Why You Need an Exit Strategy, with Chanelle O’Sullivan

00:00:03 S1: Welcome to MAP IT marketing for small business owners who want to become more confident and capable in their marketing. I'm Rachel Klaver and I'm a small business owner. Just like you, I've learnt that there are so many different things that we are supposed to do all the time, and trying to work it all out is, quite frankly, often very confusing. In this podcast, we're going to explore what those things are and whether you need to pay attention to them. Ready. Let's get started. 00:00:35 S2: While most of us use holidays to chill out and think of anything but business. Chanel O'Sullivan uses that time to plan out cool ideas on paper napkins and anything else she can find. This was the beginning of a major eight bars and beer sparkling made in a canceled here in New Zealand and gaining huge interest overseas. Chanel operates barge and bay, made away from our home in Glenorchy in the south island of New Zealand, arguably one of the most beautiful places to live and visit in the world. I originally approached Chanel because I'm doing a series on regional business owners and talking about what that was like, but we quickly shifted to a really cold topic that I wanted us to focus on in this podcast, Chanel has taken business advice from other people as she's grown her business and taking this business seriously into a growth time, and someone asked this question. What's your exit strategy? Chanel realised that she didn't have one that she hadn't thought about what would happen one day if she sold the business and what that would look like. Understanding what makes a sellable business has helped to shape a business that operates better now in the short term and has real plans for the long term. It's a lesson for many of us that get stuck on the day to day running of our businesses and try to work out what happens next. I know it's something that me and my husband, Rod talk about a lot. Is this the business that we're creating now? That's going to be a business that makes us happy and five, 10, 15 years. And what are we doing to prepare for that time while also operating a business today? I really enjoyed this conversation with Chanel. If you enjoy this podcast, I would love it if you subscribe button and if you gave us a review so other people can say whether it's worth listening to first. But let's just jump in now and talk to Chanel at the end of this podcast. I'm going to go through a few questions you can ask yourself to see if you can prepare for that longer term thinking of an exit strategy. Let's get started. 00:02:37 S3: Hi and welcome to Method Marketing Episode three today, we've got a great guest for you today, which you know about and the introduction should now O'Sullivan, who owns Borage and they made a very I love made and it's fizzy, is that right now it is. Yeah, but it's pretty cool. So first of all, before now, Johnson and pieces this me. I just want to say thank you so much for those of you that every week and those that are new to the show. If you enjoy, I'd love it if you make sure that you click, download or to register and subscribe for it. And of course, if you love a place at a review because it does help other people trust it and know that I'm not a crazy cook, I could be. But you know, I'm not really that. So let's get started and find out from now a little bit about his staff. And then we're going to start talking a little bit about how she operates her business from a place. It is not a huge urban center, which I think a lot of us actually also find ourselves, and so it will be great. Now tell us a little bit about yourself and the business and how it got started. 00:03:34 S4: Oh yeah. So I was initially brought up in Brooklyn and spent most of my schooling and teenage years there before heading down to a sheep, beef and deer station on the shores of Lake Tukaki. So I actually always wanted to go farming. I'd spent all my school holidays and farms, and so that was my way to escape Oakland and hit into the high country. So my background is very hands on. I love working with my hands and from there. In 2013, I started a Facebook group called Farming Mumsy and Did, which now has around 14 and a half thousand rural women as part of it. And that sort of sent me in a big journey through leadership development, personal habits, speaking and getting thrown into this whole world I never knew existed or that I wanted to be a part of, but it was awesome. And then during the Kellogg leadership program through Lincoln and about 2016 to all this, all the things that I was involved with, I sort of take them all and use them now witnessing or before having kids. So I had 00:04:38 S3: a common factors, by the way. 00:04:39 S4: Yeah, yeah. It's been really cool. It's usually animal based and it's all primary primary sector based, at least. So from there, yeah, I've got a nine year old and a six year old. We've lived between South Canterbury in the McKenzie and Wanaka region over the past 10 years. And at the moment, we three weeks ago today, we moved to Glenorchy. Yeah, from how he is. 00:05:05 S3: Oh my gosh. The North is gorgeous. 00:05:08 S4: I'm see. I'm looking at the mountains right now and I know that thirty five kilometers through them is the Milford Sound, and they're all snowcapped. So it's exquisite 00:05:17 S3: shit like I did. I don't. We don't. I don't think we know the Spanish weather, but I. She wrote two books of Penguin and one was called Men of the High Country about men, older men like men in their 70s, and some of them were Anglo or something around that area, which is really amazing. But I also wrote a book about farming. Women could still be right. 