Unfortunately I have been putting all things blog related on
the back burner for a bit while I finish a study paper in writing for the web.
Hopefully this will help me to write much more skilfully so that
a) You won’t be bored, and
b) I can present these fantastic people to you and give them
the time of day they deserve!
Studying in itself has not taken up all my time though, add to that my wife and three wonderful kids…
and well, you get the picture. However I have been absolutely itching to introduce this next person
to you. She has done exceptionally well in business. Is
taking the healthy world by storm and is the business savvy Janine Allis.
Janine Allis hails from the wonderful Australia and started
her first Boost Juice Bar in Adelaide, selling healthy options for smoothies
and juices in the year 2000. Since then she has exploded her business into Chile,
China, Estonia, GCC, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Lithuania, Macau,
Malaysia, Mexico, Republic of Ireland, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea,
Thailand and the UK!!
Janine
and Boost have won a ton of awards, including:
- Telstra Business Woman of the Year
- Telstra Business Owner National Award Winner
- AMEX Franchisor of the Year
- BRW Fastest Growing Franchise
- Price Waterhouse Coopers Franchisor of the Year award - VIC
- Governor of Victoria Export Awards - Commendation
- Highly Commended – Supreme Award for Best Retailer
- National Retailers Association Awards – Bank of Queensland Franchise Award
- National Retailers Association Awards – Supreme Reward for Best Retailer
- MyBusiness Readers Choice Award
And is on the BRW
top 25 rich women list for Australia! Add to that she has made time to document
her journey through her book The Secrets of My Success: The Story of Boost Juice,Juicy Bits and All and I present to you one power packed business
savvy woman! So how did she start out to become so successful? I managed to get
in contact with her in Australia and grab an interview about her, Boost, and
her very own start of success.
You are most known for starting Boost Juice Bars, however before you
started Boost, what did you do to earn a living. From what I understand you
tried a few different things. Were they all full time, or did you do them on
the side while you worked?
Having left
school at age 16 years old to start full time work, I am not officially
qualified for anything! However that has not stopped me from doing exactly what
I want to do. OK… here are my jobs from
the start:
- Strawberry picker (Part time)
- Checkout chick : Target (Part time)
- Media assistant : McCann Erickson (Full time)
- Model (Full time)
- Gym/ aerobics instructor (Part time)
- Door Girl : Chevron (Part time)
- Camp Councillor : San Francisco
- Nanny : France
- Outdoor promotions person : Tenerife Spain & Portugal
- Head Stewardess : France, Caribbean, Monaco, Italy
- Cinema Manager : Melbourne, Singapore
- Publicist : Melbourne
- Then BOOST J
What drove you to become an entrepreneur? You don’t seem like you fell
into it, but took the bull by the horns and just went for it! That’s how it
looks from the outside, but in reality, is that how it went?
I had my
third child and was on Maternity leave from my publicity job. This gave me time
to think about what I wanted to do and it was clear that I did not want to work
for someone again, so I started to research running my own business.
Now that you have become successful and can look back. How do you feel
about the businesses you started before Boost? Do you think you would have done
them differently now that you have hindsight?
Made huge
mistakes through the whole journey, but without them we would not be the
business we are today. As you get older
what you view as success changes.
Financially I have the freedom to do what I want, which is what we all
strive for. But true success comes in
the form of the love of the people you have around you, and the journey to be
happy. When I was 21 I worked for David
Bowie on his yacht in the south of France, and got to meet the rich and famous
of the time. What I did learn was that
many of the rich and famous where successful in their careers, but not in life.
They were miserable, some were on their fourth wives.
What fears did you have about starting out for the first time? Or was it
all just pure excitement from the start!
If your
goals are not scary, then they are not big enough! Fear was
what drove me. We sold our family home to
fund the start of boost, so we were “all in”.
We had no option but to succeed as we had a family of 5 to support. Luckily I was so busy that I did not have
time to shop or go on holidays. Amazing way to save.
Did you only fund Boost from the sale of the house? Or did you use
finance, loans or other means to begin?
We invested
our money, as well as some of Jeff’s radio mates.
Did you have a business plan for any
of your businesses before you started? Or did you just start something you
enjoyed and work it out as you went?
Having no
idea on business I did a business plan from scratch... Looking back it was more
of a marketing plan with tokenistic numbers at the back. But it was a start. And you have to start somewhere.
What’s one pro, and one con, of
starting a new business?
Millions of
both, the funny thing is that you have to work 100 hours a week to stop doing a
40 hour week. The reality is that people
get scared of doing business but the truth is, if you do nothing and just work
for someone, you will 100% not have enough in the end to live the life you
want. So it is more risky to do nothing
than something.
How did you originally decide on what
business to start? For someone who doesn’t know what industry to start in,
what’s your advice to them? How do they choose?
You have
your eyes and ears open for opportunities and you have a curious mind. This is the starting point. After this, ideas will come.
We always hear about the good things
in a successful business i.e. the lifestyle and the freedom it brings. But it’s
not always roses, what are some of the sacrifices you had to make when starting
out?
You have to
sacrifice everything to make a success.
Do not fool yourself, it is not for everyone. I did not take a salary for 3 years and did
not take one cent of profit out of the business for 5 years. I worked 100 hours a week, and there were times
that I did not see my family for weeks.
My stress levels were at an all-time high, and I did not catch up with
friends for years. But like any
challenge and sacrifice, whether it is training for the Olympics or climbing a
big mountain, once you see the flag at the top it is all worth it!
What’s one piece of advice you can
give to someone starting out?
Just use common
sense, and be true to who you are.
Do you ever feel you should have
started out in business earlier? Or does it feel like it was organically the
right time and right place?
Not at all…
I left Australia at 21 and came back at 27 years old, had a great
adventure. Everything in my life to date
is just where it should be.
How easy is it for someone in a small
country to succeed? Do you think business opportunities are everywhere?
Of course,
the only obstacles that are in people’s way are the obstacles that we put in
front of us.
Thank you so much for your insights
about how you got started! You have achieved a huge amount in such a short
amount of time! So what’s next, and what are you doing now? Do you have your
feet up following the summer around the world? Are you still active in Boost or
the parent company Retail Zoo? Or do you have other businesses or passions you
now devote your time to?
I am very very
active in boost. I also do all sorts of things with various charities at work
and personally.
If people
want to know more on my story, I have a book called:
The Secrets of My Success: The Story of Boost Juice,Juicy Bits and All
(Advertised on the right hand side of this blog)
Also if
anyone is interested in owning their own Boost franchise and beginning their
own start of success, you can enquire at the Boost Juice website on the below
link.
Thank you very much for your time. It
is extremely valued as I am sure you are a busy person. And I truly do congratulate
you on everything you have achieved! You really are someone we can all look up
to and be absolutely proud of!
