Episode 208: Giving your passion a go and how sharing your ideas and problems with other people often creates the solution with Bianca Lambert of Capra Designs
When you share your ideas, they come to life. In today's episode, Fiona talks to Bianca Lambert of Capra Designs about her journey, tips and so much more. They also talk about how Bianca left a full-time, stable job to start her own business. Tune in!
Topics discussed in this episode:
Introduction
On Capra Designs
How COVID affected the business
On leaving her full-time stable job of 15 years
On outsourcing
Bianca's recommendations
On tools & subscriptions
Conclusion
Get in touch with My Daily Business Coach
Resources and Recommendations mentioned in this episode:
It's just something I always wanted for myself. I worked so hard in all of my marketing roles. I would take work home. I would take on every project as if it was for my own business that I knew. If I could put that much effort into someone else's business or into another company, I could put that effort into business and grow something that I loved and create the culture that I want to create and I suppose a flexible life as well.
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Hello and welcome to episode 208 of the My Daily Business Coach podcast. If you're wondering why I'm sounding particularly husky, and sensual it's because I have laryngitis, which is not such a great thing to have when you run a podcast, but no worries. I won't sound like this the whole way through, because today it is a small business interview and it's an interview that is recorded. Not too long ago, a couple of weeks ago now with an amazing small business owner. But before we get stuck into that, I wanted to acknowledge the traditional owners and custodians on the beautiful land on which I live and record this podcast. That is the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. And I pay my respects to their elders, past, present, and emerging, and acknowledge that sovereignty has never been ceded. And as a small business owner, I pledge to work in ways that really do aid in creating true equality for our first nations people and for all people.
The second thing I wanted to mention before we get stuck into today is a great small business interview with just, such a lovely person, that group coaching will kick off again in July. Now, if you are listening to these and you're thinking, I'd love to do some one-on-one coaching. That's awesome. However, you won't be able to book in for that until at least September. So if you are keen to work with me before then I would definitely recommend checking out group coaching. It's a 12-month program. And within that, we go through every single part of your business and you're together with not just me, but you're also getting feedback from nine other incredible small business owners. We always have a range of people in there. People just starting out through to people years and years in, and that's because I think everyone can learn from everyone else. And quite often the people that are just starting out have actually had a career before that, or they have had another business and they're bringing so much wealth and information as well. So there is an application process for that. If you wanna find out all the information and apply, you can do that at mydailybusinesscoach.com/group coaching. And of course, we'll link to that in the show notes as well, but let's get on with today's episode.
So today it's my absolute pleasure to bring you an interview that I did just recently with Bianca Lambert, who is the founder of Capra Designs. And Capra Designs for those who don't know is this beautiful homeware and lifestyle brand. And really it was born out of Bianca and her partner Tom's love for plants. They were obsessed with plants, and loved plants, but couldn't find the right kind of plant holders or planters to use that that not only, did the job and were functional and long-lasting and durable, but also looked good. And so of course, Bianca being Bianca because as you'll hear in this interview, she's just very, she's a lot of initiative. She's very determined. And so she started making them herself and then she got to the point where she just couldn't keep up with the demand herself. And so she had to look for manufacturing partners.
And in this interview, we talk about like, what did that look like? How do you go from sort of making them yourself, making them put friends and family creating a business, this is a fully-fledged business and I'm gonna go overseas and find somebody that is going to help me bring this to life on a bigger scale. And so that's exactly what Bianca has done, and it is incredible how much she has grown this business and predominantly grown that off her own initiative. So not just finding an incredible ethical supplier, but also, pitching out to us stockers from Australia, getting her stuff all over the world, being in media, getting brand videos, like doing so much. And I think there's an incredible amount to learn from Bianca's journey and from Bianca herself. And it's again, so happy that she said yes to coming onto the podcast, but also just in that idea that like, just try it, just give it a go.
I think that is a backbone of Bianca's personality. Like, let's give it a go. Let's see what happens in this interview. We also talk about what it was like for Bianca to leave a full-time, stable job and start something in the product world. So Bianca had been working in marketing prior to that and had a long career in that space and could have easily stayed in that space. But instead, she chose to follow her passion and create a product that is not only beautiful but is also creating a whole business for her family as well. So it was my absolute pleasure to talk to Bianca. If you are thinking about starting a product-based business, if you have one and potentially maybe wanna go overseas with it or get more media or get bigger clients or bigger stockers, this is something that you'll want to listen to.
