Episode Transcript
Nina Huchthausen (00:02.196)
All right. Welcome everyone to the Makers Business Tribe podcast. My name is Nina. I'm the founder of the Makers Business Tribe and I have with me, I am so excited, the wonderful Georgie. She is our head strategist coach. She is the founder of the Byron Co-op on mindful foods, which is, I would always call it the muesli and the glass jars that
so damn tasty, but also really expensive in compared to other musli. But we pay for the value. And Georgie has taken what, seven or eight months to finally come onto this podcast for me to introduce you to the podcast audience and to be able to pick a freaking fantastic
brains when it comes to retail sales. And in today's episode, we don't just want to talk generic retail sales, but I think one of the most important factors of succeeding in getting your product out to the masses, whether that's online or offline, and that is mastering our mind, mastering our
our, whether we call it shadow voice, whether we call it fear voice, whether we call it our struggle voice or that voice that just tries to hold us back and putting them in the brick and back seat so that we can sit in the driver's seat and get our products out. Yeah. And so that will be the key topic of this conversation today. So
If unless you are super out there and mastering every single sales conversation, then this episode is for you, my friend, because if we get our confidence to 10 out of 10, we will kill it. If it's a one out of 10, we will not. So let's help us change that. Welcome, Doody. Thanks, Nina. What a great intro.
Nina Huchthausen (02:20.001)
I try my best, I try my best, you know, there's so much more to share about you. But I would like you to do that. So my very first question to you, Georgie, who are you really? What's your story? Who's this wonderful human with a beautiful headscarf? Wow, that's a big question. Who am I really? Well, I'm...
I'm always changing really, just sort of taking each day as it comes. I think, yeah, it's been, the last couple of years has been a very different journey for me, having my daughter who's now three, I took a couple of years off after starting mindful foods 10 years ago now, actually, I think it's 11 years ago now. I was really, for that time, from the conception of mindful foods,
really like passion driven, so much energy in my 20s, like getting out there, just almost boundless energy for this passion that I had to share delicious, organic, healthy food that was transforming my relationship with food because I realized I couldn't continue to eat the way that I was and the things that I was buying were making me feel
Honestly, sick, actually, actually sick. it's a big question, who is this woman? Yeah, there's been a massive shift. And I feel like in the last couple of years, particularly with my daughter, I've changed a lot. I've gone more inside and introverted. And my energy levels have been conserving what I have left after.
keeping this little human alive and well and happy. And I just feel now, three years later, like I have more to give and I'm ready to sort of reach out and not just survive, but actually thrive and have more joy and more adventure and more experience in my life. Again, because I know that that's possible within me. I know that
Nina Huchthausen (04:41.463)
feeling passionate about something, a project. Obviously having a child is a project, but I'm ready again. And of course I'll continue to weave between motherhood and passion projects, but yeah, I'm in a very different place today than six months ago and very different place today as I was 10 years ago or five years ago. Did you?
I mean, it's crazy, hey, when I think before having a child because, know, my baby, Tio, he's almost three. Yeah. So I so get you. But isn't it crazy? Like, I don't know about you, but before I had kids and like, people were telling me like, they're like two years into their mother's motherhood journey. And they're like, I'm just coming up for air that they're like.
What are you talking about? Surely it doesn't take two years to adjust and you know, like what about your own life and like all these stories and you only know what you're talking, we only know what you're talking about when you have gone or going through that journey that it is so normal for
when we enter motherhood or parenthood or fatherhood you know that you are like
For the first few years, you're like, my fucking God, like, yes, my life is different. No matter how much we were kind of like saying before we had children, no, no, I'm not going to be one of those people that say, you know, your life is going to be completely different, you know, preserve what you got, blah, blah, blah, all these statements that you're like, that's just bullshit. But I was talking to my to my partner, Adam, a couple of days ago, and we're like,
Nina Huchthausen (06:47.285)
It's really true. know? it's really that journey of surrendering to that and accepting that and fully embracing it. Yeah, absolutely. And wearing that damn shirt of like, I'm a mom and I'm freaking proud. Yeah. Yeah. I'm cool with messy hair. And yes, I might have a stain, a weird chocolate stain on my butt.
