There’s a big mental load that comes with running a retail store.
Amelia Robinson found that out very quickly after she opened The Little Rainbow Company in central New Plymouth in 2022.
The Little Rainbow Company is a popular family-run baby and toddler store, selling high quality clothes, toys and accessories.
Amelia runs the day-to-day business with support from her husband Jacob. She reached out to Venture Taranaki for business support early in her journey, and was pleased to take up the option of a business mentor.
She ran through her ideas for the store and what she was looking for in a mentor, and was put in touch with Denise Fleming, a 25 year veteran store owner in Taranaki. Not only did her retail expertise align with Amelia’s needs, but she provided a calm, confident ear.
Work-life balance and business success
“In the beginning, I was really carrying a lot of the load myself. I’d come home and need to talk to my husband about it, but then work would really get brought into family time. Having my mentor just meant I could park work from 5 o’clock and save those things to talk about with her.”
There were also many tangible benefits to being able to lean on someone with so much experience. Whenever Amelia had ideas or thoughts, she could run them by Denise and get feedback, which gave her much more confidence in what she was doing.
“One thing she helped out a lot with was the layout of the store. I didn’t fully appreciate how important that was, and there were so many other things to think about. But she helped me to make the most of all the space with lights and even hanging mobiles in the roof space. It’s just elevated the display so simply and made a huge difference.
Mentoring provides encouragement and support
“She’s been super encouraging in helping to step out of our comfort zone. We were looking at joining local markets and expos but you don’t really know if it’s going to be worth it - just being able to ask what she thinks gives you so much encouragement because she knows the benefits first hand.
They had a fairly casual, flexible relationship - catching up over coffee once a month or so, and staying in touch with calls or messages when the need arose. Amelia’s been rapt with how easy it’s been to get such quality advice.
“I could call her at any stage, which I’ve needed to do sometimes. Even if she was busy or had things on herself, she would respond as soon as she could. She even came through and brought around brownies when things were really tough, it was amazing.
“It makes it feel like there's a solution to issues when they occur. It’s just not as stressful when you can talk to someone about it.”
“As a mentor I have really enjoyed meeting the people I've been matched with... awesome people like Amelia,” Denise said. “It's been a privilege to be part of each of my mentees journey and to support them through the highs and lows that come with starting a business.”