Catherine Langman:
Well hello there, it’s Catherine Langman back with another episode of the Productpreneur Success Podcast?, and I want to ask you, listeners, are you at an early stage of your e-commerce business, or about to launch, or are you a little way down the track? Whereabouts do you sit in your business journey? Today on the show I’m actually chatting with a recent graduate of ours who has just created and launched a major new product. Now she wasn’t a new business, she had been going for a few years, but really had this ambition and passion to pursue this new product idea, and kind of pivoted her business in the process.?
So Beck has had a really amazing journey through our recent cohort of the Productpreneur website formula, and we watched her go from not really knowing where to focus her attention on, to then really creating this amazing brand new product that fits in perfectly with her values and with her customers. And I think one part of Becc’s story that will resonate with many of you, as it did with me, reflecting back on my business journey over the years, is in the past she used to think that she just needed a pretty Instagram feed and, then the sales would come flooding in. Now of course, in my case, I started my first business before the advent of social media, so for me it was like, I just need a nice looking website and the sales will come flooding in, it was the same mentality. But of course that’s just not how business works, is it?
So I invite you to have a listen to Becc as she shares her journey with us and how she has a whole process for launching and building an audience and growing her business. And now she really knows what she needs to do for an exciting and successful online business, and all within four months. So without further ado, let’s welcome Becc to the show.
Catherine Langman:
So welcome to the show, Becc.
Becc Warr:
Thank you.
Catherine Langman:
So good to have you here and really excited to have a bit of a chat and hear all about your business journey and this amazing new product that you’ve been creating. Would you like to maybe just quickly introduce yourself and your business and let’s go from there?
Becc Warr:
Yeah, of course. Well, my name’s Becc. I’m a mum of two young, active, crazy little boys. I started my business on maternity leave, so bit of a scary move, but started my business, The Mummary, making breast milk and DNA jewelry, and now have a brand new product called MUmuments, which is a five-minute journal for mums to feel more calm in their motherhood journey.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah. It’s so, so good. So, I guess, I kind of suspected you probably did start your business when you were on maternity leave. It’s a story that’s so familiar with, I know, many of my listeners, but also myself. I think I started my first business when I was on maternity leave with my second son. So I have two boys as well, like you. Mine are very close together, so I never actually went back to work after the first one was born. But it is a bit of a time of life where you have quite a lot of creativity, but also you get pretty motivated to solve some problems, don’t you?
Becc Warr:
You sure do, because I guess, being a mum, you see the world a little bit different, your priorities are different, your day-to-day is different. Yeah. It’s just the real change and transformation you go through that allows you to see more things, I think.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah, I absolutely agree, definitely. So what was your background before you started your business?
Becc Warr:
I was the marketing manager of a full-drive accessories company. So completely different.
Catherine Langman:
Very different, yeah.
Becc Warr:
Very different, but I always had this dream when I was a young girl to own my own business. My dad and my father both owned their own businesses, so I had that ingrained in my blood and I just didn’t know what I was going to do in terms of business. I had 1,000 ideas in a notebook book, but never knew, until I became a mum, and then, as I said, saw things differently, and had breastfeeding challenges, as mums do. And yeah, then went on the search and decided to find something and that stage, which when I come across breast milk and DNA jewelry, and then I invested in myself, and strapped in, then jumped into the business world.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah, that’s so cool. It’s funny, you talk about how you always knew you wanted to have your own business. I guess, for me, I possibly in the back of my mind I did, although it wasn’t an example in my life growing up. But when I think back, I used to do things as a kid where I’d be making paintings and artwork and having little stalls that I’d put up at the front fence and sell stuff to people walking past, it was hilarious really, because you’d never let your kids do that now. I’d be a bit anxious as a mother if I did let my children do that. Anyway, different back then. So, of course you came up with your new… Well, hang on a second, before I talk about your new journal, when did you start the DNA and breast milk jewelry business? Because you’ve had that for a while, haven’t you?
Becc Warr:
I have, I started that in late 2018. And that was after my first boy turned one a little earlier in that year and yeah, I saw I was juggling motherhood with a one-year-old.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah, it’s crazy.
Becc Warr:
And then, yeah. And then Theo, my second boy came along in 2019. So I kind of-
Catherine Langman:
Gosh, they’re close together.
Becc Warr:
Yeah, yeah. I’ve been juggling motherhood with business life for a little while now.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah, it’s so good. And so, was it after you had your second son that you kind of started having an idea for something new and different product-wise?
Becc Warr:
Yes, very much so. I experienced a lot of emotions and anxiety and post-natal depression after my second one. And looking back on my journey, I experienced something similar with my first boy, but didn’t realize it was what it was. I thought it was normal, normal mum life, the normal emotions and normal day-to-day ins and outs. But after a little bit of research, I found out it probably wasn’t, I probably should of seeked help, but I didn’t understand and didn’t acknowledge what was going on. So it was really that-
Catherine Langman:
It’s such an overwhelming time of life isn’t it?
