#awinewith Emma Thomson
MEET Emma Thomson, Founder of Emma Sadie Thomson.
You can find them here:
Transcript
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Danielle Lewis: So good.
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emmathomson: But yeah.
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Danielle Lewis: Amazing! Emma, welcome to Spark TV!
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emmathomson: Hello, thank you.
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Danielle Lewis: So good to have you. I know our lives have been getting in the way of this chat, so I'm so grateful that we got here. Let's start out by telling everyone who you are and what you do.
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emmathomson: Okay, yeah, my name's Emma, and I've got a plant styling and landscape design business based in Adelaide.
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emmathomson: I usually work with, like, architects and interior designers and come up with custom stuff for their projects, all based around plants.
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Danielle Lewis: So cool! How did you get into that?
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emmathomson: I kind of… I've had business for about 10 years now, but a friend kind of had a hotel, and she wanted some stuff done for her beer garden, and I had originally studied landscape design.
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emmathomson: Had a break from it for a little while and did some other stuff, like visual merchandising and things like that. And then…
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emmathomson: Yeah, just kind of did that project with her, and then just from there, kind of…
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emmathomson: continued on with projects, and it was at a time when not everyone was kind of into plants so much as they are now. And then, yeah, just kind of.
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Danielle Lewis: Well, you'll profess to be, like, horticultural.
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emmathomson: It's been asked for the Lisa.
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Danielle Lewis: Don't look too closely.
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Danielle Lewis: It's so wild, isn't it? Like, I always think, you know, there's so many different professions out there, like, how do people actually start businesses and get into things, and…
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Danielle Lewis: you know, landscape design, plant design. It is, you know, it's not the usual one. I'm sure at primary school, no one says, who would like to be a landscape designer or a plant designer? So, I'm always fascinated by, getting to do stuff that you actually love doing for a living.
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emmathomson: Yeah.
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emmathomson: No, it's been great. I do love it, and I kind of just, yeah, created the…
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emmathomson: job myself, I guess, because there's… I mean, my competitors, I guess they kind of offer, like, a specific
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emmathomson: You know, range of pots and range of plants, and that's all they offer, whereas we'll work with the architects and designers.
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emmathomson: And kind of come up with, you know, whether it's inbuilt planters, or just, like, help them along the way with that kind of stuff. And do… find, yeah, custom pots and custom things to suit the space, rather than just having, like, a catalogue of what you can pick from.
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Danielle Lewis: Yeah, and I guess, like, I mean, how nice for the person designing their home or office to actually get something that they want, not just, here are your five choices.
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Danielle Lewis: Oh, I love that, that's so interesting. So, what were you doing before you got into that? So, obviously, your friend needed help with their beer garden, you jumped on it, but, like, what got you there?
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emmathomson: Before that, I was doing… I was working for, like, a fashion label, old-fashioned company that had a few different labels, and was doing their visual merchandising and their, like, sets for photography and that kind of stuff.
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emmathomson: And I guess I'd, yeah, I'd always kind of wanted to go back to my studies, but…
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emmathomson: I didn't want to go and work in an office, like, in a landscape firm or anything, like, on the computer and stuff, it was just not my jam, but,
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emmathomson: yeah, I don't know, I guess I've kind of tied… tried to tie everything that I've had done along the way into something else, and I think I quite like having
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emmathomson: The flexibility of a business, even though it's stressful and, you know, never ends.
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emmathomson: I don'.
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Danielle Lewis: Yes, and we have, you know, other duties outside the business.
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emmathomson: Why won't this thing calm down? And… yeah, I guess I just… now I can't imagine, like, working for anyone else, you know?
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Danielle Lewis: Yeah. So you've always been creative, essentially, and looking Native pursuits, visual pursuits.
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emmathomson: Yep.
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Danielle Lewis: How was that like, you know, turning it into a business? I mean, I feel like sometimes there's a…
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emmathomson: It's very long.
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Danielle Lewis: challenge between being super creative and then, like, the boring business side of things, but I love how you talked about, actually, you can create something that's flexible, that, you know, you do for yourself. Like, talk to me about that process of actually turning it into a business.
