Shivani Gupta

Welcome to the Grow Your Business Podcast. I am so excited today to have Kelly Jamieson and I had an opportunity to meet Kelly when I first started out in business 20 years ago, and since then she has done some extraordinary things. In 2005, she founded Edible Blooms, which is an Andhra online retail gift destination with her sister. And I guess there were early pioneers of E commerce in Australia. And when you fast forward 18 years, they've won a bunch of Business Awards, which we're going to hear about, they've also been named the number one online gift delivery company for Australia. According to Ken Starr last year, Kelly has also been involved in the Telstra Business over the year, the South Australian Businesswoman of the Year, the list goes on in terms of some of the things that Edible Blooms and Kelly has achieved. And we're going to find out a little bit about their journey in terms of from startup and into where we are Kelly, so nice to be reconnecting with you.

Kelly Jamieson

Likewise, Shivani It is gorgeous to see you too.

Ask Shivani

Until we like obviously, you know, it's been 18 or 20 years since we've probably caught up. But that's phenomenal growth in terms of what's happened to take us to a little bit of the journey. And, you know, give us the goods and the bads. And perhaps the uglies in terms of from that early startup to some of the success that you're having. Now take us through some of that. And obviously some of your personal stuff as well

Kelly Jamieson

Sure. So I guess when I started Edible Blooms, I was in my late 20s. And and it just feels like yesterday, to be honest, in so many ways. I think, you know, time flies, but at the same time, I think we all feel the same. And I'm sure you feel that way Shivani that you just I don't know, you kind of just count believes that sometimes when you celebrate your birthday, that's the number on the cake, but you don't feel any different. So yeah, so it was my late 20s. And it looked in many ways. I think I'm being young and naive was a really good thing. So I think I didn't sort of I was quite risky. Like it didn't worry me about risk because it didn't have a lot to lose, I didn't have I didn't have family depending on me. I didn't have all these things that I have now. So I think that naivety and just saying yes to things were carried quite a lot in those early days. So I didn't think about what wasn't possible, I just went well, I will try it and see what happens. So it was a pretty fast ride those first few years that I started the business. So in the first year, we started our first office in Brisbane, actually, and I'm from Adelaide, also. And so second location was Adelaide, and then we opened Melbourne and Sydney in that first 12 months. So that was a pretty rapid growth. And again, we were just doing it, we weren't really sort of sitting back and thinking about it. And it wasn't until we went I think you've four and two business friend of ours nominated us who was working at Telstra for the Telstra Business Awards. And honestly, we just entered for a bit of practice, we thought oh, this will be fun. And we really weren't able to benchmark how we were going. We didn't know if what we were doing was really that great. We just there wasn't as much data then as there is now as well. So we entered has been re practice. And we've kind of taken by surprise, and we won in our home state of South Australia. We won our Small Business Award. The year before us Cooper's brewery had won South Australian Business of the Year. So we didn't even think we were in the running for that. And I started drinking champagne that night celebrating winning our small category. And my now husband said to me, I have a feeling you might win. Overall, when I said, we might mean that. And next minute, we won that. And I had no speech prepared. It was the most underprepared I've ever been because it was just that complete surprise. So I just didn't expect to win it all that night, let alone the overall award. And there was a much bigger business than us in a lineup that I just figured would win it. So but obviously we won the judges hearts, I think, in many ways. And we went on and we won the Nationals as well, which was really great. So I think that was the first time we sat back and thought we might be doing something right. Until then we had no idea of what we were doing was, you know, on par with other businesses. So that was that was kind of interesting. And then since then, I've been married, I have two children. I've moved to the country. So you know, there's just all these different things that change and I still work with my sister every day, which I love. So I think that's probably one of my biggest joys is being able to work with my sister, which we get along really well. And I know people that are in our team, their friends say what's it like working for sisters, you know, do they ever argue and they're like, no, they never argue we honestly get along really well. We always have so I feel very fortunate that I get to work with my sister Abby.

Ask Shivani  

That's amazing. And so when you started with Brisbane and Adelaide how many offices are They now Kelly.

