In this episode, Yvonne is joined by Charlene Flanagan & Niamh Ryan, the founders of Jo & Ella cosmetics. They have created several award-winning products by combining natural and active ingredients to produce effective, eco-conscious skincare products. Their products are inspired by plants and powered by science.

They share their entrepreneurial journey which they embarked upon at the same time as having their first children. Charlene and Niamh share insights into how to harness your passion and creativity to help others and develop products that are better than anything else that is available.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Finding your tribe is important when starting a business. That´s where the honest feedback, inspiration and support comes from.

• Connect with other female entrepreneurs.

• Make your customers a part of your tribe, build a community for them.

• Having a supportive spouse or partner is a massive help. But you also need the support and insight from other entrepreneurs who have a deeper understanding of the challenges.

• The early stage of your business journey is when you have the most creative freedom.

• As you scale, structuring and building your business becomes the priority.

• Be authentic when building your brand. Pretending is exhausting and soon becomes unsustainable.

• The most successful businesses truly care about their customers. They don´t chase sales or get sidetracked by trends.

• Delivering for your customer is the best way to improve your product or service.

• Don´t worry about being trolled online. It happens, you need to keep it in context and not waste energy on it. The slight upside is that the ranking algorithm sees any comment or view in a positive light.

• There is nothing wrong with saying no to something. Your time and energy are precious commodities, don´t waste them.

• Regularly step back from the day to day running of your company. Doing so gives you a fresh perspective and makes room for you to once again enjoy some creative freedom.

• If you like someone´s product tell them. On a daily basis, complement others. When it is genuine it really lifts them up.

BEST MOMENTS

“We are finding that joy, that passion, that we had at the start.”

“You can see things so much clearer when you take yourself out of the day to day running.”

“It would be amazing to have somebody to bounce things off of.”

“I don't think you can be an entrepreneur and not have passion for your business and your product, because there are too many lows.”

“We all have our own insecurities, and we all have our own strengths, but we're all human, at the end of the day.”

“Bring  your skincare all the way down to your neck as well.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://ellaandjo.ie

Going For Growth - https://goingforgrowth.com

VALUABLE RESOURCES

website: pausepenny.com

Instagram: @yvonnetchrakian_manifest @pause.penny

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yvonne-tchrakian-64257619/

HOST BIO

Yvonne started her career as a corporate lawyer for one of Ireland's top law firms. After the loss of a baby during pregnancy, Yvonne founded Pause. Penny - which was created to inspire people to manifest their dream lives. She is also a mom of four. Yvonne is a serial manifester, manifesting everything from her dream jobs (yes, multiple), her soulmate, dream house and even her twins!