It's my life. Yeah. Yeah. I'm I am just like I am so incredibly grateful that I slogged it and I worked hard in those years building the business so that I was able to take this time off because I don't think much else would have pulled me out of the business. I was so deep in it that yeah, I just
couldn't imagine leaving. felt like it was so reliant on me. know, was so, me and my business partner, James, were the core. You know, we had a big team of about 30 when I left, you know, having, knowing I was going to have Mila, I was like, I have to start to get more organized and get other people to learn this job, which was, which was the best thing. You know, it's a great thing to do that anyway, because often you think,
Well, no one's going to know it more in depth or maybe do it better than I. Not in every sense, of course, definitely. I realize a lot of people do the jobs better than I because they're fully focused on it they take ownership of it. But I'm just I'm so grateful that I did have the business. I started it when I was 25, 26. And I didn't know where it was going. Those first few years, I feel like I was just making ends meet. Like we were really just
you know, making it week to week and not knowing if we were going to survive. And when we popped over the five year mark, we were like, OK, we've made it this far. We're still not, you know, pulling, pulling an amazing profit or wage here and we're putting everything back into it. But somehow it paid off because I've been able to take off two years and be with my daughter. And I, I see other parents who juggle work.
Nina Huchthausen (09:13.277)
and having a six month old and hats off to them. I don't know how I would have done that. I see them thriving and like thriving in their own way, like also happy to get back and have a little bit of normal, like their old normality. But I personally don't think I would have managed it very well. You know, I see, I see Haley juggling and you know, she's full, her life is very full, but like hats off to her for giving that a damn good go.
and then actually succeeding and holding up her business. I'm a strong woman, but this time it's been, yeah, I've really needed to go inward and reduce my workload and my energy load. Thanks to past Jordi that she paved the way for this. But also, like,
It's, I'm honestly so glad that you allowed yourself to do it because I feel like I see so many women who are just like, I'm just going to battle through this and, and pull my kids behind me at the speed that I always used to go to or to go at. they now just got to conform.
We get up at seven, we leave the house by eight, we're going to be at Kinney by 8.30 and you're just like battling them along. Because of course they don't go at that time, that speed and then life can turn out pretty horrible. And I feel like I'm pretty, it's good. It's so good that you said no to that because you could have just stayed in the business and say, well, Mila, this is my life. You got to go at my speed.
you could have had, you could have done it. Whether that would have been any good for you at all or for her. But that's also an option that some people choose, right? Or have to choose. Yeah, of course, depending on your financial situation. And yeah, I had no idea how I would make it work. was like, how? I thought four months off would be good.
Nina Huchthausen (11:32.749)
Actually, I went back after four months and I was like, wow, this is, yeah, I can't give a lot here. yeah, so I'm grateful for that. And I also recognize those who need to get back to work and the struggle and the balance that they have to find to continue their professional life and...
I'm super grateful to be working with the Makers Business Tribe, how beautifully it can fit into my schedule and my daughter's schedule and the flexibility and working with these people who got the passion that I remember so dearly when I started Mindful Foods. And I love working with all the clients. It's just fantastic. It really lights me up.
In some ways, I'm like, wow, starting from the beginning, like, you know, but I remember the passion and the drive. And that's what has to get you through, particularly those first few years. Same with your business, my gosh. So when you, because you said it was 10 years ago. That's it.
good timeline, just even from a storytelling point of view, because you said the first five years was battling to get to base camp before you could then go go up. So what was what? How did you go through? Mindset wise, those first five years, what was it like? What is? What happened?
depends. Yeah, where we where we start there. I mean, it really was a passion of mine. I never intended to start a business in all honesty. I'm not sure if it's still recording. It's frozen on my side. Yeah, didn't intend to start a business at all. It really came from my own need of needing to
Nina Huchthausen (13:52.033)
go gluten free, change the sort of foods that I was eating. And I was sharing that and wanting to share that with friends and my community. Moving to Byron Bay was a really big one. I moved here 11 years ago. And really, you know, I wanted to get involved in the community. So I started at the Byron, it was actually called the Byron Co-op. It was a food.
You know where you go like bulk food and you're a member and you volunteer a couple of hours a week so you get really reasonably priced food and That's actually where it all started. It just started with me bringing a couple of bags of granola down to the Byron Co-op food market So it was very natural organic I wasn't Really set out to go. I'm gonna like do all this stuff It just came out naturally that I was staying up late and researching things and my partner James at the time
was he's a real science nerd and started getting excited by what I was researching and found out about activated foods. so initially, there's all this boom, boom, boom, like, wow, it's just beautifully unfolding. And then it was like, okay, we're getting to a point, we've got maybe 20 stockists and there's just myself and James and we need to take on a staff member. And my response was no.
