Hi, I'm Gus Wallin and this is not an overnight success brought to you by Sean partners financial services
This is a podcast where we sit down with some very successful people from the world of business
Entertainment and sport and chat about their life's journey and what got them to the position that they're in today in today's episode
We're chatting with entrepreneur and businesswoman Kate Morris Kate Morris founded adore beauty Australia's first online cosmetics retailer in
1999 when online shopping was hardly a thing. He's also someone that had vision
She didn't always thrive at work
In fact, she was fired from not one but two jobs in her early years and that was when she realized that maybe she could
do something for herself
Kate's understanding of consumer psychology and what people wanted out of an experience led her to turning a
$12,000 loan from a boyfriend's dad into a listed company on the
ASX with a company worth well over a hundred million dollars
Kate has remained grounded and she's very open about it. Not ever being about the money
She's got some experience in what it takes to be a successful businesswoman and it most certainly didn't happen overnight
As for all of these podcasts Sean partners have generously donated
$10,000 to the charity of choice of each of our guests. We discuss who gets that money in this chat
The executive producer of this podcast is Keisha Pettit with production assistance from Kelly Stubbs and Brittany Hughes
Let's get into our episode with Kate Morris
So Kate, welcome to the podcast. How are you? I'm really good Gus. What sort of kid were you?
I was the book nerd
The one who could already read by the time I got to school
So I had to sit in the corner on the beanbags while the other kids lit the ABC
Had my head in a book for for as long as I can remember super uncoordinated really bad at sport
I was the oldest in my family. So I was also the bossy big sister very responsible
and yes, I guess by the time I got to high school I was into you know, just the drama and and music and
Probably not the person that anyone at my high school would have expected to go and and start a beauty business
When you played those parts in the school plays and musicals were you were you good?
Were you sort of were you the tree or were you the star? Where were you or somewhere in the middle?
You know what? I always played the boy parts actually
So I played I played the artful Dodger in our schools production of Oliver
It was always the boy parts because there were never enough boys and they had the cool girls do the girl parts and then the
rest of us talks did the
Boy parts, but was I a start? No, I think I was okay. Do you go back to any school reunions now?
Gosh, I can't remember the last the last one that we that we had
I'm still in touch with a few friends from school actually
so my best friend from high school still lives about like
20 minutes walk away from me and our kids still play together. So I kind of I feel like that connection is still
Yeah, I could just imagine you walking in with like a really cool band behind you
You know someone the nerdy girl from school that played the boy parts and look at me now type of stuff
You could make a hell of an entrance. I reckon. Oh, I don't think that's really my style guys
Maybe that's more my style. Maybe that's you
What was the makeup of your family?
So I grew up in Tasmania
So I had two younger brothers and my parents split up when I was nine
And so then I had these huge sort of extended and blended
Families after my parents remarried so like the Brady Bunch times to
Lots kids everywhere lots of you know, lots of fights, but mostly getting along look not a lot of money
And so so you had to get a job if you wanted to be able to do any
Teenage things like, you know, like buy new outfits or or go out and that kind of thing
So I think there's definitely kind of a work ethic early on, you know
If you want something you're gonna need to gonna need to do it yourself
Not an entrepreneurial family actually so we didn't come from that kind of background
I don't think we even knew anybody that was involved in business when I was growing up
So my parents were both social workers and academics and I think we were we're very much encouraged to
You know work hard at school and then go to uni if that was something that you wanted to do
But basically to do something that you could use your skills for and that you could also be really passionate about
So I don't think we were pushed in any particular direction
So if I think about my brothers and sisters, then yes, I guess I'm I'm doing what I'm doing
Well, one of my brothers owns a few restaurants
The other brothers are software engineer and my my youngest half sister is a chef
So we all ended up doing pretty different, but I guess there is sort of a bit of an entrepreneurial
Theme. Yeah running under there for a few of us. Yeah very much just encouraged to be independent be kind of other people
Yeah, that's pretty good things to be working on by the sounds of it
You were allowed to do what you were passionate about
So university was something you decided to go down. What course did you do? And where did you go?
