BOSS WOMAN SERIES 235 | Jo from The Golden Hour Club, Salti Active and Joga Yoga

What is your drink of choice? (doesn’t have to be alcoholic)

Can I take three? Coffee in the am – red wine in the pm! And a Margarita for celebrating.

Tell us about YOU?

I’m a Canberra local, wife and new mama to my 10 month old baby (Luna). Both my husband I were born in Canberra, we were coincidentally best mates in pre-school and reconnected when we were in our 30’s. We’re both quite nomadic and have made the decision to leave Canberra several times, but every time we leave, something happens and we find our way back here. Our most recent was just before the pandemic hit, we had just found our feet and a new life in Bali, but then the world stopped, so here we are! And through the thick of lockdowns and restrictions, we married, had a baby and pivoted one of our businesses.

Tell us about *your business and how it came to be?

I’m just about to launch my third business, the Golden hr. club – a no bullsh*t club for solopreneurs to start and grow their dream business. Members can expect weekly fluff free lessons for the cost of a coffee, so they can focus on what they love. Member’s also have access to a live virtual co-working hour each week, private online community to bounce ideas around, plus one-on-one and small group sessions are available when they feel really stuck.  

The idea has stemmed from my own experiences in business, owning both product and service based businesses. I found that I was approached by people who either wanted to start a business, but didn’t know how – or had started a business and struggled with navigating all the different ‘departments’ inside their business. So the membership is designed to help people turn their idea or hobby into a real business without the overwhelm and confusion that comes with it. And then once they get going with the right foundations, members can expect a new weekly lesson that will keep moving the needle forward. The membership is affordable and accessible because it’s often a huge hurdle for start-ups to invest in a mentor or education. 

My other businesses are Joga Yoga (unique yoga classes and events) and Salti (activewear and aquatics equipment).

In 2016 I started Joga Yoga to introduce Canberrans to a new way to move their body and find their ‘yoga’ – think SUP yoga on Lake Burley Griffin, bend + beers at Capital Brewing Co, goat yoga, vino vinyasa and other fun collaborations and events. While teaching SUP yoga during the summer months, there were people who didn’t want to come to a class on the lake, but they would to a pool. So I researched product ideas and found a factory to manufacture inflatable fitness mats that I could take the classes to the pool. This evolved into my second business, Salti. My husband got involved in this one and we manufactured and sold the equipment to aquatic centres across Australia (we’re now in about 30+ venues) and added an instructor training program for both fitness and yoga classes. I always had the vision for Salti to evolve and launch apparel but the aquatics and leisure industry took us on a few different paths before I could pursue what I really wanted to do.

Once the pandemic hit, the aquatics industry was one of the first to shut down and the last to reopen, so while it hurt our business immensely, in that time I was able to focus on product testing and pivot to apparel. Late last year we launched our debut activewear collection that you can swim in. With eco-friendly fabrics that are designed for the harsh elements of water, yet strong and supportive for the studio environment. We cater to XS-4XL and have recently added a basic men’s range to the collection.

So I wear a few hats!

Do you have any lessons learnt/things you would do differently for those starting out in the business world? 

I have so many lessons. But if I could go back 10 years ago and give myself advice, it would be to get support and find a mentor early. I spent a lot of time trying to figure it out and DIY myself when there are people out there who could have helped me. It would have saved me from the trial and error, loads of late nights, and a lot of mistakes!

Second would be to know and understand my numbers early, so that I could develop a plan to actually reach my goals (a growth strategy!). It sounds obvious, but it took me years to realise that if I wanted to earn a particular figure, I needed to break it down and map it to my current offerings (or available inventory) in detail. So knowing all of my expenses and what to do to scale vs loosely throwing a figure out there and crossing my figures to hope for the best. 

One more lesson would be to trademark early!

How can we support *your business? 

If you’re thinking about starting or turning your hobby into a business, and want support navigating the start-up world, I’d love you to connect over on my insta @thegoldenhr.club and see if you’re a right fit for the club! 

For anyone who is interested in fun yoga events, you can follow along at @jogayogacanberra.

And for our activewear collection (perfect for anyone who loves land and water based activities) you can check us out at @salti.active

Any advice for those who are thinking about turning their dreams into a reality?

100% go for it. Life is too short to not follow your dreams and pursue something that truly lights you up inside. Don’t be afraid of what others may think, or of failure. There’s no such thing as failure, only lessons. Once you make the decision, surround yourself with other like-minded people who will be there to help you along the way. Join networks (like this one!), find a mentor and let people help you and encourage you to reach your goals.