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Lifestyle SELF-STARTERS $
forjamMONEY
You don’t have to have an MBA to become a successful entrepreneur,
nor do you need to be in a metropolis. Nicola Field speaks to four women
who have turned their personal passions into fun and
financially rewarding cottage industries.
F
or Italian-born Laura
Macolino, a love of fresh
food and cooking is a family
tradition. Yet it wasn’t until
five years ago, when friends insisted
she sell her home-made jams at the
local farmers’ market, that Laura felt
she could be onto something special.
From day one, Laura took
a business- like approach. She
registered with the NSW Food
Authority, researched the legal
standards for food products
and organised a business name
– Laura’s Touch. Overnight,
the family home in the NSW
Hunter Valley hamlet of
Denman was transformed
into a small-scale jam factory,
where she experimented with
T
en years ago, Kate Mather
was a home-maker with three
young children looking for a
bit more in her life. Adding to
the challenge, Kate lives in Kangaroo
Valley, a picturesque hamlet on the
NSW South Coast, which has oodles
of charm, but not much in the way of
career opportunities.
The game changer came when Kate
visited a local pottery store. She noticed
essential oils for sale with oil burners,
but not promoted on their own. Seeing
a niche market, Kate told herself, “This
is something I could run with.”
Looking back, Kate says, “Initially,
I contacted oil wholesalers, but I soon
realised if my business was to be based
around essential oils, I needed to source
the highest quality pure oils and that
meant working with distillers directly.”
So Kate met distillers across the
country to find “oils that would really
evoke a sense of Australia”.
Like much of her journey as a small
business owner, Kate’s next step – to
arrange packaging and labelling –
happened organically.“I was attending
a local networking event where I met a
graphic designer. She and I worked
together on labelling and packaging
options, and eventually on my website.”
The next move was to find retail
outlets. Kate harnessed the power
of social media. “I used LinkedIn to
make contact with companies who
I felt could be potential wholesale
customers,” she says. “Websites like
Instagram and Pinterest were great for
growing the retail side, as it let me
pinpoint stores that would be interested
in the oils. Facebook has been valuable
as a source of customer testimonials.”
Online networking didn’t stop Kate
from building face-to-face customer
relationships and to this day she still
sells at local markets. The end result is
a thriving enterprise.“The business has
given me so much more than simply an
outlook for personal interest,” Kate says.
“It has also given my kids the opportunity
to see me working on something I’m
passionate about, which is important.”
Kate is now setting new goals for her
business, Gum Tree Lane Australia
(gumtreelaneaustralia.com).“The next
challenge is to move the business out of
my home and into a workshop. And I
plan to employ local mums to help with
packaging during busy periods – a way
of supporting my local community.” >
OWNER: Kate Mather
BUSINESS: ESSENTIAL OILS MAKER
OWNER:Laura Macolino
BUSINESS:JAM MAKER AND CAFE OWNER
ingredients, flavours, jars and even
label designs.
“I wanted to offer something really
different and exciting,” Laura says.“So
along with much-loved family recipes, I
pored over old cookbooks to rediscover
long forgotten medieval recipes.”The
result was an exotic menu of jams with
flavours such as Celery Bite and Sweet
Zucchini with Cognac.
Armed with about 500 jars of her
jam, Laura set up shop at the local
weekend markets and quickly enjoyed
sell-out success.
Her confidence boosted,
Laura began selling the jams
through local stores and cafes,
gradually expanding her line-up
to include focaccias, pastas and
sauces – all made in her kitchen.
In 2012, one of those cafes
was listed for sale and Laura
snapped it up.
Fast-forward three years and
Laura’s Touch jams and relishes
still take pride of place on the
shelves of her cafe in Denman –
now named Tartuca Espresso Bar.
Laura admits her journey
from jam-maker to cafe
proprietor has involved long
hours and lots of hard work,
but the key ingredient for her
success is passion. “I have
always been passionate about
cooking and it’s great to share
good food with my local
community,” she says.
KATE’S TIP
“Stay strategic
and remain
business-like.
I prepare annual
forecasts for
the business.”
LAURA’S TIP
“I have always
been passionate
about cooking and
it’s great to share
good food with my
local community.”

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BE INSPIRED
GOT A GREAT IDEA FOR
A NEW BUSINESS?