How much did you enjoy that experience after high school? So I was determined not to stay in
Tasmania after high school
I just I don't I think I felt like I wanted to
Break out a little bit and go and meet some new people rather than go to university with all the same people
I was cool with so yeah, I busted my guts in year 12 to get into law
I thought I wanted to to be a lawyer. Well, I actually don't know if I really even
Thought about wanting to be a lawyer. It was just more okay
well, if you get good marks, you should do like law or medicine or pharmacy or something and
And I didn't want to do medicine and so I thought alright, well, you know law it is and that's a good
that's a good place to start anyway, and
So I moved over to Melbourne and went to Monash and did my first week of law classes and realized at the end of the first
Week, I absolutely did not want to be a lawyer or actually even finish my law degree. So
We worked out that quick
You know best to work it out quickly, right?
Cuz I think lots of people get all the way through and then realize but yeah, no it was I
Knew probably from the first lecture. I just went. Oh, what was I thinking? No, I don't want to do this
I definitely can't get excited about this for the next for the next five odd years
Which is a good decision actually in the end
So just kind of floated around an arts degree for a bit and did some business subjects
But then I like the business subjects and so ended up switching into a double degree
And so I actually only finished the business bit. I still have like seven eighths of an arts degree
Super useful. Are you gonna get that done eventually?
You know, my dad keeps keep suggesting that you know, you should just go back and finish it and I was like, yeah
I don't think that's gonna happen. But but they'll probably give you an honorary doctorate doctorate or something one day
So you'll get it eventually and maybe I just need to hang out for that. Yeah, exactly
So you started working in a department of cosmetics in a department store
Was that your first sort of love of that type of stuff?
I'd actually worked in a chemist after school from the time I was 15 and and always loved and that sort of had like a
Perfume counter and that was always my favorite bit
And so I loved that from from the get-go and I actually started working in a pharmacy when I got to Melbourne and I got fired
What happened too much attitude?
Too much attitude no, there's certain
I think that was my first experience of discovering that there are some places that I'm not super into people coming up with ideas or
You know, perhaps different ways that things could be done. So anyway, it's a good learning
Good learning in terms of where I needed to not be yeah
Can you remember the person that sort of gave you the flick? Can you can you remember sort of you know that moment where it was
Sort of like oh, okay. I probably overstepped for this part of my life. I'm not gonna go there again
Oh, can you take us back to that moment? Oh gosh. Yes. No. Well, it was actually the second time I got fired
So I did also get fired. Oh, what was the first one? The first one the first one
Let me see so I had a gap year after school and went and the double the Central Coast in New South Wales for a little bit
I worked in an ABC shop and my boss took her took a disliking to me once she found out that I was going
To do a law degree and I don't know. She just maybe threatened or
Something. So yes, I remember that one first and so the second one was like not again
But it actually it kind of all worked out for the best because it was out of that that
Second job at the chemist that I actually got a job working on the cosmetic counters
And as I worked in in different departments to stores
I was working for one of the big European brands and so they sent me around from store to store, which I absolutely loved
So look everything works out for the best as it's as it's supposed to in the long run probably didn't seem like it at the time
But yes, that was that was my uni job working on the cosmetic counters
Which is kind of really where the idea for a door beauty came from just that experience of being part of that
Retail experience for customers and getting to talk to so many women about you know
Kind of what they wanted from the beauty industry and versus what they were actually
Getting and I think what they were getting was a very I guess sort of quite a hard sell
experience that I wasn't particularly good at to be honest because I kind of felt like that really what you should be doing is just
Giving people the information and let them buy what they want to buy
But it's it's just not really set up that way because we've all got your sales targets and commissions that you've got a hit
I used to get told off a lot for not wearing enough makeup to work, which you know, I was 19 years old
It's like how much makeup do you need to wear when you're 19?
