Speaker 1: Small businesses now. They are the backbone of our country
Speaker 1: and I know firsthand how tough it is, long hours,
Speaker 1: constant hurdles, and too often feeling like you're in it alone.
Speaker 1: And what I keep hearing from you is that small
Speaker 1: business owners don't feel heard. My team and I are
Speaker 1: paying close attention to our small business community and the
Speaker 1: feedback that comes to us through the Mental podcast. Now,
Speaker 1: one thing is clear. You want to hear from more
Speaker 1: businesses beyond Sydney, from across the country, and especially those
Speaker 1: that are doing it tough. That's why my team and
Speaker 1: I are launching the Small Business call Out. The Small
Speaker 1: Business call Out, which will be under the Mentor channel,
Speaker 1: will talk to business owners all over the country every
Speaker 1: single week, no matter where you are. We want to
Speaker 1: hear from you. What's working, what's not working, What do
Speaker 1: you need from the government to actually succeed? What are
Speaker 1: the things can you enlighten us about what it's like
Speaker 1: being in the small business community. This is yours as
Speaker 1: to make your voice count. We want to hear from
Speaker 1: all industries, from those struggling, from those who feel overlooked,
Speaker 1: or those who have something to say but haven't had
Speaker 1: the platform to say it. I'm going to continue hosting
Speaker 1: the Mental podcast, but the Small Business call Out will
Speaker 1: be uploaded between episodes. So let's get into this week's
Speaker 1: edition of the new Small Business call Out. What is
Speaker 1: the name of your business and in simple terms, what
Speaker 1: does your business do?
Speaker 2: So my name is Micah and I'm the founder of
Speaker 2: Mama's Bean's Coffee. I live on the South Coast and Boulognia,
Speaker 2: Wollongong and really enjoy beach life. So coffee, beach life
Speaker 2: and family are probably my three favorite things. I started
Speaker 2: Mama's Bean's Coffee when I was pregnant and breastfeeding, looking
Speaker 2: for a lower caffeine, lower acidity option for pregnant and
Speaker 2: breastfeeding months. But it has actually turned into a coffee
Speaker 2: that's now helping thousands of Australians that are looking for
Speaker 2: a healthier coffee that doesn't cause any gut issues or
Speaker 2: jitis and still tastes amazing, which I didn't know at
Speaker 2: the time.
Speaker 1: And what inspire you to start your business?
Speaker 2: Yeah, so what inspired me to start Muma's Beans was
Speaker 2: during pregnancy and later breastfeeding, I was struggling with acid
Speaker 2: reflux and a bloady baby and I loved coffee and
Speaker 2: it was really.
Speaker 3: Hard to give up.
Speaker 2: So I was looking for a more gentle brew that
Speaker 2: was suited more to my needs, but couldn't find anything
Speaker 2: in the market. Everything was sort of you know, strong coffee,
Speaker 2: death buyer espresso. So I used my background in food ingredients,
Speaker 2: saucing and supply chain and thought, ok, I need to
Speaker 2: find a suitable coffee. Because that was also when I
Speaker 2: found out about Australian growing coffee, which I didn't know
Speaker 2: that we actually grow coffee here in Australia. And it
Speaker 2: was during COVID in twenty twenty. We were meant to
Speaker 2: get married overseas back in Germany.
Speaker 3: I'm originally from.
Speaker 2: Germany, and that didn't go ahead due to COVID. So
Speaker 2: I just needed something. I needed to put that energy
Speaker 2: into something positive. So I had no idea about what
Speaker 2: it would be like to run my own business. I've
Speaker 2: always identified as a cooperatick, so I never thought I
Speaker 2: would run my own business. But again I have a
Speaker 2: background in food ingredient saurcing and supply chain, so I said, well,
Speaker 2: we can still travel in Australia, and I took the
Speaker 2: family on a holiday to no Northern New South Wales
Speaker 2: where we could still travel and visited every coffee grower
Speaker 2: that would have us. So that was really the start
Speaker 2: of Mama's Beans.
Speaker 1: Where was your business founded and where is it located?
Speaker 2: So I was founded at home in pul at Or, around
Speaker 2: just an hour south of Sydney, and we are now.
Speaker 2: We have got a warehouse in Ferry Meadow, which is
Speaker 2: also just north of Woollongong, so that's where we're located.
Speaker 2: But we're predominantly an e commerce business, so you can
Speaker 2: find us mainly online. They have a few local stockers
Speaker 2: as well, but we're mainly an online business.
Speaker 1: How is your business doing right now?
