The Accidental Entrepreneur

by Allis, Janine;

  Solving every problem on the table

  In 2002 Kristie was a new lawyer specialising in retail leasing, acting on behalf of tenants. Boost was meant to be her ‘pet project', with four shops open and a few more expected that year as the company started franchising its concept. Things didn't quite work out like that, however — her ‘pet client' opened 50 stores that year. Kristie says, ‘I loved it! J [Janine] and I discussed leases not like they were just a legal document to get right, but rather as the basis for the success of a Boost business'.

  Shortly after, Kristie was seconded to Boost's support centre and, she says, ‘Within one hour of that secondment I was asked to join the Boost team — and I jumped ship with enthusiasm. I felt alive and valued when I worked with Boost. Everyone was so engaged. It was fun and yet constructive — in 30 minutes, it seemed we could solve every problem on the table.

  Surrounding yourself with greatness

  The business grew from strength to strength, and we were able to employ some other key people to help run it. I still proudly take my hat off to our young team in the early days, and I'm amazed at everything we achieved together and the number of daily problems that we solved. The success of the business was a real credit to them. I was in my thirties and my team was in their early twenties: Kristie Piniuta, a lawyer; Naomi Webber, an accountant and our savvy CFO; and Jacinta Caithness, the franchise manager.

  Kristie had a large care factor and a thirst for knowledge that helped keep us out of trouble. When I first met her, Kristie was a junior lawyer working in the leasing department of a law firm. I would spend hours with Kristie going through the leasing contracts line by line, asking her to explain exactly what every clause meant. After she came to work at Boost, Kristie went from only looking at property leases to needing to know everything related to business law. She was in her element. Through diligent research, she ensured that every decision made was the correct one, creating order and building a strong foundation on which this fast-moving beast of a business could grow. Very early, we had good corporate governance, unusual for such a small business at the size we were. We have made many mistakes in our business, but, largely because of Kristie, fulfilling our legal requirements was one thing we got right. And this was a critical part of the foundation of the business.

  Because of an earlier hiring error, Naomi was presented with an absolute mess to fix (which she did). Naomi was a young accountant recommended by Geoff Harris (more on him later) and we hired her as the CFO. The accounts at the time were in a terrible state but, to Naomi's credit, she built up a strong team and after many months of all-nighters she got the accounts back in order. Accounts tend to be that boring area that entrepreneurs think of as unimportant, but not having correct numbers and clarity on what your business is doing means you're running your business in the dark. The numbers tell you exactly where to put your focus, which team members are thriving or struggling, and, more importantly, give you a solid business in which you can trade. Naomi helped give us that clarity.

  And Jacinta, a woman with no franchising experience, learned all aspects and helped make the franchising tactic a success. Jacinta had great tenacity in achieving the required goals, no matter what it took. I remember her telling me once, 100 per cent seriously, that she did not understand why people missed deadlines. She rationalised that if your head was going to blow up if you missed the deadline, you would make sure you met it. So, really, no-one could have a reason for missing a deadline. From that time onward, we had a saying that something was a ‘head-exploding deadline'. The other saying that got us through those times was ‘eat that frog', from the book of the same title. Every day it seemed there were hard calls to make, and no-one likes making hard calls, no matter how tough that person seems. So we often referred to those days as ‘eat that frog days'.

  Seeing Jacinta develop over those years was incredibly rewarding. While at Boost she achieved AFR's Boss Young Executive of the Year award as well as the Telstra Australian Young Business Women's Award, both of which she deserved in spades. I have travelled many frequent flyer miles with Jacinta over the years, setting up Boost internationally. From meeting with sheikhs in Dubai to looking for sites in the snow in Estonia, it has been a remarkable journey.

  Together, Kristie, Naomi, Jacinta and I worked out the problems as they occurred. All of us were learning and doing things for the first time, but we had an enormous care factor to get it right. It truly was girl power! And in the high-paced growth of Boost, we never would have achieved what we achieved without the strong girl power from these three young, smart, passionate women. We often laugh that a year at Boost was like working five years anywhere else. It was both scary and exhilarating pulling the business together and we had a ball. Many nights were spent with pizzas working into the early hours of the morning. Sitting at a round table with these women, there was always a feeling that any problem could be solved, and when we all went in our different directions in the business we all knew that no-one was going to drop the ball — we would achieve what needed to be achieved.

  Jumping in — and thriving

  According to Kristie, everyone being in over their heads was part of Boost's secret: ‘We were all in over our heads but that kicked us into survival mode and we performed at our best at all times. It made us appreciate and value one another. There was no place at Boost for negativity, cynicism or doubt. Everyone at Boost's support office embodied the company's mantra — being passionate, healthy and determined to be the number one franchise in the world.

  J's minimum expectation of you was that you knew what you were talking about. You couldn't bluff with J. She was always happy to nut something through with you but only if you understood the problem, openly explored solutions and had a ‘can do' attitude. Mistakes weren't tolerated — mistakes can let others in your team down — but to not try at all was inexcusable at Boost.

