Rhian Allen | Lose Baby Weight

Tell us a bit about YOU and your background:
I am a mum of one based in Sydney who decided to join the world of mumpreneurs rather than going back to my highly stressful media career. On October 1, 2010 I launched my own weight loss for mum’s company called losebabyweight.com.au. I came up with the concept while I was pregnant with my son Kai and being surrounded by so many mums struggling to regain their health and lose their baby weight safely. As I was making a total career change I went back and completed a part time nutrition course and in August 2011 Lose Baby Weight won Best Customer Service Award and the Emerging Mumpreneur of the Year Award at the annual AusMumpreneur Awards.

What is your biggest indulgence?
Getting some time out for a massage! Whenever I have an hour spare I love to have some time just for me where I zone out!

What are your tips to achieving the ideal work/life balance?
Write a to do list every day and always prioritise. There will always be things you cannot do but as long as you get the important or deadline pending stuff completed everything else can wait. It is important to have time for your family and yourself and to not get totally consumed by your business – which admittedly is easier said than done

What (or who) has been your inspiration in life?
There hasn’t been anyone I specifically aspire to be or who has been an inspiration to me – I am just a very driven and self motivated person who has a passion to run her own successful business so that I have the freedom to work around my family and have enough money to provide financial security for my family

What is your favourite book or inspiring quote and why?
I like the quote that ‘you make your own luck’. The harder you work the more opportunities come your way. Luck is a numbers game – the more you do or put out there the more wins come your way.

What has been one of your biggest achievements?
Creating a national business and website with over 120,000 mums coming to the site every month plus a Facebook page with over 18,000 mums on. It has been incredible to see the business grow – and for it to have helped mums lose over 75,000kg. The business has been running for 18 months now and next month we launch our own product line – called The Healthy Mummy, and this is the most exciting part of the business so far which will see a product that I have developed sold to mums all over the country
and which has an accessible price point and which has incredible independent nutritionist reviews.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
Being with my family. I love to do simple things with my family and I love being outside just messing around!

What difference has being in business for yourself made in your life?
It’s made a huge difference, I really doing something I love so it makes going to work everyday easy. I also get so much enjoyment out of seeing the amazing results the women have had on my plans over the last 18 months.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
With the launch next month of The Healthy Mummy Range of products, I see the business being taken to a much greater and wider level. My aspirations are for The Healthy Mummy range to be stocked internationally in major stores around the world. The range is providing a never before created nutritional product designed specifically for mums and which can also help breastfeeding mums milk supply. I am already in talks with major stores in Australia to stock in store and am excited about this part of the business which will lead to significant growth for the business, staff and turnover.

Tell us briefly about your business:
Lose Baby Weight provides mums with healthy weight loss advice, nutritional products to help support a mums business life, baby friendly exercise group listings, a mothers group corner expert advice on breastfeeding and new born babies, a 28 Day Breastfeeding Friendly Diet & Exercise e book, healthy weight loss plans, family friendly recipes, exercise advice, exercise videos and constant motivation to help mums stay focused on regaining their pre pregnancy body. The website is a source of free information to mums all over Australia and it is Rhian’s goal to help as many mums feel as healthy and happy as possible.
Since launching the Company, Lose Baby Weight has helped mums across Australia and New Zealand lose over 75,000kg and regain their energy and health post pregnancy

What was the inspiration behind the business?
I was pregnant with my first baby (and gaining weight) and I realised that there was no post pregnancy specific weight loss support for mums. After
then doing a lot of research and talking to other mums I saw that there a real need for a safe and supportive weight loss plan that would help
mums lose their weight in a safe and sensible way.

What is your role?
I am involved in all aspects of the business from product development, marketing, packaging design, distribution and of course being available 24/7 on our facebook page for any requests that come through.

What is one challenge you faced during your business journey?
A lack of time. Having a baby makes you work harder and faster as time is so limited. I do a lot of work early in the morning or late at night as that is when I have peace – I think you only really start to appreciate how much time you had pre baby when you have a family and realize that spare time is so few and far between!

What has been your greatest success?
Getting all the amazing results in from mums on our plans. Each month we run a ‘weight loss mum of the month’ promotion where mums send in their results and the feedback is just incredible and seeing the before and after pictures is so rewarding. To know that I have helped mums lose over 75,000kg is the best feeling and it ensures every day I am raring to go to help even more mums do the same. And creating our own product range in The Healthy Mummy has been a huge success. It has taken 12 months to develop and I am so excited to be bringing this product range to Australian mums

What are your top tools/resources for business?
Well as I’m an online business my top tools are really the internet, SEO and of facebook where I get the opportunity to interact with our followers and find out what help they need and what products they like or don’t like.

What have you found to be the most effective way to promote your business?
I’ve found by aligning with brands that compliment each other you can really target you promotion activities to an audience that are willing and wanting listen.

What piece of advice would you offer other business women?
Always have a budget as no matter what people say, running a business costs money and there are always hidden costs that you have not accounted for. It doesn’t matter how good your idea is, if you don’t have marketing money to promote it no one will know about it. Plus very rarely will a business be a success over night – it takes years of hard work and commitment to make a business successful so stick at it and if you are passionate about it it can pay off

What is next for you and your business?
Our launch of The Healthy Mummy range is the biggest next step for our business. We have spent a huge amount of time, research and development on the range which has also been approved by The Monash University and endorsed by leading independent nutritionists. We believe The Healthy Mummy range of products is going to revolutionise the way mums can make their lives more healthy in a budget friendly way

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