So maybe pause it, go get your notebook and come back. Cuz Bianca offers so many gems. And if you don't already know Capra Designs, make sure that you are following them. You can find all their beautiful products over at capradesigns.com or you can find them on Instagram @capradesigns with an S, Capra Designs so for now relax, whether you are walking at the gym in the car, whatever it is because there's gonna be so many ideas that pop into your mind after listening to this interview. Thank you again, Bianca, for coming on. And here is my interview with Bianca Lambert, the founder of Capra Designs.
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Hello, Bianca. Welcome to the podcast.
Hello. Thank you for having me.
I'm so excited. And I wanted to ask, as I ask everyone, how are you feeling today? And also, can you tell us where you are chatting with me from?
I'm chatting from my office. It's my home office. It's the first time I had an office. So it's really nice. I'm here in Balnarring Beach.
Lovely Balnarring. It's such a beautiful area. Balnarring Beach. Do you get to the beach often?
I do. I like to go for walks on the beach. Very cliche.
My sister lives near the beach. That's her like ultimate thing is to go for a walk every evening. I mean, you're next to it. So why not?
Yeah.
And then I'd love to know. I talked about it a little bit in the intro just now. And lots of people are well aware of your business, but can you tell us a bit about what is Capra Designs like why and when did you start it, and kind of what's the main purpose behind the business?
Sure. So where boutique, we're a boutique homewares company. We specialize in plant wear. All of our products are made out of rein. We started in 2015. I used to hand-make every single pop that I made in our backyard, in our breading flat, and within about a year, I've kind of out through that process and had to outsource the manufacturing. And now we've grown to the point that we're in Australia, the US, the UK New Zealand, but we're still a really tiny company. So I'm the only one who works full time in the business. And then my partner works part-time and then we have another employee that works part-time.
I love how you say that. So casually, like all over the world, and within a year you get manufacturing onboard that’s amazing. Why is it called Capra Designs?
Capra is my mother's maiden name and I have an Italian heritage my grandparents only had daughters and I really wanted the name to live on. So I always yeah. Wanted to name my business Capra.
I love that so much. And so I'll get into in a minute, like how did you go from making it by hand to finding a manufacturer, to getting overseas to all these things that you just so casually mentioned there, but I wanted to ask because we're not out of the pandemic by any means, but being 2022, we're not in the thick of all of the craziness in the first two years of it, but I'd love to know, how has the pandemic kind of impact your business, but also your life. Cuz I think you had some changes over the last few years with the pandemic as well.
So I mean the pandemic's still affecting our lives, isn't it? I just got out of isolation on Friday. So, even spending seven days in isolation makes you realize we're still in the middle of it. But as far as business goes, it was a really difficult time. Our manufacturer actually had to shut down for three months, they're located in Vietnam and they went into a really tough lockdown and lots of manufacturers in Vietnam actually shut their workers within the factory, how they could continue working. It was quite devastating to see some of the videos and workers trying to escape. And so I was really proud to be with a manufacturer that chose to shut down despite the fact that that was gonna be really difficult on their business as well as everyone else's I could really respect that decision. So I suppose that was the first way I dealt with what was going to be a really difficult period. So we didn't really have product over Christmas last year, but we just communicated with everyone who had made, pre-orders and made sure that we really kept everyone up to date at all times and took pre-orders so that we still had cash flow going. But yeah, it was, it was pretty stressful. And then we did move house during the pandemic as well, which was, I suppose something to look forward to in a change of scenery.
You moved, cause you just mentioned before you were at the beach, so I'm guessing you just moved, not just moved, but you moved to the beach kind of area.
We did. So we just moved from Flinders to Balnarring. So it was a short move. We'd moved to Flinders about four years ago I was warehousing or we still do warehouse at my father-in-law's warehouse. So I was driving back and forth every week to rose in order to dispatch goods. So now we're nice and close to the warehouse. We're close to the beach. It kind of gives us a bit more balance.
