Brave Mums Building Empires

A mother of multiples, an unfair employment dismissal (due to pregnancy), former successful teachers turned biz owners and hobbyists turned into savvy and successful female entrepreneurs – these are just some of the interesting stories behind the 8 finalists in the running for the Pack & Send Small Business Logistics Grant.

It’s no surprise that I am a cheerleader of bizmums and women who are brave enough to ignite their entrepreneurial spark. So when I discovered 7 of the 8 finalists are Mums, I had to check them out! Turns out, several of them are part of our Mums With Hustle community!
 
FYI, Pack & Send is Australia’s leading parcel courier and freight reseller delivering choice, convenience and customised solutions for businesses, retailers and consumers when sending and receiving goods anywhere, saving them time, trouble and money. In a nutshell, they take away the pain of you having to lug your goods down to the post office (sometimes with your kids in tow!), so that you can get your hustle on and #GetSh!tDone.
Entries were judged by a panel of industry experts, including Hannah Staples, co-founder of Peppermint Grove Australia; Kellie Rakich and Alexandra Lyons, co-founders of Ankalia Textiles; Michael Paul, CEO of Pack & Send; and David Scicluna, Pack & Send Franchisee of the Year 2016.
 
Don't worry if this is the first you've heard about these awards and the Grant because 2017 marks the first year for the Small Business Logistics Grant, which was established by Pack & Send to recognise the important role of the small business sector in the Australian market #GoPackAndSend!

“We understand the challenges small business owners face; the Pack & Send Small Business Logistics Grant allows one lucky small business to put their logistics needs in our hands, and instead invest that time and effort on growing their business, both domestically and internationally.”

I spoke with Jared Dawson, Marketing Manager for Pack & Send International and he explained that the Grant was open to all small biz owners, not just female entrepreneurs but that out of the 130 applicants, the final 8 just happened to all be women. Go ladies!! A sign of the times perhaps?

As Jared put it, “The cream always rises to the top”.
So, who are these finalists? Do you recognise any of them from either; using their service, purchasing their product, working alongside them in collaboration or engaging with their brand via socials?

Meet the mothers behind the successful brands

Charlene Maney, used the power of e-commerce and online marketing to bring in six figures of annual sales from her online store, Fleurieu Gifts, selling eco-friendly alternatives to cut flowers.

Rachel March, who turned an unfair employment dismissal (due to her pregnancy) into a successful online vintage store and collaborative creative platform known as Tuesday Vintage.

Kristen Berriman, successfully created an online business selling a line of Australian-made 100% organic skin care after inventing her own products for herself and her son. BasiK Organics range has been extremely effective at easing a variety of skin conditions including nappy rash, eczema, dry skin, rashes and dermatitis.

Annalise Skaroupka, of Print And Party, turned her love of planning parties into a fortuitous e-commerce business by stumbling across a lucrative niche market. Click here to listen to a podcast interview I recorded with Annalise one year ago, where she shares how she hustles as a bizmum.

Ally Mahoney, owner of the fashion label Minouche, has successfully created an international customer base and online following through her line of vintage-design, natural and ethical clothing for babies and little girls.

Olivia Anderson, is the creative mind and businesswoman behind the Twincredible Feeding Pillow – the product giving parents with multiples a helping hand at one of the most important (beautiful/stressful/busy!) times of their lives.

Tash Kritter, a former teacher, turned entrepreneur, started Little Wooden Toybox, a wooden toy business that contributes to the early development of children across Australia.

Congratulations to the above finalists! I love a good success story and I look forward to attending the Awards next Thursday 23rd March at a cocktail event at the beautiful QT Sydney.

If you’ve been fortunate enough to work with these ladies either as a customer, client or as a collaboration partner, share this post or comment below to send them some good vibes! I’m sure they will more than appreciate your support.

To listen to the inspiring startup stories of mothers who have taken the leap into entrepreneurship and started their own passion based biz, listen to our Mums With Hustle Podcast. Episodes are released weekly but be warned #AddictionIsLikely
You can listen via our website or through iTunes (Download ahead of time so you can listen anywhere without sucking up your data), or android lovers can find us on Stitcher.