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[00:00:10] Shelley: Hi, I'm Shelley Cox, founder of The Regional Collective, where we're all about empowering entrepreneurs like you. Our podcast is for anyone navigating the world of small business, especially in regional areas. I'm based in the Barossa in South Australia, a place where I love, have three young children and also play in community club netball.
[00:00:32] Shelley: My previous career as a winemaker has taken me all over the world to New Zealand, Japan, USA, and all around Australia, but there's no place like home. I've started not one, but four businesses from the ground up since 2018, and have helped over 50 other small and micro businesses, and I can't wait to help share my lessons with you.
[00:00:55] Shelley: Over the coming weeks and months, you'll hear tales of success, challenges, and [00:01:00] community spirit in small and micro businesses. Let's redefine small business with big hearts and determined hustle, and be inspired to thrive. β
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[00:01:20] Shelley: Join us for our second episode of the Regional Collective podcast, as we delve into inspiring founder stories this week with Laura Mudge. Throughout this episode, we'll explore her experience as the brains behind Smudge copywriting with 20 plus years of experience in e commerce, health and sustainability.
[00:01:50] Shelley: Laura is an open book and keen to share the lessons she's learned along the way. So let's get started by getting to know Laura and her business journey from startup [00:02:00] to success.
[00:02:00] Shelley: Today we're joined by Laura Mudge. Thank you for joining us. She had a flurry of different businesses. So can you maybe just let us know where you've been in business, a bit of your background and then where you're at today.
[00:02:19] Laura: Thank you, Shelley. So I guess background, background, I started out as a nurse.
[00:02:23] Laura: I went out of school and into a bachelor of nursing, worked as a nurse across like a vast array of fields for 20 odd years, then definitely needed a change. So, In 2019, I started Ecopatch and I guess my motivation for that was, I was looking for products myself that I couldn't source that were sustainable and eco friendly.
[00:02:46] Laura: So I decided I'd start a business to actually fill that need and at the time, I didn't There was absolutely nothing in the area around since then. There's been a lot of growth. And I guess I evolved that business over the three or [00:03:00] so years that I owned it. And I grew it to a place where I was no longer able to kind of keep the momentum and actually invest extra time to continue it growing.
[00:03:08] Laura: So,
[00:03:08] Shelley: so you had products, so physical products, but then you'd also source So it was a bit of a combination, wasn't it?
[00:03:16] Laura: It was. So I did some whole, like, I did some manufacturing myself, and then I also purchased wholesale. So I did a hybrid and then I also whole sailed.
[00:03:24] Yeah.
[00:03:24] Laura: My manufactured products out. So I had retail and wholesale revenue
[00:03:29] Shelley: online and online in person as well.
[00:03:31] Shelley: You did markets and
[00:03:32] Laura: I did, yeah. So never did, did a long term BN. Store, but I did have pop up markets and events and things that I sold out. It was quite well known regular customers came to the markets and things like that. But yeah, eventually it got to a point where I wasn't able to invest the time it needed anymore.
[00:03:47] Laura: So passed it on and sold the business to somebody who's now made it their own and continue to grow it and evolve it, which has been lovely to see.
[00:03:55] Shelley: Had the energy to save it. to go to the next step
[00:03:58] Laura: Absolutely. I [00:04:00] think you know, I think that's a really important you know, growth phase in business is that they will get to a point where you need to decide what you're going to do, whether it's double down on energy and money, or whether, you know, you put pass it on to somebody who has that renewed energy or new energy, I guess.
[00:04:17] Laura: But I guess in that process, I also realized that I was getting asked for help a lot. So I was asked by a lot of other business owners for some support around sustainable packaging and sustainable processes around business and particularly for product based businesses. So that's where consulting started and I was doing a bit of that engaged in Venture Dorm in 2019, which was a Flinders Uni program to help with Accelerator for business ideas.
[00:04:43] Laura: Yeah. And I guess that helped me kind of, you know, consolidate an idea, which never really lifted off the ground, but it gave me skills and ideas for then starting another product based business which I am no longer involved in either. Cause I guess, [00:05:00] you know, priorities changed and things like that.
[00:05:02] Laura: And I was halfway through my MBA I was, and so it just wasn't the right time for me to be engaged in that. And I guess trying to figure out what I actually really wanted to do while I was. Yeah. But I guess that's where copywriting popped in. So in 2021, I think it might've been, maybe 22, I started copywriting.
[00:05:21] Laura: Largely due to you know, I guess the advice and support of Angela Pickett you know, and seeing what she was doing and, you know, feeling that, you know, through conversations with her, realizing that this is something I could do. Yeah. And I actually really enjoy it. So
[00:05:36] Shelley: you've also been really good at the research part of it as well, which is a big part of copywriting and understanding what your customer needs and wants.
