Summary

Helloooo and welcome to the first episode of Pour It Out and the first installment in our Building the Brand series. Today, we’re doing things differently because I’ve asked my good friend Olivia to interview me so that I can share my brand story with you and you can get to know me as your host. My brief to her? I want to share my story in a way that I haven’t shared it before. I think she nailed the brief.

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Time Stamps
00:00: Introduction to the Pour It Out Podcast
06:25: Rachel’s Business Journey
12:27: How Rachel Supports Health Professionals
19:02: Navigating Feedback and Criticism
24:49: The Hustle of Year One
30:32: Scaling Challenges and Personal Branding
38:21: Personal Struggles and Business Resilience
44:09: Evolving Business Strategies for 2025

Guest Information

Olivia Jackson

Website: www.yumglutenfree.com

Instagram: yumglutenfree

Episode Transcript

00:00
Pour It Out acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land in which this podcast was recorded. Always was, always will be Aboriginal land.

00:13
Hello and welcome to Pour It Out, the marketing podcast for health brands who refuse to be bland. I’m your host, Rachel Hawkins. And today you are joining me for what is not only the very first episode of Pour It Out, but also the very first episode in my Building the Brand series, which is typically a series where I sit down with successful founders to uncover the stories behind the health brands we all know, follow and admire. However,

00:43
Today we are doing something a little bit different because I have asked my good friend Olivia to interview me so that I can share my brand story and you can get to know me as the host of this podcast. So hello Liv, thanks for being here. Hey Rach, thanks for inviting me on your brand new podcast, Pour It Out. I’m so excited for today. Not gonna lie, feels a little weird handing the reins over on episode one, but I obviously trust you a lot.

01:11
I feel honored. We’ve had half a decade of friendships. I feel like I really know the journey and we’re gonna get into you. I feel like we don’t get to see enough of you online. So learn a little bit more about Rachel and then talk about your brand. You did say that. You said that to me the other day. If I came across your Instagram page, I feel like I wouldn’t know who you are as a person. And I was like so shocked by that. I feel like I offended you. I was like, it wasn’t my…

01:36
I just think you’re really great and we should learn more about you and feel more connected to you in your online presence. No, no, you didn’t offend me at all, but I agree with you. And I know we’ve had at length discussions about this over the past couple of weeks. And when we were talking about this interview, my brief to you was essentially, I want to be able to share my story in a way that it hasn’t been shared before and speak about things that I’ve never really spoken about before, whether that be in relation to my life.

02:05
or business. So here we are. Okay, well, let’s do it. How do you describe yourself outside of business? Who is Rachel Hawkins? Yeah. OK. Difficult question to answer because it shouldn’t be difficult. It shouldn’t be difficult. But so much of my identity, I feel, is tied in my business and work, which I know isn’t a great thing. But, you know, it is. I would be lying if I said it wasn’t. But if we’re speed dating, I would say, I mean, my early thirties.

02:35
I would say that I grew up on the New South Wales Central Coast. I come from a family of four, mom, dad, I’ve got a younger brother. And I’ve also been with my fiance Michael for 12 years. And we are doggo parents to our really beautiful but also highly anxious and needy eight-year-old French Mastiff, Kaya. Shout out to all the dog lovers out there.

03:02
But I am also like a Virgo girly. So anyone who is into astrology and star signs, like if you know what a Virgo is, like I’m very characteristically a Virgo. So that’s probably all you really need to know about me. I am independent. I would say I’ve got very high expectations of myself, very perfectionist tendencies, both a good and bad thing, I would say, in life and business. I think from a…

03:31
less a negative angle, I would say like I almost have kind of like more that win-it-all-cost mentality and you know, we’ll work hard even when it’s to my detriment. So that’s, you know, not a great thing. But yeah, I would say like overall, I’m really introverted. A lot of people think that I am this big extrovert because I have a personal brand, but actually like doing things like these social events, like it really drains me. So I love being by myself.

03:56
It’s how I recharge. Yes, definitely. And I do feel like you have to know you to really understand that about you. And you have been in business longer than just Rachel Hawkins. So where does your business story start? My business story starts. Where would it have been like mid 2018, maybe even earlier, to be honest. So for those who don’t know.

04:20
I actually studied and was qualified in working as a dietician. So I graduated with a master’s in dietetics from the University of Queensland in mid 2018 and went headfirst into running my own business because I sort of got to the end of my studies. I was like, you know what, I actually don’t think I really enjoy any of the work that I’ve been exposed to as a dietician, but I’ve obviously studied for five and a half years so I’m going to give it a crack. I thought, you know.

04:49
probably having my own business is the only thing that I’d want to do. So very naively dove headfirst into doing that. So I had a virtual clinic where I worked with clients online in a part-time capacity. And I was also afforded a lot of work opportunities as a result of having a growing brand presence on Instagram at the time. So I got to work with a lot of really cool brands in.

