This week’s Ambassador Feature is with Eva Wintersberger, Tree Hut Village
2017 Gold winner for AusMumpreneur Digital Innovation
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Tell us about yourself and your business?
I’m originally from Austria and the entrepreneurial spirit in Australia has really excited me for such a long time. I’m thrilled that I’m now part of this community of amazing women. I remember going to the conference last year and just feeling so inspired by all the amazing businesses and strong business women out there.
We are on a mission to make travelling with small children easier so that your family can create lasting memories to cherish for a long time! Tree Hut Village is a platform where parents can list their baby equipment and other parents can rent it from them. We are already in Australia and New Zealand have around 1,000 listings of all the big brands one can choose from.
What was your inspiration for your business?
It started when I was looking for baby equipment for my visiting niece and thought that hiring should be easier and more affordable. The idea really became more interesting to us when we went on holiday to the Whitsundays with our, then four-month-old baby boy, Max. We wanted to avoid the hassle of travelling with lots of baby gear such as prams and travel cots. After searching online, we ended up hiring from a local family and thought that it would be amazing if this were a lot easier going forward.
Did you have any experience in running a business or in this industry before?
We tried to open an online shop selling sunglasses before. This made my husband appreciate how important it is to understand marketing! We are new to the baby industry.
What’s your point of difference that makes your business special or unique?
I love that it gives other mums the opportunity to be “mini” entrepreneurs without the hassle of setting up an ABN. They can get a bit of extra money on the side from stuff they have at home without a lot of effort. It’s all online and what you book is what you get – best of all is that mums’ business hours start in the evening or on weekends so there’s no rush to get that rented item back during business hours.
What have you learnt about yourself since becoming an entrepreneur? I’m incredibly impatient. I knew that beforehand but it’s really taken it to another level.
What are some of the challenges you’ve faced and how have you overcome them? There are amazing highs and you feel on the top of the world and that your vision is going to become reality and then there are lows where something doesn’t quite work out the way you want it to and this is where your business is made I guess. Tenacity is key.
What lessons have your business taught you about life? You can force things as much as you’d like. Things take time and you need to allow it to happen.
If you could go back to when you were starting your business and give your younger self some advice what would you tell her? Be more patient and take a break now and again.
What’s next for your business?
We have a lot planned for 2018. This year is all about partnerships and we are working on releasing a very exciting new feature on the website in the next few weeks which will multiply the value our users get from it.
If you could change the world, and money was no object, what would you do?
I would really like to enable everyone to have a home for themselves so that nobody has to live on the streets. I would love for everyone to be able to provide for their children. This is one of the reasons why we chose St. Kilda Mums to be one of the charities we support. Love their work.
To learn more about Eva and Tree Hut Village, please visit www.treehutvillage.com.au or www.facebook.com/treehutvillageau
