Pep Talk With Grace

Well you guys know how excited to get when we hear about businesses around chocolate, but today we're hearing about another topic that's close to my heart... wine!

Today's guest Cath founded JOIY wine, along with her winemaker husband Chris, from Martinborough, just 10 mins down the road from where I live, with world domination in mind from the get go.

Their unique 'wine in a can' creation successfully disrupted the wine industry, and introduced the joy of wine to a new generation. They really led the 'wine in can' movement, proving it's just as good as regular wine by winning a bunch of prestigious wine awards.

And now JOIY is indeed smashing it on the world stage – amazingly they are even bigger in Canada than they are here – and are taking on the big guys in an industry that is dominated by heavy hitters and intense government regulation.

Get in on this chat today to hear about how it all works behind the scenes, the challenges they've faced along the way (and trust me there are some goodies in there!), and how the JOIY philosophy of 'live for today' comes to life...

Grab a glass (or can) of wine, pop your feet up and settle in for a chat!

You can order JOIY wine online at joiy.co.nz and of course keep up with their adventures over on Instagram @joiywine. Cheers to that!

This week we're hearing all about One Percent Collective, which is a really cool New Zealand founded platform that makes it super easy to give (you guessed it!) 1% of your income to charity.

Pat, who we're talking to today, found his way to One Percent Collective (like a lot of us do!) the roundabout way, via work in photography, design, music and magazines. He was living in Burma, managing a charity at the time, and saw first hand the difference that small amounts of money can completely change people's lives who are going through a hard time.

Years later and One Percent Collective is thriving, supporting 14 New Zealand charities with over $2 million dollars of donations from their donors, and charities like KaiBosh receiving over $200,000 of donations over the years.

This really is a inspiring story of how little things can add up to something much bigger. Join me to hear all about it from Pat, as well as learning about how he balances this on top of his day job, the surprising impact of Covid on the charity, the beauty of putting yourself out there and asking for help, their plans for the future, and of of course the answer to the question on all of your lips: Britney or Christina...

If you're inspired like me to sign up head to onepercentcollective.org and join the gang. Remember you can choose what amount you donate, and it only takes 3-4 minutes to sign up. You can also keep up with what Pat and his team are up to on Instagram @onepercentnz. See you there!

This week we're diving back into one of my favourite topics – CHOCOLATE! Today you'll be hearing the story of The Chocolate Bar, from founder Luke.

Just shy of six years ago, Luke was working in hospo, having arrived in Wellington from the UK, and – in a tale that will sound familiar to a lot of us – found himself searching for his “thing”.

After tasting fellow Pep Talk alumni Wellington Chocolate Factory's then new product, Luke followed his instinct and new passion for craft chocolate, and barely a month later found himself launching The Chocolate Bar - an online chocolate shop, curating and celebrating craft chocolate from all over the world.

Five and a half years later and The Chocolate Bar is going stronger than ever, with a gang of loyal subscribers to his curated monthly boxes of quality craft chocolate bars, and has become a “go to” expert on all things craft chocolate in New Zealand.

Safe to say, Luke has definitely found his “thing”, and I know this story is going to be really interesting and inspiring to so many of us to find ourselves pondering our raison d'être. So grab some (*good quality single origin) craft chocolate, and hunker down for a great chat with Luke today...

You can find out more about Luke and order yourself some of his amazing craft chocolate range on his website – thechocolatebar.nz – and follow his journey on Instagram @thechocolatebar.nz.

I am incredibly excited and honoured to welcome today's guest onto Pep Talk. Of course I love all our guests and would never pick favourites, but today's story is one I feel a special connection to – today we're chatting with Fleur Wickes, an artist who's work I have in pride of place in my kitchen.

As you'll hear during the episode, I (not so eloquently!) try to pin down exactly what I find so special about Fleur's work, but I think it's just her belief that the magic of life is in the small moments and the tiny details – that really shines through in her creations. Something that has been especially bought to our attention in this Covid world we find ourselves in - home, family and the little details have become more important than ever.

Of course Pep Talk is all about business, and while Fleur is first and foremost an artist, what she has built over the years is 100% a business – she now has premises and an employee. Plus, part of what has made her so successful is her wicked combination of skills on both the art side but also in business, marketing and sales, that has combined to create absolute magic.

This episode is just full of so many thoughtful observations and moments, Fleur shares so much of her story and her passion with us in this chat. You'll just have to listen to see what I mean - and I guarantee you'll feel intrigued and uplifted and entertained and inspired, all at the same time.

Check out Fleur's art to see what we're talking about – head to fleurwickes.co.nz to see and purchase her art, and have a nosy on Instagram too @fleurwickes, where she shares her personal story as well as her journey of creating her art, her artists life.

Here we are – our final episode of 2020! Today we have the MOST perfect way to round out the year – chatting with Matt co-founder of Made of Tomorrow.

You'll most likely know these guys from their iconic diaries, which not only look beautiful, but are made from recycled coffee cups (and entirely made right here in New Zealand). Made of Tomorrow also have an amazing range of homewares – all minimal and functional objects, carefully designed and manufactured from high quality materials in New Zealand.

Matt runs Made of Tomorrow with his partner Dan, from their base in Papamoa, where they moved in January before the madness of this year began. They ran a previous business together, which we'll hear a little about, and recently sold it – giving them an amazing base to run Made of Tomorrow in a truely thoughtful and deliberate manner, I really admire Matt's approach and outlook on the rollercoaster that is business, which you'll hear all about.

