What we've learnt about going big - The next step
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The next step
What we’ve learnt
about going big
Three small businesses explain how they turned pivotal points into leaps forward
– and how Australia Post has helped them deliver big business wins.
Ammar and Rashid Roumani Steph Pase Tony Mortel
Pod Co. Coffee Steph Pase Planners Mortels Sheepskin Factory
auspost.com.au/business
Brought to you by Australia Post
stephpaseplanners.com.au
Rashid and
How to meet demand during
Ammar Roumani manager explained that the more
Pod Co. Coffee we sent, the cheaper it would get.”
a surprisingly fast scale-up
The pivot to eParcel turned out as
well as her sales trajectory: Steph
Pase’s 2021 planner sold 23,000
copies. It wasn’t without some angst:
Turning a successful blog “It has monthly reflections, weekly late last year, a delayed shipment
into an online business went meal planners, recipes and shopping from international suppliers put the
better than expected. The lists, budgets, bill trackers, life delivery of planners under pressure
big challenge? Managing admins, gift planning, a password during the busiest period of the year.
the logistics... keeper, a workout planner – I tried Steph says she lodged 15,000 parcels
to fit in as much as I possibly could with Australia Post in December
without it being ridiculously big.” alone but it scaled up her pick-ups
When Steph Pase started her blog Developing her planner for 2020 and delivered to her customers
A bit of advice
in 2016, after the birth of her first was “a big learning curve – I’d never “without missing a beat”.
daughter, she named it Just Another manufactured anything before”. Australia Post’s eParcel system
Use customer Mummy Blog. Clearly, it wasn’t. She She worked with a patient graphic works with third-party automated
feedback to quickly attracted more than 200,000 designer and reviewed many samples shipping platforms to make for
innovate followers and by the time her second before she was satisfied. Although seamless international dispatch
daughter joined the family in 2017, her goal was 2000 sales, she ended (about 15 per cent of Steph’s business).
The only way she was juggling a lot. up selling 10,000 planners. And while she’s fortunate her business
to find out what In 2019, Steph turned her passion While the unexpected sales spike has only occasional need for Australia
customers truly want for organisation and planning into a was exciting, the multiple problems Post’s eParcel Returns service,
is by listening to them. business. Having never found a diary with her first delivery service were “it’s been really good, especially
A lot of customers planner that included everything she stressful. “I was getting up at 3am for international customers. The
asked if our pods were wanted, she designed one herself. just to figure out how to print out return label goes straight to their
compostable and package labels and there was no email and it’s sorted, and we can
biodegradable so we personal support.” keep track of things in the system.”
moved fast to find a Steph reached out to other Steph says being able to email
solution. People were business owners, many of whom or call her Australia Post account
podco.com.au
asking about chai so recommended Australia Post. manager “whenever we need” is vital.
we developed a chai “They said, ‘They’ve got really good “We know all of our Australia Post
How to turn a side hustle
latte pod.
”
Ammar Roumani
service and you can talk to your
own representative.’ It was instantly
so much better. And my account
people by name. It’s a really big part
of my business and I love that
personal interaction.”
into a full-time business
Curiosity about the contents of favourite Melbourne-roasted beans on postage – it was really cool to
coffee pods led two Melbourne and began experimenting. “We keep moving up the savings bands.” Steph Pase
brothers to a new career – and had roasters create some bespoke Sales increased rapidly and, in 2019, A bit of advice Steph Pase Planners
a thriving ecommerce venture. coffee blends for us, specifically they moved to Australia Post’s eParcel
designed for pods,” says Rashid. solution, which is aimed at businesses
“We found out you can’t just put shipping more than 2000 parcels a Find partners
The pod Rashid Roumani was any coffee in a pod.” year. They still use MyPost Business you can trust
turning over in his hand that day With their first bunch of blends for international sales, mainly to New
at work held the seed of a brilliant sealed in, Pod Co. was born in 2014 Zealand, but they also have their eyes You need a delivery
idea. A recent convert to an at- and the brothers would pack orders on the Asian market. “It’s growing partner you can rely
home machine and coffee capsules and drop parcels off at the post office organically,” says Ammar. on. Someone you can get
– convenient and much cheaper before work each morning. By 2019, While specialty food and liquor help from when you’re
than the barista-made takeaways they’d left their day jobs to focus on retailers represent the country’s starting out and who has
he’d order several times a day – Pod Co. full-time. They also moved smallest e-tail sector, according to the amazing systems and
Rashid is also a Melbourne coffee away from manual parcel lodgements Australia Post’s Inside Australian platforms that will make
connoisseur and the flavour of the and onto MyPost Business. Online Shopping ecommerce update your business work so
pods just didn’t cut it for him.
