#awinewith Kelly Johnson
MEET Kelly, Founder of Woodlane Orchard.
You can find them here:
Transcript
Danielle Lewis (00:08):
So good. Kelly, welcome to Smart tv. I'm so excited to have you on the show today.
Kelly Johnson (00:16):
Thanks for having me. It's quite exciting.
Danielle Lewis (00:19):
It is. It's so exciting. And thank you just what it's like to be a woman in business. So you've rescheduled with me as my craziness has ensued. So thank you also for being very accommodating. I appreciate that.
Kelly Johnson (00:32):
Pleasure.
Danielle Lewis (00:33):
Let's start out just by telling everyone who you are and what you do.
Kelly Johnson (00:39):
So I'm Kelly Johnson. I have a business in regional South Australia in a little location that's actually now at Wall Flat, but Myer Manam area. And I collect surplus produce and imagine it into soups, meals, snacks, and garnishes.
Danielle Lewis (00:58):
I love this. This is very exciting. How on earth did you get into it?
Kelly Johnson (01:05):
Well, I'd been working away from home for quite a while and I was missing my husband. It had gotten to a point where in fact, he'd rolled up to Adelaide where I was living away from home. And I thought, oh, and it just seemed so inconvenient that he was there and I thought, I need to get a grip on my life. So I quit my job and I went home. And when I got there, my skillset was, it just didn't fit anything that was available. And I looked around me and there was a lot of waste food, a lot of produce, fruit, vegetables, just going to waste. So I thought initially to help a friend, I sold a ton of dried peaches for him, and I just played around with him, got them moving, and then my husband said, well, they're gone. You better get a job. And I thought, oh, I quite like this gig. I better get into this a bit deeper. And so that's what I did. I looked around, I looked at what was available, and the whole business has grown out of that concept.
Danielle Lewis (02:08):
That is incredible. So what were you doing before when you had a job? What was your job when you said that you quit and went to be with your husband, didn't quite find anywhere with the skillset that you had. What were you doing beforehand?
Kelly Johnson (02:22):
So it is interesting because I'd been a stay-at-home mom. I have three sons, two with spectrum on the spectrum and one with a heart condition. So I'd been very entrenched in being a mom, and I hadn't had a job for years, and I had been doing scout leading. So I'd been going out with my children and scouting, and I actually got to a point where I was actually a national trainer for Scouts Australia. I was doing these really cool things. So on one side, I'm a stay at home mom and thinking I'm not very successful. I haven't done anything that's brought money into the home. But on the other side, I was really successful scouting. And then I got a job with the South Australian branch of scouting as their branch volunteer coordinator. So I was coordinating all of the volunteers and realized that hey, actually not just a stay home mom, which is what we all tend to say, we sort of dismiss the fact that we're doing one of the hardest jobs ever. So I got this job with scouts and I was consumed by it just as I had been with my children. I think I have a bit of a problem.
(03:32):
And so I was just scouting, scouting, scouting, and it had taken over my life. But really the whole concept for Woodland Orchard and now Spiker came out of scouting.
Danielle Lewis (03:45):
I love it because I had a look at your website as I was preparing for our chat, and I noticed that the foods that you produce great for going out camping and going on adventures and having those nutritious, delicious meals that are dried, prepackaged. So it almost seems like a bit of full circle moment where you've had all of this experience firsthand what it's like out scouting, and then you've come across a problem in the world in terms of food wastage and all of the stars have aligned to create this epic business.
Kelly Johnson (04:23):
Absolutely true. So many circles actually, because the venue that I've currently found myself in is a venue. I opened a scout group in and we had to knock a little shack down off the back of it and build this beautiful big kitchen for the community. And we did all of that. The S scout groups actually moved on, and now I've actually gone into that venue to run the business. So another circle. It's kind of cool.
Danielle Lewis (04:45):
It's so cool, isn't it? I love it because oftentimes people think the path to business ownership is linear, but oftentimes it is those little things that we think, what am I doing? Or I'm just doing this or I'm not successful enough. But it is all of those building blocks and those moments that kind of lead you to the successful business that you have.