05:13
various different ways, whether that be through, you know, social media campaigns, writing for them. That’s where we met, Liv. When I was working as a dietitian, I think you reached out to me on Instagram to contribute to your magazine. Yeah, you did an article and recipes. I remember it well. That’s right, yeah. And we ended up living really close by and sort of that awesomeed into a friendship and we even ran an event together. So yeah, like I would say from the outside, you know, probably looked like I had it.

05:42
all together and that things were going really well. And like I would always get messages from people on Instagram being like, oh, you’re killing it. Like you’re doing such a good job, which is so nice. But behind the scenes, like, as you know, I was really struggling to find my feet as a business owner. And in the end, I just burnt myself out completely by focusing on all of the wrong things to grow. And about a year and a half to two years into that business journey,

06:13
stepping away from dietetics altogether and pseudo career in digital marketing, which was an area that I’d grown to become interested in as a result of having my business at the time. So I landed a full-time job working with a supplement company where I managed their social accounts and I worked really closely alongside their brand manager to develop marketing content for their global teams. But it really wasn’t until the pandemic hit that things really clicked.

06:42
for me, during that time we saw a massive shift in the way that healthcare services were being delivered. And those that were once resistant to utilizing the online space as a means to deliver their services and market their businesses, because having an online business back then, like it was such a foreign concept, like it was very disruptive. But everyone sort of had no choice during the pandemic, they were all sort of put online and they began to experience the benefits of being online. And…

07:11
In addition to that, I think a lot of allied health professionals in particular left that time desiring more freedom and flexibility in their work. So, you know, we saw this massive increase in health care practitioners turning to social media and turning to the online space as a means to build their brand and start these new businesses. And I thought, you know what, if this is going to be the new normal moving forward, which I very much thought it would be, then these people are going to need someone to help them.

07:40
do this and I’m like, hey, I can do that. So it was really, you know, seeing an opportunity in the marketplace and jumping on it quickly. Yeah, and also staying within your niche, which I feel like, have you always felt like you were gonna stick with the health space or have people challenged you to break out? I feel like even I’ve said, you’re so good at what you do. Why stick with just health professionals? Yeah, everyone says that to me. Everyone accepts the people that I work with.

08:10
And I don’t know, like I have toyed with the idea of, you know, broadening the target market that I work with, but I just feel like there’s so many digital marketing agencies and so many marketing consultants out there that do that. However, there’s not so many that work with health brands in particular. And as you say, like healthcare brands for me, given my background in health fields, and I just feel like this group of people just needs.

08:36
support. The digital landscape has honestly changed the healthcare industry so much over recent years and it’s really no longer an option for these businesses not to be online. It’s actually become a necessity if they want to survive. So I think that is the surface level answer to that problem. But deeper than that, healthcare professionals face such a challenging job market.

09:04
people going through the university system and then they get into the workforce and there’s just not enough jobs for them or they’re having to work multiple jobs in order to generate a full-time income and survive. And the nature of their jobs are also super demanding, which has really pushed people towards building these more, I call it like unconventional career paths, but really it’s kind of emerging to be this new modern day healthcare professional.

09:34
a female workforce, so I think 75% is a female and on average they have really short career lifespans due to things like low wages and burnout. So yeah, I just think like the work that I do is way bigger than just marketing, way bigger than just branding. Like for me personally, it’s about helping people build really fulfilling careers that are going to keep them in an industry that needs them for longer.

10:01
I just think it’s such a shame to lose people so quickly and it doesn’t have to be that way. And it allows for so much more flexibility in life as well. Whenever you know how to operate online, you know how to get your client, you know how to maintain the business and you have the services available to you to excel in that space. Because we do take time, especially as women in life naturally. And without that kind of support, it’s so easy just to walk away. So yeah.

10:29
I think it’s really important. But I mean, your business itself has grown and changed with the times. So back at year one, it was a lot different than it was today. Can you tell us, you decided to start the business. What steps did you take to get going? Okay, maybe I should say that I didn’t like have this idea and think, oh, that’s good. I’m going to do it. When I look back, I actually had spent like…

10:59
a really long time sort of validating, and I just sort of like didn’t know at the time. So, you know, I had spent years building up my audience on Instagram and I had built an audience of healthcare professionals, ironically, when I was working as a dietician, because I was building my own personal brand and I had a podcast back then called Naked Chats, which don’t even get me started on the name. Awful decision, but anyway. So if…

11:28
No one has like been around for the journey. So Naked Chats was a podcast where I used to interview dieticians who were doing really cool and amazing things in their career. Because I selfishly was like super nosy and I was this new graduate dietician who wanted to know like, how are they securing working TV? How are they securing work with brands? Like, I’m like, they’re doing it. I want to do it too. So I did that and no one else was really talking about these things openly back then. So it was really quiet.

