#awinewith Amelia Hicks
MEET Amelia Hicks, founder of Old Quarter Coffee Merchants.
You can find them here:
Transcript
Danielle Lewis (00:07):
Amelia, welcome to Spark tv.
Amelia Hicks (00:10):
Thank you for having me all the way on the other side of the country. I
Danielle Lewis (00:15):
Know. And I've got a coffee in hand today. Very off brand, but it is a little early.
Amelia Hicks (00:21):
Anything could be inside this cup though. That's true.
Danielle Lewis (00:25):
My coffee could be spiked. We don't know.
Amelia Hicks (00:28):
Let's pretend it is. It'll be better conversation.
Danielle Lewis (00:31):
Totally, totally. Oh my God, I love it. I love it. Let's start off by telling everyone who you are and what you do.
Amelia Hicks (00:39):
Sure. So I'm Amelia Hicks. I own a coffee company. So we've been operating since 2017, which is crazy. Where does the time go? I run the business with my partner, actually. Yo. So he is our product man, and I guess I'm everything else. And I've finally got the confidence to call myself CEO now.
Danielle Lewis (01:03):
I love it. Go you. Yes.
Amelia Hicks (01:05):
Yeah. And yeah, our business. So we were a green bean importer and then we roast that coffee and we wholesale to other people's businesses, sell online and run our own cafes. But I guess the heart of the business is the work we do with farmers in Asia. Wow. Yeah, so we have sourced all of our own coffees from day one, which is quite unique in the industry to kind of work across the whole supply chain. And we started the business because we wanted to give back to the people and the places I guess that had helped shaped us as individuals, as human beings on the planet. And excitingly coffee became the way in which we could do that, the way in which we could have impact in people's lives. So it all happens through our direct sourcing model and some extra programs along the way as well.
Danielle Lewis (02:10):
Wow. So did you just wake up one morning and say, we're going to Asia to look at coffee beans. Talk me through this. How did we get here? Because I love it. I think it's so amazing and I love the story behind it, but I am curious, how did this actually come about? Wow.
Amelia Hicks (02:30):
I know, it's funny. I feel like as founders and business owners, we sort of manipulate our story as we go along. Make it sound,
Danielle Lewis (02:38):
What's the PR version of this? Yeah, a
Amelia Hicks (02:41):
Hundred percent. But I would say that it was a little bit of that. It was a beautiful timing. I think a lot of business owners and entrepreneurs can relate to that moment where you really get that itch that you're ready to do something big. And for us, my partner actually, he was a lot more fearless than I was. I was in my first good paying job, but he was really ready to change trajectory. So he was working in environmental region and I was working, running a startup at a not-for-profit social enterprise, actually with a not for-profit arm.
(03:26):
So we're both doing different things, but we both weren't satisfied. And so starting a business became a conversation. We were 27 and we'd sort of been working for other people and just ready. And then I think the only two parts that were non-negotiable is that needed to have a social purpose. It needed to be a social enterprise because that's who we were as people. That was going to be the purpose and something that we knew would keep that fire in our bellies forever. And then the other side of it was we wanted to stay connected, as I said, and give back to Asia. And so then he began becoming obsessed with coffee. And then that's kind of how we interlinked it. But in an interesting way, I think it happens to a lot of people. You think you're going to do one thing and then you end up doing lots of other things. So our dream was to bring in green bean and kind of just import coffee and work directly with farmers. But we found this little shed, this perfect little shed that a friend introduced us to. And then we thought, oh, well gosh, let's roast it and we'll just have a little coffee bar at the front. And it was just like that. All of a sudden we had a fully fledged cafe and we were like, wow, we need to learn how to do this now and then, right?
Danielle Lewis (04:51):
Yeah, absolutely.
Amelia Hicks (04:53):
Right. And then we sort of started to learn more about the industry and we started to learn about wholesale, and then we got obsessed with the idea of scalability and how growing this organization could grow the impact with the lives of farmers and help us get more coffees and help us build more relationships. So then we thought, okay, great volume, let's work with other people's businesses. And then you got to have a website. So online it just happened.
Danielle Lewis (05:20):
Oh my god, I love, but how cool. Okay, here's the next opportunity. Let's get into that. Here's the next opportunity, let's get into that. And it does kind of work like that sometimes. It's not like you wake up and go, okay, the long-term vision is we're going to have X cafes and do this and do that. It is just the next thing in front of you, taking the next step, taking the next opportunity.
Amelia Hicks (05:41):
It so is, isn't it? You always have a plan and you should have a plan and you should have done your research to know what you think is going to be successful in the market you're entering. But ultimately you get little gifts along the way. And I mean, we were learning a lot. Most people are not as insane as us. They won't try and learn how to become importers and all of the complexity at most coffee roasters will just work with a wholesaler who handles that whole other side of the company. They can focus on sales and marketing and building their business. We silly. You don't know what you don't know.
