Where is it sold?

It’s currently sold online at www.fusspottea.com and in many hair and beauty salons across the country, as well as Woolworths online, HealthyLife, Mr.Vitamins, several day spas, independent health food stores, gift stores and even a yoga retreat! Plus of course on the Buy Aussie Now stores of Clementine McVeigh and Tina Nettlefold.

What did you want to create for the business?

I set out to create a product that was beneficial for me at my age and then I recognised that other women would benefit from it too, especially now we’ve launched our new Menopause Tea With Collagen. There are so many women sufering hot flushes and night sweats who aren’t getting quality sleep, so this was developed for my fellow female friends who are looking for a solution. Overall, I developed Fusspot Tea for women looking for an easy, ready to drink  and delicious solution to incorporate antioxidants and collagen daily into their lives with no fuss!

Has the business grown?

Yes – we’ve definitely grown – both locally and overseas. We now have retailers in Ireland, UK and also Canada. I launched Fusspot Tea 6 weeks before the pandemic and that was hard with all the stop-starting every few months with launch plans and getting media traction in a time when the world was engrossed in hand sanitiser and lockdowns, and retail was shut down. But persistence has paid of and the brand is nearly 4 years old and I still love it – the challenges and the triumphs every single day. I just love our customers and the private messages they write to me about the efects and benefits they see and in some cases how life-changing it is for them. So, growth in our customer base and retail partners has been amazing, plus we also ofer auto-refill subscriptions with many enjoying Fusspot deliveries every 15, 30 or 60 days.

What are the benefits of manufacturing at home in Australia?

The benefits of manufacturing here on home soil means we can turn around product faster. I also know the quality of my product hasn’t been diminished at any step as I visit the facility where it is made regularly and I know it meets Australian Standards, and it also means that we are supporting local growers, the local Tea Industry, and local companies and partners with every product sold.

How do you maintain a sense of balance when there are good days and bad days, like all small businesses?

Oh, my goodness it’s hard! Some days you are on top of the world and other days you just can’t catch a break and you curse yourself. But I have learnt so much and I love working for myself and building my own brand as it’s extremely rewarding. However, it is very hard work, and it never stops. You live and breathe it and so the way I seek balance is to plan lots of catchups with friends or family to ‘stop’ work and get out and talk about other things, eat dinner or have a few drinks – break up the never-ending work-flow. I go out with my husband and do something fun – like a road trip or I read a book or see a show or go and sit in a park and have a picnic – anything to break up the “To-Do” list.

Sometimes I literally walk away when it gets too much and do something fun or creative and start again with a fresh mindset the next day. A good night’s sleep often brings solutions – but so too, does a strong network and support system to get you through those rough days or simply to vent!

What’s the best piece of business advice you have ever received?

If you always do what you’ve always done – you’ll always get what you’ve always go. I love this!

It means change and pivot and try new things or you’ll just keep having the same-same results with no new positive impact or no change or growth. I’ve seen this time and time again in my career where companies are too scared to try something diferent and they end up playing catch-up!