11:57
popular within the marketplace. So I suppose I really had validated the concept for my current business through the conversations that I was having with my online community at the time. You know, everyone sort of felt like they needed marketing support. However, that, you know, brand and marketing support was really scarce. And then the pandemic really was that like catalyst that pushed me to take action and actually do the thing. So.

12:26
I suppose once I decided to take action for me, it was a bit of a no brainer to work under my personal brand because as I say, I had built that up and why start from scratch when you can leverage the authority that you’ve already got there? So I was like, let’s do it. I’m gonna work under my personal brand, but I wanna present myself differently. And I was like, what are some things about me and my personality that could be a little bit disruptive or that could be that.

12:56
point of difference. And I don’t know where I was, but I was like, I really like cocktails. Like what if I had a cocktail theme that ran throughout my brain? I should say what Alex Olivia’s husband calls me, Rosé Rachel. I love it. But yeah, anyway, so I was like, that’s kind of cool. You know, cocktails, healthcare, it’s playful, very disruptive. And then, you know, the

13:23
of the business and the brand just sort of evolved from there. That’s so, I mean, he literally calls Rachel Rosé Rachel. I was like, I’m doing a podcast today. He’s like, oh, with Rosé Rachel? We’ve been friends for so long. Like, it’s just Rachel, surely, at this stage. I don’t actually drink a lot of wine either. I think we were at an event and I had a glass of Rosé. Literally. I think any other time we’ve had a drink together, it’s been a margarita, not even a glass of wine.

13:49
Yeah, that’s it. We even had a non alcoholic margarita the other day, didn’t we? We did. And it was delicious. It was really good. I love this, your origin story, because it’s such a good reminder that ideas come to us when we’re doing other things. And so just getting started in something is sometimes the best way to find your mission, your passion, what’s coming. And like, who would have thought that a cocktail themed allied health brand professional

14:19
digital marketing business was going to be like such an awesome platform. And, you know, I feel like it is very controversial. It is very disruptive. Did anyone come back at you whenever you launched in that way as cocktails and drinking is like almost on every single page of the business? Yes, that’s very true. Like, you cannot miss it when you come across my brand online.

14:47
For people who I was like, these are my people, these are the progressive, the forward thinking, health professionals and health brands, these are the ones I wanna work with, they loved it because they could recognize the strategy behind that decision. However, to your point, there were also a lot of people who did not receive that very well at all. And I’ve even had anonymous messages sent through the website inquiry form.

15:16
for my business from people telling me like how unprofessional I am and this is ridiculous and yada yada yada. But I mean, at first I was like, oh my god, that’s so offensive. But then I’m like, you know what? These are not my people. Like they’re not the ideal clients that I’m going to work with. So yeah, I would say that now that the brand has been around for a couple of years, I don’t really experience any like backlash or negative comments around that now. However,

15:45
In the early days, I definitely think it did impact my ability to, let’s say, influence or secure opportunities with more conservative or traditional bodies like universities or governing bodies because they don’t know who I am. They see this cocktail-themed, playful, fun, vibrant brand, and it’s just so opposite to what they know. So yeah, I think

16:15
I don’t regret the decision. I think it served me really well, but there also has been some challenges associated with it, yeah, for sure. You also don’t have to drink to work with Rachel. Oh yeah, totally. It’s just for fun. It is, exactly, it’s fun. And it’s something that’s meant to catch your eye and stand out from everyone else that works in brand and marketing. And I think, you know, it does that. So yeah, you do not have to drink.

16:43
You can drink a mocktail, you can drink a coffee, you can drink a tea. I personally like a cocktail. You’re prerogative. And I mean, I’m assuming you talk to people, I’m sure we talked about it, talked to family and friends about this business concept. What was that kind of response from the people that did know you? Not good. Glad you ran with it. Very good. Yeah, no, honestly, though, there’s a good lesson in this, I think, because

17:10
When I was like, this is it, this is like, I thought it was the most brilliant idea to have this cocktail theme. And I was like, I’m gonna bring out an Instagram marketing course and I’m gonna call my first course, Gramtini. And I told like my parents, Michael, friends, like family. And it was like crickets. You know when someone’s like, you can just read on their face, they’re like, oh. Wow. That sounds really good. You know, like the high pitch. The like sing songy thing, like, oh.

17:40
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, like that’s literally every single person that I told and spoke to about, you know, the brand had that reaction. Maybe there was. Did I talk to you about it? I’m sure we did. I actually remember painting this house and us like on my first ever pair of AirPods talking about your business. Oh my God. You had launched by them, but I remember specifically going into like some of the things that were going on with the biz.

18:09
Yeah, because I just remember like I had such a clear vision in my head of what I wanted the brand to be and what I was trying to build. And I was just getting frustrated when I was telling people because I’m like, you don’t get it. Like, you don’t see it. Like this is brilliant. But like, I suppose for me, I am the person who knew my target market best. I was the person who knew the vision best. And I felt like I had like validated that it.

