#awinewith Leanne Savage
MEET Leanne Savage, Founder of Acala Stem
You can find them here:
Transcript
Danielle Lewis (00:05):
Amazing. Leanne, Welcome to Spark tv.
Leanne Savage (00:08):
Hi, Dani. It's so good to see you always. I'm excited to be here. Spark tv.
Danielle Lewis (00:16):
I'm so excited because you are one of our previous grant winners and I can't believe we haven't had you on the podcast.
Leanne Savage (00:24):
I know, I know. We only did a quick chat when that happened and we haven't. It was about eight months ago now, and we haven't had a chance to have our interview, so I'm so happy to finally be here and it's probably a good time now because it's been just a whirlwind. Rain's been Mash.
Danielle Lewis (00:45):
I know. So this will be coming out in February, but we are recording this first week back. Just had the holiday trying to regroup, get back, get our legs back under the desk.
Leanne Savage (00:58):
Yes. Well, yes, but it feels good
Danielle Lewis (01:01):
Refresh. Absolutely. Let's start out just by telling everyone who you are and what you do.
Leanne Savage (01:08):
I am Leanne Savage, the founder of Aala stem. And Carla Stem is an ethical luxury brand championing lotus silk. Lotus Silk is a sustainable textile, handmade from the microfibers from inside a lotus stem. It's the most sustainable textile in the world. We've expanded into skincare and Blue Lotus Face Oil has been a little accidental product that I started to fund the business because Lotus Silk is between 220 and $350 a meter, and little old me needs some financial backing for that. So I had to launch some other products to assist that. And the skincare is now expanding and I never knew a color stem was going to go into skincare, and that's now keeping me busy. So yeah, this is my fifth year for the brand, which I feel like we, we haven't even launched yet because I haven't had the launch party. It hasn't been anything official. We started in Covid and I already have a first job. I have a design agency. I build brands for a living, so I have to do that also while I'm juggling this and I'm a single solo parent. And yeah, there's not much room for anything else. I haven't watched any television for many years, so that's me in a nutshell, wouldn't fit a nutshell. But
Danielle Lewis (02:43):
I love it. And it's really interesting that you say it feels like you haven't launched because I mean, I feel like that sometimes as well. I'm almost like I've got this whole whiteboard of all of the things that I want to do, and I'm like, that's when I'll be ready and feel like it's all of the things. But it's like time passes and there's just the next thing to do, the next thing to do the next, oh, more orders to get out, more this to do, more that to do. You could probably work for a decade and own a business before really feeling like it was ready to launch.
Leanne Savage (03:15):
Yes, yes. And we hear so many stories about businesses that do work for a decade before they really like Virgin. He hustled for 10 years before he could sign anyone decent. He pursued the Rolling Stones for a decade and then they launched. But I will, there's always going to be something to do. We busy ourselves, don't we?
Danielle Lewis (03:39):
Oh my God. Tell me about it. So what's the story of Lotus Silk? Because I know that this is a little special and I know that your business, there's a strong tie with supporting the artisans that make it. So tell me that story. How did you discover this?
Leanne Savage (03:57):
Oh, yes. It's quite a story. I worked in Cambodia as a volunteer English teacher. I had a six month stint there, and that changed my life. I saw, I think I saw just the dark side of the world. I saw the very best of humanity being with the Cambodian people, the most incredible people in the world. But I also saw the darker sides of classism and slavery. I was literally exposed to it. I would see women arrive to a garment factory early in the morning as I was going to school. It looked like a prison. They were all very young, and they'd arrive on the back of a pickup truck all crammed together, and they've only got room to hold onto a mesh grill on top. And I then learned that they were coming two hours from the villages and their children have to be put in the orphanages because they're not fed enough. Three meals a day is all they will receive in pay, which is around $3 a day.