And so I would sort of wear wear the minimum and to be honest a lot of
Customers like to come to me because I look like a normal person. Yeah
Rather than you know, this is kind of glamazon
So I was always kind of a bit more approachable I suppose but but really my
Theory was always that well if you give customers, you know honest and truthful
Information and and be willing to say to them
Look actually don't get this one because I don't I don't think that's gonna work for you based on based on what you've told me
And maybe actually look at this one over here
Was that kind of experience that I saw people really respond well to and that's what made them oil
Yeah, and that's that kindness you got from your mum and dad going back to what you said right at the start
You know, that's be kind to people and from my point of view my grandfather said oh you could sell ice to Eskimos
But only if you thought it was the best ice, you know
Only if you thought it was the best one. No, I'm exactly the same. I'm exactly the same
And so yes, it's it's about being kind but it's also about just being authentic and honest people can see that
Definitely and if anything's happened over the last 18 months being authentic and real with everyone slowing down just a little bit
That has really shone through the kindness of certain people and you know, I've been working out my village over the last 18 months
You know just writing down a list of the people that I love and adore
Yeah, and I cannot imagine living my world without and as people have swapped in and out people have been
Erased people have been added
but one thing I've been able to do is just focus in on the kindness to those people because they're the ones at the end of
The day that are so important and I love when you
You probably walked away from sales targets and didn't do exactly what you're meant to do because it's just not in your makeup
Yeah, look, I'm I think we've we've seen a consistent same Gus that I'm not a particularly good employee. So
Better than to start your own thing, which is pretty much what happened, right?
Like how long were you there at the department store for you went?
You know what being my own boss might be the go and how did that all come about?
I think I did that job for about three years while I was at uni
but had been sort of thinking about and planning a door for for probably about the last eight months of
That and it was I guess I mean if you think back to I mean we're talking about like
1999 here so it's like super early days of the internet and we didn't all have smartphones in or you know, or Facebook or
Broadband even like it was it was dial-up
So I got to use the internet at their uni computer labs and having always been a beauty junkie
I guess I would go and look on there for beauty websites and think oh, why isn't there anything in Australia?
Because I feel like you could do this whole shopping experience much better online
You could give people much better information and they could actually read the ingredients before they buy something and you could explain to them
What the ingredients did and they could shop many different brands at the same time
Which was actually so not something that you could easily do in a department store
And for me, I guess I started boring all of my friends
We're talking about this idea and just banging on to them all the time
And in the end it was actually my my boyfriend who turned around to me and said look, you know
You're gonna do this or what and that was that was probably actually the light bulb moment for me because I had never
Considered entrepreneurship or starting a business as a career
Like that was just not even on my radar of the thing that you could do
That was something that other people did and then I guess I thought about it and just went out. Well, I guess I could
What would that involve?
I'd need to get a get a website built in and buy some products and I spoke to my boyfriend's dad who ran a motel
So he was about the only business person I knew and he said oh well, you know
If you want to put together a business plan
I'll have a look at it for you
and so I did that and you know had to go and borrow a book on how to write a business plan and and so I
Did that and yes, and he ended up loaning us the money
It's $12,000 to to go and wow get started
And so yeah, it started up in my garage like literally in my garage. What happened to the boyfriend? He's still around. Yeah. Yeah
We've got two kids
That's good. Good. I'm so happy about that. That's fantastic
So you're in the garage you've the 12 grand's been given and you're like probably if you're like me you're like
I've got to pay that back as fast as possible. Yeah for sure
No, it was I definitely felt that big responsibility there that was like, okay. Well, you know best not lose this money
Yeah, so you're there in your garage at what stage do you start going?
I know what I'm doing here, you know, and I feel like we're on a winner
Gosh like 12 years in
No, certainly. It certainly wasn't a quick thing
I think because this is such a year
I mean for anyone who was around then and of course we employ people at a door now who would literally like born in
But in those days like shopping online was not a thing that everybody did and so it was just very very early stages
So probably the business started ten years too early
And so I just took a long time to kind of build up
but I think yeah, I think the thing that probably kept me going the whole time was that
Even if you're winning over customers like one by one, I'd still get these these fabulous emails from customers going
Oh my goodness. It's my first time shopping online and I bought some things from you and this is just like this is just great
this is the best thing ever and now if you could get this product and this product and this product then I don't actually
ever have to go into a department store again and
You know, you've made my day and so those those kind of little nuggets is like a comment
I am on the right path. We'll get there
Eventually, but yeah, it was not ever a quick
Can you remember the first time you're sort of sitting at the laptop and like ding?
There was like an order or how did it work like that first time you went?