18:39
was going to work and like Gramtini may have sounded ridiculous to everyone else at first, but now Gramtini’s a really well known and recognised course within, you know, the marketplace. So, you know, and people like love how fun and unique the brand is. They come to me and they’re like, what are you going to do with your next course? You know, like they’re waiting for it, which is really cool. So I think like you also have to trust your gut when you are building something too. Yes, and you do have the most creative.

19:07
course and product names, which like no pressure for anything you have coming next, but. Exactly. Like this, I wonder if they’ll like pour it out. Yeah, exactly. Which it is so fun and it does keep things exciting and it makes people ask questions. But one of the coolest things I think about what you’re doing today is that you were once your target market. And I feel like from that sense, like you really understand how to communicate to that person and for you, you would have loved.

19:36
this concept. It was like the support that I was looking for. Like this is the brand that I wanted as a new grad, like starting a business. Yeah, well, okay. And you are a qualified dietician, but I feel like that doesn’t come into conversation much anymore. No, I really only say it when I do tell my brand story or doing a speaking gig or something. And I know we have also had conversations, even Alex as well has sort of.

20:04
provided advice on this because you guys feel really strongly that that is like my unique point of difference. But yeah, for me, like I definitely think it is and it enables me to do good work with the brands that I work with. But if I sort of put myself back into year one shoes, for me, I, when I was like looking at what support was available, marketing business support.

20:34
The only other people I could see were business coaches or other health professionals who had built successful practices, let’s say, and we’re now doing like mentoring or coaching for up and coming people within the industry. And when I looked at them all, I just felt they all looked the same. They all sounded the same. Like they were saying the same things in terms of their messaging. And I really did not want to be mistaken for what others labeled as like.

21:03
dietitian business coach or just general business coach, because that isn’t what I wanted to do through the brand. So the day that I decided to leave dietetics, I also decided that I never wanna refer to myself as a dietitian again. And that’s why I always use the language like brand strategist or brand builder or digital marketing strategist. I’ve never called myself a coach and I’ll never call myself a coach because that’s not what I do. Yeah.

21:30
And also, like, that’s a part of getting to know you to understand why, where you got to where you are today, but then also, like, how that does qualify you in this space, because you do understand those pain points that allied health professionals have, especially in the digital landscape. And I remember so well that launch year and how, well, I mean, I’ll let you tell the story, but, like, you hustled so hard for…

21:57
What, like three months you worked your freaking tail off and then like things just boom. So tell us about your first year of business, please. Fully. So it was the November 2020 where I was like, this is what I’m doing. And then I had developed the brand, launched the brand, had the concept for Gram Teeny, like was making it in the March of the following year. So it came together super, super quickly. And that first year was like incredible. I still.

22:26
look back on that time as being one of the greatest highlights in my business journey, because I just remember everything feeling so easy. It was like I took everything that I had learnt from the first business and use those learnings to fast track the growth of the second business. And as we sort of spoken about, like soon after I launched the business, I then created and launched Gram Teeny, which is an Instagram marketing course for anyone who’s not.

22:54
familiar and in that course, it not only teaches you how to build your brand on Instagram, but also monetize that platform through, you know, the sale of your own services and products, but also brand partnerships and affiliate sponsorships as well. And I live launched that course with this free Instagram training. And within seven days, I had, I’m gonna say it was 93 or 94 people join the course. Like it was insane. What was your goal? Do you remember? 20?

23:23
The goal was 20 and I hit that 20 by the end of that free training that I ran. Like I exited the training, the 60 minute training, looked at my emails and I had 20 sales already, which was wild. But I think I sold it for all of, you know, $400 back then, which, you know, now the course sells for double that, but there’s been many iterations and it’s evolved a lot from there. But yeah, that was just insane for me. And to put it into perspective.

23:52
money was like half of my annual salary made in one week. And it was the first time where I felt, okay, this isn’t a hobby. Like this could be like a legitimate business. This is the real thing here. Like I’ve hit that sweet spot. So of course I just repeated what had worked. I relaunched Gram-Tini, I believe twice that same year. And by the end of the year.

24:17
I was honestly on such a high, I was getting so much positive feedback on the course, my clients were achieving amazing results and financially like I had made more money in that year than I’ve ever made like before from you know a job that I had worked so it was such an exciting time and yeah to have the reward after putting in so much work and like hustling my butt off was like the best.

24:45
And did that continue? Not really. In the same way, what happened next? Okay, so a lot happened after that. So that’s year one after the success of Grimtini, I of course started to receive inquiries from people wanting help with other areas of their marketing, things like a website, things like email marketing, they wanted one-on-one services. And I essentially had nothing.

25:12
to offer them because I hadn’t stopped to think about what I wanted the business to look like beyond Gramtini. I was just so caught up in the success of Gramtini and I, you know, was in this like little bubble, I suppose, la la land. So what I ended up doing is I was like taking people’s details down and putting them on wait lists for services and courses that literally did not exist. Or I was referring them onto my competitors. And I suppose like.