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emmathomson: I guess…
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emmathomson: Yeah, like, the business side of things is something that I, you know, I don't enjoy. Kind of, it's a bit of a…
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emmathomson: I…
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emmathomson: you know, I have to sit down and do this admin today, or whatever, but I guess you just kind of get into it, and I…
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emmathomson: Yeah, I kind of just took the opportunities as projects came up. I don't know… I don't know if it was completely my intention to, you know, start a business like this. It just kind of evolved, and…
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Danielle Lewis: Adelaide is, like, a bit smaller, which is, like, frustrating at times, but it's also quite good to network, and people are…
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emmathomson: Supportive.
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Danielle Lewis: Listen.
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emmathomson: weaknesses and stuff?
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emmathomson: Yeah, thanks.
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Danielle Lewis: And it's interesting, so you didn't have a 10-year plan?
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emmathomson: No, I definitely did not. I know I probably should. Now I'm like, oh, I wish I had a 10-year plan.
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Danielle Lewis: No, I just literally cleaned off my whiteboard, because I'm like, the plan I had, like, 12 months ago is already out the window, so I don't know how people have long-term plans.
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Danielle Lewis: But I kind of think, like, that's…
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emmathomson: I'm passing.
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Danielle Lewis: why creative people make such great business owners, because you can actually work in a little bit of chaos, and just take the next step, jump on the next project, kind of make it up a little bit as you go, which…
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Danielle Lewis: I love, because I think that's what business is. So many people don't start businesses because they're like, I don't know all of the hundred steps that I need to take, and I'm like, I've been in business for 15 years, and I still don't know what the steps are. So, like, it's okay.
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emmathomson: Oh, I know, it's… yeah, I think you need a balance of both, but it's, yeah, I mean, I think you have to be a little bit more, like, on our side, where we're like, you just kind of have to go for it, you have to try, because you don't know, you could plan forever, and…
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emmathomson: You know, if you don't have the opportunities and you don't take them when they come up, then…
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emmathomson: You know, you can have the best business plan in the world, but if it's not…
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Danielle Lewis: If you don't do it.
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emmathomson: I don't have anything to do with it, yeah.
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Danielle Lewis: Yay! Oh my god, exactly. And I do love that idea of just jumping on opportunities, right? Like, you know, something comes up, give it a go, try. I just feel like there is so much value in taking action, whether it works or it doesn't work, or whether it's perfect or it's imperfect.
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Danielle Lewis: It's just in the doing that you kind of figure out what you want to do and how the business is gonna look.
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emmathomson: Yeah.
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Danielle Lewis: What do you think's been the biggest challenge for you in business?
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emmathomson: swap.
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emmathomson: I think dogs will work. Okay.
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emmathomson: I guess… That balance between, like, expanding too much and…
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emmathomson: keeping it small, and, like, staff and things now, so I've got a… she's a friend, but she works for me full-time now, and then I've got two other staff members that work once a week, and they do maintenance.
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emmathomson: For the venues.
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Danielle Lewis: So you have to feed them.
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emmathomson: Yeah, it's getting that balance of, like, oh, yes, you know, do I want to aim for these really massive commercial projects, but that's kind of getting into the realm of maybe, you know, a big landscape firm might take on projects like that, or do I sit in this spot where I'm in where they're…
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emmathomson: Still do some big commercial stuff, but it's not…
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emmathomson: on that other level, I guess.
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Danielle Lewis: Hmm.
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emmathomson: I guess it's… Not waiting for projects like that, but it's, you know, there's not always…
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emmathomson: a lot of projects happening, but now I'm trying to potentially, you know, look into stay a little bit, like, if it kind of works, and it was the right kind of project, just to expand a little bit in that way, but I think stay in the…
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emmathomson: kind of space that I'm in with project sizes and stuff like that. Yeah.
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Danielle Lewis: Yeah, it's an interesting conversation about, like.