00:05:37 S4: Yeah, I think I had 00:05:38 S3: better habits under my previous Rachel potter, but I've I took the challenge they saw I had a couple so that that was a book I wrote years ago about women, farming women, and my dad was a veterinarian and I was a witness. I feel like 00:05:50 S4: I did bonds, which is really cool. Yeah, yeah. They always love scenes. That's cool. Yeah. So I mean, you sort of crosses over. Definitely. And I mean, it was 00:06:01 S3: what was, so how did this the job? How did this business start from that? 00:06:05 S4: So my passion is I love designing businesses. If I could just come up with an idea to design a business and sell it, I'd actually be. That would be my happy place. But this idea came up. I was reading about an article about a made company, one of them in New Zealand. And for me, straightaway, I mean, I was on the way to Tonga, actually for my 30th wedding, bought a notebook and started writing down all the hand to showcase New Zealand's produce seasons and regions. So I did that set on the idea about a year kind of thinking, I don't know anything about the industry. Should I do it? Shouldn't I do it? But I had a background of home brewing ciders and wines from the properties, the farms that we've lived on. So I knew how to make booze at a fruit, so I thought, surely it can't be that just go. So I started playing with it. And I mean, my passion is value added products. I suppose you could say like, I get frustrated sometimes when New Zealand sells our fantastic products that we, you know, put our country and our environment under stress, and the sometimes were commodity prices. So I love to add value to products that that need some attention, I suppose, and I saw what was happening in the honey market. The Minorca honey market changed, EU-IMF ratings changed, honey wasn't selling as well. We have a whole lot of fruit in New Zealand that is not pretty enough to sell, even though it's perfect that could be juice. So it's around combining. Honey, fruits, herbs, spices, botanicals to create to tell the stories of our regions. I love it. Yes. It all sort of came together and I thought, if I don't do it, someone else will, so I'd better get it sorted. 00:07:49 S3: Where is it, mate? Where is the product mate? 00:07:52 S4: So initially it's this has been a part of my existence is actually contract brewing. To set up your own brewery, you'd want a million bucks in your back pocket and home brewing. It's not very safe that when it comes to consumers. So at the moment, we're brewing through New Zealand's biggest and best brewery in Auckland. However, there is a good chance that we will be looking perhaps at the Hawke's Bay next year. So I mean, the idea is at the moment, we've kind of changed the model in the past few months. We did the sprout every tick and tick acceleration program through Massey University, just finishing that at the moment. And the mentors and investors involved with that kind of got me really thinking and thinking that the way that I have it at the moment is very small margins. Honey is very expensive to use. How can I look to add value and change the market, perhaps change the format so that I'm not competing with seltzers which are made with ethanol from the dairy industry? Different, right? Yeah. Like this is naturally fermented over a long period with honey and fruits. It's expensive. It takes a while. It's not. You can't do for batches in a day. So yeah, so our brains, it open. But I'm looking to develop boutique or micro maitri in this region, hopefully so. 00:09:12 S3: And for those of you that are listening to the audio, I have a ring light so that there's a lot on my face and it started lifting towards me. So I guess the ring light is taking me. So your product splits because obviously we've talked about that. It shares product. It's a fizzy, made based alcoholic drink and it can see at the moment, is that right? So single serve, it's got that made base with that honey liqueur, essentially, or honey wine and some wine is made. 00:09:40 S4: Yes, typically speaking, it's it's classed in New Zealand and a fruit wine for some reason because it doesn't 00:09:46 S3: really have a default. 00:09:48 S4: Yeah. So it's all we use is honey, yeast and water, with which this consultant, who is a beer brewer, had never made made. And I was like, I want no sulfates. I want nothing nasty. I don't want this, I want this, I want this. And he's like, All right, you're basically like, You're really going to be difficult. And it was really, I want to do things right from the beginning. You know, I want to be a big corporation business. I want to do everything. I would love to have a solar powered brewery. You know, I want to make sure that everything is perfect from the beginning. And so, you know, so far, it's just honey, yeast, water and then we stabilize things 00:10:27 S3: and it's amazing. Yeah. So what's the alcohol content of the can? 00:10:32 S4: Are they five per cent? 00:10:33 S3: Yes, it is. It's it's like it's it's lower than some of the beers, right? 00:10:38 S4: Yeah, I compare it when I explain it to people, I say it's it's like a cider. Instead of using apples, we use honey. And but what we do is it's probably even our semi-sweet mate is half the sugar of your typical cider. That's great. And our dry made is only one point six grams per cans. So it's I think it's surprises people when they try it for the first time because you think honey and sweet, but it's super super dry like honey soda barely taste the alcohol. Kind of. 00:11:07 S3: There's panic because the fermentation process, I'm like, I mean, I'm not a pro at this because of course I have my uncle butcher. So you know everything about. But essentially what that fermentation process of eats the sugar, doesn't it from the honey? So it's like it's not so sweet. 00:11:20 S4: Exactly. So it's the sugar and converts it into alcohol. So, yeah, so the dry one, it's yeah. Once I finally got my head around that, I was like, Oh, Zizzi, yeah, we live it, eat up all the sugar until there's almost nothing left. And then in our semi sweet one, we do the same process and then we add fresh honey in just as we stabilize it. So it's just slightly creamier this lovely. 