Oh my goodness. And I love also that you're mentioning these places and for people outside of Victoria or Australia, all of those are they classified? I don't wanna say the wrong thing. Are they all regional? They're not rural. They're like regional areas rose by a suburb. Maybe it is because it's just grown and grown and grown. But back in the day, it was like a beach town, as a holiday destination
Throughout the pandemic. We really wanted to be regional because we are considered to be great in Melbourne. We got locked down with the best of everyone.
Because my sister lives in the Gippsland area, they were definitely in regional. That's so bad. I thought that was part of the perk of living where you live. You didn't have to go through as severe.
I think we were lucky in that we had access to walk around without seeing anyone that's probably the perk.
Amazing. And so wow. That pandemic story about the factory. I didn't see those things. That sounds awful, but it's also on the flip side like when you said, I love that we are working with people who align with our values and are not gonna do that sort of stuff, regardless of the fact that it's gonna impact their business. And so how did you stay in touch with those manufacturers whilst the pandemic? Did they just shut down? And it was like, okay, all correspondence has gone or were they like, we can still do whatever we can do on email to help you.
No, we still kept in contact the whole time. So they were working from home and I was probably, even though they weren't manufacturing, I was in such close contact with them because I wanted to know how they were doing. I also wanted to know when manufacturing was happening again as well, but I wasn't trying to put that pressure on them because I knew it was what it was, but we used WhatsApp to communicate. So pretty much daily between my account manager and one of the owners, we just kind of chat, like seeing how each other were and if there were any updates and yeah. How we could manage it when, when they did open back up. So we had a plan in place for how our manufacturing would unfold before it even happened. So there were heats of communication.
I love that. And also I love just, I know I keep saying this, but you're so chilled and down to earth, and I know you may not feel you are but you always are.
I never feel chilled, but I love that.
Well, take it. And be like, I'm totally chilled, but you are such a powerhouse. And I feel like you are just one of those people that you would meet at a dinner party or you'd meet at the school gates or whatever. And you'd be like, they're just so down to earth. And I wonder what they do. And then you tell them your business story and they're just blown away by how much you have achieved in such a relatively short amount of time. And also not being in this industry because you originally started or the job that you left to start your business, I believe was in marketing and in a big kind organization. Is that correct?
Yeah. I worked in marketing for 15 years and I went on maternity leave. I had actually started a number of different businesses prior to Capra Designs. I just loved making things and was always crafting and wondering if it would work and I would put it out into the world and the feedback was often, no, it won't work. And so I'd keep it my day job. But with this, I suppose I really put it out there at the right time. And I had the right product and the feedback was that it was going to work. And so I quit my job in the middle of my maternity leave and it was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I know that in front of me, I no longer had a steady income and I no longer had anything to fall back on. I could have waited out my entire year of maternity leave, but I really wanted to remove that as a fallback and as pressure and just be able to focus on this business. So it was exciting.
So brave to finish in the middle of maternity, as you said, you could have just kept going and been like, let me just sort of trial and have a look at this and then I can always go back. If it doesn't work, I think that's huge to be able to go. I really wanted to commit to this. And so I'm kind of putting you on the spot here, but when you said before I was crafty and I liked making things, how did that come about? Were you from a family where you were like, well, they've all got their own business, so it's not such a random thing to like quit this stable job and start something? Or was it just within you that like, I'm gonna give this a go. Like, where did that confidence come to, to just go for it?
I'd always been so passionate about art craft performing. So even in marketing, I wouldn't take on a marketing role unless it was in visual or performing arts. And I suppose my whole life I'd been making things. My mother and my grandmother taught me how to sew. And my mom was always doing whatever bad craft came up, but my parents both held down were employees and how down stable jobs. And I think that's what they really wanted for their children. But it so happens that me, my brother, and my sister all own their own businesses so there must be something in our upbringing that actually did point us in that direction. But I don't know, it's just something I always wanted for myself. I worked so hard in all of my marketing roles. I would take work home. I would take on every project as if it was for my own business, that I knew if I could put that much effort into someone else's business or into another company, I could put that effort into my own business and grow something that I loved and create the culture that I want to create and I suppose a flexible life as well.