  Everyone in my small initial team played numerous roles. We had to — we didn't have a team of people sorting out the various solutions to problems. We all wore various hats: the accountant, the secretary, the publisher, the negotiator and the cleaner. We did everything behind the scenes. For the first two years, I worked from the kitchen table at home, while my first two employees (a PA and a part-time bookkeeper) used the dining room.

  Having the business operations in my home also allowed me to be around for my three boys. I have always been a great believer in the idea that children should be in your life, not you in theirs, and they will have a richer life because of it. That is how I resolve the guilt that comes from being a working mum. But I also had a secret weapon (then and to this day) — my mum, Joan. I honestly could have never achieved the level of success I have without her. People call her ‘Saint Joan' for good reason — it's with her help that I manage to maintain a balance between home life and the passion for my businesses.

  Almost every day, Mum drove from Boronia to my house in Malvern East, a 60-kilometre round trip, to help me with my children. Not only did she do the drive and dedicate her life to helping me, but she also did this without trying to produce any guilt in me whatsoever. When I told her in a moment of guilt that I was asking too much of her, she told me that she loved every minute of it and it made her life complete.

  I remember a day when I was in Sydney and Mum called to ask what time Jeff was getting home to look after the kids. I didn't know, so I told her I would call her back. I eventually got hold of Jeff to discover that he was in Brisbane for two days. (Nothing like great communication between the two of us.) I then called Mum back to let her know about my incompetence — that neither Jeff nor I was within 1000 kilometres of her and I was not going to win mother of the year that year. Mum just laughed and told me the kids would be fine.

  Mum also had that ability to not cross from the grandmother role into the mother role. The second I walked in the door, she would defer to me for everything. She is the perfect grandmother and, for me, the perfect mother. She has eleven grandchildren — and four great-
grandchildren — and has a special bond with each and every one of them. So much so that at Christmas every single one of them flies from interstate to Melbourne, bringing their current boyfriends and girlfriends with them, for Mum's Christmas lunch. Mum didn't know what she got when I was born. Even now, she openly wonders where I came from. But she has been the most amazing support for me, and I love her from the bottom of my heart.

  If my mum is the perfect grandmother, my father is the perfect grandfather. I take my hat off to him for being able to sit for hours and hours playing games with his grandchildren, letting them paint and even plait his hair. He has a great attitude to life; he is 85 and still umpires cricket and plays golf twice a week.

  The business would also not be the success it is without Jeff — he has been with the business every step of the way. I lean heavily on him for advice and guidance. Particularly in the first couple of years, I was terrible at firing or counselling people, so I used to go to him for anything that was confronting. His greatest attribute was his absolute confidence in what we were doing and in my ability to pull it off. When I walked in the door completely stressed, he would calm me and tell me everything would be fine. This was largely because he was such a ‘big picture' guy he had no idea of the day-to-day problems or cash flow. His full-time job allowed him to only keep his thumb on the macro picture, and sometimes stepping back and looking at this bigger picture was exactly what I needed. Twenty years on, he is still my best friend. Together we make a wonderful team, in business and in life. Jeff unlocked many things in me that helped create Boost.

  Running at full tilt

  At the end of 2001, we had survived our first year of trade. We had four Boost stores, including one in Melbourne's Jam Factory (a popular shopping and entertainment complex). Boost had reached the point where the business was truly taking over the house. I was using the kitchen and dining room as offices, our master bedroom was the CFO's office, and Jeff and I were sleeping with the boys in their rooms. Jeff used to complain that the only action he got was me doing the laptop dance, as I typed until all hours of the night. I remember walking past the dining room one day, looking in the room and realising I'd reached the point where I hated not getting away from the business. I was working seventeen hours a day. For my sanity and for my family, I decided Boost would have its own proper home. Up-and-coming, young businesses need a great deal of cash, so moving from my home to an office was a huge step financially, but it was also a big decision emotionally. While the move meant my boys would no longer be running under my legs while I was talking to suppliers or working out a solution for a customer, I had really enjoyed still being so close to them — and there is nothing like a child's hug any time of the day.

  In 2002, we thought it would be a good idea to join forces with our competitor, Viva Juice. They had four stores and we had four stores. At the time, I was feeling things were getting over my head. The business was taking over my life and I needed some of the work taken off my hands.

  We met with the owner of Viva and discussed a deal. Perhaps not surprisingly, they wanted more than what we thought was reasonable; in hindsight, though, not being able to merge the two businesses was the best thing that could have happened and it was a real turning point for me. I realised I had no-one else to turn to — the net didn't exist. It was up to me to nail this business. Jeff was great with securing new sites and helping me develop the marketing plan, but the nuts and bolts were all on my plate and we had everything on the line. I loved what I was doing and the adrenaline that came with running a new business. I was not always 100 per cent confident in what I was doing — okay, that's an understatement. I was not even 50 per cent confident in what I was doing — but the reality was I was the biggest expert out there in this specific area. I had no-one else to approach and I just had to work it out along the way. (More to come on the Viva story later.)

