Creativity fuels passion in your business  - with Corinne Noyes of Madame Flavour

‍Delight is a big part of our value system here at Mums & Co. It's an expression of the way we encourage all of our members to invest in their wellbeing by finding moments in their day to make themselves a priority.

Delight is also what led us to our guest, Corinne Noyes, founder of the delicious and delightful Madame Flavour teas, a sample of which goes out to all of our new Accelerate members as a way of encouraging you to take a minute for yourself with a hot and invigorating cup of tea. Corinne’s business story is phenomenal, a shining example of the power of possibility and hard work.

‍What's something that you've had to stop doing to make business and life work for you?

“I'm very particular and I love to have my finger in all the pies and in all the emails and all the things going on. A really key piece has been to trust my team and just let them do their job and back off from having to feel involved in everything, because it just wasn't useful for me or them.

‍So, I think that's a really key piece, trusting the team and trusting people. Now I have a beautiful team who have been with me for several years. We're coming up to a long service leave for a couple of my team. At the end of the day, it's the joy when you get to that point of the business being able to run not totally without me, but certainly significantly. Of course, I still love to do the blending, and the creative pieces.”

‍Could you please share your story with us?

"It's an oldie but a goodie. 15 years, it does feel like the most dramatic elements were a long time ago. I felt more alone, there weren't necessarily such great communities like there are today. I was a marketer for 20 years in corporate environments and decided that I had my own strong feelings and views about how products should be.

‍So I decided to go out on my own, create a tea company in the spare room, to try to bring a different feeling which was really about genuine care. A smaller business creating blends from places where I'd visited the tea estates myself. Literally being in the Gippsland kitchen with piles of different teas and flowers and fruits, combining concoctions to find the one that was most delicious. Tto some extent, things really haven't changed much except that I have a team now. We've been doing things for a long time and so things have become a little less chaotic than they used to be, but still a little chaotic.”

‍What’s your advice for anyone listening who is thinking about starting their big idea?

“I think now there are so many great communities, so there's definitely many around. And people love helping people, people love to help. So the connection, support of others and sharing a bit of your journey and your questions and concerns in an online environment can be really powerful. As well as talking to the people in your life just to get the energy to take the first couple of steps. But also you must start. The monkey mind happens, you start talking ourselves down into a bit of a spiral. So I think that that piece is really important, but also there are practical things that you need to have and know to start a business and make it less stressful particularly the financial side of things.

‍So again connecting through forums with people who can give you some advice there or even reaching out to business owners and just asking for specific help, asking questions. I think it is critical to know about profit and loss and about cash flow. Those kinds of things are really key for reducing stress and knowing where you are with your business.”

‍What aspect of the business do you find yourself really in love with?

“I think the creative pieces. It's really interesting because yes, I have built a business from the spare room. We're in several thousand supermarkets around Australia and airlines and hotels. We've provided hundreds of millions of cups of tea. So it's a substantial business. I can even hear my tone when I start talking about that. I go into business mode because 20 years of marketing before that, it's what I knew to do and it's what I know to do. It is really satisfying to build and to manage, but I think the creative piece, for me, is the really rewarding one.

‍So whether that is creating blends or whether it's working with our team to create a beautiful piece of packaging or a gorgeous new gift card, or write some beautiful words for a note. I love those things and it's a luxury to be able to spend some time doing those things.”

Want to know more about how Corrine Noyes has not only created a business but bought her customers on the journey with her and created a unique connection?

How to find a community that can nurture your big business idea? Why it’s important to value the team and support you have in your business? Is it possible to bring your customers on your business journey and make them feel a part of the growth? 

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