Speaker 2: Despite getting a lot of people saying they would never
Speaker 2: pay that much for coffee, when they see our price tag,
Speaker 2: customers they give it a try and experience how different Well,
Speaker 2: you know, how much better our coffee makes them feel.
Speaker 3: Are hooked and they keep coming back for more.
Speaker 2: So we're actually now after five years in business, I'd
Speaker 2: say we're in our biggest strongest growth phase, which you know,
Speaker 2: like the coffee is delicious and I think it really works.
Speaker 2: So I think one of the key things is you
Speaker 2: have to have a product that actually solves a problem.
Speaker 3: And you know, helps people in some way.
Speaker 2: So and the other thing is that I think is unique,
Speaker 2: a unique opportunity for small businesses is customer service.
Speaker 3: Excellent customer service because you.
Speaker 2: Know, I know most of my repeat customers. I know
Speaker 2: it because you know, I'm the one who's still wearing
Speaker 2: most of the hats, you know, packing orders, writing, think
Speaker 2: your cards, doing all the email marketing and all the
Speaker 2: posting on social media, et cetera. So I know my
Speaker 2: customer and I really try to go above and beyond.
Speaker 2: And that's I think one of the key strengths for
Speaker 2: small business because we can do that because you know
Speaker 2: we are we are small business.
Speaker 3: So those are two things that I think.
Speaker 2: Still can help us thrive in today's climate. Is one
Speaker 2: having a really good, you know, product of service and
Speaker 2: that really solves the problem. And then the other one
Speaker 2: excelling and customer service. So I'm really proud of that.
Speaker 1: What challenges have you faced as a small business owner
Speaker 1: and how did they impact your business and how did
Speaker 1: you overcome them? Did they affect your family members, did
Speaker 1: they affect your relationships, how did you solve them?
Speaker 2: You know, when you talk about what challenges you face
Speaker 2: as a small business owner is is actually you know,
Speaker 2: one of the main challenges I faced pretty early on
Speaker 2: with my business because when I started Mumu's Beans, like
Speaker 2: I said, it was from the need to turn my
Speaker 2: focus from a wedding that wasn't happening overseas, wedding that
Speaker 2: wasn't happening anymore, to this idea that I had of
Speaker 2: starting a coffee business that I had no idea how
Speaker 2: to do. But I was also working full time, and
Speaker 2: I was actually still studying part time, and you know,
Speaker 2: I had a small child and family life, and so
Speaker 2: I was in the first three months, I was close
Speaker 2: to burnout because also the naivety of.
Speaker 3: What it takes to start a small business. I was, Yeah,
Speaker 3: I just had no idea.
Speaker 2: And facing that challenge of burnout like really early on,
Speaker 2: I think is what saved me and also what meant
Speaker 2: that now five years on, I'm really still so passionate
Speaker 2: about my business because I put boundaries in place right there,
Speaker 2: and then I'll say, either I can't do I can't
Speaker 2: do all of it, and I can't be the best
Speaker 2: in all of it. You know, we were relying on
Speaker 2: my full time salary work was paying for my studies
Speaker 2: so I didn't feel like I could cut that short,
Speaker 2: and so I just something had to give, and I decided, Okay, well,
Speaker 2: this business is an idea of mine that I would
Speaker 2: really like to do, but I don't need to even
Speaker 2: Instagram might tell me, but I don't need to have
Speaker 2: a six figure business in three months. I can actually
Speaker 2: allow myself to take the time and just do it
Speaker 2: my way and not try not to look at what
Speaker 2: success factors you know, coming from the outside or I
Speaker 2: think I need to meet.
Speaker 3: So I put in place boundaries to.
Speaker 2: Say I'm not going to work on weekends or in
Speaker 2: the afternoons after my full time job when I was
Speaker 2: with his family, only after the little ones were in bed,
Speaker 2: and that's I think really what saved me. I was
Speaker 2: really sort of strict about it, and it meant that
Speaker 2: the business was growing a lot slower, and once I
Speaker 2: finished the studies, I was able to dedicate a bit
Speaker 2: more time into it. But it really means that, you know,
Speaker 2: I really love it as much, if not more than
Speaker 2: day one, because I'm also still doing other things, you know.
Speaker 2: I learned early on that I can't have it consume me.
Speaker 2: A couple of years ago, I heard this quote. This
Speaker 2: is still really resonating me, and I think it's for
Speaker 2: a lot of small business owners. It's just really hits home,
Speaker 2: and it is instead of asking yourself, have I worked
Speaker 2: hard enough to earn my rest, ask yourself, am I
Speaker 2: arrested well enough to do my best work?