[00:05:44] Shelley: And and you're going back to do further study as well. That was, but that's also your strength. So good to work that out.
[00:05:51] Laura: Oh, absolutely. And I think, I mean, that's, I guess that's the one thing with my copywriting is that I really do prefer, you know, approaching them a bit like a [00:06:00] research project, you know, having done.
[00:06:02] Laura: vast amount of tertiary study and a couple of master's degrees now and having worked for the university and research sector you know, that's definitely an approach I like. And I think being able to dig into whatever the research matter is and then come up with something usable,
[00:06:19] Laura: like
[00:06:19] Laura: there's something really rewarding in that.
[00:06:21] Yeah.
[00:06:21] Shelley: Yeah. And that's the thing, and you're getting to work with people that you like to work with and those sort of projects. help keep that energy up, because it's something different each, you know, every couple of months as well, so you kind of can keep that energy renewed and interest renewed.
[00:06:37] Laura: Absolutely. I
[00:06:38] Laura: think I seem to have kind of now niched into, you know, I guess an area that's, you know, based on my background and experience and also, you know, value based doing a lot of work with sustainable businesses and also businesses in the disability aged care and health space. And as you said, like being able to change projects, like I'm not really getting bored with it because there's always new things coming up.
[00:06:59] Laura: [00:07:00] So for people who do kind of farm work. a bit of a chore because it seems to be the same thing over and over. You know, this sort of diversity is, has been really interesting and really valuable.
[00:07:11] Shelley: And you've also had, have taken on a role in the last 12 months as sort of a business manager for another business, so a family business.
[00:07:21] Shelley: How have you found that being sort of starting up from Your husband's, you know, starting to be the sole consultant and the sole person in that now much bigger team. Yeah, I think. And service based, you know, that's sort of quite a different part, different industry that you've sort of been working on.
[00:07:38] Shelley: How have you found that?
[00:07:40] Laura: That's,
[00:07:40] Laura: that's been a really steep learning curve, I think. I guess there's been a lot of challenges with it, large, a lot of them based on the fact that, you know, the relationships there are, you know, I am, it is my husband's business and, you know, having to work closely with him and I guess unpack the way that he's done things traditionally has been [00:08:00] challenging because I guess, you know, when it was just him and just, you know, one project at a time and one kind of, you know, Well, you know, one source of revenue rather. It was really easy to kind of just do things basically, but then we ended up employing people and having a team of people and the needs of the business grew really quickly. And we didn't have any systems in place or anything like that. So I built a lot of the losers.
[00:08:23] Laura: We can't, yeah. So I guess, you know, creating some systems and processes is predominantly what I've done there in that role on. I think now we're actually in a place where the business is, you know, is almost been working really hard to make myself redundant in that role essentially and to be able to pass it on.
[00:08:42] Laura: And I think we're just about there. I think and the nature of project work is that it's really up and down. But I suspect with the next kind of steep growth period, the business will actually manage to keep up quite easily without us having to work lots of hours, which is great.
[00:08:56] Shelley: And you've been able to outsource some of the, by having, [00:09:00] by setting up, I suppose, You've done the do, so you've done the things that you know needs to be done, and then you've worked out, I don't need to be doing this, and then you've found partners, so whether it's HR, whether it's finance, you've found the partners that are going to help the business, and I think that's also important as a, as a business grows, to do all the things, and then work out, this is not my jam, someone else, like, and find what bits you are not great at, and hand them out.
[00:09:27] Shelley: You know, sometimes you've got to start, you have to do all those things. But then, you've got to work out where that point is when you go, this is not for me to do anymore because my time is better spent out here with the client or over here making or what not. So how do you find that, making that decision, like you've sort of got to just be keeping a check on it, don't you?
[00:09:50] Shelley: Absolutely. There's no answer to when the right time will be, but you've got to sort of probably.
[00:09:55] Laura: Absolutely. And I think, in really small business. I mean, we're in the project management business. [00:10:00] We're fortunate that, you know, the revenue and cashflow allowed for fairly quick use of external resources.
[00:10:07] Laura: And I mean, I very quickly realized that it was, way outside my pay grade. Whilst I have an understanding of all of these things from previous roles, I couldn't actually do the day to day of it because I just don't have the skills, knowledge, nor time. So yeah, outsourcing work health safety and HR and accounting, we had already had, but we've outsourced further accounting has been really beneficial in, I guess, making sure that we're strong position moving forward, but I know, you know, when cashflow isn't as great and you're growing slowly, sometimes you do really need to kind of look at weighing up the cost benefit.
