What is your name?
Donna MacMullin
What is your business name?
Itty Bitty Greenie
What industry is your business in?
Online retail & environmentally friendly products
Where are you based?
Melbourne, Australia
How long have been in business?
Since July 2010
Is it a full-time or part-time business?
Full time
Did you start your business before or after becoming a mum/step-mum?
After I became a mother
Why did you start your business?
I was new to Australia (from Canada) and was looking for eco-friendly and toxin-free products for children. (*Canada was the first country in the world to ban BPA from children’s products, and I was surprised how hard it was to find BPA free baby products here three years ago)
What has been your biggest triumph in business?
I not only exceeded my sales targets for my first six months in business, I doubled them. And I’ve had amazingly positive feedback about my store, products and service.
What was your biggest mistake in business?
Thinking I could do it all myself. I was so burnt out by Christmas I became very sick, which was a big wake-up call.
What is the one piece of advice you wish you’d been given about running a business with children when you started out?
Time management is the biggest challenge when you work from home. It’s too easy to put work aside and do a load of washing or make dinner – because it’s all work and it all needs to be done. I now have a time management system and allocate tasks for every day that makes life much more efficient and work more effective.
Name your top three business successes
1. I’ve had great media exposure – my products (and my business story) have been featured in The Age newspaper, Nurture Magazine, Babyology, Disney Family Fun, Mother & Child and The Daily Buzz.
2. The business has grown (in sales and product offerings) exponentially since it began
3. My brand and my stall was chosen as one of the best by visitors at the Eco Baby Expo in Sydney last year.
What are you passionate about?
Art, design, green living, great journalism, music
What’s the one thing you can never resist?
When my son asks for “one more book?” before bed, and the cuddles that come with it.
Who inspires you?
My parents, my son
What is the song that gets you fired up?
Imagine by John Lennon
What is your favourite quote?
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” ~ Gandhi
Contact Donna
Website: http://ittybittygreenie.com.au/
Twitter: @ittybittygreeni
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/IttyBittyGreenie
LinkedIn: http://au.linkedin.com/pub/donna-macmullin/23/b3/608