Becc Warr:
Yeah. It certainly is. And then just from that point, I took my experience and wanted to pave the way for other mums so that they didn’t have so much challenges, like I had faced, and also became aware of their emotions and being self-aware quicker.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah, absolutely. So much need for this, absolutely. And I think I remember actually, that you’d sort of started floating the idea in our Rockstar Productpreneur Facebook group and sussing out whether there might be a demand for it. Am I remembering that correctly?
Becc Warr:
That is correct. I knew I wanted to create something and I knew it was going to be around writing, because I’m a pen and paper kind of girl. So, and also doing some mindful practices, I knew writing was going to be it, but I didn’t know what it was to look like. I didn’t know how it was going to feel or I didn’t know the ins and outs. And it wasn’t until I joined your course, that I actually really started to tweak the idea develop and create what I have now.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, and the course that Becc’s referring to is our Productpreneur website formula. And so maybe talk a little bit about how things evolved, I guess, as you joined or as you went through that course, in particular for this product, well, let’s dive into that first.
Becc Warr:
I was having just little reflections earlier today about that mument. I remember putting up a post, it must have been first probably one or two weeks. And it was again, just floating the idea and testing the waters. And there was so much support and inspiration given to me in that moment. I was just like, “Oh, I’ve got to do this.” So from that moment I started creating it. And the coaching calls was so valuable. Each week I would jump on in my car, on my lunch break from my day job and just get as much out of it as I could and tweak my creative ideas that I was coming out with. And from your guidance and the support and the motivation, I started to formulate my MUMoments journal. It turned from an idea into an actual product.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And I love the name of it too, MUMoments. So, you call it a five-minute journal. So it walks you through some steps that you can… Well, prompt is it? To document this, when you become a new mum and there’s lots of emotions and everything going through your head. Tell us a little bit of detail about the product.
Becc Warr:
Yes, that’s exactly right. So five minutes, because I appreciate being a mum, we don’t have time. So I have tried to make it as simple and as easy and convenient as possible, because I don’t want to add to a mum’s to-do list. So I want it to be a really valuable tool. So, in the first section, it’s a bit of a planner, so you can plan out your day and in that you set your own daily intentions. So it’s very, very focused. You’ve got your three main priorities that you set as well. So I really encouraged mums to set this on things they really want to achieve in that day. And I guess I want mums to also look at what they want to get out of it for themselves. So, we could list all our house cleaning jobs that I really want to encourage mums to prioritize themselves. And then, at the end of the daily planner, there’s a little bit of a to-do list.
And again, I’ve kept it very small, because I guess, if you’re someone like me, I’ve been in the tendency of writing a humongous to-do list and then get overwhelmed and actually achieve nothing, because I don’t get there.
Catherine Langman:
And then, we feel terrible about ourselves, because we feel like a loser for not achieving anything.
Becc Warr:
That’s exactly right. So, I’ve only put five dot points just to keep it really, realistic and trying to avoid that overwhelm as well. And then at the end of the day, I’ll put a little reflection section, so a mum can actually look back on her day and reflect on what she’s achieved, because again, I know you get to the end of the day and you feel all tapped out and you’d kind of wonder, “What did I get done in my day?” But if you have that reflection at the end of the day, you see what you actually have achieved and be proud of those achievements.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah, it makes you feel good thing, doesn’t it?
Becc Warr:
Yeah, exactly. It’s a feel good thing. And also, it’s on a gratitude arm as well. So it’s really trying to get you to think what you’re grateful for in your day as well. And then, the next section is a journal. And again, it’s all prompted. So there are a blank piece of paper with three prompts. So you can write what’s on your mind, if you need to let go and get something out of your mind, but there’s also a three prompts if you’re struggling to start the journaling process. And then, in the back of it, it’s a memory keeper as well. So I guess, similar to what you would have as a baby journal, but all about a mum. So documenting her muments because as mum’s we go through a lot of milestones. And I think sometimes we need to document them, record them or celebrate them. So, having that little section there is all about you. And again, it’s something to look back on in the future and see how far you’ve come in your journey and be proud of what you’ve achieved.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah. It’s so good. I love it. I want to kind of tease out a couple of moments or points throughout the course that I remember, were kind of important for your journey. And the first one was really, in the early part of the course, we’re doing some research and for you, I guess, you really tailored this part of the course to being able to get all of the information that you needed to help inform this product basically. Talk us through a little bit about that experience for you.
