Award is just the tonic
TWO Jewish mothers, who’ve just been recognised for their business acumen, claim a discussion about the merits of different washing powders was the catalyst for their award-winning gift product business, Tonic.
TWO Jewish mothers, who’ve just been recognised for their business acumen, claim a discussion about the merits of different washing powders was the catalyst for their award-winning gift product business, Tonic.
Toni Joel and Nikki Horovitz picked up the 2012 AusMumpreneur of the Year awards last month in Sydney, defeating 200 entrants, but the roots of their triumph date back two decades.
The pair were lounging on the couch one afternoon in 1992 – Horovitz caring for a six-month-old and Joel on the verge of wedlock – when the landmark conversation occurred.
“Nikki and I were sitting at her house after the birth of her first child and we found ourselves discussing Omo – the washing powder,” Joel told The AJN. “There came a moment when we said ‘we need to go back to work’ and decided that we should go into business together. And that’s how it started, it was as simple as that,” she said.
Starting out as product developers for large-scale retailers such as Myer, they now develop their own range of Australian-made home accessories, candles, fragrances, soaps, hand balms and fabric gifts that sell in major stores and boutiques.
Joel, now a mother of two, looked back to the early days of Tonic with an air of nostalgia: “We had an old brick-like telephone and relied heavily on the Yellow Pages. Our invoices were handwritten, and we tied our own bows.
“We never had a business plan, we did what we enjoyed. Nowadays, you probably need start-up capital, but back then, we worked on trust. Some of the suppliers that gave us credit for our first few orders are still supplying us 20 years later.”
Times have changed and so has the market, yet passion for the product is a timeless key to success, according to Joel. “We were never ego-driven and it was never about becoming millionaires. That was really important.”
Their ambition, Joel explained, is to “take a mundane looking product and make it magnificent”, using good quality products and innovative packaging.
Striking the balance between family and business was also crucial to the two women. “To have someone you can trust 100 per cent of the time and share the burdens with was important,” said Horovitz, who is now a mother of three. “Raising children and being able to say to your partner: ‘I can’t focus on the business right now’ and know that they will always have your interests at heart is vital.”
“As for the award,” Horovitz reflected, “after 20 years of building Tonic, and loving every minute of it, this is just the icing on the cake”.
Tonic products are available at www.tonic.net.au.
TIMNA JACKS
Nikki Horovitz (left) and Toni Joel.
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