DOWN TO BUSINESS
FOUNDER OF BIRDSNEST JANE CAY IS A CHAMPION OF REGIONAL BUSINESS AND SHARES AN INSIGHT INTO HOW SHE THRIVES IN WORK AND FAMILY LIFE.
Founder of the Cooma fashion company Birdsnest Jane Cay shares her story.
WHEN JANE CAY purchased a small clothing store in Cooma 14 years ago and renamed it Birdsnest, little did she know her fledgling business of five people would grow into a team of 140. Her dream was to launch it online, build it to be the same size as the store in the Snowy Mountains town, 114 kilometres south of Canberra, then replicate it in other country towns. However, the online store quickly became the main game. The 41-year-old believes understanding her customer and creating a nurturing work environment have contributed to her company’s extraordinary success.
“Becoming the champion of culture is my main job. It’s like the soil; if you nurture and fertilise it, great things grow from that. Once your team really care about their roles, they care about each other, then they’re prepared to go the extra mile. I feel like this team makes the impossible possible,” she says.
And the accolades have rolled in. Last year Jane was awarded number one in the Top 50 People in E-commerce by Internet Retailing and Birdsnest was voted the 4th best place to work in Australia in the over 100 employees category in the BRW Great Places to Work Awards 2017.
While the company’s headquarters is on the main street of Cooma, Jane lives at 65 kilometres south at Pineleigh, a Merino wool property, with her husband Oliver, 42, and their children Bella, 14, Penelope, 12, and eight-year-old Arthur.
Birdsnest sponsored the People category of Country Style 30th birthday, which was awarded to biodynamic farmer and regenerative agriculturalist Charlie Arnott from Boorowa.
“There are very innovative and creative businesses in the bush and people love to hear those stories,” she says. “My favourite quote in life and in business is from Charles Darwin and the theory of evolution which reminds us that it is not the strongest or the smartest among us that survive, it is those who are most adaptable to change. My experience is that people in the bush are incredibly adaptable. When faced with limited resources and the challenges of our weather patterns, innovation is born.”
For more information, visit birdsnest.com.au
JANE I love the creative problem solving of running a business and that you get to make your own rules. You quickly learn that the soft skills are actually the hard skills and learning to be better at those helps every part of your life. How do you motivate a team, ensure everyone is happy and create a business culture? They’re the things that are hugely challenging, but very rewarding if you get them right.
The regional aspect of our business has almost been more of a pro than it has been a barrier to our growth. The regional word of mouth is so incredibly strong, and that’s certainly how our business grew at the beginning.
Most of the barriers that we have are within and our own self talk. Any really good idea that I’ve ever had — the ones that have really worked out and gone far — people have told me, ‘that’s a crazy idea, Jane’. You’ve got to listen to that inner voice that says, ‘yes, you can do it’.
Four years ago I really doubted whether I was the right person to lead this business. We had about 80 employees and I wondered if this was the point at which to hand it over. I was very stressed and I actually got that feedback from the team. I took myself off to a mindful leadership course and it literally changed my life. I learned to breathe again and be still. I thought you had to be busy all the time but stillness is so incredibly important for your clarity, creativity and state of mind.
When you own a business, you never switch off from it — it’s always there. There is work life and family life, but there is also me. When I take time to do my walking, yoga, dancing and sleep, I find that I’m much better at work and I’m much better for my family. I like to get up before everybody else because it just gives me some headspace. I start my day by walking to the mailbox. I can look out to the west and see snow-capped mountains — it’s just the most stunning place to live.
I talk about living in the slow lane and working in the fast lane, and what a great combination that is. We want to be stimulated and challenged in our careers, but we live in this nature-filled environment. We have access to the city, but in two minutes we can get from work to the kid’s assembly. That’s pretty magical.