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Danielle Lewis: growth and scale, like, but for what reason? You know, and I think sometimes when you're in business, it's like, I just have to be a billionaire and build an empire, and it's like, actually, you don't. You know, you can do stuff you enjoy doing and make decent money and, like, be happy.
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emmathomson: Yeah.
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Danielle Lewis: Because, obviously, we have little ones running around in the background, so you've also got to balance family life, I'm guessing.
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emmathomson: Yeah.
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Danielle Lewis: How's that going?
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emmathomson: Oh, that's alright. I mean, they're 2 and 6, so it's… busy. It's a…
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emmathomson: I don't know if it's easier when they're babies or not, it feels…
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Danielle Lewis: Like, a lot at the moment, I think.
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emmathomson: But, you kind of just…
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emmathomson: get through it, I've got a supporting partner, but he's got his own business too, so we're both just a bit, like, under the pump, but… yeah.
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Danielle Lewis: Do you find having a partner who has a business is a little bit more understanding, because they kind of know what it's like in business?
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emmathomson: Yeah, I think so.
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Danielle Lewis: Yeah, okay.
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emmathomson: I mean, but then there's also the added stress of both having own businesses on.
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Danielle Lewis: Yeah.
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emmathomson: Like, wouldn't it be nice if you just got paid this much money?
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Danielle Lewis: Could you just get a job, please?
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Danielle Lewis: Oh my god, well, I've had both. I… my previous, long-term partner, we've co-founded a business, we were in business for 10 years together, and that was wild, like, living and breathing with someone who was in business, and also in business together.
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Danielle Lewis: And my now-husband, is… has a job, and like, you know, I'm like, it's so wild, like, he just goes off to work in the morning at 6 o'clock, and I don't see him until 6pm, and tells me.
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emmathomson: What is that?
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Danielle Lewis: gets the paycheck, takes holidays, and I'm like, what is this life that you live?
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Danielle Lewis: But it's… it's actually nice, because he… because there's such a little bit of rumor he's kind of…
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Danielle Lewis: like, high up enough that he knows business and questions to ask and all that sort of stuff, but it's so nice to have a conversation that's, like, elevated, not like in the, oh my god, this person did XYZ today. It's a little bit more like, what's the business doing? Like, strategy, that kind of stuff, so I'm not sure which one I like better, but…
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emmathomson: It's a.
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Danielle Lewis: Always an interesting home dynamic with businesses.
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emmathomson: Yes. How long have you had this business for?
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Danielle Lewis: So Spark has been around for 5 years. Yep. And yeah, my previous business, was probably…
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Danielle Lewis: about 10 years, and then there's been another couple, like, just short, spin-up and exit kind of businesses, so… Yeah. Yes, I… I couldn't imagine life not in business as well, you know? It is wildly stressful, but I agree, you know, it's so nice to just…
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Danielle Lewis: work on things that you like working on, create your own hours, all of the things. It's a bit of a balance between the good and the bad, I think, with business.
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emmathomson: Yes.
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Danielle Lewis: Oh, so good, so good. So how do you make those decisions? I mean, do you… in terms of scale, where you're like, you know, we could go over, you know, after the big commercial jobs, but really, you know, we want to play here, like, how do you kind of think about your business and the vision for it?
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emmathomson: I mean, at the moment, because I think we've had… I've had the business for quite a long time, and we do have
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emmathomson: such good relationships with architects and interior designers that are working on those kind of projects. Anyway, like, a lot of them,
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emmathomson: to me, anyway, for the project. Like, I wouldn't say I'm hustling to get
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emmathomson: projects. I mean, in a way, I am, like, in the interstate world, a little bit, which might be just a can of worms that is stressful and don't need, but we can deal with it as it comes up.
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Danielle Lewis: I like to do that a little bit, sometimes just dabble in a bit of stress, and then pull back.
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emmathomson: So I guess that I've been lucky in that way, that…
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emmathomson: you know, a lot of them do, just, yeah, I…
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emmathomson: I've got a bit of a name now in Adelaide, is that, you know, if you want some plants and stuff like that, you can chat to Emma. So that's been really nice, and just to have built up those relationships with those people.