00:11:44 S3: And so with the product, I mean, your base, you're not in a, you know, an Auckland or Wellington or denita and like, you're not in those places. How have you thought your brand around your product while you're still in a like a population lives population sparse area? Like, how have you done that? 00:12:02 S4: Yeah, I think some of it has been helpful with past enterprises and past actions, but I have come to realise that you don't need to be in a city anymore to do these things. Unfortunately, we have to contract for them at the moment. But I mean, that's that's quite handy because it means that our distribution is a lot easier. Yeah, social media websites, we've got 60 stockists nationwide, including Foodstuffs, North Island and South Island, Terra and Auckland, Morrisons and Wellington. So all those goals that I wanted to hit. It does have its challenges like I can't go one presumes at all the shows that want to see it. So I'm very thankful that a lot of them have chosen to stock it based on phone calls or emails or word of mouth. I've had some fantastic woman around the country going, You need to stop this cushion and some 00:12:55 S3: awesome 00:12:56 S4: for this. This definitely challenges with it. But I feel like there is no challenge that is not overcome a bull that you can't not live in rural New Zealand to pull it off 00:13:06 S3: because you mentioned before you know that it has its hands expensive and those margins. I guess one of the things that around your model, which is mainly, do you sell direct as well? 00:13:16 S4: I will as of December, I'm just going 00:13:18 S3: to disappear, which is exciting. So you've got a business where you're selling through supermarkets and things. We they all they care about is getting that price down for them to increase their margin. Have you found that a battle for you as a as a business owner? Do you factor that in right from the beginning with the cost? 00:13:34 S4: We did kind of factored in and I almost was at a point where no one is pushing back and I was like, Shit, maybe I'm giving them too much margin because they're so happy. So I think they have margins they expect and because there are no other maids on in the market, really, there's a couple coming on now. There's no competition, so it's not like, Oh, well, I've got these 200 other beers, they're giving me this price. So at this stage, it hasn't been a huge battle, but it's something to keep in mind in the future, definitely. 00:14:03 S3: Because I kind of remember who it was. I was. I think it was someone who was talking to us about working with them, and they had a I liked what you said about the ethanol because they were talking about the fact that their their product and it was. But they they said the issue is they're fighting against all the products out there that have ethanol because ethanol is pure alcohol. But essentially it's it's just this chemical 00:14:27 S4: and it's a byproduct. And it's quite funny. I saw something and it's in vegan and I was like, But if you weren't milking those cows and creating milk products, would you have that ethanol? Is it really vegan? But I was like, Oh, my process, 00:14:40 S3: that's a really interesting point. 00:14:42 S4: Yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:14:45 S3: So what was your role in the business besides obviously strategic thinking? Are you the person in charge of all the marketing? 00:14:51 S4: Sadly, yes. At the moment, I still love doing marketing for other people. Like that was what I got into and was doing for a few years. But it's very hard on yourself, I find, because for me, there's so many stories among the brands that it's quite overwhelming. Like I'm going with the buying from small family owned apiaries and fruit producers. So there's that regional focus. And then we've got the whole Save the Bees movement and we've got sequenced produce. We've also got, you know, we want to be a regenerative company. You know, this, I think, is about eight to 10 points, and I find it quite like knowing what to focus on. Who cares about what and how do I tell them about it? So, yeah, at the moment, I'm everything except for the hands on bulk brewer. Right now, I'm marketing sales, distribution website and like orders trying to get stuff together for upcoming brews, making sure I have cans, can lids, sleeves, cases, case labels like last night in the cases I have in one of the cases. So it's like I'm creating procedures for myself because it's quite stressful, getting to a point where all of a sudden I'm I don't have that and I need it tomorrow. So I'm really looking forward to the day that I can have some people on board with me to look after the things that I'm sure yet. 00:16:13 S3: But I do think it's interesting because you said, you know, I love marketing for other people. I stand by the fact that it doesn't matter how good you are at marketing when it's your own business. And I'm going to say this for myself as well, because I've just had a crisis about my niece on Instagram, and it's taken me about eight months of struggling to work out what it was. But I have during that time worked with probably a hundred people, one to one and been able to go back to your nation. I can identify it immediately, but when it's your self, it's much harder. 00:16:45 S4: Yeah, oh my own personal social media. There is no niche like I've I've seen how like when people have a niche, they're really successful in it. And yeah, whereas I'm like mother on farm business owner, entrepreneur love to help other entrepreneurs. But then I love my dad and I love Veggie Garden and I want to grow regenerative crops. We've just sold an accommodation business, co-wrote a book like this, about 10 different things, and I'm like, There's no niche there. My nature is being random. Is that a thing like, 00:17:15 S3: I'm going to? I'm going to give you some strategic advice right now because I've just done it myself. I realized my struggle was there was all the stuff that may, as Rachel Clabber wanted to say and do. And then there was my business and I've actually decided made a decision. And on Instagram, I've split them and I still don't really know what I'm doing with the Rachael Clavo. But just listening, it has made me happier. And the moment I created that other account that was just called I am Rachel Clabber, the minute I did it identifies me suddenly became, Oh, that's what it is, and I don't have that battle anymore. Yeah, yeah. And then then I did it. The engagement shot up like literally it was only two weeks ago. Yeah. How interesting. And I've been struggling for all that time, but I think it's just that thing of going. Of course you want to say that stuff, but you don't get to share that stuff until your accounts really bake. 00:18:04 S4: Yeah. They want to share it. 00:18:05 S3: So having a beer is a good way of doing it. 00:18:08 S4: It's funny, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah, I feel I kind of sometimes wish I had an h, but also know that I love having 10 different things happening. 