25:42
The business journey for me, like it really began in year two because I came off the cloud and back to reality. And when I reflect on the success of year one, yes, all of the lessons that I learned from the first business enabled me to fast track my growth. But also I think that I created the right product in Gram Teeny for the right people at the right time. But as soon as the world started to open up again and you know, people

26:12
to work or people didn’t have time for online education as well. People wanted support with other things, all the way that they wanted support from someone changed as well. So I think that served as the catalyst for me expanding my digital product suite to include Markerita, which is a 12 week brand and digital marketing course that I run twice per year. And also introduce the done for you service being the spritz, which has.

26:41
been huge as well this year. And I just want to say, like, I feel like Grimtini, yeah, it was this huge high and things had to change, but it was a really awesome qualifier for your business because sometimes I feel like we get so caught up in all the business coaches online and like strategizing for years to come and all this stuff before we’ve qualified our business and our concepts. So even though it was a great time of, in the world to be launching that product, I feel like it did really set you up for.

27:09
Okay, now this is gonna work. I want to do this. I like running my own business. Now, what is it gonna look like broader than Gram-Tainy? So lots has happened and this year has been another huge year in the world of Rachel Hawkins. Can you tell us about 2024? This year has been massive. I would say my most challenging year ever in business. And I’m not sure whether it’s because I’m experiencing challenges that I’ve never faced before or whether.

27:37
it’s, you know, the economic environment or, you know, I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s a little bit of everything. But for me, the focus of this year has really been on scaling the business beyond me. And that has been really tough given that I have a personal brand. And it’s funny because I speak about the pros and cons of personal brand versus business brand with my clients. And up until probably like a year ago, I would have said, yeah, having a personal brand has definitely been the right move for this business. But now

28:07
like, oh, would it have been better if I, you know, didn’t work under my own name, I’m not sure. But I suppose the reason that I say this is because we’re in a place now where, you know, when someone engages my business, everyone sort of wants a little bit of me. So like when someone makes an inquiry, they want to jump on a call with me, or if they are joining one of my courses, they want to be taught by me.

28:32
Or if someone’s paying premium dollar for the done for you marketing services, they’re paying to work with me and to access my expertise. So I suppose now that I’ve reached a cap in my capacity, because I only have so much time to give, having a personal brand has become somewhat of an issue because it’s kept the business stuck a little bit in that like.

28:57
been spending so much time working in the business and serving our clients and customers that I really haven’t prioritized or dedicated the time that I need to dedicate to work on the business in order for it to grow. And like, to be honest, I just haven’t even had the mental capacity because we are so go, go, go. So yeah, this year’s really been all about expanding and growing the team and getting really good people in the business to help me run it so that I…

29:26
can take a step back and not work the silly unsustainable hours that I have been working. Which she does. Yeah, like I could talk about it forever. But anyway, we are taking steps in the right direction. I’ve got Katie and Kat from OKVA. They support me with email marketing. Eloise joined the team earlier this year helping with social media and general business operations. At the moment, we’ve got Maddie, who is interning with the business.

29:56
She’s helping with content creation. So if you’re watching this video on socials, it’s likely that Maddie’s played a hand in helping to create that video. And I’ve also got a really, really amazing network of subcontractors that support me with delivering our done-for-you services. So I’ve got graphic designers, website designers, copywriters, they’re all incredible and we work so beautifully together. So yeah, we’re definitely moving in the right direction. We’ve also still got a long way to go.

30:26
I would like us to be operating more as like a well-oiled machine, but I think, you know, slow steps and it’s been a little bit of trial and error this year, I would say. Yes. Yeah. I mean, scaling the business is always going to be a huge undertaking and a lot of work, but there have been some other challenges. I feel like we have sent, I can’t even imagine how many hours of voice notes back and forth to each other this year. Are you?

30:52
comfortable sharing some of these challenges that this year has brought your business journey? For sure. Yeah, I think the one that you will know straight away is finances. Like, understanding and managing the financial aspects of running a business has always been and still to this day is still a challenge for me. Like, I had no idea that GST and income tax were two different things when I started my own business.

31:22
Rachel’s big Gramtini launch was so exciting until four months later when she got her tax bill. She was like, I’ve been paying bass. Why is there a tax bill? But actually, I’m like, I got literally the biggest fucking tax bill of my life that first year, which, okay, now I understand why. But at the time I was like, what the heck? And it was the first time that I really started to understand.

31:48
much money and revenue you need to generate as a business in order for it to actually be viable. I used to think, oh, I’ve made $60,000 and my old salary was $60,000. So I’m in the same position. It’s like, no, no, no, cut that baby down by a huge percentage. And that’s actually what you have. So yeah, budgeting, managing cashflow, managing money, not my domain of expertise. I do find it difficult.