Speaker 3: And I really like to.
Speaker 2: Go by that mantra because you know, you know, I
Speaker 2: know that when I feel rested, when I feel like
Speaker 2: I've filled my cup, and you know, I slept well
Speaker 2: and I ate well, and I exercise and I do
Speaker 2: the things that make me feel good, the business is
Speaker 2: going much easier, smoother. You know, I'm a better partner,
Speaker 2: I'm a better mother, I'm a better friend, and I'm
Speaker 2: a better business owner. You know, I have more patience
Speaker 2: for things that go wrong. I'm you know, I love
Speaker 2: reaching out to customers, but if I'm stressed, if I'm
Speaker 2: coming out of a fourteen hour day and to the
Speaker 2: next day with lots.
Speaker 3: Of problems, it's hard to cope.
Speaker 2: So yeah, it's really helped me read what success looks like.
Speaker 2: And for me, I realized that I already have a
Speaker 2: successful life.
Speaker 3: I am already successful, and.
Speaker 2: I don't want to and success is not burnout, I
Speaker 2: guess is the main message, and so far I've been
Speaker 2: able to avoid it, I guess, so I think that's
Speaker 2: something to be proud of as well.
Speaker 3: In five years as a small business.
Speaker 1: Owner, how confident are you in Australian Government's ability to
Speaker 1: support small businesses effectively?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I thought about this question. I'm generally a positive person,
Speaker 2: so I don't just want to you know, unload problems since.
Speaker 3: It's all bad.
Speaker 2: And in some ways, I believe that the government tries
Speaker 2: and there are some good policies in place, so you know,
Speaker 2: things like helping small businesses find better energy deals at
Speaker 2: the moment, or providing digital education you know, AI education
Speaker 2: on AI et cetera, supporting payroll or employing people in
Speaker 2: small business So those are all steps in the right direction.
Speaker 2: But what I feel is the policies they're put in
Speaker 2: place and what actually lands and reaches the small business owners,
Speaker 2: like those things are miles apart.
Speaker 3: And for me, you know, I think we'll small business owners.
Speaker 3: We talked about it before, like we have you know.
Speaker 2: So many things on our to do list and don't
Speaker 2: have enough resources and do a lot of work ourselves.
Speaker 2: So if accessing support or policies is complicated or clunky,
Speaker 2: it just deads up in to a hard basket and
Speaker 2: you know, we just won't do it. So sometimes it
Speaker 2: I wonder if you know, if the government puts these
Speaker 2: policies in place to sound good and to get votes
Speaker 2: and you know, look good on paper, or if they're
Speaker 2: actually interested in providing that support and spending that money
Speaker 2: that they've set aside for it that we actually so
Speaker 2: small businesses that we actually can make use of it.
Speaker 3: And it goes back to what we were talking about earlier.
Speaker 2: You know, as a small business, we know, we know
Speaker 2: our customers, we know you know, we know our people
Speaker 2: that work for us really well, and we need to.
Speaker 3: Look after them because if we don't, we don't have
Speaker 3: a business.
Speaker 2: But it seems the government we are a big customer
Speaker 2: of the right like we are their people, but they
Speaker 2: just get away with not you know, with putting things
Speaker 2: in place that may not be relevant for us so
Speaker 2: that we can't access and yet there's no no consequences,
Speaker 2: there's no accountability. So you know, if we did that
Speaker 2: as a small business, we'd be out of business.
Speaker 3: And yeah, like an example.
Speaker 2: There's the Service of New South Wales Business bureau.
Speaker 3: They you know, they promote.
Speaker 2: Free tailored business advice. You just do not put in
Speaker 2: your email, someone will contact you. So I did that
Speaker 2: and I got a call, but I wasn't able to
Speaker 2: talk at that moment, so we arranged another time and
Speaker 2: then I never got a call back, and that happened twice,
Speaker 2: and so it was like, well, it's nice.
Speaker 3: That you offer.
Speaker 2: I think it's great, you know, tailored support for your
Speaker 2: small business. But then it does make you wonder, well,
Speaker 2: if it's so hard to actually talk to a person,
Speaker 2: or if they never follow up, do you really want
Speaker 2: to help me or do you just want to have
Speaker 2: it on your website so that you can say, oh,
Speaker 2: look we have all these services available, We've got all
Speaker 2: this support available.
Speaker 3: So that's what, you know what I'm sort.
Speaker 2: Of struggling to understand somehow that you know, it's such
Speaker 2: an important part of the Australian economy small business that
Speaker 2: that the government still doesn't take any accountability if the
Speaker 2: policies and the support that they put in place to
Speaker 2: help us actually doesn't reach us.
