It all changed in 2023 when we decided that after 11 years, massive CHANGE was necessary. Here’s a story of 15 years in business and 4 key lessons in building a (boring) business.
Complacency is probably the biggest factor in the failure of any business. It’s the moment we become happy and satisfied, when we stop raising the bar, stop setting higher standards, and stop growing—our passion (unconsciously) starts to decline. I was in this place in 2023. We weren’t failing, but our rapid growth between 2018 and 2022 had somewhat evened off. As a business owner, I was in an incredibly happy place. My DTC brand Superfoodies.nl had been growing year-over-year since 2016, and my own organic production unit in the UK (Rawcreation) had benefitted from that very well. We had achieved all our goals in terms of customer satisfaction, market position, and financial success (all in The Netherlands), and I was really enjoying the freedom and lifestyle that came from it.
However, I was also struggling with one thing: “What’s next?”
After being in business for almost 15 years (10 of which were with my 100-million Business Mentor) and walking an incredibly challenging path of inner/spiritual growth under the guidance of an 80-year-old Shaman (which I’ll tell you more about in another post if you’re interested), I felt I needed a break. I decided to stay where I was, just enjoying the business we had and the freedom of life that came from it for me personally.
But at the time, I wasn’t seeing the massive consequences that would come from this decision.
We humans are part of nature, and one of the key laws of nature is evolution. For us, this means we need to grow; we need to evolve. And it’s when we raise the bar for ourselves that we grow. The decision to take a break was a good one, but it should have come with a time limit and the intention to also find new challenges during this period of rest.
I didn’t do this and paid the price. I slowly lost motivation, finding myself dragging through life, struggling to do the things I needed to do for the business, like making plans and guiding the team.
In August 2023, I decided this couldn’t go on. Something needed to change.
Since 2012, Rawcreation Ltd. had been in the same location—the original location where it was when I acquired the company from its founder, Shazzie, a raw food/superfood/health coach who ignited the first raw food movement in the UK back in 2000.
The main purpose of Rawcreation had always been to manufacture supplements for our own DTC brand Superfoodies.nl, and business had been great.
However, we began to see a gap in the market.
Many other health, fitness, and beauty brands were struggling to have their products made by reliable, trustworthy co-packers or private-label manufacturers.
There are many great supplement manufacturers in the UK/EU market, but many of them are so busy that mid-sized or smaller brands can’t get their foot in the door. And at the other end of the spectrum are co-packers you just can’t depend on.
So, we decided to move to a much, MUCH bigger location (photo), rebuild our production space, increase our warehouse, and get going.
Less than a year later, we’re already making plans to extend the building further and add a third production line to our two lines of production (dry-powder mixing/blending/filling of bags/pouches/tubs and encapsulation).
As a business owner:
- Never become complacent. When you raise the bar for yourself and set a higher standard, you drive your own motivation for growth. This is a fundamental force in human nature: evolution.
- See how you can make the most of the assets you already have. Our assets were (and are) our organic certification, BRC certification, supplier relationships, an incredibly loyal team, 12 years of experience in new product development in the health/beauty/fitness supplement space, and more. We had an opportunity to not only use those assets for our own brand but also provide them as a service to other brands.
- Think of it this way: Assets need to turn into Sales (revenue). Revenue needs to turn into Gross Margin. Gross Margin needs to turn into Profit. And Profit needs to turn into Operational Cashflow (available cash). Your role as a CEO is to optimize for this.
- Focus on being of service. “How can I help someone else?” To a large degree, business is about helping others achieve a result. It’s as simple as that. And the more certainty you can provide in delivering that result, the more successful you will be.
Today, I’m incredibly proud of the business we’ve built at Rawcreation and the work the team is doing here (great job, guys). And I’m incredibly excited about what the future will bring.
If we can help you grow your health, fitness, beauty, or nutraceutical supplement brand, leave us a message.