I don't want to manage people actually. It will bring complications, like everyone brings all their stuff. Like I'm really happy doing this, but I don't want to manage people. was the push from... It's pretty much every business owner. Yeah, this is like, yeah, okay. Yeah. And so I was pretty against it until...
until just one day I rocked up to work and this lovely guy Luke was out the back just in his shorts. It was like boiling hot, scrubbing all our tubs. And I was like, who's this guy? And my business partner was like, it's Luke. He's come to help with the cleaning. I'm like, that's cool. That's all right. Yeah. I can deal with that. That's fantastic. And I was so grateful. I remember being out there saying like, thank you, Luke. so
Nina Huchthausen (16:12.941)
So I got a little bit of a push to grow initially and the burden of all the cleaning, because I was the clean one. So I was doing all the cleaning. So think James's way of inspiring us to grow was to actually help me and see that a staff member could actually help me. So I'm not staying up late. So that shifted my mindset a little bit already into going, hey, let's just keep this small. I like to be able to control everything.
You don't want to have to pay wages or you know, how can we afford to pay wages? But what it did is it you know, it freed me up to stop cleaning and get out and actually contact more people or you know, look at getting my labels, you know, printed or like all those little things and I just didn't have the time for. So that was the first little mindset shift because that was really against getting
employees. Yeah and sort of piece by piece you know we sort of took on one more here and there and we were really supported by the landowners. We were in a solar powered factory and they offered us, there was also a residence above it and they were so inspired by what we were doing that they gave us our rent
and our factory for $350 a week. So that was our accommodation and our business for $350 a week. It was like, wow, amazing. we soon out. So you lived there? We lived there, yeah. Above the factory, there was a residence, a one bedroom, little residence in Tiagra. Yeah, wow. If it wasn't for the, I suppose, support of Dita,
at Eagle Farm there who was also wanting to build a solar farm and saw these sort of young entrepreneurs trying to do a good thing. think he was like, he said, you can't afford any more rent than that. think he said, you can do 10 or 20 % of your revenue. You can pay in rent. So that's what I'm going to charge you. So we were very fortunate in that sense. And I think along the way, the passion that myself and James had,
Nina Huchthausen (18:34.463)
like what I experienced with the clients at MBT, like it's infectious and I want to support them and people wanted to support us because we, yeah, we had a vision and we were working pretty hard and loving what we were doing. So there was a, like I started to notice the world open up for me. I started to notice that even though I'm like, how could we afford this? How could all this happen? You know, how can we get staff?
and like accommodation. I don't know, the universe was like, here you go, you want this? Like you're driven, like here's a bit of help. So again, like I was just, wow, looking back, what a break that was. To be able to also feel that, you know what, I don't have everything figured out. I don't know where this is going, but as long as I keep focused and on the path.
Honestly, looking back, we were always OK. Our bank account went down to like 20 bucks and then up to like 4K. And then later on, it would go down to 100 bucks and up to 40K. Like in those first couple of years, I was stressed out about seeing our bank drop. And I was like, what are we going to do? How are we going to buy more ingredients? How are we going to pay our rent? And
I could just see that, you know, was in and out, cashflow in and out, and we didn't have a mentor. We sort of winged it, to be honest. We sort of winged it. Eventually we got some mentors, which was great. And we had our family and we had our friends all supporting us and edging us on. But yeah, anyway, what can I say? It just, after a while, I stopped worrying about seeing
the cash flow go up and down. And I knew I had this inbuilt sense of trust because the last couple of years it happened and we're okay. I'm like, you know what? We're going to be all right. It's going to, it's going to come in. And if things are slow, I know I've got the energy to get out there. You know, I know I've got a bit of a network and without having to try, I think through the stress, the challenges,
Nina Huchthausen (20:56.013)
something just shifted in me where I more trusting and accepting that, hey, if I'm on this path, I think I'm just going to go for it and not worry so much because I can spend all my night worrying about it. I can spend all my night worrying. It's not actually helping me. And that was a big shift. It's interesting, right? When at some point you feel like, wow,
I can see it, I can feel it, and I'm just gonna let myself be guided to the thing versus the fear of failing. Right? Because at the start, you're just like, worry, worry, worry, and you're like, fuck, are we gonna make you, there's always this like fear of failing, fear of failing. But when at some point it shifts to like,
can see where we are going. We are going somewhere. There's movement. Like, my gosh. So how long did that take? How long did that take from from surviving to trusting? Hmm. It probably took two years, I'd say, like two, two and a half years. But there was a bit of prayer in there as well, you know.
