MEDIA RELEASE:
Christchurch – Monday 9th November, 2015
Business networking group BNI New Zealand is organising the Christchurch Big Breakfast event to be held at Rydges Latimer on 25th November. At the event, young, up-and-coming Christchurch entrepreneur Brianne West will share the fascinating story of building her cosmetic brand Ethique through networking.
KEY TAKEOUTS
- Networking group BNI is hosting the Christchurch Big Breakfast Wednesday 25th November at Rydges Latimer.
- The Big Breakfast attendees will be SMB members from the local community.
- Entrepreneur Brianne West will discuss how she built her cosmetic business Ethique from a start-up to the point is ready to go global.
- Through her socially responsible skin and hair care company Ethique, Brianne has put her chemistry and biology background to good use making natural products with 100% waste-free packaging.
- Certified cruelty-free and climate-neutral, Ethique was named as a Rising Star by Deloitte in their annual Fast 50, and are finalists this year in the Innovation Council awards and the Sustainable Business Network awards.
BNI members who are businesspeople involved in anything from start-ups to medium sized operations will hear from Brianne how she started her business and built it to a point where it is ready to go global.
Just two years after launching Ethique, 28-year-old West is on course to building a significant, sustainable, global brand of environmentally friendly beauty products.
Brianne says her non-conformist attitude and creative streak got her started as a business entrepreneur. “I’ve learnt as I’ve gone along,” Brianne says. “The mistakes I’ve made have strengthened both my business and me as a person.”
Brianne says she’s not a networker in the traditional sense, but she believes in using social media platforms like LinkedIn to directly contact business mentors and people with experience in her industry. “People are so accessible these days,” she says, “it’s just a matter of reaching out to them and being open to their ideas.”
Nick Greenwood, one of the Regional Director Consultants for BNI New Zealand in Christchurch, says Brianne is the perfect example of a new-gen networker. “In addition to being an exceptional entrepreneur,” Nick says, “Brianne also demonstrates how younger businesspeople are connecting with mentors internationally to deepen their knowledge and grow their businesses. Her discussion will highlight non-traditional marketing efforts and how philanthropy can be combined with sales to grow a business.”
Brianne is seeking to distribute Ethique products through at least 35 retail stockists within New Zealand, while still maintaining an e-commerce business model which drives the majority of sales. To achieve her global aspirations, Brianne successfully raised $315,000 investment through various channels.
About BNI:
BNI New Zealand, established in 1999, is the country’s largest structured business networking organisation for small to medium businesses. With over 2,600 members and 120 groups around the country, for 2015 they are on track to mark $100m in business.
As a business community, BNI helps create business opportunities through a structured system of referrals and reciprocity, based on trust and giving. Business owners from all types of industries (only one trade representative per group) meet weekly. They build sustainable relationships with other businesses, develop new networks and take BNI’s underlying philosophy of ‘Givers Gain’ to grow their businesses. www.bni.co.nz
Media contacts:
Nick Greenwood, Christchurch Director/Consultant for BNI New Zealand, 021 453 724, ngreenwood@bni.co.nz
Brianne West, Ethique, 0272869549, brianne@ethique.co.nz
Nimita Morarji, Serum, 021 950 058, Nimita@serum.co.nz