I love that. And I just know that somebody is listening to this right now feeling like ping, ping, ping, all the ideas have gone off because you're so right. And I've never looked at it. Like I also worked in marketing for a similar time period to you. And I never looked at it, I looked at it as like, I'm a bit entrepreneurial, but I didn't look at it as like if I'm doing that in somebody else's job. Imagine what I could do if it was actually my stuff that I was really excited about. So I think that's such an amazing point that you brought up. And I also think just having known you a bit, you're a naturally very curious person and I feel like curious people also tend to be creative by nature, and then creativity can really feel like a small business. So I feel like probably it's also just in you, in addition to, however you grew up with your great parents who are obviously quite supportive if all three of you have started your own business.
Yes.
And are those businesses complimentary to you?
No, they're not at all. I mean, so my sister is my twin sister strong. Couldn't be more different.
Are you identical twins? Like, do you look the same?
We're not identical. No. We both happen to fall into marketing and she does events, whether it's health and wellbeing talks. She creates content for corporate buildings and whereas my brother's business, he is an electrician. So all extremely different. And I'm probably the only one who has such a strong passion for design and creativity.
I love this. And do you talk about business? Sorry. I'm like prying into your personal life here, but like at barbecues, they're all three of you talk about business ideas. Does your brother go, I've got two sisters who have got a huge amount of marketing experience. They can market my electrician business.
There have definitely been times with our brother that we've kind of helped out here and there that my sister and I talked regularly a lot about how difficult small business can be and supporting ourselves through those struggles or supporting each other, rather through those struggles of, it's quite isolating. So being able to hop on a phone call and say, I'm not feeling it today, or just discuss the ins and outs of how tough that can be to keep going.
And that perfectly leads to my next question, which is, you have had challenges. And even when you mentioned before with the manufacturing and anyone manufacturing in the last few years, it's just been really difficult. But despite that, you have kept going and I think partly cuz you just have such a passion for what you do and it comes across in your work and in your marketing and chatting to you about what you do. But of course like creativity and passion is one thing, but you also have to manage staff. You've had staff who are we're in Australia and are now moved overseas. You've got these supplier chain things, you've got stockers all over the world, as well as just doing the day-to-day marketing and business as usual brand stuff. How do you stay on top of it all? And it's amazing that you've got your sister as well, that you can call on, but when you just got to get through it, like how do you do all of that?
At first, it was definitely working 24/7, 7 days a week. I started the business with just $3,000 and grew it from there. So it was really about doing it all myself and managing my time as best as possible and actually letting some things go and, or doing some things and knowing that they're not 100% perfect by either releasing them into the world now or never release them into the world. And then as I've grown, I've been able to outsource a lot of things. So accounting bookkeeping, a lot of administrative tasks can be outsourced, even being able to outsource, set, making for photographs and things like that. And then outside of that list, I love a good list. So whether it's a list of ideas for the future or a list of things that need to be done for a project or a list of things to outsource, just having it all written down so that it's not in my head and weighing down my thoughts is I suppose how I get through it.
And I wanted to ask and I'll get to this as well later on in this cause I wanted to ask, are there, when you said writing a list, are you old school or do you use like a digital list?
I love Trello the list just to be able to dump it there and move it all around. But I am also super old school this year. I finally went back to keeping a diary. And it helps me immensely. I haven't missed a meeting this year. Whereas I used to miss meetings all the time and each day I kind of set three top tasks in the morning to get through and then I'll have a weekly list of goals as well. So every day I can open up to my seven-day calendar and I kind of know what I've got for the week and know what I've got for the day, which really helps.
Nice one. I am literally taking notes about what you're saying in an old-school diary right now. And I love like I am all about systems and processes and platforms and I think there are so many amazing ones, but I also think nothing beats, just a nice pen and paper, writing everything down, crossing it off. And the crossing off you mean we need can tick something off at digital list. It does not give you the same satisfaction as crossing it off with a pen. I don't think
It's so good. And the other thing I love is when it doesn't get crossed off, I just move it to the next week and I cross it off from the week before. So everything in my diary is crossed off if the time has passed, but it may have moved to the next week. So it still makes you feel you've achieved.
