I'm a believer
Beginning a new business is one giant leap of faith. You leap into joblessness (something I'm wholly unfamiliar with. I've been employed since I was 14!) You leap into learning and begin figuring out new skills (like how to update your website. If you're reading this blog - tick!). And you leap into new relationships - with suppliers and with clients.
One of the tenets of great PR is that you have to believe in what you're promoting. Fully, entirely, passionately. Even if your client is with you for just a short project, or a few weeks - if you've moved forward with them, you need to totally 'get' what they do.
So far, so fortunate for me. No spin. I really love these guys!
The JUNO KiwiSaver Scheme was my very first client. I met founders Jacqui and Mike on the sidelines at kids' soccer, back in 2016. When they (much much later) suggested we might work together on the launch of their (at the time, super secret, like, almost had to sign an NDA!) KiwiSaver product, I was really enthusiastic. Like all the businesses I work with, they are completely devoted to what they do and inherently believe in their model (no fees for kids under 18 - hear that parents? And low fees for everyone else.) These guys actively manage their investments - which means their NZ based team does all the research and the monitoring of your money, not some faceless MASSIVE offshore team. So I'm all for it. Do some sums on their clever calculator to work out how many thousands you'd save over the lifetime of your investment if you switched. MY SAVINGS COULD TOTAL $100,000! Sorry for shouting that. I'm just very impressed with that number, and with this progressive, fresh, forward-thinking bunch of humans.
My lovely, rather mad, but super brilliant friend Robyn from The Hello Cup was next - in fact, it was her insistence (over many coffees, and champagne, and weeks) that I leave my job and do this Contentment thing that helped me cut the cord. She and her bestie Mary have designed a NZ-made menstrual cup that is both clever and cute - and I get the really fun job of helping them out behind the scenes on everything from website stuff, to words, to PR, to trying to help Robyn locate her Xero password. Again, I believe in everything Hello Cup stands for, and love the passion, and the rightness of it. These guys are super supportive of me, too, so it's a win-win.
First Light, which is a fantastic local grass-fed wagyu company, gave me a call to talk about their social media. If you follow them on Facebook or on Instagram you will see (hopefully) their integrity and honesty front and centre - as well as their burning desire to develop a community of "conscientious consumers" who make careful choices about how much meat they eat, and where that meat came from, and what sort of life the animal enjoyed. It's a tricky balance sometimes, and people have vastly different views on meat and its consumption, but Jason and his team at First Light are remarkable people, great fun to work with, and have really challenged me to look at my own meat eating habits.
I'm delighted with my three amigos - it's a wonderful start to Contentment. You know you've hooked the good ones when you feel pride in their achievements, and delight in their successes. Three amazing, diverse, dedicated New Zealand companies - and more to come.