Kelly Johnson (05:08):
Absolutely. My whole life and anybody's life is like that. We had children with extra needs that we weren't expecting, and that really did lead me to a point where I always had to be ready to change on the dime. What's happening today? Where do I go? And yet at the same time, there's a lot of structure. So you've got to be, you've know where you're going. You've got to have time all set aside for the kids, but when something goes wrong, you have to be able to go bang. And that actually has helped me inside of the business, especially when Covid came. I had a business that was selling exclusively out of markets. Covid came and my business was a garner. If I didn't change, I didn't have a business. And I thought, oh, well, okay, I've had some fun, and that's probably the end of it, but picked up a few key wholesale clients and that I actually had a product that was marketable. This was going to go into shops, my goodness. And it gave me that first leg up to go. I could take this further and I don't have to stay in that lineal direction. I'm going to fork off and try new direction. And that's what I did. And every time we come to a hurdle, we just go, okay, well, let's just go round it and let's just go round it. And then has led us on this fantastic journey to where we are now.
Danielle Lewis (06:25):
I'm not going to lie, I think that moms make the best business owners because they literally, like you said at the start of the episode, they have the hardest job in the world. You always have to be thinking on your feet. You never know what's coming up. And that's kind of exactly a good metaphor for business.
Kelly Johnson (06:40):
Absolutely. And we have to get on with very difficult people when we're masks. Absolutely.
Danielle Lewis (06:48):
Yes. And unfortunately, you can't fire them.
Kelly Johnson (06:52):
No. So that's good for business. You've got to learn to get along with people.
Danielle Lewis (06:57):
That is so true. Now, I love what you said, going from markets and selling at markets through to gaining a wholesalers, do you also sell e-commerce? Is it wholesale and e-commerce or just through retail stores?
Kelly Johnson (07:11):
Retail stores? Yeah. No, we originally started in markets. Covid came and my first thought was, oh, well, I could go online. And then I didn't really have the skills or the money to really invest heavily in it. So I dabbled picked up the wholesale customers. But as we've gone along, our actual online business has got quite a nice following. And we were very lucky to have an episode on landline last year, and it exploded for us. So we're actually much busier online than we used to be.
Danielle Lewis (07:42):
That's so cool. How did you land a spot on landline? How did that happen?
Kelly Johnson (07:49):
So we've been really lucky over time to get some really lovely media opportunities. But our hometown, my PGA, won the agricultural town of the year for South Australia last year. And landline, of course, came and did a story, and then they went quite like this little story. So they did a couple of stories on some other wonderful businesses in our area, and we were one of them.
Danielle Lewis (08:13):
Oh my God, that's incredible. It's such a great, I guess example of jumping on opportunities as they arrive and the impact, you just never know though. You never know the impact that that could have on your business. So jumping on it was obviously a smart move.
Kelly Johnson (08:29):
Yeah, look, I had cancer a couple of years ago, and I decided very consciously after that to have a year of saying yes, no matter what, just say yes. And it was a really good lesson because quite often an opportunity comes your way and you overthink it, and then you scare yourself away from it. But everything that came away, I said yes, and it just took us to new places that I wouldn't have ordinarily done,
Danielle Lewis (08:56):
Done. Holy crap. So that's huge. Are you okay?
Kelly Johnson (09:01):
Yeah, I'm doing really well. I'm very lucky. Yes.
Danielle Lewis (09:04):
Wow. Isn't it interesting? Oh my God, I just got goosebumps. Isn't it interesting, like the decisions we can make with the circumstances we get dealt sometimes, and you've mentioned a few challenges in your life and I'm just blown away and so impressed by your ability to say yes, to jump on opportunities to take the next step. I think sometimes we get dealt these blows or all perceived blows and we go insula, we kind of go, oh, I just need to protect. And maybe I shouldn't, or maybe I can't. But you've just fricking run with it. You've gone Absolutely. I'm sorry. I can actually be the best at this on the planet. This is so cool. I love it. Why do you think that is? What's different about you?
Kelly Johnson (09:56):
Well, I think I'm a product of a farmer's daughter. You live on the land and there's always challenges, and some of them are pretty tough. I remember times when mom and dad had trouble putting food on the table or could hardly afford to get us on an excursion, but they made it work. They made it happen. We had to earn whatever we got. And when something tough came along, you dodge and weave and you keep going, you never ever stop. You just keep moving forward. And I think that that has led me to the place where I've got a lot of resilience. I am not going to let life's ups and downs beat me.
Danielle Lewis (10:35):
That is so cool. That is just, I feel like if we could just underline something in this episode and impart that wisdom, that would be it. Because I feel like we all have this potential, and some of us have a road that's a little bit rockier than others, but you are a picture of you can do anything that you want. You can be dealt any card and actually choose to move forward. I'm blown away.