32:17
I also know that it is like so incredibly important and it’s something that I need to get better at and also prioritize getting better at. So yeah, that is a huge challenge. You’ve prioritized getting a great accountant, which I think is like number one in business, find yourself a great accountant who understands your industry as well. Absolutely, and I think I have been given poor advice by accountants and poor financial advice.

32:46
in the past, which is really tough when you don’t know the ins and outs of a specific topic and you try to find the information, but it’s just like you’re not comprehending it and you trust people and maybe like you’re trusting the wrong advice. So as you say, yeah, I’ve got like a really good accountant now who is awesome, but this is like, you know, three years into the business journey, you know. But yeah, I think finance has been really hard. Also managing

33:16
topic. Like this isn’t a part-time gig for me. It’s not a side hustle anymore. This business is my livelihood and I’m also responsible for paying other people as well now. And this year, in particular 2024, it’s been really difficult to predict sales and like forecast accurately. Like transparently, we have not hit one single sales target this year. Some months we’ve fallen

33:45
Other months we’ve fallen short by a lot, which has meant, okay, what are we gonna do next month to try and recoup some of those losses? We try something, it doesn’t work. Okay, let’s try this instead. Oh, that worked, let’s do more of that. So that has been really hard this year because compared to previous years, I don’t really feel like I’ve had much downtime as a founder. I think you’re gonna have a lot of people nodding to that.

34:11
and understanding that 2024 just sucked in that sense for a lot of people. Yeah, it has been really hard. Like a lot of businesses have shut down this year, but then there’s also been other businesses that have had their best year yet. So it’s just so hard. And I think when you have like when you’re online, it’s so hard not to compare yourself to other businesses where you’re looking at what they offer and you’re like, okay, like what I have, like, I feel like it’s just as good as what these people are doing.

34:40
people are spending with them, like what’s the difference in our business? What can we try, et cetera. So yeah, that’s been tough. And I think this year was the first year where I, for the first time ever, have had thoughts of I’m actually not enjoying my business. And when this happened, it was when I was in Japan with Michael in August, and we were on the bus driving to Mount Fuji, and I was like responding to emails.

35:10
I was providing content approvals. We had an upcoming launch when I got back and I was just thinking in my head, like, this sucks. And then I felt bad because I wasn’t present and, you know, we’d paid all this money to go on this amazing trip and I wanted to have that experience together and here I was sort of like having work in the back of my mind the whole time. And yeah, I was like, that freedom, that flexibility that I started my business for, where is that? Because I’m not experiencing.

35:37
any of that right now. I’m in this amazing country. I feel like I’m not enjoying it like I should be. And I suppose it’s been a hard pill to swallow that the business still isn’t set up to run without me. Like I still don’t feel that I can step away and things can continue to move forward. We’re like definitely we’re in a way better position than we were at the beginning of the year, but still so much relies on me. So yeah, that has been really hard to deal with.

36:07
I just value your transparency so much. This is a conversation that I’ve had with so many business owners recently. It’s just we don’t have enough opportunity for people to share the realities because all we see is Instagram and we very rarely get to hear about what’s going on behind the scenes because business isn’t shutting down. You’re actually, I mean, you know, pivoting in some ways, you’re opening more doors, you’re leaning into what’s working and you’re taking all of these things that have been really challenging and saying, OK, well, that’s actually not working because that was three years ago in today’s 2025.

36:37
So like, let’s go this year. And I feel like all of these things, especially your Japan trip was impacted by one other very specific, very intense challenge this year. This year, if you’re able, allowed to share about it at this stage. For sure, yeah. So there has been something else that’s been playing out behind the scenes for the good part of this year, which I have not been able to talk about, which is why I haven’t been speaking about it, but.

37:06
To share a little bit now, I have been dealing with a trademarking dispute with a very large organization this year. And that has been incredibly stressful and costly. We’ve literally only just settled on the matter. So I don’t really wanna talk too much more about it now just because I wanna be clear on what I can and can’t say. However, I will record another episode.

37:35
talking about this and what the outcome of this case means for the business. But yeah, like I said, 2024, the most challenging year in business for so many reasons, like the legal issues, just the general challenges of scaling a business, but also personally, it’s been a really tough year personally. We moved into state mid-year and in the back end of this year.

38:03
Michael and myself, we’ve lost a few family members. We’ve also got family members who are quite sick at the moment. So we’ve been back and forth and yeah, it’s just been really tough, you know? And I think as a result, we’ve been in survival mode, you know, as opposed to hitting those growth goals that I had hoped we would be hitting at the beginning of the year. Okay, we’re not gonna end on the side. So let us talk about some highlights because there are so many highlights in your business journey. So.