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emmathomson: And then I guess some other things have been coming up where, like, quite a good landscape architecture firm
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emmathomson: We had a… just had a coffee the other day, and he was saying that they often, you know, get… it blows into indoor… the indoor plant space as well, but they don't really want to do that as much, so we've kind of…
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emmathomson: Talked about teaming up.
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emmathomson: you know, where if he's got a project, then we could collaborate on it, and I'll do the internals, he does the landscaping, and then, you know, potentially vice versa.
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emmathomson: So…
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emmathomson: Yeah, I think with kids, and just, like, where I'm at at the moment in life, it's… yes, I want to expand, and I do have a bit of an itch to, like, just do a bit more, but at the same time.
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emmathomson: the power in, like, collaborating with people, I think, is… Is great, as well.
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emmathomson: You know?
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Danielle Lewis: Yeah, and interesting that you say that. So, building relationships, collaborating with others, and you kind of have a stream of business coming through to you. Do you think that that has been literally your sales and marketing strategy, is to build relationships with the people out there having those conversations?
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emmathomson: Yeah, I guess so. I guess I've never thought about it like that, but yeah.
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Danielle Lewis: I know, but interesting, like, again, comes back to the, we don't have a 10-year plan, but you kind of go, okay, where are the people?
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Danielle Lewis: you know, build great relationships. I think sometimes people think, oh my god, I don't want to do sales.
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Danielle Lewis: well, actually, a lot of women in business say that, but it's like, it doesn't have to be shit. It can just be, where are the people talking? I will be a good person and great at what I do, and build good relationships, and then people will recommend me. And that's a sales strategy. I love it!
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Danielle Lewis: Yeah, well, and it's obviously working, which is phenomenal.
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emmathomson: Yeah.
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emmathomson: Oh, it's good. It's,
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emmathomson: Yeah, Adelaide's… I mean, it's good, it's a funny place sometimes, feels like a big country town, but then it's… there's still things happening, slowly. Yes. And then…
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emmathomson: Yeah, I mean, I guess one thing to kind of, you know, bring another creative outlet was… I've been playing around with different materials,
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emmathomson: And so we did a big project for a place in the city, in Festival Plaza, and we made all these planters out of, like, a hemp and bioresin. So we kind of got the architects to change their mind from using, like, a concrete,
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emmathomson: Which was fun, and that was, I guess, in the bigger kind of commercial space as well, so even just having some, you know, conversations with those kind of clients was… was good, and getting them to, you know, I really didn't think they'd say yes.
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emmathomson: Do you think you'd ever go into, like, products? Like, physical products? I am…
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emmathomson: working with a company in… I think they're in Marlon Bimby, they make, like… I've actually got one here, I've got to send them to Architect, but this is in my…
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emmathomson: video. Anyway, it's like, you can kind of see. Oh, cool! It's based on, like, paper…
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emmathomson: Like, cellulose kind of waste, paper waste, or they have a few different other things, and…
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Danielle Lewis: Yep.
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emmathomson: and water, and I think they… I don't know how they do it, somehow in, like, a mold, but they're doing, like, a range of cylinder planters.
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emmathomson: with them, which would be fun, because, again, it's like, I can't…
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emmathomson: yes, I want to push some more, like, sustainable kind of pots and things like that, but I also want them to be of a certain design level as well. And…
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emmathomson: And a certain aesthetic, and just because we often can't find things that we…
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emmathomson: want for projects. I was like, maybe I'll do a small range of our own
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emmathomson: pots. I mean, it's a bit of a risk, and it's a bit of a financial, like, burden that I probably…
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emmathomson: Don't need.
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Danielle Lewis: Love it, says the entrepreneur.
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emmathomson: I'll do it anyway.
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Danielle Lewis: I love it. I mean, it's so fascinating. I… I have a bit of a bee in my bonnet about, like, sustainable things. I feel like one of the biggest barriers to people getting on board is aesthetic.