I'm actually gonna invoice something. I hope this machine works. I hope it all works out
Well, I hope I deliver it properly like all that stuff
I'm pretty sure it was like my mom or my auntie or something
The first one it was just people who felt sorry for me. We thought I was quite mad
But we're gonna gonna buy something to to support me. Yeah, that's cool. I love that
I love the thought of like, you know, she and now it starts today
So everyone buy that perfume or everyone buy that face cream or whatever it might be
just going back to your department school days for a moment as a young man with a girlfriend walking into
Chatswood Chase, which is where I used to live in on the North Shore of Sydney and
Going to like you say these beautiful women who were selling stuff and they all had the gear on the big lips and all bit
Yeah, it was terrifying. It's terrifying and I think most women find it terrifying. It's very intimidating
Absolutely intimidate and and I always felt like they were wearing the badge or this or the thing of a particular type
So they're always do me that way and I remember a girlfriend Jackie Masters
My first love who broke my heart actually a few years later, but we went out for a few years and she had this
Perfume I can't remember David now
But if I saw the bottle and I loved the smell of it, right?
And I remember trying just to explain that to someone and they just kept wanting to
Send me over to you know, L'Oreal or something else. I can't remember the name of it
So you could have saved me all that heartache if you just if you had just got there a little bit earlier because I was
Doing this in the mid 80s late 80s. Yeah, exactly
And and that's that's the thing is that the whole industry was just not very set up to be customer centric
It was much more about, you know kind of funneling you into a particular direction
Which might not be what you wanted at all and that was feedback that I would consistently hear from
you know from women too who would say things like oh god, you know, I came away from the counter and I'd
you know came home and burst into tears because I'd been sold three hundred dollars worth of stuff that I didn't want and then
That would feel so terrible and then make their husbands go back and return it for them because they couldn't even bear to like approach
The counter because it was too scary. It was like oh, that's I mean the whole point of
Beauty or you know or fragrance or whatever is that it's actually it's self-care
So it should be a purchase that makes you feel good
And if the shopping experience is not making you feel good, then something is broken. And so that was I guess yes the thing that I
Consistently observed and and just thought I mean I always I always loved beauty products
I always loved I guess as you know a dorky child that you could
Do your hair in a particular way and you you get you can be whatever version of yourself
That you would like to be that day, you know pop some red lipstick on and kick some ass, right?
But you don't get that feeling if the experience of purchasing those products makes you feel rubbish
Yeah, it's empowering right my mum we picked up the other day
I hadn't seen her for age she put a bit of lippy on took her out to a cafe and she's just like
I've got hope again. Like I've got hope and 87 year old hottie. I call Laila
Yeah, well, I think you know all you have to look at is for starters
What did everybody buy during lockdown when they felt they needed?
Self-care and and this kind of nourishment and and an adore we've called it the scented candle index
So scented candle index is directly correlated with exactly how rubbish people are feeling during lockdown
So people have you know feeling lousy and it's like you can't go out and see your friends and and but you want to treat yourself
And so people buy scented candles
But then also you look at what's the first people think people want to do when they get out of lockdown
Oh, they want to go and get their hair done, you know
Because if my hair is done, I will feel like a human again. So I think I think it is, you know
Beauty is a big self-care activity
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Let's get back into the episode
Well, you've done an amazing job with it
So from those opening times or sort of being in your garage and your mom and auntie and all friends and family putting their orders
In at what stage did you go? Wow, this is this is
Like huge. This is big now. This is not just
Me doing my best. This is actually could be world-changing for you and your and generations. Did you have you had that moment?