(05:06):
So that stayed with me for a long time. And then I returned home, became a single mother myself, and realized how lucky we are to live in Australia with healthcare and welfare, just to be able to go to a hospital and have doctors there in Cambodia, no one's there. Your family have to come and look after you. And I always wanted to work with the Cambodian people, and I did so happen to discover lotus silk, which is made in CM rip, and it is the most incredible softest, most luxurious divine textile that you could have a touch and wear and still baffles speed that it's not as big as what it is. And our Australian fashion media still continue to not put it in the spotlight, which also baffles me. So I've taken it on myself. Luxury brands know about this textile. They're not interested in it because of the purchase, the wholesale price. So it's very expensive. So there's no luxury margins. If a luxury brand was to sell lotus silk scarves, they'd have to be around 20 or $30,000 to fit with their profit margins. So
(06:25):
They want $10 a meter to be able to make a lot of money. So this is a very luxury products, which there's a market there, the market's growing. But I have a background in brands, and when I was working in Cambodia, I was also working on my business during the day with my graphic design clients remotely. And it was just a perfect storm, really. And now here I am with this dream that I had for such a long time and didn't think I could ever do it. To even just to launch it and then to do something you think you can't do is pretty amazing. So that's why I think these next steps, these big goals that I have coming up in the next year or two, feel like I can do it because of what I've already done so far. And it's finally hitting my subconscious. It's finally the self-doubt is finally subsiding because of what I've been able to prove to myself. And I think everyone around me is a bit baffled as well. I think everyone's like, oh, I didn't think you'd people say to me, oh, you still, this business is still going. Is it assholes? Yeah. What the hell? My favorite one is,
Danielle Lewis (07:53):
How's your little business going? It makes me so mad. But also tell me your secret, because I'm 12 years in four, I've had four businesses over that time and I still doubt myself. How have you gotten to the stage where you're like, hell yeah, I've got this. I can do
Leanne Savage (08:15):
It. Good question. Gosh, I've been reading a lot. I read a lot of Michael Singer, I read a lot of Wayne Dyer, Gabby Bernstein. I get all their help and I think it's on repeat, so I'll listen to a podcast for an hour a day and then I'll spend another hour at night reading. And this is over two or three years doing that solidly and I think repetition, repetition, how the self-doubt got in there in the first place was from repetition. Repetition
(08:52):
From the messages we got from childhood and well-meaning adults. And so I think repetition, but the self-doubt is still there, but I just recognize it now as self-doubt and don't let fear because fear gets me. I have these moments where I'm driving along thinking, you're not going to be able to do this, Leanne. You're not going to be able to buy your own home with cash. You are dreaming. You're absolutely dreaming. But now I can recognize that just as that voice and just do it anyway. And I found a really good mentor. I'm in a mentorship now to take the Carla STEM's an online store, and we're taking it offline, so we're rolling out into retail, which
Danielle Lewis (09:40):
Is, oh my God, wow.
Leanne Savage (09:42):
It's super exciting and I'm doing it step by step because I don't know how to do this. It's not my skillset. I don't know anything about that. And I've learned so much. And that's about to pretty much from February onwards, those steps are happening and that scares the bejesus out of me, which is why I think, okay, I'm on the right path because it's so scary and the thing I'm scared of is the success. What's with that? I'm not scared of failure. Failure is quite comfortable. It's what happens. Isn't that wild? Scared of comfort zone, just being little, little, little. You're so comfortable. And I see it when I talk to other people that they just want to stay little. Let's just stay little. But so I'm taking on this beast, which is success. Am I allowed? Do I deserve it? All these, am I allowed? Can I do this? The guilt or there's, I dunno where that comes, it's just I'm battling all these, they're all there and that is what's stopping me. It is only me because I've got these killer products,
Danielle Lewis (11:02):
But
Leanne Savage (11:02):
I'm the gatekeeper of this brand and these products, and I'm the only one standing in the way, not anyone else. And that's what I'm taking on. I think that's the secret to just recognize the barriers and go through them Anyway. It's quite exciting.
Danielle Lewis (11:24):
I love that you just said that you are the only one standing in the way. I think that that's just it for everyone, right? You can blame not having enough money, not having the right circumstances, not knowing how to do something. But when you think about it, any problem in front of you pretty much can be solved.