Kelly Johnson (11:03):
You know what? I think going back to when my children were small and in and out of hospital, they were quite sick. And what that did for me is put me in a position where you are looking around and you're never the worst off. And I think that's important to have opportunities where you do that because it's very easy to get in a hole and wallow there. But when you're in a hole with a heap of other people who are deeper in the hole than you are, you realize how lucky you are. Even in the worst of situations, there's somebody worse off. And I think that's important that everyone does that. It's that adage of how do you feel deep happiness if you haven't felt sadness? It's that same thing. You've got to really make sure when the good times come, you cash in on 'em as much as you can enjoy.
Danielle Lewis (11:51):
Yeah, absolutely. And also to, I love, so before we hit record, you mentioned that your team were away. So you had a bit of a free day and you actually said, no, I'm going to take the day and I'm going to look after myself. And I feel like that's a little bit aligned with when the good times roll cash in on them, but also not forgetting to create a few good times and moments for ourselves to look after ourselves.
Kelly Johnson (12:16):
Yeah. We see we just made a massive move. We had a 15 acre, four bedroom, three living room. Massive, massive, massive house. And I've been feeling quite overwhelmed. There's just too much happening. I've launched the spike of business, Scott Wood Lane, the husband's doing this. Our sons have all moved out. We've got things going on. And so we decided to sell and we couldn't find anywhere to live. There is no housing. It is horrific. We couldn't find a rental and we couldn't find a home to buy. And we had money, we had cash, we could buy it. So we moved to a houseboat. We bought a houseboat. So we're living on a houseboat.
Danielle Lewis (12:56):
Are you on a houseboat right now? Are you on a houseboat
Kelly Johnson (12:58):
Right now? That's our staircase to the roof.
Danielle Lewis (13:01):
Oh my God, that's so cool.
Kelly Johnson (13:05):
It's the best thing ever. So yesterday morning I got up, it was a beautiful day. The sun was out, the pelicans were on the water, and I went, I don't want to go. So I did.
Danielle Lewis (13:14):
Oh my God, I love it so much. This is talk about bloody making lemonade at lemons.
Kelly Johnson (13:20):
This is so
Danielle Lewis (13:21):
Good.
Kelly Johnson (13:22):
It's awesome. I love it.
Danielle Lewis (13:25):
Isn't it funny though, I was listening to a podcast this morning about what everyone thinks success and wealth looks like, and a lot of people associate it with the five bedroom house and the acres of land and the this and the designer handbag and the this and the that. But I feel like it's bloody freedom, what you mentioned, waking up to the perfect day and going, Nope, I'm going to enjoy this. That to me is success.
Kelly Johnson (13:54):
Absolutely. It is. Yep. Do you know what success I remember? I think if you look at success, and you remember when you were a child and you might've been lucky enough to be in the street and the ice cream truck came. Yes. And you were the kids who got to line up and get ice cream. To you that was success. Didn't matter if your parents were rich, poor, didn't matter. But that ice cream was the best thing because it was in the moment. It was right then and there. You couldn't have had one more thing better than that ice cream when you were 10 years old. And that is what you have to make of every day. You have to find your ice cream moment every single day. What's that one thing that you had that you just go, oh, the Beast. That's how you try to live? Yeah.
Danielle Lewis (14:35):
Oh my God. Okay. So you have just coined a new thing that I'm doing for the rest of my life, finding ice cream moments in every day.
Kelly Johnson (14:46):
I hadn't heard an ice cream truck in decades, and we moved into the marina and the first Saturday we're in here. I went, we had some friends here and we're all going, turned into 10 year olds freaking out. And there it was, it trundled past the houseboat, and there we were out the front. It was the best thing I've done in decades. And it was just simply an ice cream truck. And that's the whole point. It's not about the Lamborghini or the Richie restaurant or the whatever, it's about the ice cream. It's about the simple things that just make you feel like your soul got hugged. Yeah,
Danielle Lewis (15:27):
I love it so much. So I often rant about hating the Instagrammers who talk about their 17 billion business that they grew in 17 seconds. And I just feel like, and
Kelly Johnson (15:40):
It pushed nothing.
Danielle Lewis (15:41):
Of course, of course, of course. I just posted once on Instagram and then I was a billionaire. But it just reminds me, you have to know what's important to you. You really have to do the internal exercise of what is my ice cream moment? Is it taking the kids to school? Is it being able to read a book in the afternoon in the sunshine? Is it going to get a facial? I don't know, whatever it is. But it's so different for everybody what that looks like. And I feel like sometimes we hold ourselves to the world's definition of success and then feel like a failure, even though we have done so many amazing things. As business owners, we consider a failure because there's this external view on what success is. But I'm telling you, if I could find an ice cream moment every day, that is success.
