Lying in my bed, I couldn’t sleep. The potential, the ideas, they were endless and I was excited. My partner Gil and I had just spent the day taking our new product to market and people loved us.
Bike n’ Blend’s first event was at the Fairfield Farmers Market at Fairfield Primary School. We sold 70 smoothies, whilst actively engaging the public and promoting health and wellbeing. It was easy to see that we had something great on our hands.
I realised quickly, that even though our first event was a hit, there was a lot of work to be done. I spent the next few months selling smoothies at more markets and some local festivals. After every event I would write a list of ideas on how to make our process smoother. I gained insights into how to provide great customer service and how the blender bikes could be safer. I learnt how to minimise waste and how to maximise our potential as a platform for change. Everything was going great!
But was I feeling a little too big for my boots?
I had a small car, 1 blender bike and an application for a spot at the Royal Melbourne Show. Six weeks out, we got accepted. Obviously what we had wasn’t going to be enough, so I ordered 7 more bikes and bought an old run down van. I even chalked the stall layout on the floor of my apartment.
Six weeks flew by and all of a sudden I was at the Royal Melbourne Show. I had hired two casuals to help out over the two weeks, but even with their help, I was working 16-hour days. I had never worked so hard, and this was evident when I lost my voice. Looking back now, even through the exhaustion, it was such a great (steep) learning curve for me.
By the end of that first year, I had recognised that our product was revolutionary, but the books just weren’t adding up. I wasn’t even covering the cost of the markets, let alone earning a wage. I couldn’t help but wonder…how was this business model ever going to work?
Our first fleet!
First Royal Melbourne Show – it’s amazing what you can bring together in a short time!
To hear the rest of the Bike n’Blend story see post “Our story; (2012) Work smarter, not harder”
