It goes to show what can be achieved when tenacity combines with solid savings and the right idea. And since taking the plunge in 2014, 27-year-old Peta Shulman hasn’t looked back.
Her business is GoodnessMe Box, a monthly health food subscription sampling box designed to deliver people an array of wholefoods catering to wellness revolution devotees and newcomers alike.
As a sign of the times and the sheer pulling-power of social media done well, GoodnessMe Box has a whopping 80,000 followers on social media, and reaches more than five thousand Australians on a monthly basis.
It didn’t all just emerge from the ash though. Peta spent five years in marketing and PR within the health industry before making the leap to entrepreneurship. She also turned her own health struggles into an opportunity.
“I had spent five years in PR working in the world of integrative health and wellness – speaking to hundreds of health practitioners, attending integrative health conferences, working with the latest health foods and supplements and learning about the movement of prevention each and every day,” Peta says.
“After years of feeling unwell I managed to take charge of my health by going back to basics and being consistently mindful about my food choices. At this time I asked myself “what am I passionate about and what am I good at”. I thought these two factors combined could make an unstoppable business.”
The idea tapped into the booming industry focused on clean eating, with the overall goal of helping others to change their food choices for the better.
“GoodnessMe Box is designed to break down the barriers in understanding what to eat and why,” Peta says.
“We want to change the way society eats and the foods we trust. This is about addressing the core pillars of good health and not just the symptom. We want to empower society to take control of their health and above all, to be excited about it too.”
Peta says she has faced many challenges, but the help and encouragement of her mentor have kept her outlook clear. She also believes growth can be one of the toughest things to manage, and it’s a case of sink or swim.
“The biggest challenge as a new business has been growth. GoodnessMe Box became a fully operational business from day one. Within a couple of months, I found myself having to manage a growing team, thousands of customers, multiple suppliers, logistical relationships and internal systems and processes.
“We had to hit the ground running, make decisions fast, keep our loyal customers happy, uphold our external relationships and continue to build the brand and innovate.”
Looking to the future, Peta is excited. It’s about never losing sight of her original purpose, and always putting the needs of customers and suppliers first.