Speaker 1: If you could advise your strain government on one action to
Speaker 1: take to better support small businesses, what would it be.
Speaker 2: So I would say, get down on our level, so
Speaker 2: instead of making like flashy new policies.
Speaker 3: Actually try and make the current.
Speaker 2: Policies and support available work and in my view that's
Speaker 2: done best on a local level. So really investing in
Speaker 2: localized small business support, which means you know, it could
Speaker 2: be monthly drop ins where business owners can learn about
Speaker 2: the different initiatives or policies by the government that may
Speaker 2: support them, where they can then get help to access
Speaker 2: or apply, and where they can also get connected it
Speaker 2: to other local business owners. So really creating a bit
Speaker 2: of a social economy. So it would be really great
Speaker 2: if the government would know the local government would know
Speaker 2: the local businesses and they could help connect you know,
Speaker 2: local business owners for the services that they need, ideally
Speaker 2: in our face to face.
Speaker 3: Even with other small business owners.
Speaker 2: So really creating a sense of community and togetherness, you know,
Speaker 2: instead of the usually really lonely journey of more small
Speaker 2: business owners. So just providing I guess a bit more
Speaker 2: feeling of that they care, that feeling of care and
Speaker 2: really connectedness and wanting to bring small businesses together and
Speaker 2: helping helping them and you know, like this small business
Speaker 2: call out, Like if local government even just doing that,
Speaker 2: sending out their newsletters some small business call out of
Speaker 2: you know, some of the local businesses every every now
Speaker 2: and again to the awareness.
Speaker 3: That would be really nice as well.
Speaker 2: And the other thing that I thought about as well,
Speaker 2: just the provision of microgramts to match small business investment
Speaker 2: and that don't take a huge application.
Speaker 3: Process, which would encourage like small.
Speaker 2: Businesses to invest and you know, and to back ourselves
Speaker 2: and really to feel like what we do and contribute
Speaker 2: actually matters to the government, you know, So it's not
Speaker 2: only the big actions, but you know, we're really if
Speaker 2: you say, oh, I want to invest in new accounting
Speaker 2: system or a new website, if we just have that
Speaker 2: plan and we are willing to invest in it, you know,
Speaker 2: it means we spend the money locally usually you know,
Speaker 2: it's a joint investment. We invested usually locally in the
Speaker 2: community and ultimately in the Australian economy. So I feel
Speaker 2: like that would really help overall as well. So rather
Speaker 2: than having this super big initiatives that you know are
Speaker 2: may be really huge and hard to access, really making
Speaker 2: it small and as a supported, grassroot level investment, because
Speaker 2: that's again like that's all we are.
Speaker 3: We help.
Speaker 2: We know our stuff, we know our customers, and if
Speaker 2: we just go on that level, you know, we can
Speaker 2: invest and we would back ourselves.
Speaker 3: If we felt like the government.
Speaker 2: We have the government behind us or they you know,
Speaker 2: they want to support us, then we wouldn't need I.
Speaker 3: Don't know free.
Speaker 2: Mental health courses that are offered by the government, but
Speaker 2: I think it will help our mental health if we
Speaker 2: felt that we were cared for and actually mad it.
Speaker 3: I don't want to be like a down of it
Speaker 3: for me. Those are actually really like they.
Speaker 2: Don't cost huge amount, like if you compare off what
Speaker 2: they've said aside maybe with a big initiatives, they don't
Speaker 2: cost a side march like I'm not asking for like
Speaker 2: these new crazy things. It's actually like I said, go
Speaker 2: down on our level, understand what's required. And it seems
Speaker 2: like if you take the again the business Brea New
Speaker 2: South Wales Business Bureau Service, New South Wales, like.
Speaker 3: That's tailored advice for your small business. That sounds really good.
Speaker 3: And again I didn't have the chance to actually take
Speaker 3: it up.
Speaker 2: But if that's something where you can say, okay, well
Speaker 2: you need you need a rebrand. We know these are
Speaker 2: three local companies that focus on branding in the Woollongong area.
Speaker 2: You know, hit them up, or you need to have
Speaker 2: something printed, or you need like, you know, a website specialist.
Speaker 2: It's like, just create that so we can actually talk people,
Speaker 2: you know, talk with.
Speaker 3: Real people and have the.