I remember we were living at this place called the Serene Earth Sanctuary and Premala, she was about 85 at the time, this yogi, old yogi. And every week I'd go in there with my $400 rent and I'd put it on Lakshmi and say, what was it? Om Mani Padme Om Lakshmi. I actually can't remember now, but I said it every week. It was like saying, thank you for the abundance and thank you for.
always supporting me. And I remember it was like a ritual because every week we went there and I had this $400 to pay our rent. was like, how? my gosh, I'm so grateful that we made it this week. You know, we were really on a shoestring. Like we had nothing. We didn't get any investors or support. Like I just remember it was like, thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Lakshmi for the abundance really. And
Nina Huchthausen (23:20.001)
You know, being in this community in Byron Bay, there is a lot of that. There is a lot of beautiful spiritual people who, and prayer and yoga and that sort of, there is that mindset already here of, know what, don't worry. Like you're being looked after, whether it's by a deity or like the universe or your family or your community. There's a sense of like, hey,
You're going to be OK. Just keep praying. Just keep saying thank you. And I can still see myself every week being like, did I come up with this $400? Early, early days. Early days were still in our kitchen, really. But how good is the story, right?
I started writing a post on this today because it's, mean, it's whatever you are at in your business or whatever you are trying to do, or even if you're just dreaming about starting a business is like really what it is, is massively getting out of your comfort zone. Number one and number two, you are actually creating something. You are creating it. It's not just when you're joining somebody else in their business.
You're helping out. Yes, you're working hard, but you got you don't have the stake in it. You're not. It's like you build this with your bare hands out of nothing. And for me, I'm always like, man, when I get to my last day, we all get to our last day at some point. this. Yeah. Everybody will be at their last day. Yeah.
What do I want to look back at? And what's this story that I want my babies to remember me for?
Nina Huchthausen (25:30.603)
Really, you know, because now we are writing this book chapter by chapter. Yeah, absolutely. I want to read your book already because there's some cool chapters. You know, I want to see which place you did the praying for. I would love to just go back and like watch this all, you know, because it's a story worth telling, reflecting on and kind of be like.
Damn girl, I did this. Versus playing it safe. Yes, the playing it safe doesn't give you the rollercoaster of emotions. Yeah. It doesn't give you the sleepless nights, the crying, the frustrations, the fears, all of it. But the playing it safe also will never make you feel this alive. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, that's yeah living on the edge like you said, you know Living on the edge of your comfort zone but not too not too far out that you can't function but just that's life really isn't it and Yeah, it's interesting because the last couple of years I feel I've been playing it really safe I've been in the comfort zone because I want to
keep my daughter safe and I want to be safe myself. And it's a very different place I've been in. had I not had the experience with mindful foods and that trust and like pushing the edge. And I don't know, like I guess I would be in a very different place now as to how I approach my life and what I'm going to do. So I'm sort of ready to take some more risks.
Like, but in a different way, you know, looking back, I absolutely, if I could start a business again, I would do it very differently. And it's almost like, wow, I can't believe I did that. And I got through that. Whoa. Like, whoa. What was, what was like, okay, cool. But now, now, now I want to know what was like the biggest, whoa, I can't believe I did that.
Nina Huchthausen (27:53.579)
Wow.
Yeah, what is it that I'm, what is it nailing it on the head?
just the, I just had no idea. Like I'd just never done anything like this before. I had zero experience in food manufacturing. mean, my business partner was very sciencey and a bit more into that sort of thing. We both were foodies and loved cooking. They're never on this level. And also, you know, I worked, I worked in restaurants and things throughout my whole life and always with customers.
but never putting myself out there in the way that I did. And it was frightening at first. It was like, I can't do that. I can't just show up and talk to someone and try and sell them something. that's, who am I to do that? And again, like encouragement from community, from friends, like, you've got to get this into the shop. Like, you've got to go see Sandos. You've got to go to Baz and Shaz. And I'm like,
Okay, okay. what, like that little push that I had by just showing up, and this is really relevant for me today because I, Mila woke up at like 3am screaming, like it doesn't happen much anymore. And then not woken up really early by like the piano next door and I was like, whoa, whoa, what's just going on? And I'm not feeling 100 % today. But
Nina Huchthausen (29:34.431)
I can still show up. And that's something that I learned through particularly the customer relationship side, like the sales side of my business, that at first I thought I needed to show up only when I was feeling 100%. You know, I'm like, I'm on today. I've had my coffee. I've gone for a run. Like I can do this. And that's like, I needed that to actually get past the self, the self doubt talk that was like, you can't do this, Georgie. But
After time and time again that I would go and cold visit or cold call people, you know, I realized, well, mainly because I had meetings booked, maybe four five meetings, and I felt like crap. I was like, I'm not going to cancel all these meetings. I just got to show up. And by showing up, I realized that, yeah, humans are empathic beings and they see me come in.
with my purpose, with my products, with all the backstory of what I've done to arrive here. And even if I'm not like pew, pew, pew, they merged where I was at in a way. We merged where each other were at. And it was beautiful. And I got sales. And I didn't have to be like this amazing, like buzzing sales rep.
to actually have success, I just had to show up and be authentic and be myself. And people would be like, she's really sweet. And other people would see me on my days where I'm feeling like, yeah, I got this and be like, wow, this is really fun. It was a different experience depending on how I showed up. Because also, the people that I go to see, they got to go to work. They're not necessarily feeling 100%.