Kelly Jamieson

So we have six now in total. So we have every major capital city of Australia, Perth now as well. And we just have Auckland, New Zealand. And it's interesting. I feel like we probably have more than that, because we've moved. As the business has grown, we've had to keep moving to bigger premises and each capital city. So I think in Sydney, we're in our fourth premise. But you know, I guess over that we're 18 years this year in business. So yeah, as we've grown, we've had to keep finding bigger space to fit. So yeah, so it's been been a lot of fun,

Ask Shivani  

Fantastic. And for the people listening, a lot of them are business owners, entrepreneurs, they're looking at growing and scaling their businesses as well. And so, you know, a long pad, you know, some people call it I call it the valley of death that comes in after every growth, whether it's the first office or the first employee, take us through like, Do you have a process when you get challenges coming your way? Or do you have a system? Or do you go and sit in a corner? Like, what do you do? When all these business challenges come your way? How do you go about managing that? Do you have a process or a system or a methodology that you use? As I said, some people have processes other people, you know, take time out when they're working through some of the challenges can be way we'd love to hear what some of your processes or ways or systems.

Kelly Jamieson

I wouldn't say I have a formal process or anything that sophisticated. I think, actually, some of them, I was in a tech group, when I first started the business. And I remember there was a wonderful woman in my group who had a much bigger business than mine at the time. And she said, Kelly, because I kept saying I can't wait to have a business as big as yours, you know, it'd be wonderful. And she said, Kelly, just so you know, there's no less problems when you get to have a bigger businesses, they're just, there's less, but they're bigger. Because at that stage of my business, I was just felt like I constantly I was fighting, not fighting fires, there's just lots of growing pains and lots of things going on. And she said, Don't worry, you will easily fix the problems that I encounter, they're quite difficult. So. So I think that's the journey that I've certainly observed. And one of the things I do love is getting advice from people who are further in the journey than you or have done something bigger than what you have before. I think surrounding yourself with people. And having a network around you is super important. So when you have a problem, you can reach out to that network. And I think people I know, if people come to me asking for help, you're always quite responsive, like you want other people to do well. So first of all, is I think, the golden rule was surrounding yourself with good people. And making sure you have a good support group around you. And probably my other role around facing challenges is I would say I've generally have a fairly optimistic and positive approach to whatever comes along. So my first thought, in my mind is always there's always a solution to this. So I start with that positive mindset of that there is a solution. And I just, that's not a deliberate thing. It's just the way I approach things. So there's always a way to solve it, it's a matter of looking at all the ways you can solve it, and then deciding which is the best way forward. So I guess that's probably naturally how I would approach a problem. And yeah, making sure I reach out to that network I have around me to, to get the support that you need, and to also help you make the right decision. Because sometimes, the challenging thing to any problem is when there's multiple ways to solve it, and you don't know which of those paths to go down. So and I think the other thing I've learned over time is, you know, when I've, like I said, a few more candles on the birthday cake is to pause a little bit and not rush into a decision. So just to sit with the decision, if particularly if it's a larger decision you need to make is just to sit with it a little bit, be a little bit patient and then make a decision.

Ask Shivani

That's great. That's really really great tips for people that are listening into that as well. And so take us through your future aspirations for Edible Blooms. Take us through and you know, whether you want to share numbers in terms of employees or revenue, whatever you want to share, but what are some of the future aspirations whether you've done a three year five year and some people I'm talking to at the moment, they're just doing not that many plans as well after the pandemic I'm actually just looking at for next 12 months. And so whatever that timeframe is, in terms of your future aspirations for business and maybe personally as well. Tell it take us through some of your what you want to do what you want to achieve, you know, where you want to learn?