Speaker 2: Have the idea as well that actually they know who
Speaker 2: the small businesses are in the area and they actually
Speaker 2: have an interest in supporting that. Because the other thing
Speaker 2: that I thought about, even with sort of you know,
Speaker 2: I want to talk about the confidence in Australia government
Speaker 2: is like, you know, the most of the small business
Speaker 2: owners in Australia. I mean we you know, we we
Speaker 2: have we've made our profits in Australia, we paid tax
Speaker 2: in Australia. You know, we support local jobs and we're
Speaker 2: usually really well connected in our local community. So I
Speaker 2: mean you'd think that you're very beneficial for the Australian government. Right.
Speaker 1: What was the most rewarding part of being a small
Speaker 1: business owner.
Speaker 2: It's actually hearing from customers that had to give up
Speaker 2: drinking coffee and because they couldn't stomach it, and they
Speaker 2: now reclaiming the love for coffee because of our coffee.
Speaker 2: That's like, that's crazy. You know, that's never I really
Speaker 2: never thought about that. I would say one day, oh,
Speaker 2: this is the best thing about the business. But this
Speaker 2: morning I received an email from a subscription customer who said, oh,
Speaker 2: can you bring my subscription you know, three weeks forward.
Speaker 3: So like, I'm drinking a little bit more coffee during
Speaker 3: the day.
Speaker 2: Since your coffee is not as acidic and I can
Speaker 2: tolerate more coffee. Plus it tastes great just reading that quote,
Speaker 2: and it's like wow, like this is actually it's much
Speaker 2: bigger than what you know I set out to do,
Speaker 2: and that's really amazing. And you know, the other thing
Speaker 2: obviously as well, with mums that tell us how grateful
Speaker 2: they are that they can actually enjoy a second couple
Speaker 2: without mum girl, or without feeling guilty or worrying that
Speaker 2: it'll harm their baby. I think that was such a
Speaker 2: big part of my life and my story. So that
Speaker 2: feels really good as well. So that's really one of
Speaker 2: the big parts of like most rewarding things about about
Speaker 2: running your own business.
Speaker 3: And the other thing.
Speaker 2: Is that I can put my own rules in place
Speaker 2: and I don't have to compromise on my values, like
Speaker 2: because I started when you know, when I was still
Speaker 2: working full time in a corporate job. So for me
Speaker 2: being able to make my decisions and just being intentional
Speaker 2: of what I wanted to do and who I wanted
Speaker 2: to work with, and we also would donate, for example,
Speaker 2: one percent of every sale.
Speaker 3: And choosing those charities.
Speaker 2: It's really rewarding as well that no one can tell
Speaker 2: me what to do or how to run my business.
Speaker 2: So yeah, those are probably the two things i'd say
Speaker 2: a most.
Speaker 1: Yeah, what is the one thing you wish more people
Speaker 1: knew about your business?
Speaker 2: That our coffee is not only for months, like I said,
Speaker 2: there's actually now we have a lot of men and
Speaker 2: a lot of people's health issues or gut issues or
Speaker 2: that just want to improve that gut health that really
Speaker 2: feel like our coffee makes a big difference and doesn't
Speaker 2: cause them any issues. So I think that's one of
Speaker 2: the main things to not be put off and think, oh,
Speaker 2: this coffee is just for pregnant and breastfeeding mums or
Speaker 2: I don't want to have a lowered hafey in coffee
Speaker 2: that's not for me. And the other thing actually is
Speaker 2: that we also have some coffee skincare, so I actually used.
Speaker 3: The coffee and make coffee.
Speaker 2: Face oils and body oils and hows from it. So
Speaker 2: I think we're probably the only coffee brand that has
Speaker 2: a skincare range as well, So if people want to
Speaker 2: check that out, that's pretty cool too. It's lots of
Speaker 2: the items, or the majority of the products that made
Speaker 2: from one hundred percent Australian ingredients and yeah, we're really
Speaker 2: trying to just use natural ingredients Australian sourced and yeah
Speaker 2: they really work too.
Speaker 3: So those are the takes.
Speaker 1: Where can people find you and your business? Let us know?
Speaker 2: Yeah, so when people can find our business is only
Speaker 2: online at Mama's Beans dot com, dot at you and
Speaker 2: you double m Mayors Beans dot com dot at you,
Speaker 2: or are on Instagram and Mama's Underscore Beans and you
Speaker 2: doublemas Underscore Beans. We do offer our local pickup as well,
Speaker 2: so if you want to come say hello, our warehouse
Speaker 2: location in Ferra Meadow, South Coast is always worth a
Speaker 2: drive I reckon, So that would be really nice to
Speaker 2: say hi.
Speaker 3: To some of the mentored listeners. M hm
Speaker 2: H