They know what it's like to have to show up in the public and converse and talk products and all that. And so they probably had empathy for me going, I can see this girl. She's tired or she's feeling a bit flat today. I'm just going to give her a bit more space. Maybe actually I'm going to be a bit kinder to her. I'm not going to give her my questions today because I can see that she's not up for it. So yeah.
Nina Huchthausen (31:58.869)
You know, that was a really massive mindset shift for me when I realized I didn't have to be on my game to do well. is funny, right, when you use the word game though, because I just had a conversation with one of our clients before this podcast and
She's like shit scared right now talking to Stokas. It's like really now she's pitch ready. So we're ready to go. And she was like, man, Nina, I know now all this stuff, but you know, doing this very different thing that. But I kind of remembered her and what you know what I feel like I keep hearing from you is, mean, you're the master in this game and this is what you keep sharing in so many different stories is like really.
Number one, we are all just humans, yeah? We all just ventured through life. And if we remember that, that we are all scared and insecure a lot of the time. And a lot of the time we're not a 10 out of 10. A lot of the time we are all not. We're all just trying to wing the day. We're in the same freaking craziness both.
Yeah, yeah. If we're remembering that, is not we like, we don't need to wear masks and play games and be this persona, because who do we connect more at the end of the day? I'm super hero super person that you feel like that you know, or or a person with real emotions and who can speak from the heart.
Yeah. It's amazing now. Absolutely. And I don't know, that's what I feel like I keep learning from you through everything that you teach people and how you show up because it's the imperfection that makes a diamond much more beautiful and interesting than if it was just.
Nina Huchthausen (34:24.243)
Nothing to talk about. Yeah.
But the so when it comes to to that mindset.
As you said, you've developed it over time. How did you get to that space? It's probably not an end destination, right? It's a constant. But what?
How did you move from, can't do this to, I don't give a shit today and I operate on three hours sleep, but let's do it. Yeah. Well, thankfully I didn't often operate on three hours sleep back then. I know what you're saying. Yeah. Through the validation of what I was doing, through
through the interactions that did end up resulting in a collaboration. Even those who I wasn't approaching as a retailer, like even through the positive feedback I was getting from my friends, my family, other people in the community who knew what I was doing, it wasn't necessarily people I was selling to.
Nina Huchthausen (35:57.335)
There was that, there was definitely that. And that sort of like the dopamine hit. And I recall very, very clearly having a lot of highs and lows and at times feeling really low. Like I just wasn't getting anywhere. And I kept hearing no's and I would, I cried. I would have cried multiple times earlier. Just like, I can't do this.
And there also is a time when you can say, I can't do this today. so it's, sorry, I something, I got a cough.
Nina Huchthausen (36:57.069)
It's like a flies in there. Good.
Nina Huchthausen (37:07.565)
Yeah. So there were times when obviously I showed up as I was and there were times when I cancelled meetings or I, or I put down the phone for the rest of the day and I went and did something that was nourishing for me.
Nina Huchthausen (38:59.181)
All right. think I'm thinking I'm all right. We'll see. where we at? The mindset about at what points did that shift for me? You know, because you were saying sometimes you would cancel meetings and sometimes you would. Yeah.
It's been like, right, I need to do something nourishing for me. Yeah, exactly. So it's not black or white. it's about duality. Yes, you can go on and show up, but you can also say no. And you can also take your space. Part of the beauty of being a business owner is that you can decide.
You can decide if you can't show up. And so there were times when I did that and I was feeling so low that I just needed to go for a walk, into nature mainly. So for a bush walk, even just half an hour or an hour, go down to the beach, to the river and just replenish myself. Because at times I felt like I was putting so much out there and nothing was coming back.
And it was really disheartening. I have to say, mainly, those moments were not face to face. They were not if I had meetings and I showed up. My experience overall was that it was positive. I could show up and still do well. But it's more if I was on the phone or
in the warehouse or trying to manage something like, say, reaching out to stockists via phone particularly, even though it can be an effective way of, you know, of not having to show up all the time, but like face to face and all the energy that goes into that. It was often those days when I'm like, this isn't nourishing me. I'm not, I'm not doing anyone any favors here. I'm going to put the phone down and go look after myself. And that's why I really
Nina Huchthausen (41:24.863)
encourage, particularly at the beginning, to do those face-to-face meetings, you know, and not to try and do a lot on one day, like space them out, do one or two a day, do, you know, however many a week, because it's a very different space when you're in front of somebody rather than on the phone to somebody. It's like chalk and cheese, really.
