Dear Luna,

We were recently emailed by a lovely young lady named Luna, looking to start her own business and asking for some advice. I remember before I launched Ethically So. I was so intrigued when it came to finding out how others had started businesses at such a young age. So when I received the email from Luna, I knew it was important for me to go back to her with our story.

So here it is…

If we don’t make mistakes then we never grow.

How did you start Ethically So? Were you by yourself or with a team?

I started Ethically So. fully on my own. I would love to have had a business partner, but it’s almost like a relationship, they never come when you want them to…so I just went for it. I’ve been really lucky to have a supportive boyfriend by my side who has helped me with the late-night packing of orders, and keeping me fuelled on coffee when I’ve been completely baffled by my accounts.

Since starting the business I’ve realised that a business partner would be great in many ways when it comes to sharing ideas and brining differernt skill sets to the business. However, I don’t think I personally would work well in a partnership. When launching a business you need to put every spare minute into it, and I would feel deflated, and let down if other persons passion wasn’t as on fire as mine. Therefor I’ve realised it’s probably a blessing that I’m in this on my own, as I’m the only one to blame if it doesn’t go how I planned.

Did you have the skills required or did you upskill along the way?

I don’t think you have ever have all the skills to start a business. Even if you are to study business, you still need to be creative and have other skills for a business to succeed. Especially if you are doing it on your own. When you start a business you aren’t just the founder. You’re the photography, sales and marketing manager, accountant, and customer service team (and EVERYTHING ELSE) wrapped up in one role.

I’m a personal trainer by trade. More recently I have been the sales and marketing manager at a gym, which has been helpful as it allowed me to learn with that and Ethically So. at the same time. I studied Fine Art (print & time-based media) at the University of Arts London. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but my degree helped when it came to designing and learning how to build a website/build a blog! 

You 100% never stop learning throughout any aspect in life.

What were the first two years like?

We have only just had our 1 year birthday… it’s been hectic. At the beginning I was still working two jobs, I have more recently just moved to one other job, but it’s still pretty mental trying to juggle a full-time job, whislt running a side hustle. It started to get particularly hectic when I started doing market stalls with Ethically So. Being a personal trainer and working in a gym means my hours are all over the place. Early mornings, late nights and weekends spent working. 

I feel Ethically So. could grow so much more and has so much potential, but right now I just don’t have the time to put into it what it needs. Hopefully, once I get my residency visa for New Zealand, I will be able to drop some work hours and give ESO. my full attention. 

Juggling family and friends whilst running a small, new business is also extremely challenging. You have to make your baby business your full priority, which means others may feel neglected and you also miss out on things. It’s not something you can do if you don’t truly love it and believe in the cause! 

What mistakes have you made as you've built up Ethically So?

I’m not sure I have made any ‘mistakes’ as such, there are things that I could have done better, such as keeping on top of my accounting from the get-go so I didn’t have to backtrack a whole year at the end of the financial year… that was HARD! Things like that you definitly learn along the way, that’s for sure.

If we don’t make mistakes then we never grow.

What kind of rates can someone starting expect to charge? What kind of initial capital, if any, does it take to get started? What does your pricing process look like? 

Ethically So. focuses on support local New Zealand business. This means we don’t pick the RRP prices that we sell our products for. We buy them wholesale and sell them retail, yet we are told by the company what retail price they expect them to be sold for. 

Due to the nature of the business, it had pretty low start-up costs. Everything we have made in terms of sales in the first year has gone straight back into the business to help it grow. This means I have taken no cut at all to allow it to grow at a faster rate. If you’re not in love with what you’re doing, you definitely won’t want to be packing order at 1 am and not being paid for it! 

Where did you find your first customers?

Social media has been amazing for Ethically So. Our whole business is run online and we have found an AMAZING community within the low-waste virtual space. It’s crazy to think that it can be run completely from my phone. However, I have more recently started doing markets and festivals which has been incredible, for connecting with people and getting almost instant feedback on what they think about the products and our aims. 

I can’t wait to be able to do more festivals and markets in the near future.

You can come check out the stall and say Hi at VEGAN VIBES on the 24th October 2020 in The Mount :)

What skills are essential to succeed in online retail?

Being able to build a website my own saved us a lot of $ as did doing my account via a spreadsheet for the first year…however, the later definitely did not save me time or headaches! 

I’m not sure they’re are specific essential skills needed, but a willingness to being open to learning helps. Showing my face on ESO. has been a great tool when it comes to connecting with my customers.

Collaberating with those doing things similar to you is also a great way to make a alliences rather than battling against each other. At the end of the day, we are all fighting for a similar cause so it makes no sense to get upset if somebody copies your idea.

How have your values shaped the way that you run your business?

Yes, 100%. The whole of my business is set around my values. We aim to focus on Kind & Conscious Consumption rather than overconsumption. After travelling South East Asia for 6 months and seeing the devastation our addiction to plastic was having on the planet and other peoples lives, I knew something had to change. Originally it just changed within my own life, but after moving from Byron Bay, AUS to Auckland, NZ and struggling to find low-waste products, I knew I needed to do something to help others achieve low-waste living also. 

Ethically So. aims to support local New Zealand businesses, make low-waste living easy and educate others. 

We are your online pocket rocket for your sustainable everyday essentials.

What impact has social media had on Ethically So? Have you changed your strategy over time?

Social media has had a massive impact on Ethically So. to the fact that the business wouldn’t exist without it. It has allowed us to start a company and help others without being able to afford a brick and motor store. Social media has it’s bad days, but it’s also great for giving opportunities to those that don’t have a lot of money just to go out and start a business with high expenses. 

There have been times where I have had to take a step back and refocus on my intentions. I aim to help people cut down on their single-use waste, yet occasionally I’ve just felt that I am just pushing more products. This has been a bit of a struggle for me to get my head around. Now and then it’s good to look back at why I started this and what our goals were. I love being able to bring the education side of it into our social media pages, I feel that has a positive and important part to play in our story! 

We are hoping that the education side of low-waste living will become a much bigger part of Ethically So. in the near future. Watch this space…

We aim to focus on Kind & Conscious Consumption rather than overconsumption.

I hope you enjoyed hearing our story and how we got started. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out via email: hello@ethicallyso.com or comment below!

Love Annie // Ethically So.

xxx