![Irene Falcone, founder of Nourished Life, has a policy that none of her employees miss a school carnival or school play ...](/web/20170208145901im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/5/c/6/e/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gu57mi.png/1486175141729.jpg)
Irene Falcone had two drivers that led her to start Nourished Life. The first was recognising there was a market to sell organic and sustainable personal care products online. The second was not seeing her kids.
For seven of her 10 years in corporate, Falcone worked long hours as head of advertising and social media at Universal Pictures.
"By the time I had two kids, plus two step kids, I couldn't see them – it was a real struggle for me," she says.
Falcone convinced her husband to sell their house, and moved the family into a rental for a year to give the business a go.
"I started with $100 and no investment. My mum worked for me for free packing orders and taking them to the post office," she laughs.
Four years later, the mostly online business (there is also a bricks and mortar store in Sydney's Belrose) selling sustainable personal care, beauty and lifestyle products is on track to turn over $20 million a year.
But more importantly for Falcone, she has implemented a corporate culture she believes in.
"I realised as a mum I had a lot to offer in a short period of time. [The problem in corporate] wasn't that I didn't get my work done – it was the culture of 'staying late'."
She knew others would be in the same boat, and thought her new business could provide a win for both sides.
"If you want something done, give it to a busy mum. I thought, 'Imagine if I could work for myself and use other mums as employees'. I knew there were others who'd like that," she says.
Nourished Life has grown rapidly, turning over $400,000 in year one and nearly $9 million last year, a figure on track to more than double this year. Along the way she's been careful to turn those early wishes into formal policies supporting working parents.
"People work between 9.30am and 2.30pm and I have a company-wide policy that no parents miss a school play or a carnival," she says.
And when the growing business needs more employees?
"We just put up an ad in the local school and we might get five or six women apply. Each may only do one day a week, but it's about more than the money, it's about feeling part of something. I think that translates to a happier working environment and somehow that translates to more customers," she says.
Falcone agrees managing a flexible workforce is more complicated for management, but from her perspective the pay-off is obvious.
"I understand why corporates like nine-to-five: it's more structured and you can plan meetings more easily. But I think that overall the ethos of the business is elevated so much by having that flexibility; the feeling and energy you produce outweighs the fact that you can't call a meeting every day at 10am with all your staff."
CURRICULUM VITAE
Name: Irene Falcone
Current position: Founder & CEO of Nourished Life
Responsibilities: All management decisions from creative direction to financial planning as well as the day-to-day running of the business. "I set the direction, vision and culture of the company, train, inspire and empower my growing team."
Education: Began working directly after high school. "I landed an entry level positing working for John Singleton's advertising business – they had an intensive internal training program across all media and advertising departments. I worked my way through them all!"
Additional training/courses: None.
Professional associations: Expert advisor on the Global GreenTag National Advisory Committee (on personal care products).
Honourable mentions:
- Winner, Telstra Business Women's NSW Entrepreneur Award, 2016.
- Winner ORIAS (Online Retail Industry Awards) – best online marketing, 2016.
- Finalist, 2016 Telstra Business Awards.
- Finalist, 2015 Telstra Business Women's Start Up Awards.
- BRW Fast Starter list, 2015.
Strength: "I have a sense of humour! It's not typical, but I think in an environment that is stressful, if you can have a laugh that makes everything better.
Weakness: "Sometimes, as it's my business, it's hard to step away and look at things objectively. I do take things quite personally. From a customer service point of view we get great feedback, but if we don't I take it personally and that would translate to a bad day for me."
Management style and tips: "Tough but fair. I'm a big believer in training. I do have a lot of structure, but I'm approachable and I'm very hands on."
Work motto: To quote Henry Ford: "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't – you're right."