Yeah, because on the phone, this is the thing, right?
It's much harsher interruption and I can't feel your friendly energy. Yeah, on the phone, it's like, it's very easy for me to just be like, sorry, I'm busy right now. Who are you? Right? You wouldn't do that when someone walks in and has some type of positive energy. I was about to say radiant, but we're not always radiant.
But when we have a positive aura around us, whether it's shining a 6 out of 10 or a 10 out 10, doesn't matter. We feel that first. It's very hard to transmit this energy over the phone for someone to feel that first before you say something. But when you walk into a store, they feel you first. Yes, absolutely.
Yeah, when we can give someone a good feeling when they walk into the room. Yeah, much more likely that they put down what they were doing to have a chat with you. Yeah, we'll be open for it or wanting to do it another time because we've given them the feeling. Yeah, that will be an amazing sales training if you could talk about how to.
Nina Huchthausen (43:24.449)
get your energy transmitted over the phone so they feel you already. That's probably very much next level, which we haven't figured out. It's such a good point, right? I'll give you one little tip there, which I found worked for me when I was doing a cold call to someone I hadn't spoken to before. I would call them
in the tone that they already knew me. And when you're cold probably. Yeah, in the way, especially that intro, like for example, as if they already knew you as if they already knew me. instead of saying, hi, my name is Georgie here from mindful foods. How are you? I would say, hey, it's Georgie from mindful foods. How you going?
And they're like, Georgie is friendly. Georgie from Mindful Foods, do I know her? How are you going? It's much more casual, like really casual. And people were like, hi. And in trying to think where they might know me from, that's how I imagined they would receive that. I don't know how they received it, but that worked for me. I didn't study any sort of, you know,
like psychology, I just noticed the way that after hundreds of calls and showing up, the response that I received when I spoke in certain ways and quite naturally it developed into, I'm just going to be as casual as possible and as friendly as possible. And then even, you know, yeah, when the manager would answer, I would say the same thing. And then I would
start to say, you know, actually, we haven't spoken before, or like, this is what I do. I'd love to work with you. And then so they realized quite quickly that they don't know me, but it was a real icebreaker. Instead of me sounding like a telemarketing where they're like, I definitely, you know, this is someone foreign to me. They're like, is this someone that I know? it's, it's very, it was very powerful. And by the end of
Nina Huchthausen (45:48.109)
of my time at Mindful Foods and the Byron Co-op, those cold calls, I loved them. They were like some of my favorite things to do. definitely very far from where I started, not my favorite thing to do. But because I understood the power of like how excited I was about developing a new relationship because I knew how rewarding it could be.
to change from being, I'm a burden or, I can't do this to excitement for like, my gosh, I've got an opportunity to meet this awesome new person and hear about what they do and work with them. Yeah. That's where I got to. And that's why by the end I had a huge, a very high hit rate with my, with my outreaches, I think probably seven or eight out of 10 in the end, which was
Yeah, I was happy with that. Not every store actually can take you on at that point. But it took a while to get there. And it took the mindset and the attitude shift to achieve those numbers. Yeah. Yeah. So really.
you in summary you dropped your guards you were like all right i'm just gonna be me and i remind myself well how about i talk to them as if i already know them i don't need to be guarded or overly formal but it's my friend already yeah it's my friend already and maybe we can really be friends maybe they really want to be friends and if they don't want to be friends just yet then
Maybe in the future, they might be ready for it. You have to share that with some of our clients who are just at this stage. Yeah. As a side note, remember to send them a voice note. I think because I'm just rattling down through names in my head, like, you can't need to tell them because this is so powerful. And that type of mindset.
Nina Huchthausen (48:03.341)
To me, think, because that's where I'm always, when I get very conscious or my confidence is lowered, I'm like, how would Georgie do this? Yeah, what is the approach? What is the way I can shift my tone, the way I can shift my body language, the way I can remind myself, what if we were already friends? How would I talk to them then? Yeah. Yeah? Yeah. Because it's...
Isn't it the weirdest thing when sometimes when we meet people and we're like, what's the first interaction and we're like, we're very formal and polite and shake hands. Why do we have to be different to a person that first interaction versus that second interaction? Because I relate everything back to how Teal does things. Yeah. My baby, he's not formal with his kindy friends.