00:18:16 S3: So yes, because. And and probably for you as a person, because it sounds that you're going to be a serial entrepreneur, having your own brand is probably going to be quite important because you don't want to be tied to having it just under the bay and barge me because that's that's going to be you. That's your baby now. But probably in three or four years, they'll be one of the babies and you're going to have a home with them. 00:18:36 S4: I've got like nine Instagram accounts against my name because I have all these different and previous businesses, current ones or business ideas that I've got sitting. 00:18:46 S3: It's hilarious. 00:18:47 S4: It's complicated. But I mean, my long term goal is to support other women entrepreneurs, specifically those in regional New Zealand, saying that grumpy husbands who are working on the farm all the time and not a barrier living in that for nowhere is not a barrier. Having kids running around the house is not a barrier. There are ways to do it. It's going to be hard, but I want to support that. If you want it hard enough, if you want enough, you'll make it happen. But sometimes the investment opportunities, the mentorship opportunities and monetary backing is the main thing. And that's something that hopefully, you know, in 10 years time, the idea would be to exit the barge and be business, be able to pay back investors and then invest in others. So that's kind of the long term idea that I feel I had to create something, go through it myself before I could really be useful to others. 00:19:39 S3: I suppose it is interesting, and I think that's that is exactly what you have to do. I think that people that have gone through it become much more powerful at transforming other people because you've left. It's the same as like it's much easier to be a coach for parents when you've been a parent and had to suffer through endless nights of, you know, I think my lowest point as a parent was the time I was a single parent. For one, I left the essentials living in rural Canterbury, and all three of my kids got vomiting bugs and I had to deal with all three of them, like moving from basically, we a little clean sheets. I was fine and then they all got better. And I'm I am. I'm in the middle of my vomiting bug of vomiting into the bathroom and behind me. I've got my three kids going. We're hungry. What's for dinner? Busy. This is the lowest point of parenting that I will ever go through. Now it's the same with business, right? Like you will have gone through that you said before, you know, Oh my gosh, I forgot the boxes, but they'll be the actually have enough money to make this next batch. Oh my gosh. Why is no one buying this right away or that person ordered a whole lot? But now they've cancelled, like all those different things you happen to live and breathe, that is really important before you teach other people. 00:20:49 S4: Yeah, yeah. And I think that's a big good part of like not bringing on too many staff or anything right at the beginning because it's good to know how everything works so that you have a better understanding when you bring in others. And it's like that classic entrepreneur chat you will have seen online, surely. And it's like the whole everything's going well, OK, everything's awful, OK, it's getting better. No, it's nowhere. I slide. That's my that's like my day. Like, I even do this, OK, it's going, OK, I just got a new order. This sucks. I don't want to do this anymore. Like, it's it's 00:21:19 S3: like it's the journey. Yeah, so so you're doing your maths, you're doing all your social media. Do you do your own PR as well? 00:21:26 S4: I have a little bit of help over there at times, but I've been relatively lucky to be approached about a few different things that New Zealand Entrepreneur Magazine has been a good one, and some of the more b b industry stuff we've had the New Zealand Herald Otago Daily Times been on the project on TV, so there's been a bit tick away, which is good. Yeah, I actually did have a conversation with someone about this recently to get something out for summer, because this summer is basically the big opportunity now that I'm a year down the track. 00:22:01 S3: So you're doing just organic social media for you, like you're doing? And what is your biggest following? Because I found you on LinkedIn, but I'm imagining LinkedIn as your biggest place. 00:22:10 S4: LinkedIn, I try and keep ticking away because I'm just hoping that one day some fantastic business partner investor will show up. Instagram is probably the biggest one, and then Facebook not far behind. Probably, yeah, Instagram would be it. I trying to go away on a couple of stories a day, but yeah, I need to incorporate a bit more of myself into the barge and bass stuff. So that is something that's quite tangible and for people. 00:22:33 S3: Yeah, we were talking about that a little bit beforehand as. One of the things that you've you've kind of really recently discovered is that you are doing a lot of that kind of face of the business side. 00:22:44 S4: Yeah, I did it on my own personal account and link over, but not on my personal on the business. I think that might be useful. 00:22:50 S3: And I mean, you live like in one of the most beautiful places, not just in New Zealand, but in the world. So there's opportunity isn't there to have huge angel products in this beautiful location? 00:23:01 S4: Yeah, yeah, for sure. I need to get some need to get a photographer on on a job. 00:23:07 S3: Yeah, or maybe just slide a few products to other people who've got photographers so they can give you the great images. 00:23:12 S4: Yeah, oh yeah, exactly. 00:23:13 S3: I made a list of someone I'm going to connect you with after the service because also known as, you know, you've done a little bit of Instagram TV or what's now, quote just Instagram to Instagram, the status quo TV or video stream. VIDEO But you haven't done real yet on on Instagram as it I in this. 00:23:32 S4: I was I used to be at like the front of all the social media trends, and I was really onto it. And now I'm like, Tik Tok scares the shit out of me. I'm not getting into that. You'd be amazed. I don't want it on my phone because I don't want the kids to see it because they would love it. Reels. I needed to teach myself how to do that. I've been avoiding it, but I do see it as a really good tool because I enjoy watching others. 