So he and brother Ammar swung
into action. Despite having no
“It was really quick and easy for
us to manage our shipping,” says
Rashid. “It was tailored to the
(April 2021), the category saw 77
per cent year-on-year growth from
2020 – the highest of any category.
much better.
Steph Pase
”
experience in the food industry, they startup situation we were in. The That makes pure-play ecommerce
ordered some empty pods and their more we sold, the more we saved1 business Pod Co. a true caffeine hit.
Brought to you by Australia Post
Tony Mortel
Mortels Sheepskin Factory
the volume requirements over the relevant period for savings on certain products. Visit auspost.com.au/terms-conditions/send-and-save-terms-conditions for more information and
1 Freight savings are based on how many qualifying parcels you send over specific periods. You must have a MyPost Business account, use your account to pay for postage and meet
A bit of advice
Stay hands-on
Don’t manage by
overseeing, manage
by example and being on
eligible products. 2 Track events will vary depending on how the item is lodged and delivered. Read more about our tracking service at auspost.com.au
the floor. You need to be
knowledgeable across
the business. You don’t
mortels.com.au have to do everything
but you need to know
How to take an Australian
how to do it.
Tony Mortel
”
heritage brand into the future
This family company making His advice for taking a legacy brand Tony says they’d moved their shipping
Aussie ugg boots moves fast on into the future? Be quick to adopt to Australia Post’s MyPost Business
new technology while staying new technology while holding tight account the year before, “otherwise it
true to its traditional values of to the traditions at your core. From would’ve been a logistical nightmare!”
quality and craftsmanship. the day Mortels was founded by MyPost Business gives the company
his parents, Frank and Rita – Dutch significant savings1 and streamlines its
immigrants from a long line of process. Mortels charges a flat-rate
“One thing I dislike about ecommerce shoemakers – in-house production shipping fee of $15 Australia wide. Now
is competing online based on price,” and sourcing local materials have that it qualifies for the maximum Band
says Mortels Sheepskin Factory been the foundation of their success. 5 discount with MyPost Business, it
managing director Tony Mortel. “My “Everyone in the business cares saves up to 40 per cent when sending
advice is: don’t undercut yourself. about the quality,” he says. “Every eligible parcels within the same city,
Stick to your standards, stick to your ugg boot passes through eight pairs making delivery more cost effective.
quality and get more creative rather of hands before it’s ready for sale.” From one portal, the fulfilment team
than being strictly price-driven.” Tony and his wife, Stephanie, took can bulk-upload orders, print labels,
Tony’s confidence is built on decades over the business in 1992 and now pay for postage and send customers
of retail experience, including two have an ugg boot museum, shop their tracking details2. “During our
stores in regional NSW. Mortels has and café at their factory in Thornton, peak periods, we were sending 150
been making sheepskin ugg boots near Maitland in NSW. orders a day,” says Tony. “MyPost
since 1958 and was an early adopter In 2020, the year of lockdowns, Business helped us get those out the
in the ecommerce revolution, first Mortels sold 40,000 pairs of uggs, door quicker. It kept the business
selling online in 1999 – “even before with online sales increasing from 5 to flowing much better than it would
we had reliable internet,” he jokes. 30 per cent of its annual turnover. have otherwise.”
auspost.com.au/business
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