[00:10:45] Laura: And often, even though it's going to cost you money, you would gain so much time back that you can grow your own business a lot faster when you're able to outsource those things. So there is, you know, it's a balancing act to a degree, but I think it's, It's [00:11:00] certainly worth having conversations with people in those industries that you're not sure about to see where you can get help and what their advice is around outsourcing.
[00:11:08] Laura: And I know, I mean, programs like the RDA's B2B program,
[00:11:12] And other
[00:11:13] Laura: networks can often point people in the
[00:11:14] right direction.
[00:11:16] Shelley: And that's it. And you've got sort of, you know, you've got Adelaide Business Hub, you've got yeah, some other opportunities to actually get some mentoring at a lower cost than you would normally have.
[00:11:25] Shelley: Yeah. And I think also, you know, you touched on systems and processes. If you have to do it all, and you're the only one that can do it, if you've, you know, if you're starting up and you're bootstrapping and you've got no funds to allocate, having some systems in place to make sure that you're working as efficiently as possible is probably the next best thing, isn't it?
[00:11:47] Shelley: Like it's, whatever you're going to do, it's going to be. Get a system in place, be consistent, repeat it, to make sure that you can keep on top of it and get it done.
[00:11:57] Laura: Yeah, oh, absolutely. [00:12:00] You follow in the lobby. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I mean, you've certainly helped shape that in my you know, my past businesses.
[00:12:06] Laura: You know, helped create strategies and things to sort of work towards. But yeah, certainly having systems and processes in there makes you a much more efficient I'm going to say lean, although that's probably not really the right word. It does make you a much more efficient and resource effective operation when you can actually systemize and process everything you do.
[00:12:28] And you talk about, you've had a focus on sustainability through, you know, for the last probably six years since you left nursing. How do you see that being a consideration with a startup? So. In terms of, not just environmental, but business sustainability, health and well being. How do you see that role playing across, yeah, just when you start out making sure that's a consideration?
[00:12:57] Laura: Absolutely. I guess that's, you've, you know, hit on something really important [00:13:00] there, that sustainability just isn't just an environmental measurement, it's, it is about long term, I mean, the actual definition of sustainability is long term success. And I guess it's a real area of passion for me because I know from what I've seen and experienced, often a lot of investment is put in at the beginning.
[00:13:20] Laura: And there's a lot of grant funding and Sponsorship and those sorts of things available for startups, but then the tap gets turned off and Like everything kind of stops. So I guess, you know starting with the end in mind, which I think is a fairly famous quote Is well, I guess that's my mantra to it and also I guess being consistent in the way that you do thingsConsidering all of the elements of your business and I guess applying a corporate social responsibility framework is, you know, how I would encourage people to approach any business really, because it goes across what multinationals are going to approach are different to like mum and dad [00:14:00] businesses.
[00:14:00] Laura: I think There are definite benefits and also efficiencies in money and resources that can be achieved by considering the social and environmental impacts as well. Yeah.
[00:14:13] Laura: Yeah.
[00:14:13] Shelley: And I think, and that's the thing like, well, Hard and fast success can come to some people. The reality is, it's a slow burner, so you don't want to burn out.
[00:14:24] Shelley: So you don't want to go hard and fast and absolutely nuts for six months and then suddenly you can't handle it anymore. So, what would your, I guess, advice be to someone who's starting up their business and just around that? Making sure that they don't burn out and you know how they can probably plan their success over a longer period of time.
[00:14:48] Shelley: Being patient. Yeah.
[00:14:50] Laura: I think probably the most important thing is running your own race and, you know, setting your own goals and benchmarks.
[00:14:56] so
[00:14:56] Shelley: yeah, so being patient in that start up
[00:14:58] Shelley: phase.
[00:14:58] Laura: Yeah, so run [00:15:00] your own race, set your own goals. And you know whilst industry and like benchmarks, so I mean Shopify for example is really good at telling you what other people are doing. You need to apply that stuff with a grain of salt.
[00:15:12] Laura: Yeah. And You really need to be, you know, I guess, considering what you want to get out of business. So, you don't have to actually be making 10, 000 a month to be a success. If success to you looks like 1, 000 a month, and you know, so a bit of extra money in your pocket, or, you know, covering your costs with your small business, then that's an okay thing to aim for.
[00:15:34] Shelley: And that's
[00:15:35] Shelley: also what a big part of when you do start up is knowing what you want to get out of it. Is this to follow your passion and to be able to get, cover your costs, maybe make, you know, what, how much do you need to make? What do you want to get out of it? Do you want the freedom of time to be able to take, have the kids, you know, around you at home?
[00:15:54] Shelley: And that's it in the world of social media and influences and people that we're seeing. I mean, everyone's only [00:16:00] showing their best, their best bits.