00:23:56 S3: These are really cool. I interviewed her a few weeks ago, Jade, but she does quite a lot of what you could do, what she does with products. And I don't know who does it here in New Zealand, but I'm sure someone does. That is that she does a little stop motion products reels where, you know, so you can have things where it's like it's opening up, but it's a beautiful, bright background and then it's poured into a drink and there's the stuff in that. So the lifestyle, so you wouldn't even have to show your face. It could just be like a really cool video. I think those sort of things that went 00:24:22 S4: really well, add it to my list. Yeah, I'm 00:24:24 S3: trying to encourage you to add stress on to your life. You know, 00:24:27 S4: I need to do it. I just need it. I just need to lose my Instagram real virginity. Yeah. 00:24:32 S3: Well, the cool thing is, let me tell you this for you or anyone else. And so I've just started this new account and I'm really excited because I'm going through a bit of a bloody place with my reels on my other account because I'm breaking a lot of rules to stuff out. But I know that because Instagram wants you to do a real, no matter how crappy your real is, the first one you do, you'll get lot thousands of views on it because Instagram wants to reward you for doing a real so that just push it out to lots of people. 00:24:59 S4: All right. Well, now you took an algorithm, Statham on to it. Yes. 00:25:02 S3: Very exciting. But yeah, I make it good. That would be awesome because it means I'll share the next one a bit more as well. But yeah, I did. I did one that was just like a snapshots of us going through Marlborough sounds all my personal accounts. I think I have three thousand views and it was just like little snapshots. Nine, You know, so you can do it. 00:25:21 S4: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm into it. So. 00:25:23 S3: So you obviously you're selling here and you are going to start selling direct this year, which is exciting and that would be so distributed from Auckland as opposed to have to be from you. 00:25:35 S4: Is that right? Yeah, I have warehouse option and Auckland and one and crumble because to go from Auckland to Invercargill, it kind of makes it a bit pointless. 00:25:45 S3: I would 00:25:46 S4: very much work this out myself over 00:25:48 S3: time. Have you got worldwide domination in mind with this as well? 00:25:52 S4: Pretty much. Yeah, I'd go big or go home, you know? Yeah, but yeah, I've had some conversations, Ive says. Australia, I'm hoping Southeast Asia, perhaps a Hong Kong and things like that. Like I yeah, I had no idea what was happening over there. And so I started looking into it. They actually care about sustainable products and where it comes from in the story. And not only that, but if I can put manuka honey in it, then it's all over it. So that is the goal that so I'm kind of reformatting a little bit so that it's New Zealand suitable, but it's also suitable for export. And that that's the plan with the breweries that I'm in talks with is that they have those overseas contacts already and will be looking. So, yeah, I mean, it makes sense to me. Hopefully it makes sense to others. I sent out a newsletter last night after putting it off for ages, and the general gist of it is that currently the meat industry globally is worth around $400 million in the next four years is expecting to double to over 800 million. 00:26:53 S3: Oh, that's significant. 00:26:55 S4: So in the past since 2017, there was 160 meters in the US. Now there's over 600, with around 200 more waiting on certifications, something that's why I committed to this because the overseas trends are booming. You look at Australia, India. I had a podcast recording with tomatoes in India recently during the same style. There's some in Japan that I know of, and then I had a podcast with Gosnells made in the UK. They're probably one of the biggest ones in the UK. So is this trend that's building and it's made in New Zealand at the moment is where cider was ten years ago. That's the general thought. And I'm. Becoming more and more confident that this is this is the next thing to be a part of. 00:27:41 S3: So one of the things I really like about this now is you have specific you can use showing me that you didn't just set up a business because you had this passion about this thing. Like you had an idea, but you actually went and looked at things like trends. What's actually going on? So you haven't just launched a business because you go, I really like made and I'd like to make it or I want the sustainable business. You actually went and did a lot, a lot of your framework based, of course, research first. 00:28:07 S4: Yeah, yeah. I think the research really helped convince me that it was the right thing to do. I mean, it was going to cost a lot of money. And then, you know, I funded the first part of it. And you know, if if it doesn't work, I lose that money and I'm not a gambler. Yeah. I do not like gambling. Like, I wanted to be pretty sure that this is going to work. And so it was really helpful to say, I mean, the US often sits our trains and food, beverage and fashion. So it was saying what was happening over there and just the constant increase. And then I'm like, Well, New Zealand has some of the purest honey in the world, and people know it is like they come to New Zealand to buy a honey now fruit and Central Otago in Southeast Asia. You know, it has risen. It's so you put all those things together, plus the New Zealand wine industry also being amazing. But it is just like surely, surely all these things coming together makes sense. So, yeah, I feel like it's still I still doubt myself every day. But yeah, it's kind of I've come into this loving it, but also seeing it as a business like in 50 years time, I don't want to still be doing this because there are other things that I'd like to work on as well. And I want to make investors money. You know, I want to I want them to win with me. If they're going to back me, I want to reward them by paying them big time. You know, many times over. 00:29:33 S3: One of the things I'm good at talking with you is, I mean, I talk to a lot of small business owners and on this podcast and obviously to my clients. But you have actually created a business specifically that you love and you've got passion on that. But the passion isn't running the business. The strategic plan to grow is running the business. 