The federal government’s online
business portal, business.gov.au,
is packed with useful information
for budding entrepreneurs, including
tips on turning a hobby into a
thriving enterprise.
A
trip to South America five
years ago turned out to be a
life-changer for Julie Brett.
From Dee Why in Sydney,
she had studied fashion design at TAFE
and began her career designing swimwear
for a retail fashion label. Yet she became
disillusioned with the 9-5 lifestyle and
switched to the hospitality industry,
where she worked for seven years.
Yet the local craft markets in South
America rekindled her passion for design
and a desire for a more relaxed way of
life.“I came across beautiful handicrafts
in the markets of Argentina – necklaces
using macramé and other crafts using
polymer and apoxie clays,”she says.“It
reignited my creative spark, but it wasn’t
just the jewellery that inspired me. I saw
people making their handicrafts and
hanging out together, and it was the sort
of lifestyle I could imagine for myself.”
It wasn’t until Julie became pregnant
with son Lugh (now aged three) that
she left the hospitality industry and
began developing her own style of
jewellery, first just as a hobby.
Drawing on her design skills, Julie
also studied videos showing jewellery
craftspeople at work and she began
sculpting figures using polymer clay.
After experimenting, Julie now favours
apoxie clay – a type of putty commonly
used by sculptors.
“By combining sculpted designs with
gemstones and crystals, I was able to
make amulets inspired by what I had
seen in South America combined with
the beauty of nature,” she says.
Julie began posting photos of her
jewellery on social media and when
friends asked to buy the pieces, the
beginnings of her business were formed.
The internet has proved instrumental
to Julie’s success. She even used the
American spelling of “jewelry” in her
business name – Forest Spirit Jewelry
(forestspiritjewelry.com) – to capture
global online searches.
L
isa Norris’ handcrafted soap
business began as a hobby
several years ago. “I wanted to
sidestep the commercialisation
of Christmas and offer friends and
family gifts I had made myself, so I tried
my hand at soap-making,” she says.
The attraction was instant.
“There’s something very satisfying
about the alchemy involved – the
magical process of mixing oils and
alkalis to produce these amazing
soaps,” Lisa explains.
Within six months of starting her
new hobby, Lisa was confident enough
in her soaps to post a few photos
online. It proved a turning point –
and the start of her cottage industry.
“Friends started offering to buy my
soaps, so I started a Facebook page
dedicated to Kangaroo Apple Soap
Studio and the business has developed
a life of its own from there.”
Dividing her time between Sydney
and her rural retreat in Bigga in the
NSW Southern Tablelands, Lisa has
expanded her soap-making venture
through a combination of direct
selling at local markets and clever
use of social media.
OWNER: Julie Brett
BUSINESS:JEWELLERY
DESIGNER
“I tried selling at markets, but it
wasn’t as successful as selling online,”
she says. “Each piece I make is hand-
crafted,with an individual meaning.Social
media allows me to connect to customers
on a more personal level so each piece
of jewellery matches the buyer.”
Today, Julie believes she has a
wonderful work/life balance. Lugh
heads off to daycare a few days each
week, giving Julie a chance to focus on
the business. “I have a lot of flexibility
with the business. It can be unpredictable
at times and I have to work when the
business demands it, especially if a large
number of orders come in. But there’s
still plenty of time to enjoy being a mum
and watch Lugh grow up,” she says.
“For me, success came by appealing
to a niche market that I share interests
with. Social media is a great tool that
lets you connect and develop strong
relationships with your customers,
which is also personally rewarding.” #
OWNER: Lisa Norris
BUSINESS:SOAP MAKER “Successful online selling calls for
an understanding of how social media
works and what your key market is
looking for,” she says. “I use hashtags
and key words that resonate with the
sort of people likely to buy natural
soaps. One of my most popular online
product lines, for instance, is vegan
soap, which is entirely free of animal-
based ingredients. By contrast, when
I sell at markets, people tend to select
soaps based on their fragrance.”
While soap-making is keeping Lisa
busy, she never regards it as “work”.
“It’s a passion for me and I like to
think that each block of soap has
a healthy dose of my passion as its
special ingredient,” she says, laughing.
LISA’S TIP
“Have confidence
in your product. If
friends love it, it’s
likely others will,
too. Don’t be afraid
to put it out there.”
JULIE’S TIP
“Don’t be afraid
to start small and
let the business
grow organically.
There are plenty
of opportunities
to learn along
the way.”