WOMEN IN BUSINESS MENTOR PROGRAM:

Elizabeth Greenwood, Embody - Holistic Healing

Elizabeth Greenwood is a fully qualified Naturopath and Aromatherapist who now runs her own business, Embody - Holistic Healing, designing, manufacturing and distributing vitamin enriched bath products.

Elizabeth completed the Women in Business Program in the Eastern Suburbs in August 2004. During the course of the program she finally gave up her part time job to devote herself full time to the business.

'I'd been making my own products for about 8 years and started selling them in 2002 when a friend who organises trade shows persuaded me to have a stand. Even though I had plenty of enthusiasm and demand, I didn't have the finances to start the business full time and I realised I needed a business consultant or advisor to get to the next stage.'

Elizabeth asked friends for advice and was pointed towards the Women in Business Mentor Program. She was teamed with mentor Anne Hill, who has been running her own manufacturing business for approximately 30 years.

Elizabeth's main concerns were that she couldn't meet the demand for her products and was taking too long to deliver the products to her customers. She also felt her business structure needed improvement in areas of finances, marketing and sales follow up.

Anne visited Elizabeth's workshop and was able to suggest ways to reorganise the layout and how to implement systems to improve her productivity. One helpful hint was how to maintain continual stock levels rather than produce stock in response to customer orders, with a resulting improvement in the turnaround of stock, orders and sales.

Adding more shelving allowed Elizabeth to access product ingredients more easily and made the manufacturing process more efficient. Decorating and furnishing her showroom space allowed her to feel very positive when showing potential buyers her product range.

As well as these practical tips, Elizabeth found that her confidence was boosted by both the support of her mentor and the information provided at the workshops throughout the course. She gained strategies to deal with all aspects of her business, from bookkeeping to customer service.

'I started the program still working for someone else and have come out running my own business full time. I was so overwhelmed at the beginning with all the different aspects of the business but now I feel much clearer in my head. I can now see each step I need to take to get where I want to go. The course has opened up a huge amount of resources as well as continual support for me.'

'I would absolutely recommend the program to other women. I think there's a lot of pressure to be successful immediately and this program really helps you with a step by step process to get there. I found it invaluable.'

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