Today I want you to get to know my friend Erin from Honey & Glow a little better. I first met Erin a couple of years ago when she and her husband Marty needed some help putting together their website for their new business. I was immediately impressed by Erin’s tenacity and dedication to her business, and her no-bullshit attitude about pretty much everything, in business and life. Also, her products are freaking amazing.

So, who are you and what do you do?

I’m Erin, partner to Marty and Mama to 4 year old Olivia. We currently live just on the NSW side of the ACT border, and are in the process of moving even further out to a few acres where we are mid way through building our absolute dream home – so by Christmas we’ll be fully off-grid, permaculture farm living hippies!  We’ll be taking Honey & Glow with us, and I’m so stoked that I’ll have a dedicated studio workspace at the Farm.

Honey & Glow is a range of products that feature raw honey and Australian beeswax – from jars of honey to beeswax candles, a range of three nourishing balms and a newly introduced range of handmade soaps. Honey & Glow fits so well with the life we’re building for ourselves, keeping with the all natural, zero nasties theme.

How did Honey & Glow begin?

I started Honey & Glow on a bit of a whim in Dec 2014, and it’s just grown and grown from there. We were already giving friends jars of our honey and I was making beeswax candles just for us, and I came up with the name for the biz while I was sitting at my desk at work one day. I sent Marty a message saying that I was starting a biz called Honey & Glow. I got back ‘Ok’, and that was all I needed! 

What is the hardest thing about running a business?

It is definitely a LOT more work than I expected that it would be. I’d seen everyone on Instagram with their own businesses, and I thought “I could totally do that”! 

Why do people love your products?

Because it helps them in some way. Whether burning my candles stops their hayfever and allergy symptoms, my lip balm sorts out their chapped lips, the Body Balm sorts out their kids eczema or the honey helps them bring a wholesome, healthy product into their pantry. My products aren’t groundbreaking, but each of them offer a much better alternative than the commercially available, mass produced, chemical filled versions. 

How did you work out exactly who your ideal customers were?

The Honey & Glow product range is quite broad, and I literally have everyone from 13yo girls to 80yo men buy my products at markets. The theme that runs through my customer base is that they all care about where the products come from, the quality of them and what they are made from.

What would you say your biggest strength or asset specifically as a woman has been, in running your biz?

I just get shit done. If I want it done, I do it. If I don’t want to do something anymore, I stop doing it. That approach seems to be working well so far! Asset wise, I think having a support network of other biz chicks who aren’t afraid to offer advice and give you some help when you need it is invaluable.

What challenges have you faced running your business whilst raising your kid? Do you have any anecdotes, advice to share?

I think back to how many businesses I could’ve been running with all of that pre-kid spare time I didn’t realise I had! Marty is SUPER supportive – if I go to Melbourne for a 3 day market, which means with travel time, I’m goneThursday morning to Monday night, he just takes the full home load. He’s never raised it as an issue, and Olivia loves her Daddy weekends because he gets her all dressed up and they go on coffee ‘dates’! 

As a small business owner, what is one thing you would say that every business owner should be doing right now in their business?

I saw a meme that said “Social media is like teen sex – everyone wants to do it but nobody knows how”… truer words I’ve never heard. Social media is WAY tougher than I thought it would be. I bit the bullet last year and hired a social media manager – best move I could’ve made. Not only did she get my accounts sorted, she mentored me and actually taught me how to do it for myself. I’ve taken my accounts back over now, but if I find myself getting overwhelmed with it again, I won’t hesitate getting her back onboard.  So, long story short – if you’re not coping with any aspect of your biz – and you can afford it – get an expert onboard to get your shit sorted and teach you the ropes.

What words of wisdom can you give to anyone just starting out on their small business adventure?

Don’t put other small biz owners up on pedestals – everyone is struggling the same struggle!! Also, don’t be concerned about your likers and followers on social media, just because you’ve got 20K likers, doesn’t mean you’ve got 20K customers! 

What excites you when looking ahead at the next three years for your business? 

This year and next, I’m focussing on the wholesale side of the biz rather than doing markets, I’d love to push Honey & Glow as far as I can, whilst still being able to manage production myself. I’ve decided slow and steady is my jam. 

How can people find you? 

You can get me at:

www.honeyandglow.com.au
Facebook: Honey and Glow Australia
IG: @honey.and.glow
E-mail: erin@honeyandglow.com.au 

For more inspiring stories of women and men running their own creative businesses, read more Meet the Maker posts.