Kelly Jamieson

Well, I've had a lot of change lately, personally, because we've we've lived on a farm for the last 12 years, a little town called port Elliot. And so I've been doing the reverse commute. So I've had that a lot of people went to the regional areas so they moved their life to the country whereas that sort of been my life for quite some time. So we my husband, we ran a cattle farm there and we're right by the ocean, which is great. So I've had the commute, where I've been coming into my office three days a week. And I've always had two days a week at home, which has been great with young children. So, this year, we've actually just made a big change. So our children are ready to start secondary school and my eldest is, so we've moved to the city Monday to Friday, so I've had a lot of change. So I feel like I've personal goals. You know, it's really for me, it's big things about family and my children and making sure they're really settled and happy. So far, so good, which is great. We've put a lot of thought into that move and the choices we made for our children to make the best choices for them. So that's been really exciting. So I think, you know, from a personal perspective, that's a big priority of mine. And I think then we did our business planning, and we do it in January each year. And likewise, I really empathize with other business owners. Like once upon a time, you could set a five year goal and you could know where you're heading. And I think the thing we've all come out of the pandemic with is, you know, really detailed 12 month plans are really the most realistic thing you can do. And even then, it's, you know, you're really keeping an eye on it, you're changing the numbers, you're moving things like we're the world moves so much faster than it ever has before. So I think you can have that vision of where you're heading. But I don't think I think you'd be wasting time, if you put too much detail into every step, you're going to, you know, progress to that to that point. So we've really set really great year long goals. So we've got some really exciting things happening in the business this year. Our biggest thing is there's probably two key focuses that we have as a business and one is just the real heart of our business, which is about creating joy. So ours is more than gifting were really about being part of our customers moments in life. So helping them to celebrate amazing moments. And so our strategic plan is really around how can we do that better than anyone else? So how can we make that Edible Blooms arrival smooze amazing, you know, like every touchpoint incredible. And that's probably our biggest priority for the year ahead. And the other thing that we're really focusing on sustainability. So we've been working on that for many years in our business. So with gifting, you know, typically, there can be a lot of wastage, and there can be a lot of packaging associated with it. So we've been really working on our product designs and our packaging so that it's recyclable. So one of our signature Edible Blooms bouquets. Now, you literally take the wraps off off the outside, which you can reuse for wrapping paper, and then you just eat the bouquet and the whole thing goes in a domestic recycle bin. So that's been a really key priority. And we honestly haven't talked about it that much. We've, we've been doing all the good in the background. And it's now a matter of making sure we're communicating that really well. But I'm pretty proud of what we've achieved. And we've worked with some other great South Australian businesses on that sustainability journey. So the Detmold group and other amazing South Australian businesses that we've been able to partner with to create a product we're really proud of, and something that we know, helps make the planet a better place. So. So that's a really big focus of our hours for the year ahead. So I think they're quite modest goals. In many ways. It's about being true. And being a good business, I guess, is where we're really setting our mindset.

Ask Shivani

That's really I love the way that you frame that in terms of, you know, it's the joy in each other's people. It's that really that whole business is what you see, it's that experience or that feeling. I really love the way you did that. Obviously, you've done lots of great work on the avatar and exactly what your core business is that that was really beautifully put. Kelly, I'm also really interested in, you know, a lot of people I mean, you know, there's a gazillion books written on leadership, people follow some guru certain books that and philosophies or, you know, you come up with your own over the period of 18 years if you're running your own business. So are there a couple for you, in terms of it may be a philosophy, it may be leadership may be a leadership philosophy, that are really important to you in terms of how you operate, you know, on a day to day basis, like what's, what are some of the leadership or philosophies that you like to live by?

Kelly Jamieson

Well, probably the most powerful and I think that's a really tricky one, because I think I love reading and I love listening to podcasts. So that's why I love being invited on to say thank you. But I really do think, you know, in the last specially in the last, like recent years, it's just been such a changing space we're all working in and I think that's been the biggest change challenge for all business leaders. And so something from one of my advisors that he shared recently and we had to make a decision that was every you know, one of these you had to sit down and really think about it wasn't something I could quickly solve and move forward on. I had to really go deep and work out what we wanted to do with this particular part of our business and He said, Kelly, you win or you learn, and that really stuck with me. And I thought that's so true, because I love learning and I, I really get excited when I do learn new things. So if someone has a new perspective, and it makes me think, and I guess that's the great thing about listening to podcasts or, or reading or surrounding yourself with interesting people is their perspective, they can look at something a certain way. But that thinking can take you off on another tangent of your own. So it's actually about having that fresh thinking coming through. But winning or learning is really important, because I think otherwise, as a business owner, particularly last few years, people can feel like they've failed a little bit. I think there's a piece of saying, I will, that didn't work. And, you know, where was me and people can really set themselves back in that way. Whereas if you say, Well, hang on, what did I learn from this experience? And what can I do to take that forward? I think that positive mindset is really critical for any business owner, because you know, sometimes I like and being a business owner, but to being one of those inflatable clowns that people punch in, gets knocked down, and then it comes back up, and you've got to keep smiling. So. So that really approach of saying, you know, did I win? Or did I learn? What did I learn? And how can it help me win next time? That kind of mindset, I think probably is the most impactful thinking process that I've had in recent times. It's really simple.

Ask Shivani

I really liked that. I can now be like, driving past a car yard and seemed a little crazy. Yeah, the balloon in the air and the pump sort of doing that. And I can see that as a visual as well. And Kelly, so six officers, two children having moved back into the city, I stay away from the word balance very much these days. But what about your own wellness that what do you do for your own wellness, physically, mentally, spiritually, whatever your systems are in place for that. So what do you do in beginning so much out in terms of growing a team across variety of geographically and kids and moving back? How do you manage to manage your own wealth?

