oh-hello ladies!: Johanna Glennen of Pink Nade

Here at oh-hello! we LOVE hearing about how women started out in business and what inspires them. Each week I have been chatting to inspiring women who run and operate small businesses, and whose products feature in our oh-hello ladies! gift bundles. 

This week I'm chatting to Johanna, designer and creator of Pink Nade. Pink Nade specialise in designing and creating statement dangles to ROCK your lobes! 

Johanna initially created Pink Nade within her retail store to fulfil her need for a creative outlet and now Pink Nade is a stand alone business with a team of incredible women. 

What inspired you to start your business, and what was the first thing you did to begin the process?

I had recently opened a clothing store called Menace Toys at the time and had started stocking some accessories to compliment the clothing. I had just rediscovered my love for earrings after a 9 year earring drought from having my 5 children (couldn’t wear them for fear of having them ripped out) so thought maybe I might try my hand and creating them to sell. I used to make jewellery many moons ago, before children but had lost passion for it. Using my new found Illustrator skills learned from doing the graphic design in my husbands sign writing business I went to work. The first thing I did was order a sheet of acrylic cut in my earring designs to see if it would work. I spent hours researching glues, earring backs, display cards etc. I trialled and tested many products before settling on the best quality I could source. I popped the earrings in the shop, they sold, and that was the start of Pink Nade!

I slowly built up the collection, did markets, started to wholesale, attended trade shows, purchased a laser cutter and the rest is history! I now have a wonderful team of 4 women who work with me at Pink Nade and hope to grow this in the future! I am a firm believer in starting before you are ready. Pushing through the fear and honestly just going for it. No regrets. So for me, having the idea and actually actioning on it was a pretty quick process and one I did without hesitation, but not without doing my due diligence/research etc also. 

What inspires you? 

I am crazy inspired by the women around me doing amazing things. Even women I follow on social media. If she can, I can! I am inspired by the women who wear our earrings. The confidence of these women rocking our earrings, unafraid to set the world on fire. I am inspired by my amazing stockists, grateful for their support and am inspired to continue doing what I love knowing they are all passionate about our brand and what we stand for.

What is the best business advice you have ever received?

I am not sure if its technically business advice, as it can be used in every day life. But the simple act of BELIEVING you can is seriously the most important thing I have ever learned in my business experience. I have had quite a few businesses now, and up until Pink Nade, I worked my butt off, but never seemed to ever actually achieve anything. I could never work out what I was doing wrong? But now, I realised I never actually believed I could achieve anything great, never felt like I was enough, never felt like I deserved success. I believed this to my core.

I went to a Tony Robbins conference and my entire life changed. I walked on fire, let go of limiting beliefs, but more than anything, I learnt to truly believe to my core that I was worthy, enough and could absolutely success at anything I put my mind too. Once my mindset changed, my life changed. We went from very dismal sales to our best months ever and growing each and every month.

So I guess the advice was, mindset is integral, and believing in yourself and that you can actually succeed is sometimes more important than the actual work/hustle. As it will all be for nothing if you don’t believe you can actually achieve success.

What are your favourite things to do to take a break?

Hmm good question. With 5 kids and 3 businesses, breaks are few and far between. But honestly, when I do, and it wont seem like a break to a lot, I like to go to business seminars/functions etc. To be surrounded by like minded women, sharing our wins, fails and everything in between. It sets my soul alive and time just flies. If I could do that every day of my life I would be unbelievable fulfilled. But if its not business, its 100% spending time with my children. Its not always a ‘break’ as its pretty full on but just switching off and hanging out is a shift and gives my brain a little breather so I am prepared to hit the road running again when I return.

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We stock a range Pink Nade earrings and accessories which can be added to any oh-hello! gift bundle.

Check out the rest of Johanna's products on the Pink Nade website or on Instagram.