00:29:53 S4: Yeah, and at first I was really torn about this. Like, I don't know if you've spent much time in Oamaru, but is Riverstone Kitchen and Scott's Brewery? Yes. And I want to smash the two of them together and create a destination mystery with on site. You know, this beautiful place, but also at the same time, investors are saying, you know, we're not going to win this new if you don't have any strategy because we want to see our money back one day. So I've constantly had this clash of worlds of like, I can see what this can become the theme at Byron Bay. And I think 00:30:25 S3: that, 00:30:26 S4: you know, based on that. So that is something that is still in my mind, and it might be that that still happens amongst everything. But yeah, yeah. Long term, I want to make sure that others when and I mean the history, I think some people are like, Oh, that's nice. You've got your little thing going on, like part time Rangers, the alcohol company. And it was started in 2018 by two 20 year old boys backed by the family, a bit of funding and stuff like that. They sold to Jack Daniels for $25 million, roughly about two and a half years later. So they're massive players out there. And if you do it right, it will you'll be greatly rewarded. And I'm kind of like, I know for me, it's like I try to mix it shallowness feeling of just trying to make it back with. Actually, the reason I want this to be successful is because I know all I've ever wanted to do is be able to invest another woman in business to support them. And I can't do that without money. I can't do that without experience, and I think I want my win. Yeah, a whole lot of others win and create something that, you know, a network of people who understand that they can accomplish anything they want to, and I want to back them. I want to make sure that they feel that they can do that. 00:31:47 S3: But I think too like because because Rodney, we don't have any plans to sell, identify at any stage, but we have an exit strategy in our business and the expression I'm going to have investors, that's slightly different. But I encourage business on us to have an exit strategy because of what it does. Is it saying, am I building a business that is actually sellable because if you're not going to invest is sellable, you put up with a whole lot of crap in your business that you shouldn't have on there? 00:32:13 S4: Yeah. And New Zealand trade and enterprise. I've been in discussions with them as well. They like the first thing was I'm from India. This guy came up to me and said, I heard you speak, What's your strategy? And I was like, I don't know. And it was like, You need an exit strategy. And that's it's something that it's taken a while to get my head around. And the first year I was uncomfortable about. US entirely, but talking about exit in that made me feel like I was only doing it for certain reasons, but you have to that's that's how the world works and it's just about doing it for good. And as I said, you know, I want to be a big corporation. Yeah, I want to be a regenerative business. I want a solar powered brewery. I want you just the idea is to be carbon neutral, maybe even carbon, because in the quest more than, you know, it's just trying to do their business right? 00:33:06 S3: Yeah, not do it. I just it can be positive, but I mean, the other one carbon negative, I 00:33:10 S4: know you're on his way to the set. 00:33:15 S3: Can I see your 00:33:16 S4: own uses it differently? 00:33:17 S3: Yeah, I know. I've had some work with Bacup businesses before, and a guy has to work with Tim Jones, who is like as a baseball. 00:33:26 S4: Yeah, I think I've talked to him. 00:33:27 S3: Yeah, I see him. So like I know, like I know from that. But do you just want to explain to the listeners what they actually is? Classic talked about October four. 00:33:37 S4: Yeah, I'm not. I'm not in a on this, but it's essentially I think it's like Patagonia, for example, is one of the brands and it's about like every single thing you do. You do it for the best of the people, for the best of the environment, for the best of the country, like it's greater than yourself. And it's it's not saying you're going to be perfect, but she is just as I think recently got big corporations certification and they've got a solar powered UCERIS, which is amazing, right? Yeah, I a big part of myself as well as I don't want to shit on anyone to get here. I want to be I want to prove that you can be a good person and you can run a sustainable business. And it can work. You don't have to push and push and push and push and drain everything for it to for it to work, you know? Yeah, yeah. I want to do it right. 00:34:32 S3: I think is a B Corp as well. And obviously that has huge international acclaim for. 00:34:36 S4: Yeah. Yes. I read his story a little while ago. It was great. 00:34:39 S3: And also because I mean, like one of the things, I think that will be quite a big like for a lot of the listeners to this podcast who think, Well, investors, how did you go about getting ambitious and did you make sure your bases are also aligned with that kind of impact type of sustainable business? Was that important to you when you're addressing investors? 