They kind of like suss each other out a bit and then all of sudden they're best friends and give each other cuddles.
Yeah, it makes no sense that yes, we brought up we were brought up differently, but why are we changing that? Yeah. Yeah. To be guarded with each other. Because it doesn't create any more love or connection by being guarded first, or to formal first. It doesn't. It's so crazy that we're playing that game. We all do. We all do.
And that's why I love that you've been able to shift it for yourself. And I'm really hoping that because, I mean, we've been seeing it in the tribe, right? We have so many people who have been like the most been writing the most formal emails and been so formal and polite and structured on the phone and not having much luck to now just like being friends with everyone.
Nina Huchthausen (50:07.853)
and having much better results. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's like, that's it. There's a place which is, sometimes people go very formal and sometimes it's super, super cash. And probably because we want to make a good impression, when I cash is like, like,
swearing or just like not dressing you know nicely or not putting in an effort or like being disorganized that sort of thing is what I'm thinking about because there also is an element of like hey like I'm here and I respect you and and I respect myself and I'm showing up you know I'm feel good in how I dress and how I look I haven't just got out of bed and like got you know birds nesting my hair and ripped shorts things like that like
That happens. have first, I've seen this happen. And it's endearing, but it's like, who is this person? Who is this person selling me something? They look like they've just got out of bed. There's that side of it as well. That's the image which is probably too far, Because at the end of the day,
Who are we looking to make friends with, right? It's probably someone who looks and acts similar to us, not like complete super different either. Well, I'm not sure. I think definitely we can like, know, variety and differences, the spice of life and interactions, but it feels more like a respect, a self-respect and respect for the other.
Yeah, that's it's not as common though to be so relaxed and not care. It's like not caring versus over caring. I care, but I still am going to be as authentic as I can, you know, in this interaction. And you still have a process, right? You're not just like talking about
Nina Huchthausen (52:30.451)
meditation for 30 minutes before you even talk business or what you're here for. But I guess in a way that feels connecting versus I'm talking to a law firm assistant. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's the nerves that do it. I mean, I recall a couple of meetings I had like
that felt, wow, this is a big chain. This is a bigger break. I remember feeling so nervous. my goodness. And it was cute. It's cute that we're nervous. It means that we care. We care. And sometimes it's hard to break through those nerves. But just again, showing up and just being with the nerves. OK, I'm nervous. But once you start
talking, you're probably going to do an even better job because you've got all this energy inside of you that's like, want to do a good job. I want to do a good job. And then what you say is likely to come out really like, your passion is going to come out. There's so much in there. It's not like you're going to be going the other way and not having anything to say. I suppose some people might just freeze in those situations, but
being prepared and having your products, your catalog, having a bit of an idea about what you want to say, what you want to share, what you're willing to give and what you're not willing to give, I think is a big one. Part of that mindset of, I'm a burden or they're doing me a favor. You can often promise a lot of things that actually
you don't need to, or you don't have the time to, and therefore you can't fulfill. That's, I went on a bit of a tangent there, but that's another really big one. Instead of just saying, yes, yes, yes, to their requests, because you really want that client. I think having boundaries around, you know what, I can say yes to making this to you, but do I actually have the resources and time to create this?
Nina Huchthausen (54:51.499)
And is it going to add a lot of value to my business? Is there something else I can offer them? Can I say, no, I'm sorry, I can't. Like that's the, that's the respect as well. It's not about giving it all. So self-respect and understanding that you and your time and energy is important and valued as well as theirs, you know, is a, is a big one to overcome. Yeah.
or saying, like, let me think about that, you know, I'll get back to you. Yeah. Yeah. He said at the end of the day, like we were trying to find partners, right? Like partners who can help, who can help us and that we can help because we are helping them without our products, they wouldn't be able to sell anything without our products. They still would be empty. Yeah. Right.
So they are always looking and trying to find partners that can supply them with really great products. It could be the other way too. They could also be like, my gosh, I don't want to be a burden to all these makers because they're really busy and you just ask them about more about the product or want to learn a bit more. They might also probably have those reservations to making another call. But it's like,
We're both in a symbiotic relationship here. They help you to get your product out because you can't be here and there and everywhere at the same time. But they also really need you because if they don't have good product in their shelves, nobody's going to visit the store. Nobody wants to hang out there. Nobody wants to buy anything. absolutely.
So it's really important to be like, cool, okay, well, we're creating some periodic relationships here. And as part of that, the clearer I am what I can bring to the table and what I'm looking to ask to receive at this table. I'll be also helps a lot with confidence versus if we don't know that yet, if we don't know yet what we can bring or what we want to bring, if we already have.
