Louisa Wood’s businesses have never
really left the schoolyard. First there were the homemade
scrunchies in Year Six, then the chocolate Freddos in Year 11. At
26, Wood’s latest scheme can be found in the backpacks of
school children all over Australia. She talks to Emma Gardiner
about the chemistry class that created a publishing explosion.
Louisa Wood’s businesses have never
really left the schoolyard. First there were the homemade
scrunchies in Year Six, then the chocolate Freddos in Year 11. At
26, Wood’s latest scheme can be found in the backpacks of
school children all over Australia. She talks to Emma Gardiner
about the chemistry class that created a publishing explosion.
The school diary was basic and boring
until Louisa Wood decided to do something creative and enterprising
about it. “They were such poor quality and all they were ever
used for was to soak up lunch box juices at the bottom of our
bags,” says the 26-year-old managing director of Get Positive
Productions.
Having just been banned from her Freddo
fundraising due to the burgeoning waistline of the school
principal—and the fact that it was simply too
successful—Wood was already on the look-out for the next big
thing. As it turned out, it was sitting right in front of her.
Over the following months, she developed
the idea of a school diary that students would actually use; one
that would instil some basic life skills such as how to get your
driver’s licence, create a bibliography, reference correctly,
and where to apply for scholarships. Riding the wave of enthusiasm,
Wood applied for the Nescafe Big Break and was thrilled to receive
one of the six minor prizes of $2000. “The money went towards
developing the prototype,” says Wood. “One thing I
discovered very quickly was that everything costs money. When
you’re paying a graphic designer $40 an hour, it all adds up.
Winning the Nescafe Big Break gave me the financial freedom to get
MyDiary into the first stage of production.”
After enrolling in a cognitive science
degree at the University of Western Australia, Wood continued to
work on the MyDiary project, eventually becoming frustrated with
the impractical nature of her studies. “Two years into my
course I decided to defer,” says Wood.
Her determination to push her business into profitability saw her
reapply for the Nescafe Big Break. “There was nothing in the
fine print to disallow it so I submitted an updated entry and won
again.” That was in 2000, the year that Get Positive
Productions became registered and opened its first bank account
with the second lot of prize money.
Since then, Wood has built a business
which turned over $750,000 in the last financial year. “At
first, I started selling the concept to schools in the Perth area
[where Wood lives], but after three years I opened it up to the
eastern states and sub-groups.” What was initially a product
geared towards high school students soon saw versions develop for
primary school and senior high school students. “Their needs
were different. The primary school diaries are very clear and
simple—the idea is to get the kids to start writing in their
homework. For the junior high students, they are entertainment
oriented. Teenagers are a very harsh audience and we really need to
keep developing the content year on year. For the seniors, we
include lots of planning tools and timetables. The format is a lot
cleaner as they use the MyDiary as a practical study tool.”
Plans for the future include publishing
podcast links and designing laptop and mobile phone models.
“Teachers will be able to schedule an exam and email their
students. The diary entry will automatically appear. With the
podcasts, we’ll record 10-minute motivational and informative
speeches that the students can download on a range of topics, such
as effective study practices.” But before these prototypes
can launch, Wood needs to partner with a software designer and a
venture capitalist. “I’ll retain 100 percent control of
the paper version of MyDiary but I want to joint-venture the other
models as this isn’t my area of expertise.”
So, what sets MyDiary apart and protects
it from copycats? “Our willingness to personalise. We
custom-design the front and back covers and include up to 24 pages
of specific school rules and information at the front. We also
offer a full-colour bookmark that features artworks produced by the
school’s students.”
Wood loves a good system, but while her
business is heavily systemised the workload is still significant.
September through to January are the busiest times—this is
when the orders roll in and need to be filled and
distributed—but the rest of the year is still manic with
management and strategic planning, as well as creating new content.
Wood runs Get Positive Productions out of the dining room of her
home and has one full-time employee, her PA, and 10 sub-contractors
who are responsible for the design, printing, and courier service
as part of their roles.
“I have a computer and an internet
connection. I never even see the diaries in hard-copy; everything
is done off-site. You don’t need to invest in capital items.
Why buy a $100,000 printer and then watch it depreciate? All young
entrepreneurs need to do is develop the intellectual property,
protect it and then sell it.”
As one of the only 26-year-old Australian
women playing in the big league, Wood says that the usual practice
of going to uni is holding young female entrepreneurs back, as well
as a paralysing lack of confidence. “I have learnt to blow my
own trumpet until my lips hurt,” she says. “My parents
are always saying, ‘What are you selling now?’ Women
have so many characteristics that make them shine in
business–the ability to multi-task, keen intuition, a fair
but firm approach, empathy for their clients’ emotions, as
well as being able to align spirituality with business
practice.”
Having recently appeared on the cover of
the business edition of the White Pages, Wood’s visage can be
found in the offices and homes of approximately 1.5 million people.
As a contestant in the upcoming Ms Olympia, a bodybuilding
competition to be held in Perth, Wood also has a larger-than-life
public profile in her home city. And with the upcoming launch of
her debut novel, Zero to Hero: Adventures of a Wannabe Millionaire,
Wood’s profile—and business—are on track for
further advancement. “Business has given me everything I have
wanted,” she says. “Over the years I’ve made
money but I’ve also made a lot of friends and have attained a
sense of personal freedom, which is so valuable to me.”
