Inspiring Women: Natalie from Pink Hibiscus

This week’s feature for our Inspiring Women Series is my good friend Natalie from Pink Hibiscus @pinkhibiscusoz to tell us all about why she started her business, her productivity working from home, her favourite podcast, and tells a piece of advice for women in business.

If your hands feel 100 years old , check out her hand-aid healing balm!

Why did you start your business?

I started my business back in 2004 when my “hobby” became so popular with family and friends that I thought it was time to release the skincare I was making to the wider community. They were just finding such great results from my lotions and potions that it seemed the smartest choice for me to turn it into a “real” business!

At the time, I would carry my box of essential oils to people’s homes, analyse their skin and create personalised skincare for them based on my analysis.

When that became too time consuming, I decided to create an entire range that would cater to different skin types and, before I knew it, I had 28 products in the Pink Hibiscus range!

The best way to be productive when you work from home?

I have been working from home for quite a while now and I have a few tips that help me remain productive (even if it is tempting to curl up on the lounge and watch Netflix!):

Get dressed in the morning as if you were leaving the house. This doesn’t mean you have to wear something super fancy, but I find if I stay in my PJ’s or even wear active wear, I’m nowhere near as productive as if I actually wear clothes that I might wear to the office.
Whilst I don’t do a full face of make-up after my daily morning skincare ritual, I apply some mascara and lip gloss as it makes me feel as if I’m heading out of the house again and, for some reason, that also makes me more productive!
Routines are really important. If you don’t normally work from home, even more so! If you normally catch the bus to work and walked to the bus stop for example, continue that habit. Walk to the bus stop and back home as if your home is your office – bonus points for extending the walk a little so that you’re getting some exercise in before starting your day!
I follow the pomodoro method of working so that I ensure I get regularly scheduled breaks and some variety in my day. It’s really simple and really effective I find!

Pop the timer on your phone on for 25 minutes and focus on just one task for that period of time. I pop my phone on “Do Not Disturb” during this time if I can to ensure I’m not distracted by anything. Once the 25 minutes is up, pop the timer on for a 5-minute break (perfect for making a cuppa or getting up and stretching) before going back to the same task for 25 minutes. Do this 4 times in total before taking a longer 15-30 minute break and decide on your next task for another 4 pomodoros (or rounds of 25 minutes).

Favourite Podcast?

This is a really tough question to answer as I have SO many! I would probably have to say Oprah’s Super Soul Conversations if I had to choose one though… Her guests (and Oprah of course!) are just phenomenal and they speak to such a broad range of topics.

How can we support small business at the moment?

There are a couple of ways. Firstly and most importantly – buy from small and micro businesses whenever you can. Shopping locally and with small businesses rather than the “big guys” is more important now than it ever has been. Unfortunately many are teetering on the edge with the current challenges we’re being faced with…every dollar counts!

Secondly, use your social networks to share their products and services. Spreading the word means the world to a small business and it doesn’t cost you a cent!