00:34:57 S4: Yes. At the moment, the raising that we've done is the friends, family and fools, and this has been it's been really encouraging to say that they they back me, not just the idea. And that's what I've been told quite a lot is that. You're likable. We'll back you and I'm like, huh, that's important. Yeah, it is. I never realized like doing the Sprout program. You're your and with a lot of investors, a lot of the time and they have said, you know, we back the person before you big business, if we let the business, but not the person. It's not. You're not going to get anywhere. So, yeah, at the moment, the French family feels I've just finished my large scale investor pitch based on a pivot, I suppose. Now we've got a three phase part of the business and we've got a pitching thing in about three weeks time. That'll be two quite big investors and international. But I would rather it stays cool and at least, yeah, long term, hopefully. But yeah, so the the big scale investor stuff is just ticking, right? At the moment. I'm just firming up the adjusted forecasting for our new model, telling my investor pitch in to an updated business plan. So then I'll have the pitch. The plan and the forecast all leveled out really nicely so I can present it to people rather than going, I have this, but I haven't got quite quite got this yet. 00:36:20 S3: Yeah. And then it's huge, like the energy that takes to make. That is a big step, isn't it? Like you have to take stuff out to create that, don't you? 00:36:30 S4: Yeah, I have to admit the business plan is probably getting about half an hour attention a day because everything else looks easier in comparison. 00:36:37 S3: I'm writing a book at the moment. Same thing. 00:36:40 S4: Oh, I know it's like, I'll clean the kitchen. I'll change the shift. That's fine. So long as that I did this, 00:36:45 S3: why do you think I'm double vaccinated now? I will do anything besides? 00:36:51 S4: Yeah, I know it's just what I need to. I really need to postpone it and set aside two hours and not get up off my chair. Yeah, but I mean, it's all on my head. So it's just a case of getting out. We've got a website being rebranded the moment we've got a product photographer coming on next week, so everything's lining up to be nice and pretty and ready to go. And I just hope that someone out there understands what I'm trying to do. Heidi has experience in this kind of area because I'm just breaking it every day. And yeah, I'm like big picture thinking I can 00:37:27 S3: help kind of bring it forward. 00:37:29 S4: Yeah, because a lot of is in New Zealand, a very tech based. 00:37:33 S3: Yeah, and, you know, probably because 00:37:35 S4: it's very attractive. And yeah, they really need to understand it and be so it's very different. 00:37:40 S3: Like I've worked with quite a lot of agency JS, and they're very different to a tech like you talk about the margins and the wholesaling and that bulk batch, batch ordering in the pre-ordering and all those things and all the different elements, it's really complicated. So can I. If you ask someone who is going to one day be someone that leads us forward, do you have a piece of advice that you would give someone who's thinking about launching into something where they go? This is a great opportunity. They've done their research well, they're doing their research and that kind of make finding a hard to take that next step. What advice would you give those people? 00:38:15 S4: Yeah, I think what I found really helpful is, you know, everyone says, look at the big picture. I'm like, Look at the big picture, shelve it because that big picture is scary and daunting, and it's nice and it looks unattainable. Instead, keep your eyes down and do one job at a time, because when you accomplish that job, you feel a sense of accomplishment in that you can achieve the next one. And if you just do it like that, suddenly you look back and say all the stuff that you've done. So even though I've kind of known overarching goals to look at them, I'm like, Yeah, that's ridiculous. I can never make it there like food stuffs. Paperwork was like 50 pages long and you needed certifications and requirements. It was horrific, but once I got that done, I could then look at that next thing. So yeah, just buy, buy, buy. Don't get overwhelmed by the enormity of a task because when you break it down, it's actually lots of little small ones that aren't too difficult or time consuming, and they add up really quickly. 00:39:13 S3: It's exciting. I love that piece of advice, and if people want to, like, always say, this is going to air in about three or four weeks, so it's not quite when things are alive, but where would they come if they end up from December? Where would they go if they want to buy your product online and how if they're listing in New Zealand, would they get it and can they get it in Australia 00:39:32 S4: and not in Australia yet? Yeah, I actually just sent some samples to someone in Florida yesterday at the moment. We've got a stock is listed on the website, which is dub dub dub dub bar to be the outcome. Yes. And then we will be selling through this song. But we'll probably initially start selling by the case. Yes, because that's the format that we're in and it's 00:39:53 S3: affordable, right 00:39:54 S4: for you. It is. It means we can make it a lot more affordable for people to buy in bulk and the people who have been on board since day one, they like, we just want a box. So that happens. And so, yeah, online is the best. And then we're starting to work on some other flavour combinations at the moment. So hopefully they might be things where they'll be kind of we talked about Sheree Metcalf and what. He's accomplished with me. I'd love to be able to send out new product development boxes to people or check a bottle and all, I can try it and say what they think because the next two flavors that we're working on is essentially tiger apricot and wild time. Oh, it's a good second courts with a mixture of time and clever honey from Central Otago. And then the one after that is exciting as well. Autumn is my favorite time of the year, so we're doing an autumn harvest, pear and ginger. To be like sweet and spicy. So that kind of gives you an idea of what we're looking to do. Very New Zealand based flavours and, you know, things that remind you of certain times of the year or different regions like Kirikiri, oranges from Northland, something like that in the future as part of 00:41:01 S3: it's kind of Whittaker's with their, you know, but we're different regionals. You feel like because we get we often give those as a gift and put couscous, you'll probably get some. But reason we do. That is especially the overseas cases. We're giving them a taste of New Zealand. So a little spice is actually going to say because I've started drinking the AEF drinks because I've gone off alcohol for an alarm and and they're delicious. They have really delicious. 