Look, I think I think there were moments along the way
the sort of those little kind of whoa moments and I
Definitely remember. Oh gosh
This would have been maybe six or seven years ago and I was and this is at the stage where a door probably had
I don't know maybe 50 employees and
One day someone came through the office wearing a fire marshal's hat and honking an air horn and going right
There's a fire drill everybody needs to go and like gather out on the grass area. And I was like, I didn't know about this
and then I thought oh my goodness, I've built a size company where we have like a
Safety function and people are doing fire drills that I personally did not organize like this is wild
And so yes, everyone's like, oh, you know God there's a fire drill, but I just thought it was the coolest thing ever
And then I can remember another moment I think let me say so 2018 we moved into our latest
warehouse and distribution
Facility and of course I've been to see it before
You know before we signed the lease in and all of that
But then when I first walked in and I saw
They had the big cherry pickers up kind of installed installing all the
Electricals and starting to put in all of the racking and it just walked in and went oh
I'm gonna need to sit down a minute. Like it's just massive. This is this is absolutely massive
So look, it's probably a personality flaw that I'm I'm actually like I'm actually really terrible at sort of celebrating the wins or
Observing milestones or kind of taking those moments. Like I'm just not very good at it
I actually I don't know many entrepreneurs that are good at it because I think it's a consistent trait that you always keep running towards
the horizon which of course continues to be as far away as
It ever was but yes every now and again you will get those little kind of vertigo moments where you're like, whoa, okay
Okay, this has gotten quite big
I've got a couple of mates who are a bit like you and I have to sort of ground them
and I normally start with a big cuddle and I put my arms on their shoulders and say
Just for a moment. Just think about where you started and think about where you are now
Can we just have a a moment where you just go? This is this is really good
Take a minute. Yeah, you know because you're so it's always the next goal, right the next moment whatever it might be
so it is funny how
Your personality trait probably allows you to be successful because of certain things and it won't allow you to
Necessarily enjoy it as much as others. I want to allow you to enjoy it. No, I know it's terrible, isn't it?
But that's why your friends need you to do that for them Gus because we all need that
We all need that we all need those friends that will just kind of when you're pressing towards whatever the next thing is your friends
Who will you know, I think about you know, the day that a door listed which was actually well
Yeah, just about a year ago and you know the friends that will send you giant bunches of flowers and a huge cake and just go
You know what you should actually just enjoy. Yeah
That's what you need. Yeah, that's what your friends for I can't imagine a day like that like
Listed on the stock exchange that stuff like I am NOT a smart man book wise, right?
But I know that you know a company gets valued and then there's certain amount of shares and there you go
So what happened that day for you? Can you tell our listeners what happened that day?
And at what moment did you know how much all of a sudden you're worth?
I mean you kind of you know that you know that what the valuations going to be a couple of weeks before when you when you
IPO, you know, they finished the book build and everybody says how many shares they want to buy
so I kind of that part kind of happens a couple a couple of weeks before and that's
That's pretty wild but also just sort of a bit surreal really but the day of listing
I think would definitely wasn't the picture I had in my head because we were still in lockdown in one of I think it was
Who maybe it was our second lockdown was the really big one in Melbourne last year the one that went for like four months
And so we were still in lockdown that day and so we didn't I guess I'd always had the picture in my head that if this
Moment happened you'd be there at the stock exchange and get to ring the bell. Of course ding ding ding
so of course what actually happened was that the ASX like posted me a little bell like kind of yay big and
we were at home and
You know rang it over zoom and then it was kind of all over and then the kids wanted a sandwich for lunch because they
Hungry it's like, okay, of course, so go make you a sandwich then so it was um, it was a bit of an anticlimax to be honest. I
Did actually get to go once the lockdown ended we got to travel again
So in I think it last December I did I did get to go to the ASX and they let me ring the bell
That is so great. It just happened later. Yeah, so it's like winning lotto
But a few times over or maybe powerball or something like that
But this is something you've created as someone who realized early that you had to be the boss
All of a sudden you are the boss and it's worked out
Really really well
how do you keep yourself focused to keep going and making it better and
Making sure that everyone that believes in what you are doing, you know keeps on loving you your you being authentic and real
I I don't maybe they're maybe there are some people for whom it's about the money and it's getting to a financial goal
And and that's kind of that was it was never about that for me
I actually don't know actually don't know a lot of entrepreneurs for whom it's really about that. It's more can you turn
Your vision into something that is really meaningful. And so for me, it's more about it being
meaningful to the team that work at a door like that to me was the really special part and that on that day every single
Person that worked at the company was given shares and got to be you know
You've got to be an owner of the company like that to me was really special and those things are always the really special things
Right there, you know, we can continue to have like really meaningful
impact for our customers and change the narrative for them in terms of what beauty means to them and and
For all of the suppliers that we've worked with and supported us for so many years
Too, so I don't think my goals were ever financial goals. I
Love that answer. Is there a member of staff or like a group of staff that you just like oh just love them
They've been with me. They've seen the highs and lows. They've come through. I can trust them now
They've become more than just employees are there
I suppose they were the ones you're thinking of when when it all went well at the stock exchange and went well
I've really changed their life now the thing about a door is actually and this is the funny thing that that is I guess
Hard for me to understand about the way that everybody else lives and works
But I actually don't have to work with anybody that I don't like
So actually I'd love all of them and I mean I think you know
Just it was actually just a few weeks ago that we had
Unfortunately another virtual event and a whole bunch of people in the team had sent in and the marketing department
It had edited up this beautiful little video of everybody talking about you know
Some of the things that had happened that year and and what being part of a door
Meant to them, and I just bold I just bold the whole way through it because it's just like oh, you're all so beautiful
And really the thing that everybody says is about the peak. It's about the people
I mean yeah, you get to do you get to do fun things right like it's a beauty company
We have to do fun stuff fun work and and meaningful work
But really everybody said that the the really special thing is the people that they get to work with that people still feel that
Connection to each other. I think is is really special. Yeah connections the key
How did you come up with the name a door? Yeah, you're gonna laugh about this. It's not a very romantic story actually
So back when I mean if you cast your mind back to 1999 there wasn't you know kind of Google or anything at that point
There were directories there were kind of these directory websites
So it looks like it's one of them and there were a whole bunch of them and they would basically say okay
Here's the shopping section over here
That's why I try and explain this to my kids and they're like what?