Yes. Sometimes I write things I've already done and I cross them off just so that I feel ahead of where I'm going.
Okay. That's a good tactic. I haven't done it. No
I'll often like, or I'll wait. I notice I wait and I'll be like, okay. I knew when to do it and when I can cross all three things off. So anyway, my own issues with inquiries. But I wanted to ask about, when you said you found a supplier and you were doing these things yourself and then you sourced a supplier because I think a lot of people, myself included would love to make their own products, but it can seem really hard or it can seem like, well I don't have any idea of where to start to find a manufacturer, especially overseas as well. So did you, did you have experience with say merchandise because you mentioned before that you were marketing in the performing arts in that space, did you already know places? Did you get an agent? I mean, how did it actually happen?
I never ever worked. I mean, besides being a retail person throughout uni days, I'd never worked with products before. Once I kind of grew to this point where I knew I couldn't keep up manufacturing and I knew I had to work in a different way. I sought out the mentor and I had this amazing mentor who kind of said to me, you can either keep doing what you're doing and you are already at capacity. So this is where you're gonna be, or you can outsource. And that was extremely daunting for me not knowing what I was doing. And I kind of turned to her. I said, but I dunno how to do that. And she's like, no one knows how to do it until they do it. So go do it. And that's kind of all I needed. And so I just really googled manufacturers and found kind of 15 wrote to them and showed them pictures of what I was making and asked them to create samples for me.
I think I had about five come back with samples they had made. And I could see in the pictures that only one of those manufacturers actually made the pots the way I wanted it made. So I'm very particular about the color being mixed into the resin, as opposed to it being painted on. And so there was only one manufacturer that really aligned with me. And so I hopped on a plane and I went and met them and I've been with them ever since. So I suppose there was nothing special to the process, but it can be quite daunting when you start.
Yeah. And getting on that plane, like that plane ride, did you like book a holiday in Vietnam at the same time? Were you like, well, if this doesn't work out, at least I'll have like a week at a resort or something, or did you just go, no, this is business and cuz that again, something that you mentioned very like lightly, but that's a huge thing to be like, I'm actually taking this so seriously that I'm going to part with this cash, buy an airline ticket, go overseas and like go and meet them in real life. I'm just wondering like, what were you thinking at that time, and did friends, family, and your partner say like, I'm fully supportive. This is already like, if you've proven it, cuz you are already doing it or were they like, that's a big step to take. Are you sure you need to take it? Which can sometimes be the feedback that I hear from people.
My partner, every single step I've ever taken is like, no worries. You can do that. Like you already doing it. I've definitely taken a lot of confidence from his confidence in me. I didn't make the holiday of it. It was completely a work trip. So I made it coincide with a trade event in Vietnam. So I could actually go and see other manufacturers, even if I didn't have meetings with other manufacturers. And then it also coincided with a fair in China. So I tacked on a trip to China at the end, which was maybe what pushed me over the edge. That was a massive culture shock. And I actually went into the trade fair and found knockoffs of my products. And I'd probably only been around for about a year and a half then. So that was kind really difficult to see. But when I got home, the wheels were in motion. I had a manufacturer out. I think the rest of history, it's such a great match.
And thank you also for saying about it was a bit of a shock when you went to the trade fair in China. I have seen some videos from two of my clients. Who've gone to trade chairs in trade shows there and it's just, I mean, it's next level. Like there are thousands of stalls.
It made me kinda feel like, do I need a by-product? Like if all of this already exists, where does my product fit in? And I think that really made me understand that my Vietnamese manufacturer was the right place for me because I wanted my product to stay boutique. I wanted it to stay handmade. It's just to have that real personal pouch and not to be amongst such mass manufacturing.
And then like alongside finding this great match and they're really good and they align with you. You've also had a whole lot of issues and you've talked about a couple of them earlier on and like delays and other things that have happened such as increased expenses, which I think a lot of small businesses in a product are really facing now kind of onslaught of that. And then I've been talking to lots of people lately about, having to put up their prices and how they market that and all sorts of things happening. And even before, when you said about finding ripoffs of your stuff so quickly after you'd launch, I'm just wondering, like how have you dealt with these challenges and then if you've got any advice for anyone else who may be dealing with it right now for the first time.