00:41:26 S4: I I drink, I drink at the moment, then. Yeah, I'm 00:41:28 S3: really into the cult. But the ginger ale and the cola one like the rum and coke and the ginger and the shades, I saw that she did that she had like the new flavours and she basically said, you know, get these ones, you just pay shipping and you get a taste a pack of these to come. And I was so clever, like I'd only just bought them. And so I didn't really care. But I was like, This is so cool because it just gives people that taste and they go, Oh, that's cool. I like that, I'll buy them. 00:41:54 S4: And it's also that psychological buying that you're part of something and you had your feedback on that counts towards what value product? Yeah, yeah. And that's what I appreciate from the brand. And not only that, but it benefits the business because we get real life, unbiased consumers giving us feedback. 00:42:12 S3: Yeah, it's really good. It's awesome. Hey, Michelle, thank you so much. I just up to the tournament. How did that happen so fast? It's been a real pleasure having you on the show. I really I really loved hearing because I feel like you will help listeners also think of the next level. You've got that lovely, big, big world domination picture in mind, but you're still very much the person having to do with on the business, which is and the business. And it's hard. It's a hard balance, and I think it shows that it's possible to be doing world domination planning, even if you're doing a lot of the actual work 00:42:46 S4: and living in the smallest one of the smallest towns in New Zealand, it feels 00:42:49 S3: less and living in the smallest towns, New Zealand, where you probably don't even have a count down. 00:42:54 S4: No, not. We have no little theory. 00:42:57 S3: No, nothing. Yeah, you've got a dairy and you've got a really cool gift shop. 00:43:00 S4: Yeah, this is going to go get around 400 permanent residents, this thirty three kids at the school. 00:43:05 S3: It's adorable. Yeah, say you probably can you as your product actually available at the little shop? It will be. Yeah, we'll be. Yeah, they they live here. 00:43:17 S4: Yeah, yeah. 00:43:19 S3: Thank you so much for being a part of today. I've really appreciated it and it's been great to have you. 00:43:25 S4: My pleasure. Thank you for having me. 00:43:27 S2: I really enjoyed talking to Chanel about how she's planning for the future. That forward future thinking is so important when you're creating a marketing strategy because it helps you make better business decisions that also lead to better strategic marketing decisions. I know for us it identify in our own business when I have an idea, I have lots of ideas. When I have an idea, I have to justify it to my business partner and my husband to make sure that it is something that we are going to have. It's building towards a future. I have to explain why this is working towards the goals that we have before us, because otherwise it's so easy to get distracted down a route that does not suit where we're going. If this is something that you might need to do as well, if you're looking at your life and you're going, I need to work out how this business is going to serve me, not just now, but for the next five, 10, 15 or 20 years, then here's some questions that you can ask yourself to do that now. Before we do that, I'd love you if you can be part of our Meffert marketing group on Facebook. It's a really lovely place to come and ask questions, get support and ideas, and you get some special offers through the year for the events and other things that we run. So please do come along and there, and we've got a brand new website to record my method marketing dot com, which I'll pop in. The show notes. You can have a look at it. It's not much on it yet, but they will be right. So here's some questions What do you want to do and what do you want to be doing in the next five, 10 or 15 years? And it's beyond your business. Think about your lifestyle the way you want it to look, how you want to be spending your time and what is in you that might not be in your business now that you'd love to do. Get dreamy about this. Get really inspirational about the things that you would love to achieve and then ask, Is this different to what I'm doing now and as the stuff I'm doing now? Essentially leading towards that informational that way that I wanted to love to reach the goals you need that you have in front of you, would you need to sell your current business or could it morph into that business? And is your business a sellable asset today? Is it paying you? Is it giving you profit on top of the money that you work on it? And is it something that someone would see it and go? Yes, I would be able to pick up a news that is, it's wholly dependent on you as a brand? Or is there a way to transfer some of that power of you as a brand on to somebody else as it exits, like email lists and digital marketing and all the other bits and pieces, and return and repeat business that someone would want to buy? And if you are going to close it off at some point, move on to something else. Would you sell it? Would you want it down or would you shut it down completely? And asking those questions can help you think more forward thinking to help you in your business now make better decisions. I hope it was helpful now. I'm really looking forward to next week. I am interviewing a beautiful woman called Tony, who works only with regional businesses and a place called Broome and Australia are very jealous. When I did my interview with here, it was nine o'clock in the morning for her and she was about to go out for a swim and hippo called Laurie 40 degrees. And she's a lovely person who's passionate about working with regional business businesses in the marketing space to help them grow their businesses. So we're going to talk about what it's like to work as a regional business, trying to market your business both locally and out to the world, and the complications and differences of that compared to working in a large city. We're looking forward to doing this with Tony next week, and I'm looking forward to you tuning in. I hope you enjoy. 00:47:03 S1: Thanks for tuning in today to method marketing with me, Rachel Clara, make sure you hit Subscribe and your podcast app so you don't miss an episode. And if you want notes or information about today's podcast, go to Rachel Player Adcom Slash podcast for more information.