Leanne Savage (11:49):
It's
Danielle Lewis (11:49):
Your willingness to be resourceful. There's a really good thing. It's not about resources like what you have. It's about being resourceful. So figuring it out. How many stories of successful people were like, I started with 50 bucks, whatever it is. I love that you just said that. We are our own. We are the one standing in the way. That's pretty powerful.
Leanne Savage (12:14):
Yeah, I know. It's me and it frustrates me, and I'm just reading all I can. There's so much out there to learn. Everyone's done this money is definitely not a barrier. And I get upset when I hear the big entrepreneurs out there that have made it tell people starting out that you're not going to make it if you don't have any money. So I'm determined to prove that wrong.
Danielle Lewis (12:45):
Yeah, I love that.
Leanne Savage (12:47):
It's like you said, it's resourceful, not resources. There's people with so much money backing them and they don't make it, and they're not Oh,
Danielle Lewis (12:56):
A thousand percent.
Leanne Savage (12:58):
Yeah,
Danielle Lewis (12:59):
A thousand percent. There is some wild statistic about the people that do made it are so, and the ones who grow up with trust funds and everything handed to them are the ones that don't. Because you're right, it is that hunger, that desire to actually accomplish something versus being born almost pseudo having accomplished something already.
Leanne Savage (13:21):
Yes, I don't need it. There's no reason. There's nothing really driving them. It's not a must. Not a must, it's just an option.
Danielle Lewis (13:30):
Yeah. That's incredible. And I love that you mentioned mentors as well. Like, okay, I'm going to do this big amazing thing. You're moving from e-commerce to physical retail. That's huge. But rather than I'll just fla about fell, lay about and try and figure it out. Find somebody that's done it before.
Leanne Savage (13:50):
Yeah. Oh, that's been the big turning point for me is finding that right person. I've thrown so much money at so many things and it hasn't quite worked the way I wanted. I feel you advertising just the wrong, oh, the wrong everything that I've just kind of maybe haven't hit the jackpot yet, but I've found the right person to, her name is Ghislaine D. If anyone is listening or wondering, and she does a course for people wanting to go offline with their products, and it's just been excellent. She's very generous with her time and knowledge, but there's so many others out there as well that can do this. It's kind of exciting. But then what I've learned is that is just as amazing as Jalaine is. She's only one person with one set of experience and advice. And then I've spoken to other people and the advice has also been a little bit conflicting.
(14:54):
Like they've said, someone said to me, get a bank loan at, said, no, do not do that yet. Do not do that yet. And then I have to take both pieces of advice and pull it together for what I need. And so I was going down the path of just doing everything she says, but that can also be not quite right because we have to then always get a second opinion still because it might be different. And the world is changing so quickly and with technology and what worked in 2020 isn't going to work in 2025 and sooner. And so there's a lot to, oh, it's so much. You've got to pace yourself. That's the one thing I'd say to anyone starting out is pace yourself. Because when you burn out, you lose another whole 12 months of productivity.
(15:53):
You've got to slow and steady wins the race. This is a long game. It's a long this get rich quick. Seven figures in six to 12 months is bs. It's absolutely. Have you experienced burnout? Yes. Yeah. Probably from about 18 months ago it started and I lost pretty much a year of productivity just from freeze. I'm in functional freeze. I don't action anything. My brain sees emails, but it doesn't read them or do anything. It doesn't hit the spot in my brain because my brain's just saying no. So it's this barrier that I feel and I've had to just go very, very slowly through it. It's a real pain in the butt.
Danielle Lewis (16:48):
I know. And I think it's wild too, because you kind of go, what the hell? I am a high achiever. I'm intelligent. Why can't I put one foot in front of the other? You kind of look at yourself and it's so frustrating. It's almost like when you're sick and your brain's still functioning, but your body's not functioning and it's like you're going, what the hell? I'm normally able to do these things with ease and all of a sudden, like you say, you'll be just looking at something and it's like, I just can't do it. And it's like, wow. I know intellectually that that is just so easy to do. It's so logical, but for some reason I just can't do it. It is a wild feeling.