38:32
Give us a couple of them so we can end on a high. All right, okay, positive. Year one, I’ve already spoken about that. That was fricking epic. Building a team, also a massive, massive highlight. It’s funny, when I started my business, I had no intention of having a team. My goal was like, I wanna be this solo pre-newer, I wanna have a digital product-based business, it’s gonna be amazing. However, I quickly realized that if the business was gonna have the impact that I wanted it to have,

39:01
that I’d need help to do that. And also working alone is kind of boring. So I love the fact that I now have people to bounce ideas around with and to support myself and the business in different areas. And they’re also people that really believe in the vision and what we’re building here. And they really are, you know, bought in and committed to it, which I’m just so grateful for. And yeah, I just think they’re all amazing. And

39:31
I think the community of people that has been built around this brand and the people that I’ve met and learnt from and worked with, by far they’re also a massive highlight in the journey for me. And you know, so many of my close friends now are people that I have worked with previously or been connected to through work, like YouLive, also my other really good friend, Millie. Yeah, I just feel like the journey would be so lonely without all of you. So.

40:00
Yeah, I think that is another massive highlight. Same, same. I mean, also your testimonials are just amazing. You need to share more of them because everyone deserves to see the work you’re doing and how people are impacted by it. Cause it is just awesome. I appreciate that. I do need to share about that more. I need to get better at it, ironically. Yeah, this is why we voice message. So I can tell Rachel things and then she can help me with my business as well. Yeah, that’s right.

40:28
All right, what’s next? The business is absolutely evolving. I wanna hear all about it. Yes, yes, yes. Okay, so we have spent the past two years doing the same thing. So now heading into 2025, we are mixing things up and the way in which we provide brand and digital marketing support to you will be changing. I think you sort of touched on it before where you were saying like, things have changed, the world has changed. It absolutely has.

40:57
I think the needs of our community and our marketplace have definitely evolved. And I actually don’t think that we’ve done a really good job of keeping up with that. I feel a lot of people are quite fatigued with the online course model. They are busy, they don’t necessarily have four, eight, 12 weeks to commit to learning the skill of marketing and then also implement those learnings into a marketing strategy in their business. I’m sort of finding that people are just wanting to be told what to do.

41:25
and then do the thing so that they can achieve the results faster, which is so fair. And relate. Yeah. Yeah, totally. Even for myself, I can relate. And that’s definitely been something we’ve seen through the growing popularity of the done for you services via the spritz. So what we’ll be doing in 2025 is we’ve actually decided to expand the spritz from being this one all inclusive service, which is quite a high entry point from a price perspective.

41:54
into five smaller services that our audience can pick and choose from to make working with us far more accessible. So you can literally look at these on the website right now and make an inquiry. So we now offer brand development, messaging, website builds, email marketing, and Instagram marketing services, which is really exciting. And while everyone else is, I suppose, wrapping up for the end of the year, we’re actually not doing that.

42:21
we are hitting go and we’re executing a lot of really cool changes in the business because the timing is just so right at the moment. Like we really wanted our community and our audience to be able to invest in their business and make the decision to work with us at the beginning of the year when I know so many people are in that sort of funny period between Christmas and New Year and they actually have time to think about their business and their goals and what they want to achieve. So

42:49
Yeah, watch this space because there are some changes rolling out very soon. So good. I know I personally am like always prepared that there will be no work until February. So January is always a really good year for me to plan my year, which sounds a bit late. But I absolutely love this concept. I think it’s really, really clever. So we’ve been on a podcast for an hour and I’m having actually talked about the fact that you started a new podcast. Can you tell us a bit about it? Yes, pull it out.

43:17
Well, hello, you’re here. You’re listening to it. Pour it out. Oh my gosh, it’s been on the radar for such a long time. As you know, I originally had the branding for this podcast done two years ago, like literally two years ago when I stopped Naked Chats. The plan was stop Naked Chats. I think it was around like this time of year. And then I was going to launch it in February when everyone was back at work. But it just never happened. I never prioritized the time to bring it to life.

43:47
Yeah, the vision has always been a fun marketing podcast and something that felt more like you were eavesdropping in on a conversation with friends as opposed to the traditional like educational style podcasts where you know you may be teaching like how to develop a lead magnet or how to do xyz so yeah that was very much the vision and

44:12
as you know, finally pulled the trigger on it. And as the tagline says, this is a marketing podcast for health brands who don’t want to be bland. They want to be different. They want to stand out. They want to have that in-demand health brand. And the goal for me is to really be able to make marketing something that feels fun and easy through the podcast as well, regardless of, you know, whether you’re launching a startup or running an established business, like you were going to be able to walk away.

44:38
inspired by ideas, insights with those tips to help you grow your business through brand and online marketing. And I’m going to be talking to some really cool people on the show as well to help me do that. And because I love getting my finger in lots of pies, are we able to get involved? Can we put questions forward? How can we know more and stay tuned with Port Out? Yes. So we have a Facebook community group for all of our listeners. So if you want to connect with other health

45:08
If you want to ask questions and have us answer them on the show, maybe you want feedback on something that you’ve got implemented in your business, we can talk about all of that. So if you want some free brand and marketing support, join the Facebook group, it’s linked in the show notes, and we can talk more there.

