and just being like, Hey, you know, what are you
wanting and planning to do? And they'd be telling me
(34:05):
and I'd just be like, Yeah, that's cool. And helping
them find different ways that they could do it or
where they could do it or how they could start. Um,
so I think out of that sort of experience in Thailand,
it was, yeah, working with youth in general, but especially
young girls and
and trying to help them get into leadership and and
how they can make a difference. Yeah. What
Speaker 1 (34:20):
are some big ideas that you've heard when you've recently
heard in vanilla? Yeah. Do we need to stay tuned
and listen now? Oh,
Speaker 2 (34:28):
look, mostly those were, um, students going through ag, um,
studies and everything, and yeah, it was amazing. Just the difference. Like,
you know, some wanted to be on the farm. Some
wanted to stay on the family farm. Um, some wanted
to go off and do sort of study and lab
work
behind it. All in in ag science and all of that. So, yeah,
it was just incredible things that all the different pathways
that they were gonna take and what they were gonna
(34:50):
do with it. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (34:50):
I bet they were all pretty much blown away by
what you had done. You would have been really inspiring.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
It's different, but it's it's great to tell them a
different way.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
Yeah, absolutely. So what would you say has been your
proudest moment in the business so far?
Speaker 2 (35:04):
I'm gonna say it was the award last year for
the NBA A awards?
Um, yeah, that was a shock because I didn't really
expect to win the big overall, um, Business of the
Year award. And when they announced it, I was just like, no,
and then to get up on stage and make a
speech that I had no idea I was doing, Um,
that was Yeah. I just felt like we'd made it.
That was That was awesome.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
The pinnacle. Well, not No, you're still going, but Yeah, yeah,
a really good point moment. And what about your toughest
moment in business so far?
Speaker 2 (35:35):
Oh, there's been a few of them. Um,
Speaker 1 (35:38):
tell me about most recent
Speaker 2 (35:39):
one, I think because we got the farm. So we
see a lot sort of on the farm. It's not
just making products. Um,
yeah, probably One of the hardest moments was when we had, um,
like a worm and parasite issue go through. A lot
of farmers were screaming about it, and we sort of
we really enjoy, like, a hot summer because it dries
out the paddocks and we can sort of, you know,
like then grow fresh grass after that. But we were
(36:02):
just getting so much damp weather, um, and yeah, to
to lose goats that you absolutely love because there's nothing
you can do. All the vets don't know or stuff
like that. That's been one of the hardest moments of
really
trying to sort of find out all the nitty gritty
bits of of small farming. Um, so it really has
this been
Speaker 1 (36:19):
this summer? Just
Speaker 2 (36:20):
recently? No, it was a couple of years ago.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
OK, so then just lo the goats, not having the feed,
not knowing the answers. Yeah, Look,
Speaker 2 (36:28):
we had the feed, but it was just, um the there.
It's kind of a farming term, but when it comes
to sort of like you got to drench them. So
you get rid of the worms and parasites
and, um, a lot of those drenches now on the market. Uh,
and all the farmers are screaming, um, are resistant. So
there's a particular worm that runs around like sheep and
cows and goats and everything, and you can worm them
(36:50):
and it doesn't do anything. And so then you end
up losing livestock and stuff like that, and, yeah, just
the heartbreak of feeling like you're sort of powerless trying
to deal with it. Um, but yeah, eventually, we sort
of got over the other side. That was awesome. And
how did you get over the other side?
Um, we started really sort of working on our pastures
and just redoing the land. Um, changing the way we
(37:11):
sort of rotated and did things and where we had
them in different seasons. Um, I did a lot of
sort of study on How do you actually deal with
this and get rid of it, Um, in a in
another way, compared to the chemicals out there that aren't working,
Um and yeah, that was kind of basically how we
did it. And now, looking at actually breeding goats and
genetics that are
actually resi resistant and resilient to the actual so Yeah,
(37:35):
lot of different things.
Speaker 1 (37:36):
Where do you start with that? Good on you. What
do you consider are your measures of success in the
business right now? So we've all got different measures of success.
Every business, every stage. What would be yours right now,
Speaker 2 (37:49):
Right now for us. I think the success is that
we've got a business that's viable. That's heading in the
right direction.
Um, and the allows us to have the lifestyle that
we love to work together as a family, have other
people work with us. We have a programme where people
from overseas come and stay and work on the farm
and learn. I met someone
Speaker 1 (38:10):
from with, um a a young lady at the event
that we meet each other.
Was she from Netherlands?
Speaker 2 (38:17):
Germany? Yeah. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (38:19):
that's fantastic. So an incredible collection of, you know, life
changing experiences, but what's next for naturally
Speaker 2 (38:28):
go. Yeah, I think it's to continue expanding with what
we've got.
Speaker 1 (38:33):
So what have you got at the moment? What's your
current range?
