Annie Nguyen arrived in Australia with a background in finance and business, but couldn’t land a job as a barista. So she spent less than $200 setting up a tiny market stall selling Vietnamese iced coffee instead. That stall became ANNEES, now a beloved and growing chain of coffee shops popping up across Queensland. In this episode, Annie shares how she turned genuine human connection into an actual customer-service system, what Shark Tank taught her about backing your own vision, and why starting a business might require far less money, polish and certainty than you think.

On today’s episode, you’ll learn:

• How Annie turned “great customer service” into a repeatable system her team could actually learn, without making it feel scripted. (They remember every customer by name!)
• What Annie learned from pitching ANNEES on Shark Tank while six months pregnant, being questioned about whether motherhood would slow her business down, and walking away without a deal but a plan instead.
• How to know when growth requires you to stop doing everything yourself, trust your team and “get out of the way.”
• How Annie learned aspiring founders can “start embarrassingly small” instead of waiting for the money, infrastructure or perfect grand plan.

THE END BITS

Support independent women's media.

Got a work life dilemma? Send us all the questions you definitely can't ask your boss - send us a voice note or email us at podcast@mamamia.com.au. You can remain anon!

HOST: Lisa Lie

GUEST: Annie Nguyen

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Courtney Ammenhauser

SENIOR CREATIVE PRODUCER: Thom Lion

ASSISTANT PRODUCER: Sasha Tannock

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anaita Sarkar is the co-founder and CEO of Hero Packaging, author of How To Sell Anything Online and her authenticity shines through to her MASSIVE TikTok following.

But in this episode, she’s not here to give you the polished founder story. Anaita shares the mistakes that left Hero Packaging staring down a $600,000 inventory bill she didn’t know was coming, the moment she questioned whether she was actually a good business owner, and what it took to fight her way back. She also shares some of the most practical advice we’ve heard on BIZ, including the simple experiment she used to test whether there was actually a market for Hero Packaging before betting on the idea.

On today’s episode, you’ll learn:

• How Anaita tested demand for Hero Packaging with a landing page and a $20-a-day Google Ad before properly launching.

• Why 50, 100 or 200 people actively showing interest in your idea could represent a much bigger potential market.

• How a growing business can look successful while dangerous financial problems are building underneath it.

• Why blindly handing your finances to an expert can be a costly mistake, and what Anaita learned from discovering a $600,000 inventory bill had been missed.

THE END BITS

READ OR LISTEN to Anaita's book "How To Sell Anything Online"

Support independent women's media.

Got a work life dilemma? Send us all the questions you definitely can't ask your boss - send us a voice note or email us at podcast@mamamia.com.au. You can remain anon!

HOST: Lisa Lie

GUEST: Anaita Sarkar - Hero Packaging

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Courtney Ammenhauser

SENIOR CREATIVE PRODUCER: Thom Lion

ASSISTANT PRODUCER: Sasha Tannock

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're constantly told to earn more, save more and somehow become better at money. But what if feeling financially secure isn't just about the numbers?

In this episode of Biz, Lisa Lie and Em Vernam sit down with financial educator Jess Brady to unpack the emotional side of money, and how the way we think about it can shape the choices we make.

Jess explains what your "money monster" is, and how to stop it quietly sabotaging your financial goals.

We also get practical: how to automate your money so you can stop wasting time online banking, what a "fruit tree" goal is and why having one can change the way you think about your financial future.

In this episode you'll learn

• How childhood experiences around money can create "money monsters" which subconsciously sabotage your relationship with money
• How to eliminate those emotional barriers to create financial freedom
• How to automate your finances and stop constantly checking your bank account
• What a "fruit tree" goal is and why you need one

THE END BITS

READ OR LISTEN to Jessica's Book "Get Growing: A No-Nonsense Guide to Cultivating Wealth and Financial Freedom"

Support independent women's media.
Got a work life dilemma? Send us all the questions you definitely can't ask your boss for our Biz Inbox episodes - send us a voice note or email us at podcast@mamamia.com.au. You can remain anon!

HOSTS: Lisa Lie and Em Vernem

GUEST: Jessica Brady - Money Educator

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Courtney Ammenhauser

SENIOR PRODUCER: Thom Lion
VIDEO PRODUCER: Marlena Cacciotti

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.