Danielle Lewis (06:21):
That's a good lifeline business lesson. You don't dunno what you dunno.
Amelia Hicks (06:26):
And so yeah, we just went for it. And the cool thing is you don't need to know everything before you started. You need to be obsessively learning, but you don't have to know before you start. I'm definitely testament to that.
Danielle Lewis (06:41):
I dunno what I'm doing still. It's been 12 years and I still, I'm like, what is this new thing that I need to learn today?
Amelia Hicks (06:50):
And that's the joy of it, right? I
Danielle Lewis (06:52):
Do love it. I do love it. I always say this, so I worked for in corporate for 10 years and I was like, I would never have gotten the experiences that I've had over this 10 years of my life sitting behind that desk and replying to emails and doing contracts and blah, blah. The things that I've been able to experience over the last 12 years have been just incredible. I think that's right. That is the magic. That is the joy of business ownership.
Amelia Hicks (07:23):
Oh my gosh, absolutely. I always kind of reflect on this that I think apart from our intimate relationship and probably kids, which I don't have, but I think going into a business is a single biggest teacher. So because they say 90% of businesses fail or whatever from cashflow, but I think when you really look down to it, it's about the psychology of the business owner is the real reason. And so I kind of heard that early on and then thought, you know what? This is an opportunity for me to grow and to learn and to get better. And every time my business grows, I get to learn new skills. There's something about that ultimate responsibility of knowing that the buck stops with you, that you find an inner resilience and it is the biggest gift. I've unpacked heaps of baggage. When I first started, I had so much baggage around money and it still rears its little ugly head about fear.
(08:33):
There won't be enough and things like that stem from childhood and all sorts of ways that I now approach risk in such a different way. And you just build that confidence and that learning and you look back after, like you said, 12 years, I'm not that far in, but you look back and you just think, wow, I'm a different human being and hopefully a better one. And now I get to use these special skills that I've got to help a team thrive and grow in the business and help add more value to the people who have believed in us, our customers. And that's just so rewarding.
Danielle Lewis (09:20):
It really is, isn't it does. I mean there's a few things that you've said there that really struck a chord, not an earth chord with me. And you said having it be a social enterprise at its core was something that was a non-negotiable because you wanted to maintain that fire in your belly. But just hearing you speak, I feel like that obsession over business and growth and learning has probably also been a bit of fire in the belly to make it work.
Amelia Hicks (09:55):
Oh my gosh, that is so true. I love business. I just love it. I want to have lots of them. It's something about the strategy and the communications and the challenges, the ability to grow and learn. It's such a privilege to be someone who gets this much freedom in their lives. A lot of women and a lot of people around the world don't have it. And part of my learning in Asia was seeing the ridiculous brilliant lives we have and going, oh my God, I have skills and the ability to use them. I should go and do it. And yeah, it is what keeps me motivated, definitely just the love of the game, but also when it is tough because as we know it is, it will break you multiple times throughout the journey. But when it gets really, really tough for me just making money or just doing this for some sense of achievement would never quite be enough.
(11:07):
It had to be for a purpose bigger than myself and for Yos too, my partner. So it's cool because I remember there's this particular moment in Covid, and obviously so much has happened since then, but it's still so real. Just knowing that, having that inner knowing, inner certainty that no matter what was going to happen, we would find a way and we would find a way because there are people on the other side of the world, well actually Asia's pretty close overseas as well as our team, but I could rationalize my team would find work. I kind of knew, but the impact in Asia was like, no, no, there's no way We're not going to buy that coffee this year. And that just is so good, so motivating.
Danielle Lewis (11:54):
I love it. What's it like working with your partner?
Amelia Hicks (11:59):
Oh my gosh. I know I've mentioned him a lot. I, oh my gosh, another gift. I know a lot of friends that probably would just murder each other. We just,
Danielle Lewis (12:10):
I've had one of those. Don't worry.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
That's why I'm always curious.
Amelia Hicks (12:16):
Yeah, we have it sorted. We never occupied the same position in the business. Yes.