I mean, it can be really difficult, especially the ripoff. I feel like every time I've found a rip-off of my product, I felt so deflated and it's made me realize that I suppose the way I've dealt with it is to ensure I've released a new collection each year. Whereas I suppose at that point in time, I wasn't necessarily doing that, but also it's made me really proud that all of my products, I know that I've designed them. I know that I have taken inspiration from the world around me, not other people's products. And I suppose just being proud of that and knowing that, even though there's a ripoff out there, the one that you've got is the original. The increase in expenses is a really difficult one, actually. I'm not sure exactly how I'm gonna navigate it at this point in time.
So basically manufacturing has gone up. Freighting costs have pretty much tripled and the Australian dollar is down. So really a tough place. I don't really wanna put those costs onto the customers. So I'm still navigating how to maneuver through that and hoping that things can get a little bit better as well. And then as far as manufacturing delays, which there is a lot of, and I mean, so Christmas last year I was meant to have stock in America for December. And it ended up being delayed on the dock for four weeks. And then it ended up being delayed in my warehouse for another three weeks. So it was just crazy. And I think all I could do was communicate to my customers that there were delays and keep them up to date and be honest. And it seemed like most people were really understanding. I think that we all understand that the pandemic had a massive impact on writing and the delays are just unavoidable.
And I think it comes across, that you're very honest and transparent in the way that you are in general. I feel like. And then you've just put that into your business. And you mentioned before that when you wanted to, or where you were at a point where you were thinking I need to outsource or manufacture and you sort out this mentor, have you had any other mentors or has there been a book or has there been anything that has really helped you cuz you also mentioned that you're predominantly working alone. Like you're working, you're the only full-time person in your, in your company. Just wondering what has helped you build your business and is there anything you'd recommend to other people?
So I've had heaps of mentors throughout my entire career and lots of people have said things that have really stuck with me. None of them have been profound, but they're things that come to my mind when I'm feeling a little bit out of control. So the director of my very first job, I think I'd printed like 4,000 brochures with the wrong date on them. And I was freaking out and she was just like, we're not saving lives here. So print is more and that kinda springs to mind when things are going really wrong or I'm feeling like things are a bit outta control. I just kind of go, well maybe that went wrong, maybe there are delays, but we're not saving lives like that. If that tray comes next month and not this month, it's gonna be okay. So it keeps me quite levelheaded remembering that another one was when I worked for a live music venue.
And the director there was a really great entrepreneur and he used to share everything. So all his ideas he'd share even with his competitors. And I was quite curious as to why he would do that. And he'd kind of just explained that when you share your ideas, they come to life. So I suppose, for example, if I was talking to my competitor and I was like, I'm trying to save money. So I wanna make sure that I get the biggest and fullest container possible, but I can't fill a container. And perhaps that competitor might be like, I also need to fill a container, but I can't feel it. And the next minute you're both working together to build the same container and you're saving money and you're increasing your margin. So sharing your ideas and problems with other people often creates the solution.
I love that so much. I wrote it down when you share your ideas that come to life. What a great bit of advice to give because I think so often we are like, oh no, don't put it out there in case someone copies it, or yes.
And then the other thing that I often have to say to myself is to get out of my own way. I feel like especially as women, we kind of create our own glass ceiling and we think that we can't achieve certain things. And so I'm often going to stop creating your own roadblocks. Just go, keep going forward.
Yes, yes. I was just like, cheering over here for that point because it's so true. We can just, I know even like I often, not often I would say I'm getting better at it, but I sometimes make things more complicated than they need to be like just stupidly complicated until somebody points it out and you're like, ah, that would've made a lot more sense and it's almost as if, oh no, that's too easy. So like, I can't just do that because it has to be hard work or something that they've got these beliefs that come up. And so I think it's so important to champion what you just sure. Completely.
Give it a go.
Yeah. Completely. And so, likewise, I know you mentioned Trello before, but are there any apps or platforms or anything that you just, I know you are big into your tech stack so are there things that you, you just absolutely love and have, have just relish using?
