Kelly Baker Jamieson was just 26 years old when she launched her first business, with a vision to create bouquets out of the finest chocolates, and fresh fruit, rather than flowers. This saw her launch Edible Blooms, a bold move that made $1 million in sales in Baker-Jamieson’s first financial year of operation.
Opening its colourful doors in 2005, Kelly backed her intuition and poured her life savings into her new business venture. Filled with entrepreneurialism and a healthy sense of naivete, Kelly had a desire to be the master of her own destiny. Without fear of risk and barriers she set out and worked on what needed to be done and how to make it happen. A mindset that turned her dream into a reality, and an approach that sees Edible Blooms delivering thousands of delicious bouquets daily, around Australia.
We sit down with Kelly to talk about the highs and lows of her career journey, the bold moves that were made along the way, and her key piece of advice to overcome the inevitable challenges that come with business start-ups.
Being bold and starting your own business doesn’t come without obstacles, how did you overcome these?
“My ah-ha innovative business idea of Edible Blooms didn’t come without challenges; I had never worked in retail or a food business or managed finances before. There were a number of steep learning curves to conquer! When our doors first opened we would go from tens of sales on one day, and the next we would have almost none. Business start-ups can be so inconsistent and it’s a roller-coaster when you first start. Sometimes it felt like a tough, uphill battle that took a lot of resilience to keep putting one foot in front of the other, but we got through it, and it is from those experiences that we grow.”
What mechanisms did you use to overcome these challenges?
“‘You win or your learn’ are words that I hold close in all business experiences. It helps to reflect and ensure you use the learnings when they come and it’s surprising how often those learnings can become your next win if you truly reflect on the experience. The other mechanism I know that helps me overcome and face challenges is keeping a positive mindset. When we see the glass as half full, it is possible to turn a challenge into an opportunity. “
How did you create a vision that took people on a journey with you?
“In 2005 I had a simple vision that stays true to today; to bring people joy across Australia. Our team are incredibly important to delivering this vision and I’m very proud that our very first full-time employee, Sarah Bruce, in Australia is our business partner in New Zealand 18 years later. It’s always a joy to chat to our customers too that have followed our growth and enjoyed the way that we have continued to innovate our products and service delivery for them. By believing in my vision and being confident in decisions gave others the confidence to join me in this journey”
Making Bold decisions throughout your life and your business would have become imperative to thrive, if I said “She lived a bold life” what does that mean to you?
“Living the life that you had dreamt of when you were a little girl, it’s all about childhood imagination, practicing gratefulness, and following your intuition.”
Collaboration is now more important than ever. How have you built a supportive tribe around you?
“Saying yes to opportunities and people along the adventure of life has given me the gift of being surrounded by great tribes. One of those tribes is my ‘Necker Crew’ that includes the amazing Ella Bache CEO, Pippa Hallas. We are quite a misfit of female entrepreneurs from around Australia and nearly 10 years later I’d do anything for anyone in this group. I also have an amazing local tribe of business women that are incredible supportive and we call ourselves the ‘Fearless Females’. Identifying people that lift you up and are there to catch you if you need gives you courage to be bold.”
Lastly, if you had 20 seconds of insane courage what would you do?
“Pack the family up, have zero plans and adventure around the world!”
In the meantime, Lisa if you can think about what you'd like to offer in the giveaway collab and let me know so that I can begin to brief into our graphic designers, that would be great!