And so and these directories were always arranged in alphabetical order. And so
James and I were sitting down working out. Okay. What are we gonna call this thing?
We're like, well it better start with a because there's no I want to be all the way down the bottom
Yeah, so we actually sat there and went through the whole dictionary and looked at all of the different words and go
Okay, what what are some words that kind of make sense with beauty and that was a door got to a day a door
I like that. Has anyone taken that domain name? No, okay. Take it beautiful
I think if someone says they adore you or they say I love you. I love you. I adore you
They're both mean the same to me. I love you gets a much bigger rap, right? Everyone's into the I love you bit
Yeah, but I adore you is actually it's like you're nearly
You want to be a part of them somehow? It's like even more than love it is it?
I know I know you wanted the AI but you want to give them a big squeal. Yeah, that's it
That's what we wanted to do for our customers. It's just you know, you know, you're all lovely. Give you a big squeal
I love it. I think it's fantastic. I must admit Kate. I was asking my daughters about you
I've got a 18 year old doing the HSC. I've got a 20 year old
I've got a very fashionable lady right next to me here who you would say doesn't need adore products
But probably buys them because she's got a pretty good natural. She's young and brilliant
And she was saying to me that you're someone that they look up to all of them did
Oh, that's nice. What does that mean to you when you hear that? Well, it's it's slightly scary
It's like oh really I think role models are important, right?
And it's difficult and it was something that I kind of had to get over early on in the journey
Is is the squeamishness around being visible and I think particularly in Australia where there's there is a that kind of tall poppy thing
And for women, especially but I think it is in the end it is more important to
Be visible and to be and to be authentic and to talk about the things that were hard and not to try and
Gloss over it all and you know, make yourself look like a big shot
but it's more just to to show the struggle and to show where you can get to in spite of the struggle because I think
I mean they say that you know, you can't you can't be what you can't see and I I mean
Clearly that's not true. Mm-hmm, because I'm living proof of that, but gosh, it's a lot easier
Yeah, and if we want to get to a point where you know
The the business pages are not just filled with pictures of blokes and it's not just all men's businesses that get the funding while
some of us need to need to stick our necks out and to be visible and so
So that makes me happy
I think if there are women out there who look at me and go, you know what I could do that then bloody fantastic
That's great. I actually I interviewed an entrepreneur the other day who is now a supplier to adore
But I spoke at her graduation in
2017 and she said that was the moment. She said that was the moment. I decided I was gonna start my own business
Wow, that's really cool. That's really cool. Yeah, they realize that at the time what you're what you're doing
Yeah, we all play multiple roles Kate, you know in our lives as parents partners
Bosses friends a child, you know, whatever it might be
How important is it to you because you've your kids are gonna have a very different upbringing
Then perhaps you unless you can control it and look after them to make sure they have the same work ethic the same
You know attitude to work because you know, they read stuff they know stuff
They know that they're in a really comfy position. How difficult is that for you to make sure that you get that right?
