My guests today are two of my students from the Modern Marketing Collective, Alicia and Jacinta who have built their own business ‘The Little Potion Co.’. Alicia and Jacinta are sisters from Melbourne who create mindful potion kits for children that support their emotions and empower them to be confident and find their inner magic. 

In this episode, we talk about the practicalities, thoughts and feelings behind Jacinta leaving her corporate job, Alicia closing her other business, the challenges and wins, and how their business has grown over the last few years. 

Amazingly, they started their business with only $500 each and then used their profits to reinvest and grow the business. We explore their marketing, hiring new staff and the new strategies they’re incorporating to see their business reach new audiences. 

Jacinta and Alicia’s business journey is inspiring to all entrepreneurs, especially those just starting out and wondering how they’ll manage both their day job and this exciting new opportunity. Their dedication and faith have paid off in a wonderful and successful business that will continue to grow and create so much wonder and joy for children.

Topics we discussed:

[3:04]: The Little Potion Co, started in 2017, was started with the idea of creating a potion kit for Jacinta’s son that is magical and fun (and not purely science-based).  

[4:27]: Alicia was running a gift shop selling Australian brands when they decided to start their business. Jacinta was working in interior design for a large volume builder. 

[6:47]: The mindful potion kit includes a box with different ingredients that mix together to fiz and sparkle. There’s bio glitter, affirmation cards and magic words that are said over the potion to promote a positive mindset. 

[8:34]: The potion kit is about creating a natural experience with storytelling, each ingredient has its own story. 

[9:53]: Jacinta describes beginning the business by buying samples and testing the products for a year. 

[11:23]: They launched after building an Instagram following and it only took 2 weeks to sell out of their products. 

[13:20]: 10 days leading up to the launch they did a post every day with a snippet of what was included in the kits. 

[14:26]: Jacinta and Alicia started their business with $500 each. They were both working full time jobs and worked on this business outside of those hours for a year. Jacinta slowly reduced hours in her corporate job and then went full time in their business in January. 

[17:40]: Alicia didn’t have the time to put into both her gift shop and The Little Potion Co. She went full time in The Little Potion Co in July last year and they took on their first staff member. 

[18:52]: They have 3 part time staff members now and in the lead up to Christmas they employed casuals due to the workload. 

[19:53]: Jacinta describes the storage and office space problems they encountered. They secured a new warehouse in November and moved in January. 

[22:35]: Alicia talks about making the decision to close her other business and pursue The Little Potion Co. I recommended Xero to Alicia and they saved an immense amount of time. 

[27:08]: Jacinta shares her journey of reducing her hours in her corporate job, leaving and going full time in The Little Potion Co. 

[29:41]: Going full time in their business has allowed them to bring out many new different products. 

[32:38]: Alicia describes cash flow as one of the hardest parts of the business. They used their profits to invest back into their business to buy more stock and cover overheads. 

[35:37]: It used to take 6 to 8 weeks to make an order when it was just Jacinta and Alicia, but now they can do it in a couple of days due to staff and they can take on more work. 

[36:03]: Their marketing is done on Instagram, social media and email marketing. 

[36:35]: They just launched a new product last week and in the last 7 days there was a 56% return customer rate. They just started Facebook Ads this week! 

[38:19]: Their giveaways are very intentional and are aligned with other businesses. They also get marketing through their stockists and the stockists’ brand reps. 

[41:13]: Marketing their product has remained in-house because they understand their product and customer more than anyone else would. They’re also looking into influencer marketing and trade shows. 

[42:11]: The Little Potion Co. won a scholarship for businesses under 2 years. The Iconic then approached them after seeing them in the newsletter for their achievement and they’ve been on The Iconic for the last 12 months. 

[43:33]: They were also featured on Plugapalooza on Sunrise with Sam Mac. 

[45:30]: A wholesaler has also recently found them on Trend Bible. 

[47:03]: Alicia has been in The Modern Marketing Collective for 3 years. 

[47:30]: Where to find The Little Potion Co. 

LINKS: 

Connect with Jacinta and Alicia: 

Website: https://thelittlepotionco.com.au/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelittlepotionco/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelittlepotionco 

Email: hello@thelittlepotionco.com.au