  It was also around this time that the media really started to get interested in the Boost story. Basically, it felt like I was two people — I had Janine, the founder of Boost Juice, and me, the person who was employed to get PR for Boost Juice. I had to see ‘Janine' as a tool to use to get people to understand what Boost Juice was about. Through my experience at UIP, I had sat through dozens of hours of interviews, and one thing I learned was that you have to be yourself — you cannot fake it. So that is what I did; I was just me, in all the interviews. I was always honest and transparent, and told the truth about Boost's journey and any mistakes along the way. What made talking about Boost easy was that I was (and, of course, still am!) genuinely so passionate about the company and the brand, so it was my favourite topic to talk about.

  As time went by, and with each problem solved along the way, perhaps inevitably I evolved into a more confident businesswoman. During those early years, I made sure that I understood every aspect of every decision I made. To me, the fact I cared so much about the business justified my behaviour. I painstakingly took the time in every area to come to the right decision, from dealing with the franchising and trademarks to working on supplier relations. I was obsessed with the business. We rarely used outside companies for areas such as franchising, legal (where possible), marketing or advertising, because I wanted to make sure everyone who worked on something for Boost had 100 per cent focus on Boost at all times. I was a total control freak, needing to know everything. I found it hard to trust that the job would be done well by other people. The reality at the time was no-one on the team, including myself, had been in the business long enough to know exactly what to do all the time. Back then, it would stress me to my core if I went on holidays because I thought the business would fall apart. Clearly it did not; we had great people doing great things.

  Creating brand ‘Janine'

  In 2002, Boost was flying and the team was obsessed with its objectives; we didn't have all the answers, but we had a great board of wise-heads to help keep it all on track strategically. According to Jeff, Janine moved out of the ‘scared little rabbit in the spotlight' position and took the lead with gusto. Jeff says, ‘The company demanded a true leader, and it got it with Janine. Along with her band of three young, female executives (who all fed off each other), she achieved the impossible'.

  Around this time, competing against 44 other start-up juice bars, it became apparent Boost needed an edge. According to Jeff, ‘Most of the other juice start-ups were set up by business guys who put someone in to run it, or other male entrepreneurs having a crack. Janine was unique, and having just read Anita Roddick's The Body Shop Book, our simple question was, “Who was Australia's leading female entrepreneur?” Poppy King — the “Lipstick Queen” — came to mind, but she had just fallen off the business perch. No-one else sprang to mind, and certainly no-one with three kids and a needy husband. I bounced the theory around with Janine, she readily agreed and we decided to make use of her PR background. The story of the woman with the three young kids who saw a need in the Australian market for a healthy alternative became a reality — and, wow, did it take off. We were in the hottest category. Janine was perfect media fodder: likeable, funny and beautiful, and she showed that a woman could do anything. She was an inspiration to the woman who wanted it all.

  ‘So, reiterating — the company was flying. Her team was amazing and now the media was all over her with very positive stories. She could have seriously become unbearable. In truth, this was the massive confidence boost she needed to build self-belief in herself. Not a fake facade of confidence, but a true core belief that she was good at her craft — which was building a company. Of course, at home it occasionally spilled into a bit of tension, with both of us being self-important. We had to rework the relationship model and as we did, right before my eyes, I saw an amazing transition in Janine's personality'.

  What I learned from my adventures …

  Here's what I learned in the first years of starting Boost:

  Make working on your business your priority. Many people who start a new business spend so much time working in
their business that they never get a chance to grow the business.

  Be careful about who you take into your business. Hold as many shares of your business as you can, but be generous with getting people on board who can add value to the growth of the business.

  You need a fully fleshed-out concept for a brand, and you must provide the whole package for your concept to succeed. You also need a clear, single vision to create something truly special. Doing everything by committee doesn't work — if too many people have their say, you end up with a diluted version of the original idea. The store design with our previous business partners was horrible because it was designed by committee. This was an example of my early lack of confidence; I was a pleaser. Have confidence in your vision and let this vision guide you on everything about the business.

  Be resourceful. I do not have a business degree. What I had when I started Boost was the ability to think outside the box, because I didn't know there was one, and learn quickly. I knew I could, and would, figure out what was required. I went to great lengths to gain the business knowledge I have now. When people ask me what my background is, I remind them that I didn't go to university, but I had a hell of a teacher — Boost.

  Remain true to yourself and your management style. Two years into running Boost, Jeff sat me down and told me how I should change to become a better CEO. He had strong ideas on what type of person should lead an organisation, and thought I wasn't dealing appropriately with difficult situations. I knew even then that you had to be true to who you are to be a good leader, and told Jeff so. A couple of years later, he told me how proud he was of me for sticking to my beliefs. He acknowledged that his prior advice was totally wrong — that my ‘style', which is unique to me, worked.