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Danielle Lewis: Like, if things just looked prettier, people wouldn't think… because I feel like you want people to… yes, we want to make good choices to support the planet.
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Danielle Lewis: But, we also want people to… want it to be commercial, where they don't even think about it, they just select it, and it's… they're doing good without even knowing they're doing good. And I think the problem is, like.
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Danielle Lewis: you know, I always use the toothpaste example, you know, if you ever buy healthy toothpaste, it's shit, you know? You know, if things just, like, were a better experience, I think so many people would choose sustainable far more often than we do.
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emmathomson: Yeah.
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Danielle Lewis: I love it.
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emmathomson: It's like I won't tell people that they're… what they're made of until, like, you know, get really nice professional pictures, do all that, and then be like, and they're made… you know? It's like.
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Danielle Lewis: Yeah.
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emmathomson: Yeah, because there, I mean, there are some really beautiful pot options and stuff like that, but there's, like, you know, the cheaper fiberglass ones we use, or then it jumps up to, you know, like.
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emmathomson: $3,000 or $4,000, you know, spun aluminium pots, which are great, but…
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emmathomson: I mean, mine will be in the middle of that, there'll be…
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Danielle Lewis: Yep.
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emmathomson: you know, like, $1,000 kind of range, which is still expensive for someone to buy a pot, but I think in the architecture space and that
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emmathomson: maybe… It'll fit, like, for the right project.
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Danielle Lewis: Yeah. Well, and that's it, isn't it? You know, there's all different levels that need products and services, so, you know, you don't have to cater for everybody, but, you know, finding that niche and delivering a product that is of, you know, your values, that aligns to the customer, like, that's where it's at, right?
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emmathomson: Yeah.
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Danielle Lewis: Oh, so cool. I love it! I love it! Well, this is exciting. Now I always love to wrap up these podcasts with one last piece of advice. So, reflecting on your time in business, what would be a piece of advice that you would give to another woman on her business journey?
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emmathomson: Come on.
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emmathomson: I think just, like, just go for it. Keep going.
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emmathomson: Dudley.
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Danielle Lewis: I could…
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emmathomson: Like, yeah, I don't know. Even if it feels like you, like, want to quit it all and it's not working, I think just keep…
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emmathomson: Persevering. If you love her, you'll kind of make it work, I think.
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emmathomson: You know, if you don't… if you…
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emmathomson: And you must have a business kind of entrepreneurial element if you're starting a business anyway, or you just wouldn't do it, you know, because not everyone has that personality.
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emmathomson: Go through buying Frankie's shoes!
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emmathomson: coffee for you.
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Danielle Lewis: Oh, so cute. But I couldn't agree with you more. It's like, someone gave me the advice, just keep going. I think it was, like, a shareholder or something back in the day, and I was like, that's literally, like, the only thing that's, like, gotten me through. It's like, literally, you just…
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Danielle Lewis: Days will be shit, and it is really hard, and the only thing you're supposed to do is not quit. Literally. That's the only name of the game, is don't quit. There's also a good one, Denise Stuffield Thomas, who's, like, a money mindset
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Danielle Lewis: guru, she always says, when you really… when you want to quit, like, and, you know, burn your business to the ground, just don't do it in that day, because you'll always find, like, you'll wake up in the morning and you're like, okay, I'll keep going, you know? So, when you feel like that, just don't quit today. Wait till tomorrow.
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Danielle Lewis: And I'm like, well, I can procrastinate like nobody's business, so this is… I can get on board with that.
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Danielle Lewis: Oh, so good, Emma.
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emmathomson: Thank you.
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Danielle Lewis: So much!
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emmathomson: Yeah.
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Danielle Lewis: It was so lovely to chat with you, so excited about your business, thank you for sharing your story with the Spark community, and thank you for the advice. I'm gonna carry the keep-going vibe into my business day as well.
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emmathomson: Great. Nice to meet you.
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Danielle Lewis: Lovely to meet you. Cool! And then we just cut there, and I'll hit stop, and you are all done.
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