Kelly Jamieson

Good question. Honestly, I think I like a lot of us, you sort of leave yourself to a blast, you know, and as leaders, we're here to serve and all those other things. So I have to say from the thing that I let go first is exercise. So but what I'm really good at is when I make times to exercise as friends, I stick to it. So So I have a Sunday walk and I have a Wednesday morning walk with groups or a friend. And they're really good. So when I'm actually keen, one of my personal goals this year is to build up a few more of those regular weekly dates, so that I can be more, you know, active regularly. And I just find this so so therapeutic, because you have a chance to have a really good conversation with someone, I actually I'm a person who I could surround myself with people 24/7 Like that gets, that gives me energy, somebody will have to retreat and have their own space. Whereas for me, I get energy from being around people. So that's why for me, you know, it's working out what works for you, I guess. But yeah, I love walking. And I love socializing. So if I can do both at the same time, then I love that. And the other thing that I have, from a mental perspective, is really being conscious of being grateful. So I, with my children each night, we have a routine where we talk about the things they're grateful for from the day, and then if they've got a lemon, so we have two oranges in the lemon. So they were talking about things, they're grateful. And it's really nice that that's it creates great conversation with my children and connection each day. And it helps them to get things off their chest, if there's anything worrying them from the day two, which is quite good. And I tend to find they sleep really well when they've gone through that routine every night. And so I try and do the same thing myself where I think about grateful things before I'm going to bed. So and someone said that actually can be really great for sleep. So you know, being grateful and having, like really thinking about what's made you feel happy for the day, just before you go to sleep is a really terrific thing to do so. And even having a bit of a flat time just actually pausing and thinking about what you're grateful for. makes such a difference. And honestly, Shivani I am so grateful for the life I have I you know, I've I feel very fortunate. But having said that I've worked bloody hard to get here. So it's not by accident, but it's you know, but I am really appreciative of the opportunities I've had and the people that I have around me so I'll never forget that and there will never be a day I won't be grateful for all of those things.

Ask Shivani

That's beautiful. That's really interesting. I know that I practice a gratitude journal each day for 10 minutes. But I hadn't leaked that into sleep. So I'm gonna have a look at that. Yeah,

Kelly Jamieson

there is a link that yeah, that actually is added to sleep retreats, I'm not generally a great sleeper I've sort of fairly high energy and so like winding down I find quite challenging. And so, but there is a real connection between that and also the diet, your diet with sleep. It's amazing, so many different things that can help you sleep better and all these things. So yeah, yeah.

Ask Shivani

To be honest with you, I used to have a saying, Kelly that, you know, sleep when I'm dead. It sounds like, Yeah, I'll just do that whenever. And yeah, I think it was about 10 or 11 years ago, when I read, thrive by Arianna Huffington. And in the importance of living. And as I've got older, I realize you know, the impact it has on your productivity and who you are. But also, like, its massive. So I'm, I'm, I'm really into really focusing on

Kelly Jamieson

Someone else I gave me an interesting stat one day, they said, if you only have you know, X number of hours, like just a few hours of sleep each day, your ability to drive is similar to a drunk driver. So like it's quite frightening because your your judgment and all these other things can be effective, because I was I'm like you asking if I can give up on something else. If I could sleep less, that'd be great. But it is really interesting sleeps incredibly important. And yeah, I certainly still probably need to do a bit more of it. But I don't think I'm drink driving anywhere. So that's a good thing.

Ask Shivani

With the kids, right? As moms, we see that in our kids when they don't have enough sleep and our as professional women, we're just kind of keep going right? And so yeah, so much more than I ever have in my life. And so Kelly as we as we finish our podcast today, people want to get in contact with you follow you talk about Adam blooms, where's the best place to find you, but also look at the business and look at some of the work that you're doing, with so many creating these amazing moments for people's lives. So where do we find you? Where do we find more about Edible Blooms?

Kelly Jamieson

Thank you. Well, I think Edible Blooms is very active on Facebook and Instagram. So you can look at us just Edible Blooms on both of those platforms. And me personally, I am. I love LinkedIn. So I'm on LinkedIn quite a bit. So if anyone wants to reach out, I think it's how we reconnected Shivani. So by all means, I'm just Kelly Jamieson on LinkedIn. And I'd love people to connect with me. And yeah, I'd love to exchange information with everyone. So thank you. Oh,

Ask Shivani  

it's so wonderful having you on today for making the time and all the best with all the growth in the next few years.

Kelly Jamieson

I thank you so much. It's been wonderful. Thanks so much.