Becc Warr:
That’s exactly right. So I had an audience that they knew me for breast milk and DNA jewelry. So I needed to go out and do some market research to make sure my idea was going to work and was also needed obviously as well. I mean, I felt it was needed, but I was close to the idea. So, doing that research provided me so much valuable information that I’ve used to create the actual product. One of the big things that I found out from that particular research activity was that mums wanted to increase their daily gratitude. And as I mentioned, that’s part of the designing the product is to increase that daily gratitude and get them to reflect on their day. So, I think without doing that particular step, my product wouldn’t be what it is today.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah. And it can be really an eye opening experience, I think. Well, certainly I find it every time I go through this process, I find something out that I never would have guessed and it just ends up making the world of difference in terms of the effectiveness of everything past that.
Becc Warr:
100%, 100%.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah. So I really loved watching you go through that part of the course. But then also, I guess, kind of following on a little bit later from that exercise in the course, we try and work on that value statement and to really help position and communicate the brand promise. And that was quite a challenge for you. And I know you’re a writer and the creative writing process is something you really enjoy. So, but it was still a tough exercise, wasn’t it?
Becc Warr:
It was. And I think in the past I’ve been, I guess, very fluffy with words, you know what I mean? Like I have been direct and clear. I’ve always wanted to sprinkle lots of flowers on it, for example, but if it’s really not necessary and doing the product value statement section of the course really honed in on making it really clear.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah. No, I thought that was amazing. And then, so, I guess you made your way through the course and a big part of the course obviously is being able to make the website itself really tie in with that brand promise that brand value statement, but also your customer and their buyer journey and all of that kind of stuff. I know that you already had the Mummary online store before you started the course. So how did the website and the way you work the business, it’s been all of that stuff evolve as well during the course?
Becc Warr:
Yeah. Well, I did have the website and I guess, it was all teed up to breast milk and DNA jewelry. So I really needed to take what I had already and what I was creating and put them together in alignment. That’s probably where that product value statement really was challenging, but really benefiting at that same time, because from that I was able start designing my website to reflect all those parts. So, through SEO, I’ve done nothing with SEO beforehand. And from what I’ve learned on the course, I started implementing those changes and it’s just been phenomenal. I do a Trello calendar on my computer. And every month now I’ve scheduled some time to work on SEO development, because that’s important. And the plan, I wasn’t doing that. I was putting a lot of my marketing efforts into social media. Another thing from my website [crosstalk 00:15:37]. I know. Another thing from my website is it wasn’t very user-friendly. It wasn’t clear with the messaging. The images were okay, but they weren’t evoking emotional images. They were just standard product images.
And again, those little tweaks that I’ve learnt in the course has now benefited me now. Now It looks better, it feels better, it’s more user-friendly, it’s optimizing a SEO. It’s doing so much better.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah. So people can actually get to your website, they know what you do in sell and they know how to go and get it. And it’s much easier for them to navigate your site. So that’s really what you want, isn’t it?
Becc Warr:
It is. It is. It is.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah, so good. And then, I think there was something else that you mentioned as well around, and this is a really common thing as well. I know lots of the listeners would be feeling this as well, but being able to figure out the priorities for your attention and focus in the business.
Becc Warr:
Oh, this was a big, big challenge for me. I [inaudible 00:16:46] when I opened my business. I just needed a pretty Instagram feed and sales would come to me and I’d be successful. That was just literally the way I thought it was going to work, but I was so wrong. There was so much more to do with the business that I wasn’t prioritizing or giving any attention to. And yeah, that’s where the course really helped me looking at those different priorities and making sure they were high on my list. So my SEOs was [inaudible 00:17:22] website and email marketing was another, [inaudible 00:17:25] emails of the week. But I was doing this very much on the fly and there was no strategy to them. There was no flow or automation. There was just not much planning whatsoever. I really didn’t give a lot of my attention, because I was putting all my attention into social media. So yeah, that was a big, big change for me now. And moving forward as I’m implementing these things, moving forward for the future. It’s not such a one-off thing, it’s a change and transformation.
Catherine Langman:
I’ve certainly, and this is something I absolutely applaud you with. That you’ve really taken on the way that you need to work now, the planning and planning upfront and then going and implementing. So you’ve developed some of your own ways of getting organized using Trello, but then obviously, you’ve learnt the systems and the strategies that we teach and it is very much, you just have to keep going and implementing and yeah. And that planning and then implementation, it’s the only way you get there. And I love the fact that you’ve really taken that onboard. It’s so good.
Becc Warr:
Yeah. Yeah. That’s exactly right. And Facebook ads is the same thing. I dabbled in Facebook ads before. It was a very, very great inconsistent one-off kind of promotion, but never to the degree of what the course teaches you. And now I’m doing Facebook ads. So that’s good. But I guess I was scared of the money earned, invested in paid advertising, and having that little bit of a guidance and formula I suppose, it’s just made it so much easier. And again, it’s just another thing, another piece of the traffic heading to my website that’s now more optimized.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah. So good. That’s awesome. So I guess, if you could describe what did running your business look like before the course compared to now? Because obviously it’s changed a lot in creating this new product, but how would you describe that transformation?