This chat is the most perfect way to wrap up Pep Talk for the year, and get you guys (and me!) inspired and excited for next year and more good stuff to come – I can't wait for you to hear it, so let's go...

The day before we chatted, Matt and Dan just released a whole range of beautiful new products, including some perfect Christmas gifting pieces. Make sure you head to their website if you have a few final Christmas presents to tick off (or just because!). Check out madeoftomorrow.com and @madeoftomorrow on socials to see a bit more about what Matt and Dan are all about.

If you talk to lot of self employed people, or people thinking about starting a business, more often than not the one key area they are feeling unsure of are the finances – tracking income and expenses, paying tax, when do you have to pay GST, and those surprise ACC invoices that always show up out of the blue.

So of course for one of our Topic Chats I had to get a bit finance-y. If I'm honest, it's probably my least favourite area of business and - as today's guest himself says - it's totally not sexy. But it's so important if you want to succeed in business – and actually just in life in general, right?

Today's guest is James, co-founder of Hnry. Hnry is a handy app that takes all the hassle out of accounting for self employed people, freelancers and contractors. Your income comes in and Hnry automatically takes out your tax and ACC payments at the appropriate rate using a clever algorithm, so you know you're meeting your requirements and don't have to worry about setting aside money each month (or let's be honest, spending it accidentally!). So handy!

On this chat I'll pick James' brain for some finance and business tips, but also make sure we hear the Hnry story too – as they are making some serious waves and disrupting a very old school industry in a pretty cool way. Alright, let's pop our money-geek hats on and kick into it...

Find out more about Hnry at www.hnry.co.nz, or on Instagram @hnrynz.

This week we're mixing things up a bit! I've joined forces with Sarah from The OneUp Project Podcast.

OneUp is all about Financial Literacy & Self Development - each week Sarah covers topics and welcomes guests to chat about all those things we weren't taught but should've been! Think KiwiSaver, saving, shares, home ownership, insurance, mindset, investing, and all that jazz. Money stuff could be a bit yawn, but Sarah brings the fun and makes sure all this heavy info is presented in a digestible and entertaining way.

Sarah kicked off OneUp a few months before Pep Talk launched and we've been cheering each other on virtually via our DMs ever since, so when she said she's heading to Wellington, we had to take the opportunity to catch-up and record an episode together.

So join us for this week's chat where Sarah asks me all about my experiences in podcasting, business, and life in general. And likewise I can't wait to fire a few questions back, especially since Sarah has recently quit her job in accounting to pursue her passions – a move you KNOW I'll be super excited about.

Hope you enjoy this episode with a bit of a twist, and thanks to Sarah for making this happen!

Head over to Sarah's new website to find all her episodes, plus a bunch of handy content and even an e-book or two to download - theoneupproject.nz. Plus of course give her a follow on Instagram @theoneupproject to follow her journey after she resigned from her job!

Today's Pep Talk guest Olivia had always been mad about gifting, loving to shower her friends and family with specially curated gifts from a super young age. It's totally her love language!

Three or so years ago, she was lucky to score an internship at Spotify in Sydney at the end of her business degree, and she obviously blew them away as an intern, because they offered her a full time role in the team... Which she turned down!

That's right, she returned home to New Zealand, driven by a desire to create a role for herself where she could do what she loved every day – that's right, GIFTING. And how exactly do you make a role for yourself in gifting? You start a gift box company!

So Olivia teamed up with her Mum Vicki and together they launched Taken Care Of. This isn't your usual cellophane wrapped wicker hamper gift box situation - these are stunning, premium, carefully curated and impeccably presented experiences.

Trust me, I know from personal experience that Olivia's gift boxes are are an absolute delight to both send and to receive, and since we're heading into peak gifting season with Christmas just around the corner, I thought it was perfect timing to grab Olivia for a chat to hear how it started, how it's going, and where it's all heading.

I just know you'll love a sneaky peek at the Taken Care Of website – it's as beautiful as their boxes are – and of course check out the gifting options for Christmas and beyond. But you might want to get in quick as their pre-curated range is selling out crazy quickly! Head to takencareof.co.nz or @takencareof for all the details and remember to #shoplocal this Christmas. Happy shopping!

Seven years ago, while living in Auckland, Felicity was on the hunt for pots to keep her house plants in and couldn't quite find what she was after, so signed up for a 10 week pottery course to learn how to make her own. ​

Fast forward to today and what started as a hobby has turned into a full time gig, and Felicity (with her brand 'Wundaire') has become one of the best known and sought after ceramists and creative folk in the country.

I'm lucky to call Felicity a friend (we both live in Greytown in the Wairarapa), but despite living only 500 metres apart we recorded this chat from our respective homes - though this episode is so packed with our cackling laughter I think we might have heard each other in real life too!

Felicity is so warm, talented and downright lovely, I know you're going to love hearing the whole Wundaire story from her - including how it all started, some of the challenges of growing a creative business and holding onto your passion, balancing family and work, and her exciting vision for the future of Wundaire. Get ready for a very fun Pep Talk episode!

You can have a nosy at Felicity's work on Instagram @wundaire, or head to her website wundaire.com for online orders and workshop sign-ups, and don't forget to follow @peptalknz while you're there too!