Nina Huchthausen (57:06.985)
worry about their questions because we believe we can't answer them, then it might maybe also be a good time to be like, well, let's sit down and figure out what my answer can be. Because that can also massively fuel my confidence. Or what my answer can't Right? Because what you were saying about the boundary setting, if we haven't decided yet whether we can do, say, a social post every week, we haven't made up our mind. And then they ask us.
And we just say, yes, yes, of course I can do it. Then we leave, like, my gosh, no, I promise this. I don't even know how can do it. Yeah, totally. Will impact us negatively versus if we've done the homework and feel like, no, this is not what I can do, but I can do one a month. Yeah. You know? Exactly. Can make a big difference too.
so I'm just watching the time and I know we've delved into this mindset topic a lot and I know there's so much more that you can share, but I was super curious as my last question. What is your number one tip for any moms, any female business owners, any first time business owners out there that is right now
just at the cost of getting their product to the masses? What's your number one tip for them to follow to win this mindset battle nerve game? Yeah, it's good question. I probably have a few tips there. one is really just to get out there and have the conversations and get that real-time feedback.
from the sort of stores and all places that you want to work with that you feel excited about working with and just start developing some relationships and no doubt you'll come up with things people you know they'll they'll say things or ask things of you that you're like my gosh like I don't know that that's that's big it feels like wow this is businessy or something whatever but just to start getting
Nina Huchthausen (59:29.993)
experience with that relationship building and getting comfortable there. Because whether or not, I mean, look, if I was to start another business today, there was a product business, I would go around to all my local stores and have those conversations. But I would be likely to build a distributor margin into my product.
because I don't have the time energy that I used to have. I have a dependent and I can't be traveling around Australia for months on end, for weeks on end. And, but I would need to know how to sell my product. And I would still like those, those relationships, particularly the ones in your community are so nourishing and give you a sense of home and like greater,
the greater involvement in your community. know, even the other day I went down to the beach at Suffolk Park and I stopped by the IGA and one of the owners or one of the managers there said, are you bringing Georgie from Mindful Foods? And I was like, yeah. He's like, yeah, we worked together just before you sort of left the business. And we only working together for six months or something, but I felt really touched that he remembered me and that, you know, I was,
Yeah, I was like, that's cool. It felt like another life ago, actually. But I do remember the feeling of like a deeper sense of community wherever I went, particularly in my own hometown. But what I loved was that when I did travel, I had that sense of community in other states, like in Melbourne, in Sydney, in Adelaide. I was like, I've got community everywhere now.
think that as a mom, that is hard to go and bury yourself around the country because a lot of people can't. But the satisfaction of still nourishing those relationships is sort of what made it all worthwhile for me. And that's why I ended up in that area. So I wouldn't want to give that away straight away. I would work with a distributor, but I wouldn't want to give it away straight away because
Nina Huchthausen (01:01:58.059)
That's what I loved. And also, the feedback that you get from your local community is quite reflective of what other people across Australia or the world are thinking about your product. So even though you don't have to be traveling around the whole wherever, the whole country, you can still get real time live feedback from those close to you.
and then make changes that will likely benefit, you know, be solving the issue that other people in other areas are experiencing with your product. So that's what I would do. I'd keep it local for myself and manage that myself. And I would make sure that whatever product I created, I put in a distributor margin and work closely with a small local distributor in my area.
to get it out. Yeah, to get it out there. Yeah. Because I can't get my energy. Which really means find a team. Allow yourself to find a team. And also, you know, because that's where it comes back to. It's all of this stuff is such a team sport. Yeah. And you don't try and do it by yourself. I think that's so important.
Yeah, like how on hell can you just travel the country all by yourself, manage all of this by yourself? No. But the distributed margin is a really good tip because that's where the rubber hits the road. If you haven't incorporated that and you can't build a team because the margin is so slim and you to sell five million product in order to be able to hire your first person, that's when things get tough. And that's where I think we need to put on our business hat from day one to make sure. Because if we want to turn it
a passion into a business, we need to make sure we have the margin in there. Awesome. Well, Georgie, I know we could keep talking for hours, but we're running out of time. And I just want to thank you, thank you, thank you. We finally did our first, hopefully, of many, many podcasts. So keep your brains and your stories and all the different topics that there is in the world of product.
Nina Huchthausen (01:04:22.479)
business and health consciousness and following your mission and bringing it out and making a positive change. Thank you so much for your time, Georgie. It was amazing. I learned so much from your wisdom. And yeah, we, we chat next week. Thank you, Nina. My pleasure. Really lovely to chat with you as well. Thank you for encouraging me to, to show up.