Leanne Savage (17:32):
So you've experienced it too.
Danielle Lewis (17:34):
Yeah, absolutely. And also just in over the last 12 to 24 months, I've dealt with some really crazy shit in another business, and I think sometimes just when bad shit happens, it just puts a blanket over everything. You kind of think, I've got to keep functioning and doing my day to day and keeping the money coming in, keeping the customers happy, doing all of the things and growing, because apparently we need to perpetually grow, don't we? But sometimes you're just so frozen and overwhelmed by the other things that are going on. You're just looking at these things that you would normally do with ease, and it's like, what? I can't do it. I just literally can't do it.
Leanne Savage (18:24):
Yes.
Danielle Lewis (18:25):
Yeah.
Leanne Savage (18:25):
No one tells you about that until it happens and it doesn't go away in a week or two or a month or
Danielle Lewis (18:33):
Yeah, it's not like have a bath and a face mask and you'll be fine.
Leanne Savage (18:37):
Yeah, it's there for a long time. Yeah, it's hard. God,
Danielle Lewis (18:43):
Did you do anything in particular to help yourself through that process?
Leanne Savage (18:49):
I had to move in with my mom and dad, so my little girl, I couldn't run a household anymore, so I moved back home, put everything in storage, and I had bulging net discs, so I was crippled. I could barely lift my bag. I couldn't sit at a desk, but I still kept working. I'm on the couch with one pain. You just find the right position. Yeah, still going. I didn't stop the pain and people listening that they've been there. I see you. I Pain is just, pain is what it does to you mentally, but recover from that. Yeah. God, what a shit. Show what nobody tells you. It is not for the faint hearted. You got to play the long game or you just give up. It'll just too hard. Otherwise, I went through a moment probably at the start of the year where I was ready to quit, give up, thank God I didn't. I was so many wonderful things happened in 2024, so thank God I didn't winning the grant. That was amazing. That was just, oh, I'll start crying if I, let's not talk
Danielle Lewis (20:08):
About that. What was that experience like? Was it 5K or 10 K? Five. 5K. What did you do with it? What did that mean to you? What was that experience like?
Leanne Savage (20:25):
The boost of morale that has been, its worth its weight goal because then when you have morale, you can get back up again and you can keep going, and that ended up being worth a lot more than five grand. So I purchased some inventory. I was able to do a big lotus silk order, and that's what I wanted ultimately, because I can't support the women in Cambodia if I can't purchase inventory. That's the hardest part. And it's so expensive to buy because it takes so long to make by hand. It's purely handmade fabric, and I was also able to up my inventory on the Blue Lotus face oil, and I'm then able to take that from me, making it myself to going into professional manufacturing to then, because I can't go into retail or get stockers until that happens, and signing up for the mentorship and also going to London. And so all these things happened afterwards.