This is a very boring one, but I love Dochub. So it connects to my Xero platform. And basically, whenever I have any receipts or anything, I can just take a photo of them. They go directly into Xero and it even can see the amounts and everything and decipher it. And so you're not seeing things in, very boring but very practical.
The other one that I absolutely love and people probably wanna stop hearing about from me is a wholesale platform called Faire. I've been using it in the US for the last four years and it just launched in Australia. But basically, for me as a brand, it really helps me with administration. But for the retailers, it offers them 60-day terms, which is something that I can't do as a small business with cash flow. So yeah, it's a bit of a win-win, and Trello, definitely. And then the old diary you've gotta use paper sometimes.
I love pen and paper and Faire. I have seen so many ads for Faire. And I know I've talked about it with you as well, but we will definitely link to that in the show notes as well. And for anyone listening, it's Faire. Is that right?
Yes. Correct.
So good. And also good for the stopper who is listening. Cause you can find a whole lot of amazing small businesses on there.
Yeah.
And so what are you most proud of from your journey in business to date?
I think just continuously getting back on track whenever I've had a roadblock. So at one stage, I think it was year two of my business. I actually went back to part-time work, taking a bit of pressure off myself, but also to get cash flow back and happening, but never lost sight of this being a full-time job. So always just getting back up and pushing on. I remember someone once said to me that I had grit and I think that was a really big compliment I'll I'll never forget that compliment. So having grit.
Such a good answer. And isn't it funny what people say like in passing, say that person who said you've got grit and then what we kind of hold on in our memory bank and come back to cause it's so you just never know what your words are gonna mean for somebody?
I'm sure. She'll never remember that she said it, but it's just so meaningful to me.
I love that so much. I had somebody who worked in my team when I was in the head of the marketing role and we had this big event and I was, I noticed that the floor was really dirty and I was like, is there a broom here? Cuz we were about to have all these fancy people arrive. And I remember like she walked back into the room and she was like, what are you enjoy? And I was like sweeping up because this floor is horrible. And she was like, I love that you just get stuff done. Like she's like you could have asked any one of us to do it. And it wasn't like, I sound so boastful. But I just felt, I always remember that one comment of like, you're willing to get stuff done.
And I was like, well, somebody needs to do it. It's dirty. Let's get it done. Kind of thing. So I love that. That person said that comment to you and it stayed with you and then what is next for you and where can people connect with you? If somebody's listening, who has a homeware store or a lifestyle store and wants to stock your stuff or a plant store, or if somebody's listening and just wants to tell you how amazing and inspiring you are, where is the best place to reach out to you?
They can reach out on Instagram. So @capradesigns or they can email me at hello@capradesign.com or find our products at www.capradesigns.com what's up next. I currently working on another brand or product in a completely different material I've been very passionate about for years. So just trying to find just samples actually with a manufacturer and trying to find the courage to put another thing into the world.
That's huge and then again, can I ask you like with all of that, did you go yep. I just wanna do this or were you like, well, I can see how it's worked with Capra and I can replicate some of that with the new brand, or is it just, I'm gonna start it, I'm curious and creative like is cuz you, you do a lot. Where has it come from to be like, I wanna do this as well?
I feel like, with this, I might not have to start from the beginning that there could be some replication from Capra designs but also just very curious and creative and it's just a material and a form that I'm really interested in. So just giving it a go.
So good. Oh, well Binca it's been such a pleasure to chat with you as it always is. Thank you so much for sharing all of those insights and like really practical advice as well for so many of those questions. Thank you so much for your time.
Thank you so much for having me. I feel really chucked to be, you know, talking to you on this podcast, but also amongst the other amazing small businesses that you've chatted with.
It's my absolute pleasure. And we'll link to all of this in the show notes, but yeah. Enjoy the rest of your day. Thanks for coming on. Bye.
Thank you.
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Oh my goodness. So many ideas and tips and just so many things that are going through my mind after that interview. Thank you again, Bianca, from Capra designs for coming on and chatting Bianca is definitely one of those people that I've worked with who is just very determined and doing so well. And doesn't always see how well they're doing. So I just wanna like throw that piece out in case Bianca is listening to this, but also I wanna know what you took away from this. So please don't be a stranger. You can send us a DM at my daily business coach or send Bianca or both of us at DM. She's @capradesigns with an S, you can email us at hello@mydailybusinesscoach.com. But I would love to know kind of what were the highlights for you? What did you really resonate with?
