By Melissa Grant
Managing a small business and small children is often rewarding but involves a lot of hard work.
It’s a juggling act Geelong mum Celeste Robertson knows too well.
Celeste has a two year-old son and is the founder of natural beauty, skincare and lifestyle product retailer Natural Supply Co, which stocks over 80 brands and ships orders all over the world.
She built her beauty and lifestyle empire from the ground up, and this year was a champion of the Small Business Festival which brought more than 50 events to the Geelong region in August.
Celeste, who has a long career in the beauty industry, founded Natural Supply Co with her best friend Catherine in 2014.
She said the business idea came about after Catherine, who has MS, was researching natural products.
“She was looking up toxic-free nail polishes. She said ‘would you start up a business with me selling toxic free nail polishes online?’
“I said ‘it’s too niche. What if we just do a website selling natural products in general?’”
Natural Supply Co ships ’natural and luxurious’ products across Australia and abroad including the US, New Zealand and Asia, and has a strong online presence, including more than Instagram 20,000 followers.
Catherine has left the business, which Celeste now runs out of her Highton home with the help of Sarah Scott, wife of Geelong Cats coach Chris.
Celeste said while she loved the flexibility of working from home, running a small business as a mum of a young child was no walk in the park.
When her son Charlie was born, she got no maternity leave and went into labour before she could have her planned week of watching Netflix.
“I had not one day of sitting on couch,” she said.
“I was doing social media as soon as I got home from hospital. Within a couple of weeks I was back (at work). You get some flexibility but it’s not an easy thing to do.”
Celeste’s tips for parents with young kids who have a small business:
BE ORGANISED
Lists, lists and more lists! I write daily to-do lists, and get great satisfaction ticking items off as I complete them. I also keep a pen and paper beside the bed so I can jot down any thoughts that pop into my head as I am about to go to sleep as I seem to have great ideas and remember things I meant to do when I’m trying to switch off.
ACCEPT HELP
It’s impossible to do it all. So Charlie is in daycare a few days a week, and I am very lucky to have my mum and in-laws both available and willing to help out a day a week. I meal plan for the week ahead, so I don’t have to think about what to make for dinner each day, and my husband often does the big weekly shop over the weekend.
BE PRESENT
It’s so easy to be scrolling social media 24/7 when it’s a big part of your job. I make sure that when I am with Charlie, I stay off my phone as much as possible. I don’t want him to feel like he isn’t worthy of my full attention, so I try and stick to replying to emails, posting on social media and checking orders when he is in bed or playing with his dad!
IT’S OK TO DROP THE BALL SOMETIMES
There are times when things happen and you just can’t get everything done. Charlie might be sick and unable to go to daycare, work might be super busy and I can’t get the washing done or dinner cooked. Or I might just have a day where I can’t focus and need to have coffee and a debrief with a friend or some quiet time reading and thinking. And I’ve had to learn that it’s totally ok – dinner can be eggs on toast or takeaway, Charlie can be picked up a bit late from daycare and customers can be emailed with an apology if there is a delay in responding to emails. We are all human and as long as we are genuine, authentic and honest, everything will work out ok.
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