Danielle Lewis (21:42):
Yes,
Leanne Savage (21:43):
The 5K was spent on the inventory, but then I had to then make the sales to then be able to afford the other things. So it has a knock on effect. It's not just five grand and it's gone. It changes so much. I mean, it's a small amount of money given a scale of a business, but it's not what it could do. Someone I said to someone, I need an investor. I just need a hundred grand. They said, a hundred grands. I got to get you anywhere. Whatcha going to do with a hundred grand? Like, oh God,
Danielle Lewis (22:14):
I know. Isn't it funny you always think that if I just had a hundred grand, if I just had a million dollars, but it's so all of my problems, like well, I probably wouldn't, to be fair,
Leanne Savage (22:25):
5,000. It helped made a difference from maybe giving up altogether
Danielle Lewis (22:30):
Than
Leanne Savage (22:30):
To then be able to do more because cashflow is a massive problem with a small business. I've had weeks, days where I've only had a dollar 14 in that account and no one tells you this, but that's what happens to a businessman or someone. That's pretty scary. But that's the reality of being a single mother and growing a business myself, self-funding it with the money that I make. Yeah, that's the reality. That's what you've got to be able to live with in the short term while it's growing,
Danielle Lewis (23:07):
That uncertainty, that stress. It's really interesting that you talk about that morale boost. I know I just spoke to one of another grant recipient and that was something she said as well. She's like, no one could see the vision. No one could. And they're a physical product as well, but they're like a medical device, so they need to go through certain stages and prototyping and different things. And she's like, we just couldn't get to that next stage because people needed to see it, but we couldn't prototype it. We didn't have any money. And it just like we were stuck in this loop and she's like, the is the thing that leapfrog us to there, which then leaps frogs us to there to there. Just the fact that somebody got it and believed in it and funded it was just so powerful and it's something that I hadn't really thought about. I just thought money solves some level of problems, but it is that knock on effect, it is that, oh fuck, I can do this and that's going to get me to the next stage, which is going to get me to the next stage and the next stage. Because you're right, this is a long game. It's not zero to billionaire overnight. It is zero to 0.1 and then to 0.2 and then to 0.3 and then to one. It's
(24:28):
A long game.
Leanne Savage (24:30):
Yes, because I didn't initially have that backing, but that can't be, if that's a barrier to starting purpose led businesses, then the world is screwed. Pretty much. We need
Danielle Lewis (24:47):
Money. And I think that that's the big thing too, isn't it? Women especially are really great at impact driven businesses. The more that we can support and fund them, the more we will. I don't want to speak too soon, but save the world.
Leanne Savage (25:05):
We need those businesses and if only the algorithm favored impact businesses with tiny budgets, the impact that they could make, but they don't. I don't even do online advertising because if you don't have a massive budget, you're just really flushing money down the drain as far as a return goes. I will when the more revenues coming in with offline, with retail, but not now, just, oh god. Yeah.
Danielle Lewis (25:45):
Will you be opening a physical store or wholesaling or what are you thinking?
Leanne Savage (25:50):
Wholesaling. I don't, don't see my own store. Maybe down the track. I mean, that's a big pipe dream. That would be amazing. But I do popups, I do markets. I love doing that. I did a festival on the weekend down in Torque. That was amazing.
Danielle Lewis (26:09):
Oh, cool.
Leanne Savage (26:10):
That was great. I love talking to the customers and I get to experience them. So I only do the skincare. I only do the lotus silk cleansing cloths and the face oil at markets. I can't sell the other products at markets. Yeah, I'd love a store. But yeah, wholesaling, that's massive. Huge, huge opportunity in the US and the Middle East and Singapore, all over the world, Scandinavia. It's very exciting and that's the things that scare me, which is so, so cool.
Danielle Lewis (26:49):
That is incredible. I love it. I love it. I could talk to you all day, but let's wrap. So reflecting on your time in business, what would be one last piece of advice that you would give to another woman on her business journey?
Leanne Savage (27:07):
Oh, you can do it. Block out the noise. Don't listen to the naysayers. Mostly people that haven't done what you're trying to do. Only talk to those who have done what you're trying to do and want to help you and surround yourself with the right people because the wrong people can make or break your dreams. And yeah, don't worry about not having enough money get there and I'm proving that. I'm proving that just block out the noise and slow and steady wins the race. Don't go too hard. You don't have to work till 2:00 AM You don't have to start working at five. If you're working like that, it's not sustainable and then you'll end up, your brain won't work for a year. And that's really annoying.
Danielle Lewis (28:04):
Oh my gosh, I could not agree more. You are absolutely incredible, Leanne. I'm so excited to follow you in 2025 and hear about all of these scary, amazing things. Yeah, just how far you've come and where you're going is just inspirational and I'm so grateful to have you in the Spark community.
Leanne Savage (28:27):
I'm so grateful for you Denny, and the work you do and for receiving the grant and just watching so many others also is so thrilling for us all to witness. So thank you and thank you for having me on the show.
✨ Thank you to IP Australia for supporting the SPARK podcast and women in business ✨
