Your Say – Jenna Mullinger
Founder of Oh Natural
I’d name my autobiography…
“Beautiful Chaos”. Running a business I love and having 3 boys I also love under the age of 7 is just that.
To me success means…
Getting to live my life on my own terms. For me, this means not having to get up to an alarm, getting to spend time with my kids or get outdoors during the day and work in the evenings. Not to spend a certain number of ‘hours’ working each day.
Best advice I’ve been given…
Do something you love and worry about the money side of things later. It sounds cliché but for me in the instance of founding Oh Natural, it worked.
The most rewarding part of my job…
When I get emails from customers saying they are so happy they found our website because it makes their life easier or better in some way. Whether it be because they have now found a place they can trust to buy natural beauty products, or because they’ve finally found a natural deodorant that works for them, or even just because their order arrived super speedily. It’s these positive interactions with customers that make it all worthwhile!
Life motto:
“Always believe something wonderful is about to happen.” I read this somewhere and it stuck with me – because if you think it, you can’t help but feel good.
Favourite book:
My favourite fiction books are those by Robert Galbraith – I could devour one of those in one sitting given half a chance! As for non-fiction, I’m not sure – I love anything by Dr Libby as it reminds me to take care of myself, but I have read so many inspiring books it’s hard to pick a favourite!
The women who inspire me:
My Nana – raising seven kids (and I think 3 is hard!) in a time where all the housework had to be done a whole lot differently to now! Women like Oprah Winfrey who have overcome such adversity to achieve greatness! And everyday women I cross paths with in business who are often mums too, who have the daily juggle but are achieving really amazing things in their business and lives.
The gender stereotype I can’t stand:
I don’t know why it irks me so much but I really don’t like the stereotype that women are overly emotional/ too emotional/ aren’t able to cope with certain tasks.
We need pay equality because…
I can’t even believe that in 2018 there are women out there performing the same job as men and being paid less. We need pay equality because – there is just no other acceptable option!
Gender diversity in the workplace is…
Essential for success! How else can businesses cater to the world we live in if the workforce isn’t diverse.
I advocate for change by…
By being a woman running a business and by supporting many other women in business. I would say the majority of brands stocked at Oh Natural are actually headed by women. I also have a fantastic team of freelancers around me working behind the scenes at Oh Natural from marketing and PR to graphic design and accounting – all of which are fellow self-employed mums.
The change I want to see in 2018 is…
New Zealand has said no to microbeads and plastic bags so far this year, which is fantastic! I’d love to see more environmental issues being pushed to the forefront and real concrete changes being actioned.