Danielle Lewis (12:24):
That's
Amelia Hicks (12:25):
So good. Yeah, so that's really great. And we do have complimentary skills. We've definitely learned and grown along the way. There was a time when I wanted to kind of separate business and life. That doesn't work, that's ridiculous. But we still have to like, okay, it's time for date night or it's time for sign off or don't talk to me about business now because, and so we've gotten a really, really good at communications, but I'd say the best part of it is sharing the wins, but also in the lows. Nobody understands more what you are going through than that person. And that is just the best. Yeah,
Danielle Lewis (13:05):
It is pretty amazing, isn't it? Because it's funny you mentioned, so I don't have kids either, but the level of responsibility you feel for your business, I think, and I'll get murdered for saying this, but is having a child,
Speaker 3 (13:24):
We obsess,
Danielle Lewis (13:25):
You obsess over our businesses. It's a child and it's all consuming. And it is funny. So my husband isn't in my business, but I had a previous long-term partner that was in my other business, and it took us a long time to figure out how to work together. We would step on each other's toes the whole way, try and have a hand in everything. And it really wasn't until we did that and went, okay, you're good at this, you're good at that. Let's separate it and trust each other. It wasn't until we actually developed that communication and understood that it kind of worked. But it is interesting, and I love you said, you can't really separate business and personal, and I know so many people advocate for that, but even now, literally I was having a bad day yesterday. The husband comes home and it's just me double diarrheaing at about what was going on. And it's like there is no, well, it's six o'clock now and we're going to have dinner and we're going to watch some tv. So you need to forget about all of your troubles. It's actually just, no, I'm probably going to have a wine and cry all night tonight.
(14:46):
Fortunately, he's very, very good and very understanding. He's in a very high level position in a company, so he does understand business on a level which is good. He can then ask me the right questions and do all of those things. So it is so lovely having somebody that you can have that deeper connection and who does on a level understand what it is you're going through. Because yeah, it is really all consuming. And I think it's funny because every now and then we'll get the, okay, it's time to put the laptop away, but I think that it is really hard to switch off from business and separate it.
Amelia Hicks (15:31):
Oh, absolutely. I know. I think, yeah, it's got to be the right partnership, doesn't it? But I often, I think there will be people in the world who that compartmentalization is really important, but they're probably not business owners. And I think any business owner that thinks that they're going to get more freedom or more time or more of that kind of work-life balance through their business is probably mildly deluded. Because there are ways that you can be so strategic and say Fiona, from my daily business who I think we connected on, she's mentioned how she lost a family member and so she's created her business so that she can show up. You definitely can do that, but it's got to be a very conscious choice. And I think if you're enjoying what you're doing and you love it and you're fulfilled by it, then you don't want to separate it. You want to go for it. And even with my staff, if I see that kind of level of burnout or wanting to this kind of resentment around, it's like, okay, that's a bigger discussion around the fact that you're not being fulfilled by the work that you're doing, rather than some unrealistic expectation that work doesn't permeate our lives. Because at the end of the day, we spend more time at work, whether you're an employee or not, then you do at home. It's just the truth of it.
Danielle Lewis (17:05):
Well, and I love the idea of freedom, so I think that it means something different than we thought it would mean. So hear me.
Amelia Hicks (17:16):
Oh wow. Okay. We've got a deep, I love it
Danielle Lewis (17:19):
Because I think that we all went, okay, we need to escape the nine to five job so that we can experience freedom. And I think that when we make that choice, we think freedom is I can do anything I want. I can work whatever hours I want, I can blah, blah. But I feel like, so now I have two businesses and I'm consumed by them, and I work 24 hours a day and people would say that that's not freedom, and then that's not what I signed up for. And it's not in the sense that perhaps I'm not only working three days a week, but I don't want to work three days a week. I absolutely love it and I am obsessed by, so the mission at Spark is to empower more women to experience freedom through business ownership. But it's like freedom for me is that I actually can work on something that I'm absolutely obsessed with every day. And yes, I can duck to the nail salon in the afternoon and get my nails on and no one's going to get mad at me. But yeah, it's funny. I think originally freedom was I want to work less, but now freedom for me is like I get to choose to work on anything I want, and I'm so completely obsessed by creating this asset, this empire, this thing that I'm eternally proud of. And that for me is freedom now.
Amelia Hicks (18:43):
I love that so much. It's such a good reframe. And of course it's going to be different for everyone, but for me as well, creating financial freedom is a really big driver for me as well. I'm not in business to just achieve things. I want to make money as well, but freedom for me is going every year, hopefully every six months, but all the time I'm getting more and more my role to a position where I'm doing less and less of what I don't like and more and more of what I do. To me, that's freedom. And you don't maybe necessarily have to have a business to get that. You just need to develop the skills to be the best person to be doing the thing that you really enjoy. That's invaluable in my opinion.
Danielle Lewis (19:32):
I love that. And you're so right as well. We are not charities, we are still here to make money because money does afford us freedom as well. I think the freedom to be able to go to the doctor when you're sick or go on that holiday or whatever it might be. And I think that we also need to, as women talk about money more and the fact that it is okay to earn money and to profit off doing good in the world. I think a woman once said to me, profit and impact shouldn't be mutually exclusive. And it's always made me think that if more people made money off doing good in the world, we do more good in the world.
