Emma is a young, driven & vibrant Entrepreneur. With over 13 years in customer focused roles and positions she has a passion for creating incredible experiences for people. Emma invests her time in learning and researching new technologies and ancient ways that are to revolutionise our world and the way we operate in everyday business and life. She has a huge heart and has a vested interest in helping anyone that needs it. She hopes to see a world where passion, flare and authenticity is supported & embraced, to further support the longevity of humanity and our world.
- Where were you born and where did you spend your childhood?
I was born in Fremantle, the port city of Perth, Western Australia. I have spent my childhood and my entire life living within a 5km radius of Fremantle. It is a beautiful part of the world and very happy to call it home. It has a very grounded, chilled out vibe, just as I like it. It is a ‘hippie’ town.
- Where did your professional dream begin?
I was fortunate enough to have a father who started ‘personal development’ work and I began going to seminars at the age of 16 with him. This is when the first seed was planted that me as little Emma was more than just the current experience I was in and that I could do anything I wanted to. This is where I knew that one day I would work for myself, on my terms and that everything I dreamed could happen. Little did I know it would unfold as it would, but somehow reflecting back now, something in me knew that it would all unfold this way.
- Tell me a little about your business and where your passion comes from?
I am the founder and director of The Hippie Food Company. We are manufacturers of Hippie Kombucha. Kombucha is a fermented tea beverage and it is one of the world’s oldest forms of probiotics. It is made from Tea, Water, Sugar and a cultured called a SCOBY. The sugar acts as food for the scoby so it can grow, stay alive and produce the different strains of probiotics through the process of fermentation.
My passion started from a personal interest in health and wellbeing. In 2013 I took a huge interested in health and wellbeing but not as we know it in the mainstream world. I started looking at what they did in the ancient traditions and fermented foods was something that was a big part of their daily diet. I then realised that my Dad had actually been brewing Kombucha since I was a child back in 1995 and I started to learn from him and doing my own brews at home. I was committed to consuming only the best, cleanest, organic and authentic foods available and this is how Hippie started. I couldn’t find a Kombucha on the market that didn’t taste like vinegar and that was brewed in the authentic way, without the added flavours of juices and syrups and without 2 fermentation periods….So that is what we did, we produce a Kombucha that is real, authentic and tasty!
- What have you learnt about yourself during your career?
What a question, how can I explain it using language. It has taught me everything about myself. I have explored every crack and cave within my mind and my body. I have learnt compassion and resilience. I have learnt to find my own truth in every situation and I have learnt to trust in my intuition to a point where I no longer hold any mind control over any situation. I have learnt to run my life (including my business’s) from a place of surrender and love, I have learned that we have zero control over what is going to arise and the situations that are going to take place, so it is easier to surrender and sit with it and act from your heart and trust in where you are being guided rather than making a decisions or living from a place of ‘this is how it should be’ or ‘this is how i should be acting’
5. What 3 key gems of advice would you share?
1 – Everything you experience is a result of your perception
2 – Have compassion for yourself and those around you. Everyone is on their path and doing the best they can with the choices that they have, including yourself!
3 – Enjoy the sound of the birds, the waves of the ocean. Enjoy the wind in your hair and the rain on your clothes. Our existence is much more than we can ever comprehend and the daily grind is a small speck in the entire universe. So be happy and love deeply because at the end of the day, that is what we were put here to do and to experience.
- What are some of the mistakes you made and learnings from them?
Mistakes, there has been a few however like the question they are learnings. Each learning is an opportunity to evolve our existence. The biggest one I have made is not trusting in myself and in my ability and not standing up for myself. As I have never run a company before I undermined what my intuition was telling me and what I thought should be done and looking back now if I had tabled the ideas, or said things as I saw them the company may be in a different position. With this though is the learnings and reflection that I do know more than I believed I did and that my points and ideas were very well valid. And I guess it was part of my journey to have this experience so I can deepen my self love and self worth. Without these experiences we wouldn’t grow so it is all perfect at the same time.
- What keeps you going?
My hope for humanity is what keeps me going. My hope that the world can have peace and all living things including humans can live in harmony with each other and be happy is what keeps me going. It starts with ourselves and my commitment to continue to explore who we are as humans and what existence is, is what drives me. My business just as relationships, yoga and all experiences…is just a vessel for me to experience different situations and to continue to evolve. Through self discovery we can find peace within ourselves and our hearts and slowly that will result in peace for the world.
- How important is it for women to have mentors/their own circle of excellence to guide them?
For me it is extremely important for women (and also men) to have their own circles and mentors that are just women (and just men). When we look back at the ancient tribes of the world, across all the different cultures, they have texts that reference times where the women would get together for ceremonies (or meetings) and so would the men. They would then come back together and share stories together. This gave opportunity for the women to share openly and honestly with their fellow sisters and the men to share openly and honestly with their fellow brothers, without the need for the egoic mind to play a part. I think as a part of the western culture we have lost this and as a result we see a lot of dysfunction in many forms around the world. The more women and men can come together and support each other as separate groups, the greater the women can support the men and the men can support the women from a place of love, peace, truth and compassion.
- What’s next in the journey of BRAND YOU?
This question is of perfect timing as we start 2018 as this year I am taking some time off from mid April. Currently it is going to be about 4 months but could be extended depending on where my soul takes me. My drive for success has been my only goal however I have got to a point where success through business or financial isn’t what I am after anymore. I am after success within myself and for me that success is happiness and further self discovery. So what’s next in the journey of me…..I am not to sure, all I know is that I am off to Peru for a few months of meditation and time with some of the ancient tribes and we will see what shows up after that. I have a desire within me to share everything I have learnt about the ‘self’ and the human existence however I am not sure how that looks just yet, whether it will be a book or a documentary or to build a personal brand for myself. However to stay true to everything I believe in and my philosophy of life, the next step will reveal itself when it is ready and until then it is my job to surrender to life, stay present, enjoy each moment, be happy and have compassion and love for myself and others.
- Your favourite things:
* Destination: Peru
* Drink: Fresh Chai Latte with Coconut Milk
* App: Spotify (I am a music lover)
- If you were a hashtag what would it be?
#hippiechic (I do already have it)