Becc Warr:
It’s a huge transformation. Before, I had no certainty. My priorities were not right. I didn’t have a direction, no execution of ideas. I was literally running on the seat of my pants kind of… Oh, sorry. Edge of my seat kind of thing. I wasn’t planning. There was no purpose.
Catherine Langman:
Did you find that kind of stressful as well, feeling like you’re always jumping from one thing to the next and flying by the seat of your pants like that?
Becc Warr:
Completely stressful. I felt like I was burnt out. I needed a holiday. My emotions were all over the place, but I can put myself back there right now. I think of just the emotions around my boys as well, because I was always trying to do everything but quickly, and I’ve got to do this now, got to do this now. There was no strategy, there was no breaking down of a plan and executing it just one step at a time. It was, yeah. It was [inaudible 00:20:58]. So now, it’s so much different. I am more automated now. I’ve got more focus, more direction. My website’s more inviting, there’s a lot more activities I’m doing other than social media now. I’m doing a lot of more SEO, I’m doing Facebook ads. I’m just looking for other opportunities that helped me and benefit me now. So yeah, it’s really broadened my horizons.
Catherine Langman:
It’s great. Yeah, that’s awesome. And hopefully feeling a bit less overwhelmed as well.
Becc Warr:
Yeah. That’s exactly right. I manage my time so much more now. And it’s so much more efficient for me and my family. Just everything that’s happened.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah, it’s so good. It’s really awesome. I’d love to ask you and forgive me for not prepping this question to you beforehand. But I know, I just know that there are so many other business owners in the same shoes that you were in maybe six months ago. And I guess, you were just now putting yourself back into those shoes and what that felt like. So, if you could pass on maybe one or two of the biggest learnings that you’ve been able to experience for yourself to give some advice to yourself six months ago, what would you say?
Becc Warr:
The advice would be, is to definitely have a plan, have a strategy in place, take baby steps. I wasn’t as kind on myself, I thought I needed to do all of these things, in always a short amount of time. So, be kind and yeah, have a plan, have a strategy, and have a support network, like Productpreneur Website Formula, that supportive. I wouldn’t be here today without that. I would still be thinking of that idea and probably not have a product. So that support gave me the motivation and the action I needed to do everything I had done. Certainly that support and be kind, and planning.
Catherine Langman:
I love the fact that you said that about being kind on yourself, because a lot of the time we do feel like we just have to do all the things don’t we? And like yesterday. We were pretty tough on ourselves I think, us entrepreneurs, especially as mums in business.
Becc Warr:
So much. And one of the biggest things that I’ve learned is if you can just be kind and take baby steps. Yeah. You will get there in the end. It’s not going to be an overnight win, but just chipping away at the activities and the social media and SEO and Facebook [inaudible 00:24:03] and you get momentum, and in the end it will all work well. You’ve put all the planning pieces together appropriately.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah, I definitely want to latch onto the other piece of advice you said about getting the support community around you. And obviously, you were able to enjoy that from our course. What was the favorite part of that? Was it the group itself or the coaching sessions with the coaches? What did you find was the most important part of that community for you?
Becc Warr:
Oh, it’s really hard to choose between the Facebook group or the coaching. If I had to choose, it probably be the coaches, because that was an opportunity to speak to a professional, and see my other peers in the group as well, and to bounce ideas off, and learn about what they were doing as well. And although, they’ve all had different businesses, there’s pieces of nuggets that I’ve learned from every single person and hearing that, and putting a face, because it was all over Zoom. And putting a face that was just super-valuable. Yeah. But yeah, the group itself very valuable as well.
Catherine Langman:
That’s good, because I know I started my business working from home alone and you probably did. And I know lots of us do, especially over the last year. A lot of people are starting businesses online from bedrooms or garages or wherever, and it can feel so isolating at times. So yeah, the community and the support around you is incredible, isn’t it?
Becc Warr:
It is, it is. It was yeah, very, very good.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah. So good. So, I want to make sure that our audience knows where to find you, if they would like to come and check out the MUmuments journal. Where can they find you online?
Becc Warr:
So I’m at themummary.com.au or I hang out [inaudible 00:26:26], which is the Mummary as well. Or over on Facebook it’s the Mummary Australia.
Catherine Langman:
Fantastic. So good. And really appreciate having you on the show, sharing your story. And it’s been absolutely tremendous our team and myself to really watch you learn and grow over this past several months. So thank you so much for sharing.
Becc Warr:
Thank you. [inaudible 00:26:57] at that time. I don’t know where I’d be. I’d probably still be thinking of an idea and without the course, with the course, I actually have a product [inaudible 00:27:11] an exciting future.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah. So good. Well, thank you so much for joining us on the show Becc.
Becc Warr:
It’s my pleasure. Thank you.