Amelia Hicks (20:18):
Yes, so true. And I love the social impact space. I love social enterprise because we can be commercially viable. We can do operate businesses that meet consumer needs that are profitable, but that also do good in the world, and more money is in private sector than governments around the world. So small shifts in impact in the private sector make monstrous differences. Yeah, absolutely. It's just one of my favorite things, like business as a force for good is what I believe changes the world because you do have obsessed people like us.
Danielle Lewis (21:05):
Yeah, totally. How cool is that? And it's like it can look totally different for every business as well. I mean, I feel like there's lots of people who are passionate perhaps about marketing, and you might go, well, marketing's not going to change the, well, it's like actually there's plenty of room in a marketing based business to help people who are doing the social enterprise route or the NFP route or percentage of profits go back to a cause that you're passionate about. So I feel like when you have obsessed business owners, yeah, we do have this amazing opportunity in front of us
Amelia Hicks (21:45):
Big time. Yeah,
Danielle Lewis (21:47):
Absolutely. I love it so much. I love it so much. Okay, I always love to wrap this podcast on my last piece of advice. So reflecting on your time in business, what would be a piece of wisdom, a piece of advice that you would offer up to another woman who is on this crazy business journey?
Amelia Hicks (22:08):
I think, oh, I've probably got a couple.
Danielle Lewis (22:12):
Give it to me. You can do as many as you like,
Amelia Hicks (22:16):
So don't wait to know everything. I think action is more valuable than being perfect and trust yourself that if you are all in on this idea, you will find a way. I think number two is relentlessly consume content because we live in a day and age where the absolute best of the best will be on a podcast sharing detailed information about how they got there. And that's so unique, and I think it is quite common to, well, people are great at it, but not utilizing that such a missed opportunity. Because there has been times when I've read a little business book or a 30 minute podcast that has changed my entire strategy or has helped me uncover one of those kind of mind frame blockages that's stopping me from fixing 1%. That over time gets me all the way over here. So I think what I've done is, and you can debate whether this is good or bad, but I was into politics and social issues and kind of relentlessly obsessed with the news and staying up to date, and I realized that ultimately that wasn't actually feeding me.
(23:44):
So I kind of went on a zero kind of media diet and everything I consume is about getting better at doing what I know is going to create impact in the world. So that's number two, relentlessly obsessed over that. And then I think number three is, yeah, I guess get the right people around you. If you are a solo entrepreneur, find your missing piece and yeah, really figure out what your values are, where your business is going, and start to build that team as quickly as you can because ultimately we don't do this alone. We don't do it alone. So yeah, the right people is really key as well.
Danielle Lewis (24:33):
I love that so much. You are so spot on. I know personally in business, having those people that you can go to, but also that strategic team that is, I love you said it earlier, as the business grows and you get better and better and better, you get to do more of the things that you love. The way that happens is through team, it is through, and team looks different for everyone as well. It might be, you may not have to have 10 full-time employees, but it could be a couple of freelancers, a virtual assistant or one whatever. But you are so right. You don't get to then just focus on the stuff that lights you up if you don't have that support network or that support team that is actually doing all the other stuff. Because fortunately, unfortunately, all that stuff has to get done in a business. So yeah, I love that connection.
Amelia Hicks (25:30):
Leverage your time. What is your time worth and find someone else who can do those jobs. It's the four hour workweek kind of mentality with Tim Fer thing, it's like, yeah, we have to leverage that. Absolutely.
Danielle Lewis (25:43):
It's a really good one. I know was supposed to be wrapping this up, but it just made me think of, I don't know who I heard this from, but it was also life-changing, but it was figure out the difference between $1,000 tasks and $10 tasks. So you as the business owner, you are the a thousand dollars task person. You are the person that can do those. If it's a $10 task and anyone can do it, you shouldn't be doing that. That should be something that you outsource or have an employee or whatever that looks like. So yeah, I think that that's a good little thing to think about as well.
Amelia Hicks (26:18):
Top tip. And you never have to stop doing that. I'm still looking at my things going, okay, someone else can do this, someone else can do this, someone else can. Yes. Yeah,
Danielle Lewis (26:26):
Good tip. I love it so much. Amelia, you are amazing. Thank you so much for sharing your time with the Spark community. So many good little nuggets of wisdom in there, so I appreciate you.
Amelia Hicks (26:40):
Thank you. Thank you for shining a light on Women in Business. I love what you're doing. Thanks for having me. I.
✨ Thank you to IP Australia for supporting the SPARK podcast and women in business ✨
