Could you work with your mum?

We all have a special bond with our Mothers, and that may be because we have never jumped into business together.

Mother Daughter Duo - Jennifer and Erin enjoying a cup of Zen Green Tea
Mother Daughter Duo – Jennifer and Erin enjoying a cup of Zen Green Tea

Bondi Beauty spoke to 26 year old Erin Young to who runs the successful health brand Zen Green Tea alongside mother Jennifer, and discovered that taking on the world one tea pot at a time is only made better by having our biggest supporter by our side.

Erin started Zen Green Tea four years ago after reading about the vibrant green tea leaf powder and its incredible health benefits. “At the time I searched everywhere in Sydney but was unable to find any retailer that sold it.” So she instead turned to Japan, forming partnerships with a number of sustainable, family-run tea farms in order to bring Zen Green Tea to Australia.

“When I  first started Zen Green Tea it was a huge challenge to educate Australians about matcha, its health benefits and why it is superior to green tea leaves. I was originally rejected from hundreds of health food stores so I decided to focus online, and I’ve grown my company through word of mouth.”

It was not until last year that people really discovered the health benefits of matcha and that is when Erin’s business really took off. Now stocked in over 3000 health food stores, Erin and her mother have grown a successful enterprise.

Here are her 5 tips for working with family.

1. Understand your skills: I loved pushing forward to grow the business whereas my mum loved customer service so we both focused on those areas therefore each contributing the most value we could.

2. Talk about your goals: Make sure you set up your business so you are both working toward achieving your goals. I wanted to grow my business whereas my mum wanted to help and spend more time with me until my dad retired and they could travel.

3. Clear Communication: Establish time every week to provide feedback to one another to ensure clear and honest communication. Don’t let your personal relationship stop you from raising concerns or improvement points.

4. Be Thankful: Often with family it can be easy to take them for granted. Ensure you always praise and thank your mum or daughter and be grateful to be able to work with them.

5.  Spend time together away from the business: It’s easy to let every conversation be about the business but it’s important to also get away from that and do other fun non-business related activities together also.

Lucy Bortolazzo

Lucy is a journalism graduate who feels most at home when wandering the streets of foreign cities. She has a passion for design, travel and everything food, and uses the excuse “I’m curious” to explain just about everything.

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