BigToes Australia is a family-owned Australian business, which set out to provide parents with a shoe designed to enlighten and enrich children’s imaginations and their desire to play, as well as supporting the growth patterns of a child’s foot. BigToes Australia shoes are scientifically developed to mimic barefoot walking and offer parents affordable and durable, non-toxic footwear that their children will love. The unique colour-changing chameleon range is a world first in toddler shoes and has been developed and proven to promote cognitive growth in inquisitive pre-walkers and toddlers. BigToes shoes are also the only pre-walker and toddler shoes in the country recommended by chiropractors, podiatrists and physiotherapists.
When did you start your business?
March 2020 – just as Covid hit Australian shores!
What was the inspiration behind starting this business?
My husband and my son. My husband medically discharged from the ADF when I was 37 weeks pregnant with our first child, he wanted to rush his rehab so he could return to working to support our household whilst I was on maternity leave. Naturally, this was not something I wanted him to do so I started to look at how I could bring additional income into our house so he could focus on his rehabilitation. I wasn’t looking at product based business at first, however when my son was around 6 months old I went down the rabbit hole of finding appropriate footwear for him to wear to a wedding. Long story short, there was nothing suitable – if it was cute, it was tight and restrictive, if it wasn’t tight and restrictive the shoe produced a chemical odour once sweat hit the sock/glue, if it didn’t smell it was a chunky trip hazard! And so I took matters into my own hands!
What are you most excited about in your business?
I still do the happy dance with every order received, every new follower, new comment or like. I’m so appreciative to my customers who reach out and thank me for their order and share their stories that their little one is finally happy to have something on their feet. It’s wonderful to know that I can help make another mum’s life that little bit easier.
What has been the most challenging thing about starting your business?
Having the confidence in myself to do so. I definitely have imposter syndrome which is often fuelled by my anxiety. It didn’t help that covid hit our shores just as my first major shipment of stock did as well, this meant I needed to reconsider our marketing and launch strategy as I could no longer get our products out there in front of customers at markets and events.
What advice would you give to other women thinking about starting a business?
Anyone I have spoken to over the past three years who has shared with me that they are considering starting a business, whether it’s my sister or someone I’ve just met, I’ve always said, I am here for you. If you need help, please ask. I’m not an expert by any stretch, but I am a huge advocate for finding your Tribe and your team to lean to for advice, guidance and assistance. Venturing into business ownership is scary and if I can help someone find their ‘people’ so they don’t feel overwhelmed and shy away from following their dream then that’s a win for everyone. If someone has a dream, a vision or can see a gap in the market then I 100% encourage them to follow that dream, by creating a game plan. Create your 12 month, 3 year and 5 year goals and work towards it.
Why did you enter the AusMumpreneur Awards?
I received a beautiful nomination from someone by the name of Grace. I don’t know who this person was but I felt that if they believed in me and my brand enough to nominate me, then I owed it to Grace to believe in myself to pursue this nomination.
What did you enjoy the most about being part of the awards?
I actually enjoyed being out of my comfort zone and meeting new people. I often hide behind my life as a mum of 3 day care aged children to avoid putting myself into new situations, so I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed myself and being in a new situation. I’m looking forward to staying in contact with many of the women I met and cheering them on from my side of the country!
What surprised you most about the awards?
I actually enjoyed being out of my comfort zone and meeting new people. I often hide behind my life as a mum of 3 day care aged children to avoid putting myself into new situations, so I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed myself and being in a new situation. I’m looking forward to staying in contact with many of the women I met and cheering them on from my side of the country!
How did the awards help you in your business?
I got to do some great unexpected networking on the night and I’m looking forward to collaborating with new businesses down the track. Since placing second in the awards I have been approached by large retail market places to list our products and my sales have steadily increased since the conference and awards night.
What advice would you give to other mums thinking about entering the awards?
Just do it! Don’t sit around and wait for someone to nominate you, nominate yourself – you deserve it! We all have a common denominator when it comes to why we do what we do, and it’s our children. I took a chance on following through with my nomination and then to actually attend the awards, and I told myself if I got nothing else out of week at all, I am at least showing my children that they can follow their dreams, they can achieve their goals and with winning silver, I can show them that hard work does pay off!
What has been the best thing about starting your own business?
Showing my children that you can achieve whatever you want to, if you put your heart and mind into it. But also learning about myself, who I am as a mum, a wife and a female professional in a male dominated industry in my corporate day job. I am all of the above and so much more, and by following my passion to help make life a little easier for other parents I have learnt that I am also strong, resilient, dedicated, smart and determined. And I now have the confidence and courage in myself to actually show my children this is who you can be, not just tell them and hope they listen!
What’s happening next in your business?
The next major and ‘outside of my comfort zone’ event for myself and BigToes Australia will be to travel for a Trade Show in early 2024. I have a goal to secure B&M retailers in every major city in the country to make our shoes more accessible for parents and children.
I have also been working on specific products to help with the care of BigToes shoes, but to also continue to help make life a little easier for parents whilst looking after our environment and reducing the amount of plastic and chemicals that we use in our daily lives – so stay tuned!
What are your big plans for the future?
Professionally, I am working towards collaborating with a major children’s entertainment group that share the same values as we do when it comes to foot health and development. I would like to get my business into a position where I can quit my corporate job and have my business support our family.
In my personal life, we have just relocated our family to North Queensland to escape the hectic city life of the Gold Coast. I am looking forward to raising my children in a smaller community with a more laid back lifestyle. With my oldest getting ready to start prep in 2024 I really just want to spend the next 3-4 months focusing on my family and soaking up all of our glorious beach days and making wonderful memories together as a family. Business will always be there, but I know my days of having one child strapped to me in a carrier and the other 2 so eager to hold my hand on walks and pick shells together on the beach are numbered so I just want to enjoy this time together.
