At 21, she quit with $100; her Bondi kitchen grew into a $5m empire

Bianca Monley was 21, had little more than $100, a tiny Bondi apartment and an instinct that healthy food could be more exciting than what was available at the time. She quit her waitress job and started cooking meals for 10 friends from the gym in her area.

There was no big business plan, no investors, just a kitchen, a handful of customers and the desire to see where the idea might lead. That little experiment was now a $5 million business and a 100-acre farm years later. Scroll down for details.

Begin with clarity

Monley’s first step was understanding what she wanted the business to achieve, she said on her website. The idea was simple. Help people eat better. As the company grew, that purpose developed into a larger mission to change the perception around healthy food.

That clarity became a filter for decisions from what products to offer to how the business connected with customers. Any entrepreneur can use an understanding of why the business exists to decide what is important to pay attention to and what is not.

Create a memorable thing

A strong brand is much more than just a recognizable logo. It’s what customers think of when they think about a business. Monley’s company set itself apart by providing fresh meals delivered to homes and developing its own farm to create a direct link between food production and the customer.

The farm-to-table concept gave the business a distinct identity and reinforced its commitment to freshness, quality and sustainability.

Consistency from packaging to customer service helped convert first-time buyers into loyal customers.

Hustle, then learn how to delegate

Monley did practically everything in the beginning. From cooking, packing, deliveries, to making money. That hands-on approach was necessary when the business was small, but it could not be the model forever.

As the company expanded to include Melbourne and Sydney and grow a 100 acre farm, it was necessary to bring in specialists. The founder could walk away from day-to-day chores and focus on growth, because of chefs, nutritionists, gardeners and other professionals.

And the lesson was simple: hard work can build a business, but delegation is what scales it.

View setbacks as lessons

The path of entrepreneurship rarely moves straight up. Monley’s journey included financial pressure, long nights, and tough decisions.

Instead of seeing these moments as failures, she used them as a way to figure out what needed to change.The company got a big break when actor Hugh Jackman became a customer and was photographed with one of the company’s meal coolers. The visibility helped take the business into a new phase. Other high profile customers such as Miranda Kerr and Cate Blanchett added to its profile while a nod from Gwyneth Paltrow gave the brand an international lift.

Keep coming up with the next idea

Growth wasn’t about settling into a nice routine. As the business grew to around 10,000 meals a week Monley searched for another way to improve the customer experience. The answer was a 100-acre farm that brought more transparency to how produce gets from field to table. Innovation, for Monley, doesn’t need to mean reinventing the wheel. It could be an improvement to an existing product, a response to customers or a smarter way to operate.Her journey from a Bondi kitchen to a multi-million dollar business has been a game of persistence. The numbers might be the milestones, but the real growth came from being clear on the purpose, learning when to ask for help, having setbacks and moving on.Images Courtesy: Bianca Monley Website