[00:16:02] Laura: Absolutely.
[00:16:03] Shelley: Yeah. And business can be really fun and exciting.
[00:16:07] Laura: And it can also be really awful and terrible and horrible.
[00:16:10] Laura: Yeah.
[00:16:11] Shelley: But you just need to, I think you said, you know, follow, or know what your values are. Have a little look around every now and then to see what other people are doing, because that is a good, you know, businessBecause that is a good, you know, strategy, to make sure you've had a look at some competitive, you know, analysis.
[00:16:29] Shelley: But then also go back to your why. Why are you doing it? What do you want to get out of it? And have people in your corner, like you've been in our corner to make sure that, you know, we put that lens of, well, hey, what do you really want to get out of it? Don't worry about them. Don't worry about that.
[00:16:48] Shelley: Like you said, run your own race. Yeah, absolutely. And then it can be fun and enjoyable because what are, what are we
[00:16:54] Shelley: doing
[00:16:55] Shelley: it for?
[00:16:56] Laura: Absolutely. And I think that's the thing. I think, you know, it's, it's a big picture. It's a [00:17:00] long game for most of us, like none of us are going to win. You know, the people that become very successful and, you know, financially successful overnight are very far, few and far between.
[00:17:10] Laura: Most people, it's a long game. You know, the first couple of years, you don't make money, essentially, in any small business. So I think people need to realise that yeah, it's, none of it's quick win stuff in running businesses. Small businesses and starting up small businesses, but you know, there are successes to be gained along that way And you know celebrating those achievements whether it's your first sale or your first, you know 1, 000 month 10, 000 month, whatever your goals are.
[00:17:39] Laura: There's really important milestones to be celebrating and Acknowledging that's you know, that's part of your journey in your business
[00:17:48] Shelley: And I think also being proud of you know, the growth that you will see in yourself as well Good like You started out in nursing, I started out in winemaking. These aren't things that we went to uni to learn [00:18:00] initially.
[00:18:00] Shelley: These weren't the career paths that we'd chosen. But by applying that, you know, willingness to learn along the way and getting them to do things, to fail, to try things, to fail again, that's, you will put, you know, you only know what you know. But then when you apply that for the next sentence, have you seen that throughout your
[00:18:21] Shelley: businesses that you've started?
[00:18:23] Laura: Oh,
[00:18:24] Laura: absolutely. I think there's, you can't really underestimate the applicability of previous skills to like what you're currently doing. I mean, I wouldn't have thought that being a nurse would actually give me the skill set for managing a budget and those sorts of things, but it does because I worked as a manager and actually had a budget.
[00:18:44] Laura: So you were working with HR management, risk management, like lots of things I acquired from my nursing career. You wouldn't normally, I guess, associate with that sort of role, but I guess, Probably the biggest thing, any nurse that's ever worked is going to have [00:19:00] exceptional communication skills, and hopefully, for the most part, will have very good empathy.
[00:19:05] Laura: Because that's what's kind of required of the role. So, I mean, those skills are very important. Invaluable in most industries. So I think it's about recognising what the career or the occupational role is given and, you know, identifying how they do help you kind of
[00:19:24] Laura: move forward into new pathways.
[00:19:27] Shelley: And small business, I think we find you know, there's a passion there for something, whether it's a product or a service or you know, a gap in the market that we can see.
[00:19:38] Shelley: So it's important to, to have that balance and recognise you've got skills from other career paths but then also, you've got that passion. Like, not everybody will have that passion for that thing, so that also makes you unique to sort of trust yourself in that. But also not go blindly along with, I've got the passion, I can [00:20:00] do it!
[00:20:00] Shelley: A good plan and being patient is probably a good start up
[00:20:06] Shelley: mantra to have.
[00:20:07] Laura: Absolutely. I think, I mean, certainly from my experience, the passion drives you for the first little while, while you're trying to get get a few rungs up the ladder. It eventually that kind of peters out though and you do need a bit more, you know, you need to dig deeper into your whys as to, you know, what you're doing and why you're doing it.
[00:20:26] Laura: But yeah, certainly the passion does keep those difficult days from being less difficult and I think it does enhance the, I guess, the enjoyment that you get from the process and the outcomes.
[00:20:40] Shelley: Yeah. Well, thank you very much for sharing your insights today. And I'm sorry we've had Audrey playing cars in the lounge room, but hey, small business with little people around is what happens.
[00:20:52] Shelley: But no, and certainly, you know, appreciate your, you know, you're really open with sharing your lessons for us as well [00:21:00] as we've gone through our business ups and downs. So I think, you know, there's lots of things to be learned from each other which is yeah great so thank you for sharing
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