Oh, I think every you know, every parent wants to bring their kid up with the right values
Right, like regardless of and what position you're in and I think we all have to recognize that, you know in Australia
We're all pretty privileged to be honest
We all kind of won the won the birth lottery just by being born here. And so from my perspective
We practice gratitude a lot. So that's actually something that we do around the dinner table every night
We call it three things and everybody has to go around the table and say three things that happened today that made you happy
Or that you were grateful for and so I think that is a mindset that you can practice
I think you also can raise your kids to be not afraid of hard work and to develop some grit
I have my my oldest who's who's 10 now and she started
piano lessons a couple of years ago and
Found it difficult at the start because she didn't like to practice and so she didn't practice and so then every week
She'd knock up to the lesson and the piano teacher be able to say you practice did you and she was like
Mama don't like piano. I want to quit and I said well
Got nice for you sport, you know, we've you know
We talked about this and you're gonna you know, you're gonna do this for a year
And if you don't like it after a year, then we can look at switching to a different instrument
But I think you know, why don't you try doing the practice and we'll put it
you know, we'll put it in the timer every day and you know set a timer on on the Google Home and
And you do your you do your practice and and she discovered that
if she did the practice then she got better at it and if she got better at it then she enjoyed it more and then
She didn't mind the practice so much and then it's like, okay, here we go
I feel like I'm winning at parenting even though I felt awful when I wouldn't let it
So, I mean, I think the other thing that's really important for me is making sure my kids have more
Financial education than I had because growing up that wasn't something that was just ever discussed
And I think I think we do our kids a disservice if we don't talk about money and talk about the decisions that we make
And I frankly think it's a bit of a failing of our education system that people come out of high school
knowing quadratic equations, but
not knowing how to
Manage a budget or how equity markets work like can we I mean, yeah anyway
My dad always said what why can't you balance your checkbook?
Well, no one's actually told me so we sat down one weekend and he told me I went oh
That makes sense and there's so much stuff at school that I like you said that
Algebra for me is the one like my daughter's doing HSC at the moment
I've got like three weeks left of algebra because she knows she just has to tick that box and it'll never come up in her
plans for her future, but
Believe me at the moment
Working the ATM and understanding money coming in from her Kmart job and what she can go out on the weekend with and put petrol
That's the stuff that she needs to learn
That's it and you know, I guess we can all we all have the opportunity to teach our kids those things
I love the gratitude stuff at home. We have these fast five questions that we ask all our guests
so the first one is
Have you got a favorite quote or a favorite saying or something that someone told you and you went aha
I'm gonna use that my favorite ones actually the the they call it the man in the arena coach quote by Theodore
Roosevelt but of course, it's you know, it's the woman in the arena for me
So it's the one that's it's not the critic who counts
Not the one who points out how the strong person stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done them better
The credit belongs to the woman who is actually in the arena whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood
Goes on a bit, but who at the who at the best
Who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst if she fails at least fails while
Daring greatly so that her place will never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat Wow
That's a quote that is the one that I just think you know when it all is a bit hard and a bit scary and you
Feel like probably you're gonna you're gonna fail at something or it's people are gonna have a go at you
That's that's the one that I remember it's like well, you know what at least I am in the arena, right?
You are certainly in the arena and that makes me just jump off the top five for a moment because I've got two daughters
And the fact is that this world is a much different world to the one that I grew up in and hopefully
It'll become even easier and so forth. Did you find it harder at times because you were a lady or a girl?
I think yes women do I mean in the beauty industry
It's maybe easier than some other industries because it's actually like a really proud and long history of female entrepreneurship
So you have you know Elizabeth Arden and Estee Lauder and Helena Rubenstein and these beauty icons
But I think nevertheless women do face less belief
I think women have to do much more to prove themselves. I think women are held to much higher standards
Constantly, I mean there's so much data that looks at you know, how much harder it is for
women founders to actually raise capital and I've experienced that like
You know in private equity pitching to room after room after room of white guys in suits
And that's hard when you're pitching a business that is run by women and for women and they just don't get it
So yes. Yes, things are things are harder. I think as a woman you just actually have to be twice as good
Well, I certainly know that my wife's twice as good as me. I know that for sure
Favorite holiday destination. Oh, I've actually just been
dreaming of noosa for the last
It's nothing nothing fancy but just that's that's where our family loves to go
It's great for the kids and every time I go there. I just I feel myself relax
No, it's just I know exactly what you mean having a couple of skewies at the surf life-saving club looking out over the water
There I mean can't beat that for you. That'll do favorite book
So, I mean for pleasure I actually just like reading just sort of fun to read things
I like Leanne Moriarty or Stephen King like I've read every Stephen King ever
But then like if you're talking about business books or things that I've learned a lot from I'd say the two
The most from would be the hard thing about hard things by Ben Horowitz
Which is is about just kind of the founder experience
I feel like I really got a lot out of that and also daring greatly by Brene Brown
Which is I guess kind of related back to that to that Roosevelt quote. Have you written a book yourself me?
