Lori Phegan is a qualified HR professional with over 30 years of HR practice across all types of business both in the UK and Australia.
At the age of 46 and after a particularly stressful week at work, Lori poured herself a large glass of Sauvignon Blanc on a Friday night and thought to herself “is this as good as it gets? Surely there has to be more fun to life?”
It was at that moment she decided she would say goodbye to the corporate world of bullshit and start her own business, doing what she loves.
Lori set up the Inappropriate Gift Co from her kitchen in Western Sydney, it is a one stop shop, curated store selling inappropriate gifts to people with an inappropriate sense of humour.
Lori appeared in Season 4 of Australian Shark Tank in 2018 and pitched her new business: The Inappropriate Gift Co to the five sharks.
She received offers from all five sharks and choose Naomi Simson to be her business mentor. Lori has also appeared on the new investors and her gifts have been featured on Channel 7, 9 and Channel 10.
Lori still runs the business from her home with the help of her husband – affectionately known as “Budget Ben “and her friend Amanda who is a customer service legend.
Since its official launch in 2018 – The Inappropriate Gift Co has sent its gifts to customers in over 65 countries.
When did you start your business?
October 31st 2017 at 5pm I pressed publish on my first DIY website – my first sale, was from a friend, she bought a pen for $10 at 6.20pm – I was sooo bloody excited!
What was the inspiration behind starting this business?
The idea started when I was trying to find a gift for my brother who shares the same inappropriate sense of humour as me. I couldn’t find anything online so I created my own sarcastic gift for him and realized there was a gap in the market. I told my husband about my idea to set up an online inappropriate gift company and he laughed. I vividly remember him smirking and saying, “Honey, you find that stuff funny but not many other people will, let alone pay money for it. They are not as warped in the head as you are!”
Once my husband told me I couldn’t do it, I had to set it up to prove him wrong! Two years later, he left his full time corporate well paid job in the city to help me sell those same inappropriate mugs he thought couldn’t become a fully fledged business.
As we age we tend to lose that childish humour and joy, I wanted to bring it back, in my life and in others! It is not about the gift, it is about the cheeky laugh you share with a loved one or friend that keeps you going through the good and bad times. I spent 20 years in corporate HR before I took this risk at the age of 45 and started up this business. I have not looked back, I have overcome financial hurdles and stage 3 breast cancer over the past 4 years so it certainly hasn’t been easy but creating gifts and laughs is what makes me happy and I am finally starting to reap some rewards”. Our Vision is to be the home of inappropriate gifts but our purpose is all about “making life fun again”
What are you most excited about in your business?
The freedom it gives me, the ability to do things on my terms. I used to suffer severe performance anxiety in my corporate life, I never thought I was good enough and that everyone else knew what they were doing. I was in the wrong job obviously as now I don’t care what others think, I still don’t know exactly what I am doing but I am having fun learning. Not having that steady pay check keeps me motivated as I have to still support my family so I can’t afford to sit back and relax. it keeps me motivated and alive and driven as if i work hard and continually learn from mistakes and apply myself – i’ll get the results and those results come back directly to me and my family, no one else is getting the cream (money/profits) from my hard work.
What has been the most challenging thing about starting your business?
Honestly I think the hardest part is knowing what to do, once you have an idea you are passionate about – the other steps, while hard, are doable; your excitement and passion fuels it. Finding that passion is the hard part!
What advice would you give to other women thinking about starting a business?
- Do it because you love doing it – not because you think it will make you money. Running your own business is fun but can be very scary financially. You will probably lose money long before you start making it.
- There is no magic strategy, it is just a series of hard knocks and learning from mistakes that gets you better at what you are doing. This is why you need to love the process and not just be hanging out for a windfall at the end.
- Make as many connections as you can. Go out of your comfort zone to make connections as you can learn so much from other people, especially those that are in the same position as you or are running their own business. They can give you the support and inspiration you need.
- Its ok to ask people who seem smarter than you stupid questions. Everyone learns from experience, so use and learn from other people and their experiences.
- The more success you have or the more well-known you get, the more criticism you receive. Only accept feedback if it is given in a constructive format and is on things within your sphere of control.
- Your own business gives you freedom but also jails you. You cannot walk away and switch off. Work is with you always.
Why did you enter the AusMumpreneur Awards?
I thought it was a group of likeminded business woman and I wanted to be part of the group. I also thought that any nominations or winning would be free promo for my business which is always a good idea 🙂
What did you enjoy the most about being part of the awards?
Seeing so many other people hustling like me, working for yourself from home when most of your peers are in the corporate world – it can be lonely, there are no staff lunches, awards nights, employee awards, xmas parties etc… . Being part of the mumpreneur community makes me feel included.
What surprised you most about the awards?
How well organised they were and how much fun they were to be part of.
How did the awards help you in your business? I was able to reach out to my customers and ask them to vote for us, they did, we won so that was an awesome affirmation that our customers are loyal and love what we do. It was also a good promotional opportunity, I was featured in our local paper as Local mum wins Ausmumpreneur award!
What advice would you give to others mums thinking about entering the awards?
Just fucking do it!
What has been the best thing about starting your own business?
The freedom it gives me, the ability to do things on my terms. I used to suffer severe performance anxiety in my corporate life, I never thought I was good enough and that everyone else knew what they were doing. I was in the wrong job obviously as now I don’t care what others think, I still don’t know exactly what I am doing but I am having fun learning. Not having that steady pay check keeps me motivated as I have to still support my family so I can’t afford to sit back and relax. it keeps me motivated and alive and driven as if i work hard and continually learn from mistakes and apply myself – i’ll get the results and those results come back directly to me and my family, no one else is getting the cream (money/profits) from my hard work.
What’s happening next in your business?
lots more inappropriate products being launched! Scaling up in terms vanity (revenue) and more importantly sanity (profit margins). We want to be a household australian name = the HOME of INAPPROPRIATE GIFTS .
What are your big plans for the future? We have a UK branch and a US branch that are fledgling we want to expand in those markets – we may need to seek outside investment to do that properly.
What is your website and/or social media links (eg. Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram)
https://theinappropriategiftco.com/https://www.facebook.com/Theinappropriategiftco/
https://www.instagram.com/inappropriategift/
TikTok: @theinappropriategiftco