For me, so many things stood out, but two that I kind of wanna actually, I'm gonna do a random and do three today. Usually I always just do two, but firstly I loved her idea of if I'm working this hard as an employee, not hard as in 24/7, but if I'm, if I'm putting in this much effort and I actually care so much about my job as an employee, imagine what I could do if it was for myself and my family. I think that is such a really powerful point. This was something that only after reflection was, I like that is really how I felt when I was at my last employed job. It's a really good way of kind of flipping the script rather than being like, I'm so worn out and I'm looking after somebody else's dream and blah, blah, blah.
I love the way she looked at it, I love what I do and I'm good at it, and look how great I'm doing here. Imagine if I was doing this for myself. So I just think that's an incredible way to look at things. And maybe you are listening to this and you are an employed role right now, but you've dreamt of doing your own thing. Maybe take a leaf out of Bianca's book there. I loved it. The other thing I loved is when she talked to, I think her mentor and she mentioned lots of mentors in her life, which is such a good thing and such a good place to be, but she said, or somebody said to her, you can keep working and you can be at capacity or you can outsource. That was just like amen.
Happening here. Because I see that all that time. I see people working themselves to the bone, working weekends, doing other stuff. And we talk about outsourcing. I talk about outsourcing a lot with my clients and it's something that I wish I'd done sooner. I've outsourced, I've Al I've had a VA. I was gonna say, I've always had a VA, but I haven't. I've had a VA for probably five of the seven. This is my seventh year in business. And I've probably had a VA for five of those years and always part-time, nobody has ever worked full time, like 40 hours a week in my business, except me actually, I don't even work 40 hours a week and I probably never have, that sounds really boastful. But what I mean is on the topic of outsourcing, you can outsource a couple of hours a week.
It doesn't have to be to a point where I don't have enough work for them or I don't have enough money to pay them. It's like, cool. Why don't you just get somebody for two hours a week and see how that goes? Or why don't you get to this part of your business and see if that could be outsourced or maybe it's not even outsourcing, it's upskilling somebody who's already on your team or it's finding a contractor or an agency somebody else to help with these things. So I loved that. And then the third thing, and I know again, very different, I usually just point out to, but I loved, loved the idea of when you share your ideas, they come to life. Do I love that because I'm all for the manifestation and everything else?
As long as you are also aware, and you are also doing the work, the universe can meet you halfway kind of thing. But I do love the idea that if you share it, these things can come to life rather than, I'm not gonna share what I'm doing. I'm not gonna share any of the behind-the-scenes. I don't want my competitors to see what I'm doing. And it's served Bianca really well because she's gone out there. She's shown what she's doing and people know Capra designs for that. So loved that. And so many other things that Bianca said, so you can find Bianca like I said, @capradesigns on Instagram, you can find them online at capradesigns.com. And if you're listening to this outside of Australia, know that you can buy them from all sorts of retailers in the UK, and the US, I think all over, but definitely check out capradesigns.com.
And if you wanna go through this in text format, you can find the full show notes over at mydailybusinesscoach.com/podcast/208. If you found this useful, I would love it so much. If you might leave a review for us, you can do that in the apple podcast, or you can do it on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If they have that capability, you can either just tap the stars or you can leave a written review. It just really helps this podcast get found by other small business owners and who knows, maybe there's somebody out there who desperately wants to create a product right now. And this is exactly what they need to hear to get them on their journey, but they can only hear it if they can discover it. So if you can leave a review, it just really helps. Thank you so much again, Bianca. And just a last note that if you are interested in group coaching, like I mentioned at the start of this episode, you can find out all the information and how to apply at mydailybusinesscoach.com/groupcoaching. And we do have people from other countries outside of Australia, join us. So as long as you've got internet access and you can work within the Australian daylight hours, you are so welcome to apply. Thanks so much. See you next time. Bye.
Thanks for listening to the My Daily Business Coach podcast. If you wanna get in touch, you can do that at mydailybusinesscoach.com or hit me up on Instagram @mydailybusinesscoach.