Kelly Johnson (16:34):
That is absolutely success.
Danielle Lewis (16:37):
So good. I love it. I love it so much. So talk to me, how is the actual transition between going from the scout leader, I guess kind of employee working for an organization and then going into running your own business? Did you find any kind of challenges moving from one to the other, or was it a natural progression? What was that like for you taking that leap?
Kelly Johnson (17:04):
It was a transition because, well, of course I was looking for work. So it was a home business to begin with. I was doing it from the house, and then quite quickly, it was all through the house. We had no house to live in. The couch was on the end standing on its end. We couldn't even sit on it. There was just nowhere to go. And this isn't a huge house. So I was very fortunate that another business locally had a factory and they had some space. So they let us come into the space and we shared it, which I'm all about sustainability. So to me, that was perfect. Here's a chunk of space in there not being used. We can both use it co habitat and it would be fine. And that worked great until about a month ago and was too tight. So we've moved into a little hall.
(17:53):
So the business went for two years alone, but I was doing extraordinarily long hours, and it had reached a point. It was just a bit ridiculous, really. So I had to either make the decision, are we taking it to the next step or are we going to slow it down a bit too much? So we took it to the next step, and I employed people. And that for me has been, as much as I was coordinating several hundred leaders inside Scouts, easy. It's all the legislation, red tape, ridiculousness around having employees that I've found the most daunting to make sure that I have all the boxes ticked, and there is no real help for you. It's just suddenly nobody comes out and gives you a hand. You have to figure it all out and stay on top of it. So that's difficult administration.
Danielle Lewis (18:44):
Yeah, I totally agree. And it's interesting because otherwise you've got to pay a lot of money to, and it's funny, in those transition periods, there's kind of those almost business breaking moments where you are like, we got to break what we're doing right now to flourish into the next level. And you're so right. Team is such a big part of that. Yeah. Do I try and figure it all out myself or do then I pay more money than I should to get an HR person, an accountant, a lawyer, a this or that, this, and then now I'm paying all of this money and haven't, the business hasn't caught up to this next phase yet. It feels like such a leap. I think sometimes when you're breaking through a phase and hiring new people,
Kelly Johnson (19:29):
You feel like you're working for everybody else and not for yourself because there's just such a scant amount of money in it for you. You have to be able to have that vision to go. You'll get there. It's really hard to do that.
Danielle Lewis (19:42):
Oh my God, oh my God, you've just said something that I'm dealing with right now, and I'm going, oh my God, I'm working my ass off to feed these people. It's really tough, and I love that you just kind of not slap me in the face, but like, Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah. Have the vision. It will work out. You do this to move to the next level. I think sometimes we can get a little bit stuck in the day-to-day like that, oh my God, I can only see this far. I've got to, how are we making next month's wages? Or how are we doing X, Y, Z? When it's like, no, we are doing this to get to that next phase. And as soon as we get to that next phase, all of those problems will disappear. We'll have new problems and bigger problems, but at least these ones will be fixed. So I love that you just said that. I needed to hear that today.
Kelly Johnson (20:32):
Oh, good.
Danielle Lewis (20:34):
Oh my God, I love it so much. Okay, I feel like we could talk all day, but let's leave our beautiful spark community 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 in business who is going along this fabulous journey?
Kelly Johnson (20:58):
I think you need to trust yourself. Go by your gut. It's really easy to listen to what everyone else is telling you, and everybody's got advice. Everybody's telling you something, but listen to your gut and follow it. Don't be pushed off the line that you want to go. Don't change your vision because somebody else told you you should stick with what your gut tells you. You should and you'll be okay.
Danielle Lewis (21:26):
I love that so much. You are so spot on. There's nobody who knows your business better than you, and also no one else who will fight for it as hard as you and fight for that vision.
Kelly Johnson (21:38):
Absolutely. Absolutely.
Danielle Lewis (21:39):
You are absolutely incredible. Kelly, thank you so much for sharing your time and your wisdom on the houseboat. I'm blown away. So amazing. Thank you for sharing your time. I know that there were so many nuggets of wisdom in that chat and everyone tuning in would've gotten a lot out of that. So thank you so much.
Kelly Johnson (22:00):
Oh, thank you. That's so kind. Thank you.
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