Speaker 2 (38:36):
We've got 215 products, and so
Speaker 1 (38:40):
that so
Speaker 2 (38:42):
that includes everything. So you give me categories. So basically,
as my dad says, from the day you're born to
the day you die, we've got a product for you
and that's that's like because we've got our main range.
But then we've got our range specifically for, um, toddlers
and babies and newborns. And then we've got our range
for dogs and pets and all of that kind of stuff.
(39:03):
And then we've also got, like, a cleaning range, which, um,
is sort of based in sort of like, um, environmentally friendly,
good for sensitive skin. All of that. So and then,
aside from those ranges, which have probably at least 10
or 15 products in each, we've then got our main range,
which has, like soaps, hand washes, body wash, hair care,
moisturisers, facial cleanses, all of that, um, and different varieties
(39:26):
within each of those. So And
Speaker 1 (39:28):
they're all available online. Yeah. Are you online only, Or
do you stock into shops.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
Yeah, we're mostly online. Um, we've got a few stockers
here and there. Um, but at the we've just been
focusing online. Um, yeah, the stores are are great. Um,
but obviously we sort of sell
wholesale to that. So it's on our main avenue, Um,
and it is hard to sort of crack into the
stores that have already got their shelves full. Um, so
unless we sort of Yeah, kick somebody else off, which
(39:54):
isn't great. Um, we just online and just sort of
say to people, it's on the website. Um
Speaker 1 (40:00):
amazing. What about or personal? What's next for you?
Speaker 2 (40:05):
What's next? Um,
I think that's to get the business to a point
where I know that I can step back and whether
that's step back and have a family step back and
focus on a hobby or something else that I want
to sort of go with, um, but still have the
business and still be part of it. But knowing that
I don't have to be on ground 24 7 micromanaging
every little part because that's
Speaker 1 (40:26):
what it is at the moment and has
Speaker 2 (40:28):
been, it has been It's certainly much like I was
able to get away for three days this week
to do the stuff with agriculture, Victoria. And that was
because we've got systems in place and because things are
a little bit more streamlined, Um, and our amazing yeah,
woofers that we've got over at the moment. Um that
were great. Yeah. I taught them to milk from the
day they came, and they were like, Yeah, you can
(40:50):
go for three days. We got this. And they did. Yeah,
all the milking from where to go. So it was
a first. So how
Speaker 1 (40:55):
big is your team now?
Speaker 2 (40:57):
Depends on how many people we got, um, coming and
staying with us. But obviously, there's a family of five.
usually one or two people from overseas staying with us. Um,
and then we've got graphic designer. Um, we had people
doing our website, and we've still got her. She's an
amazing lady. Um, but we have just brought on a
digital marketing team. Um, so, yeah, they've sort of come
(41:18):
in and was getting beyond us, so
Speaker 1 (41:20):
Yeah, it gets tricky, doesn't it?
Yeah, absolutely. Look, there are not too many 24 year
olds alone. 40 year olds that have, you know, achieved
what you have. What are some of the personality traits
that you think you have that have been integral to
such a successful career in life? So
Speaker 2 (41:39):
far? I'm a bit stubborn And don't give up. Um, yeah,
I'll stick at something, and I'll just go till I
got it kind of thing.
Um, yeah, I can be a very quiet person, but
I can always be a little bit bubbly and energetic
and be like, OK, let's just do this. Um, yeah.
I love seeing something finished. I love being able to
tick something off my list, So yeah, I will go
and go and go until I sort of get that
(42:00):
done and see that achieved and see the next stage accomplished.
So yeah,
Speaker 1 (42:04):
absolutely. For the young listener, you know, who might have
a business idea, you know, they see an opening. They're
passionate about their offering and and don't quite know where
to start. What would your advice be?
Speaker 2 (42:18):
Um,
as I said before, ask questions. Um, explore it, find
out more about it, research, and sometimes just dive in like, yeah,
just take the risk of like, if It's really what
you wanna do, and you feel it's right. Then often
things
fall into place. Um and yeah, as I said, like
(42:40):
for me, If I didn't know something, I'd go and
learn it, or I'd find out who did know it
so that I could learn it and take it back
and apply it to the way we need it. Um, so, yeah,
for me, it's like chase your dreams, learn and find
out what you need to and just do it. I
love
Speaker 1 (42:57):
that Oriana. You are unstoppable. I love your energy. Your clarity,
your passion and commitment to your craft in this community
is unparalleled. I'm so looking forward to witnessing your journey
as you go into, you know, even as you expand
your world of business. That's such an impressive start. Um,
(43:18):
so thank you. Thank you for joining me. It's been
an absolute pleasure
Speaker 2 (43:21):
having you here. Thanks for having me. It's awesome. Good.
Speaker 1 (43:24):
Thank you.
If you're looking for some free resources to start creating
a buzz with your digital marketing, then go to bees
Knees marketing.com dot a U backslash free. That's bees knees
marketing.com dot a U backslash free. Follow the prompts and
take advantage of our free resource library and get your
(43:47):
business buzzing
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