A Chat with Janine Allis
There's no one better we can pick to start off our launch other than Janine Allis. A mother of four, she's an inspirational overachiever with wisdom so real, it sends chills down your spine.
X NIHILO had the honour to sit down and discuss all things business with The Shark Tank boss lady, founder of Boost Juice, and Director of Retail Zoo.
Keep reading to find out more about her story...
Who YOU are
Much has been said and written about Janine Allis. She's one of Australia's most celebrated entrepreneurs and role models, with accolades and achievement that reads like a rap sheet. She is an adventurer at heart; travelling the world as a young Aussie backpacker in the 80s and working as a camp counsellor in San Francisco to a Stewardess of David Bowie’s yacht.
The mother of four attributes her success to hard work, commitment and passion for pursuing her goals. Her dedication has seen her business grow from humble beginnings at her kitchen table to an international success story.
What YOU do
In 1999, during a trip to the US, Janine witnessed the juice and smoothie category growing steadily. She identified a glaring gap in healthy fast food choices, which after extensive research, led her to develop a business concept that was different to anything else in the world. Her vision was to “do retailing differently”. In 2000, Boost Juice was born.
"My vision was to deliver a unique customer experience based on the ‘love life’ philosophy. This philosophy was built around making fruit and vegetables taste great for people on the go. Every item on our menu has fruit elements. People can have a choice with a healthy edge."
How YOU started
"As a young woman with no business background, I had no idea what I was doing. I approached this business journey considering the customer and I asked myself, what would I want as a customer of this juice bar? I wanted to respect our customers and always give them a choice to choose us – it started simply like that."
Janine started working at the age of 16 and has tried her hands on multiple jobs. She started her career as a media assistant at advertising agency McCann-Erickson, and went on to modelling, working as an assistant manager in a gym, a nanny in France, a promotions exec in Portugal, a camp counsellor in the USA, a stewardess on David Bowie’s yacht in the Mediterranean (now that was fun!), a senior manager for a cinema chain that launched in Singapore, a publicist for United International Pictures (rubbing shoulders with famous actors and directors), a publisher, an author, touring agent for USA comedians, then Boost Juice and now Retail Zoo. She has done it all!
Her company is now one of the most sought-after, healthy fast-food brands in the world, growing to 420 stores in 13 countries.
Why YOU do it
"I started off as a thirty-year-old with a young family who wanted to control my own destiny. I wanted the ability to work flexible hours. I wanted the ability to control my life".
Who YOU look up to
"I didn’t have the luxury of networking, due to starting a business and being a parent of 4 children. I was just doing what made sense, keeping the process of starting a business as simple as possible...
Inspiration comes from anywhere, you just need to keep your eyes and ears open.”
What's YOUr final message
‘’Don’t get caught up on labelling yourself. You are not a business women or man, young or old etc. You are a businessperson with the same challenges as every other businessperson. Do not let your mind limit what you do or put a limitation on what you can achieve. Yes, you will make mistakes but that is all part of it. In fact, if you are not making mistakes, you are not trying hard enough. Don’t put barriers up. Have big goals and do your research. Every single day, there is a challenge and problem to solve. Deal with what comes your way and never give up. You need to have persistence in everything you do. Tenacity is the difference between being a success and failing.’’
Click here for more about Janine Allis, Boost Juice and Retail Zoo