45:26
Thank you so much for having me today. I took it upon myself to create a little lightning round of a few questions that I feel like will be fun to get to know you better. I feel like I don’t even know all these answers. So it’ll be fun for me too. But I just like wanna wrap this up as a recipient of someone who knows you really well. And something that reflexively came to me through this conversation is like you sharing about the challenges that you’ve had.

45:50
in business and then personally as well. And then what’s coming, like sometimes we just have to sit back and think, was I actually prepared to implement a whole new business this year? Or was like life gonna happen to me this year to set me up for what I can do next year? And I feel like that was so much now at the end of a difficult year of like what I feel like I see in you and your business and like what you’re talking about when you’re excited about for next year. Yeah, I appreciate you saying that. And I think I’ve said to you as well, I really hope this story has a good ending.

46:19
because I definitely feel like it’s been happening around me. And I’ve just been like, okay, adapt, overcome. What do we need to change? But yeah, it is also sometimes very easy to forget how far you’ve come. And I’ve obviously spoken about a lot of the challenges. There’s also been lots of, you know, wins along the way too. But yeah, certainly when I look at the year as a whole, it’s been a big one. Been a big one. I’m excited for 2025 for Rachel. All right, lightning round. Okay, favorite drink.

46:48
Do we need to ask? Spicy margarita. We know it’s a chili mark, people. We know it’s a chili mark, okay. Okay, this is maybe a little bit complicated, but do you have any brand in Spur, your favorite brand in Spur? I have so many. So maybe I’ll talk about the brands that inspired my brand. It was go-to, Zoe Foster Blake’s go-to. She’s just brilliant, everything she touches. But there’s also another brand which actually shut down this year, I believe, called Gritty Pretty. It’s a beauty brand founded by

47:18
or Pendleton. I’ve just always loved that brand. It’s been so disruptive in the industry. And yeah, I just think it’s incredible. So they were my two biggest inspo’s. Favorite celebrity? In what way? Give me anything. What is a celebrity anymore? Is it someone on TV or is it an influencer? It’s totally up to you. Oh, okay. Well, I would probably say celebrity for me. Of course, I would pick people in you have successful businesses, right? Like at the moment, I

47:48
just literally consuming so much content by Raquel and Adam Oris from Who Is Elijah, like their brand story I’m just so bored into. I would consider them to be like, celeb, like I would love to meet them, you know, and pick their brains. I love that. Okay, and you are a travel bug. I feel like we didn’t talk about it much. You did say you went to Japan, but do you have a favourite place that you visited? I always remember loving Mexico when I went, but that was like over 10 years ago.

48:18
I think somewhere beachy, Greece, Croatia, yeah, gorgeous. Italy. I’m ready. Anywhere really. I am so ready. I absolutely know the answer to this one, but if Rachel has not responded to a phone call or a text message, are you a text or a voice message gal? How do we get in touch with you? Voice message. Don’t text me. You will never get a response. I know my friends absolutely hate me for it.

48:47
like hundreds of unread messages on my phone but seriously if you need me give me a call or send me a voice message. Instagram as well with DMs? Yeah although sometimes they get busy so I’m a little bit slower so if I’m getting like voice messages to my phone you know you’re gonna get a response that day. Love it. Night in or night out girly? Definitely a night in. Love it. Any day of the week. Little hermit crab over here.

49:12
we do go out for a spicy mark sometimes. True, yes, we do. Thank you so much, Rachel. I really appreciate you having me today. Oh, thank you. Look at you wrapping up the podcast for me. I’m just so excited. I feel like I was really prepared because I’ve known you through this whole business journey and I got so much out of this episode. So I’m pumped for it to go live. Well, thank you. And thank you for coming on and interviewing me one episode down.

49:39
Many more to go. For anyone who is listening and works with clients who have celiac disease or follow a gluten-free diet, check out Olivia’s business, Yum Gluten Free. We’ll link her in the show notes, but yeah, Libs Business is such an amazing resource for all things gluten-free. I am a celiac, another fun fact about me, and you still teach me things about gluten-free living every day, so there you go. I’m here to support. You are.

50:08
Now we will be continuing to publish new episodes over the holiday period. So keep an eye out on your podcast feed for us. We’ll be keeping you company. Plus we’re also running a really epic giveaway competition at the moment. Have I told you about this? No. Okay, so all you have to do is rate and review Pour It Out on Apple podcasts or Spotify by the 31st of January, and you will go in the draw to win my entire.

50:35
digital product suite, which is valued at over $4,500. So you’ll get access to Gram-Tini, Marcarita, and Chap-G & Tini. Yeah, I’ve never done this before, so. That is huge. I think it’s a pretty good price. So if you would like to enter that, take a screenshot of your review and send it to us in the form that’s linked in the show notes. I’ll pop the full terms and conditions there as well. But that is us. Thank you so much. Episode one, pour it out. Amazing, thanks Rach.

51:03
Thank you, bye.