No, no, will you one day people keep threatening to try and make me work
Look, I mean never say never but it's it's not on my on my list for the moment not on the priority list
Okay, favorite movie. Oh again, this is really hard. It's like just picked one. You can have a few if you like
Can I all right? Look, I loved all the original Star Wars movies when I was like
I've seen all of them like a bajillion times Empire Strikes Back is obviously the best one
Enter into any discussion about that. What about the stormtroopers and the fact that they just cannot shoot straight
Like at some stage someone has got so they've got to go. Come on guys. It's just there
Did you watch that one in that there was that episode that was directed by Taika Waititi?
The thing is the last one in the Mandalorian series where they just put in this whole joke about that was hilarious
Yeah, so so look I love I love those like, you know any kind of 80s sci-fi. I love
So more star wars and star trek. Yeah, definitely definitely star wars not star trek if I think about okay
What are the movies that I will watch every time they come on tv? I would watch clueless every time
Right another one that i've seen which is a bit newer. I loved uh book smart
It's directed by olivia wild. It's just it's just this fabulous one about you know, just female friendship
And I I really love that and then the other one that I watch every single christmas and I cry in it every single time
Is it's a wonderful life. Yeah, absolutely. I'm the same. I I cry at the quantus ads
I I at the telstra ads like I if you get that little bit of music and you get that right little
Connection between the granddad and the son or the mamba than the oh like i'm i'm gone
So you can imagine what it's like in that movie forget about it. Yeah. Yeah
And the last and most important question is that uh, sure and partners earl and al have said
$10,000 to all our guests favorite charity
So we'd love to know who you'd like to give the ten thousand dollars to it and why it's so important to you
Oh, aren't they amazing? I just i'd love their um generosity to the the community that they work in it
I think it's fantastic. They've got their heart in the right place. That's for sure. Oh, no, they really do
They really do look i'd love to donate to the hunger project
So they are doing some just really tremendous work particularly around activating
Communities to bring them out of hunger and to bring them out of poverty, particularly in developing countries
So i've been supporting them for for a little while now
and I think particularly the way that they look to engage communities by activating the leadership of women I think is
Is really extraordinary and and I think if one of the things that I really want to achieve
with my life is create a better world for
My girls and and all the girls and and I think the hunger project is doing really tremendous work
I got no doubt that you'll help them and many others just by you being you kate
So thank you so much for your time today and it was really lovely to get to know you a little bit better
Well, it was a pleasure to chat gust really enjoyed it
Well, that was kate morris and what I loved about that chat was just how modest she is the fact that she's done all that she's done
And she just seems to be that person who was exactly the person that asked for that
$12,000 and started the whole industry in her garage. What an absolute gem and I love chatting to her
Coming up next on not an overnight success is kurt fernley
Kurt fernley is a three-time paralympic gold medalist and two-time comwealth games gold medalist
He has won over 40 marathons including new york chicago and london and he's even crawled that's right crawled
The kokoda track kurt was born without the lower portion of his spine
Kurt is the personification of determination guts and the ozzie spirit a big thank you to shaw and partners financial services
Who have generously supported this podcast and also donated
$10,000 to the charity of choice of each of our guests to thank them for their time
Shaw and partners are an australian investment and wealth management firm who manage over 28 billion dollars of assets under advice
With seven offices around australia shaw and partners act for and on behalf of individuals institutions corporates and charities
For more info, you can check out their website at shaw and partners.com.au. That's
For sure shaw and partners financial services your partners in building and preserving wealth