15 Minutes with the BossWe've had such a great response to the episode with Boost Juice Founder Janine Allis that we decided to play the extended version. There were so valuable takeaways in this chat that didn't make the original cut, so we hope you enjoy this extended conversation. Janine shares life hacks for productivity and longevity, dismisses imposter syndrome, and emphasises the value of saying "yes" to opportunities.
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The Australian Financial Review. Hello, and welcome to fifteen Minutes with the Boss. I really hope you enjoyed last week's extended version of Matt Common, the Chief executive of Commwealth Bank. This week we're going to play an extended version of the podcast we recorded a couple of months ago with Janine Alice, the founder of Boost Juice. Again. There were so many great takeaways that just didn't make the final cut, So really hoping you'll enjoy a fuller conversation with Janine. Next week we were returned to our normal programming. Please enjoy.
I really care about future, Jenny. I had an AHA moment years ago. I remember being in be Haven Beach in Victoria and I saw a woman, she was probably eighty eight, with a surfboard under her arm, and I said, I want to be her. You talk about this imposter syndrome, right, I think it's just bullshit. Right.
Hi, I'm Sally Patton, editor of Boss from the Australian Financial Review, and welcome to fifteen Minutes with the Boss, a podcast about success and failure and everything in between. And along the way we're hoping to get some great advice from our leaders. My guest today is Jeanine Alis, the founder of Boost Juice and the chairman of retail Zoo. Hi Jeene, How are you good? How are you very well? Thank you, thank you so much for coming in today. You are the founder of boost Juice and the chairman of retail Zoo, which houses boost Soulsa's Fresh Mechs Grill and Betty's Burgers, and you also sit on the board of Cogan, the online retailer. You started Boosting two thousand and when you are thirty two, and there are now eight hundred and fifty stores in thirteen country and you also have about sixty Betty's Burgers. That sounds like a lot to keep you busy. But on top of all of that, you are a previous winner of the Telstra Businesswoman of the Year, and you've appeared on Shak Tank, Australian Survivor, Celebrity Apprentice and Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars. You're everywhere No, No, Yeah, I've been busy. I say yes a lot. You do. Yeah. Actually, do you make a point of saying yes?
I do. I think life's more interesting if you say yes before you say no, Because no means safe, no means you know, don't you put yourself out there? So for me, yes has been fun.
Oh that's interesting. Yeah, because no means not taking any chances.
And you don't. The status quo absolutely doesn't change.
I love that we won't waste any more time. The clock starts now. And my first question is, and I'm slightly nervous to ask this in your case, what does your morning routine look like? What time do you get up?
The alarm goes off about quarter plus five. I do the same thing every morning. So I get up, I have vitamins, I do my facial cream, blabblah. I go downstairs. By that stage, I've got two dogs and a cat following me at my feet. So I feed the cat first because it's moles the loudest, so the dogs can wait. I then put on my Prana Chai on the pop because.
It needs to brew, right.
I then feed the dogs because then they're that stage they've done after they've done away right, So then I've actually check in and I checked the surf. And so by the time the dogs have fed, the dishwashers cleaned, and I've had more supplements and I have now got my chies now read to brew. I then get in my car at about ten to six to six and then head to the beach.
And are you a surfer?
Yes?
On longboards or.
Oh my long long long boards. So yeah, so then I find we'd find a wave. Some days successful, some days not. But every day I will get in the ocean. I truly believe that it's something energetic about the ocean. I think that the minerals of the salt and watching the sun rise, and I mean it's already proved and that the circadian rhythms of watching the sun rise helps with sleep. So on every level, it does grounding, it does exercise, It does you know, it does the social aspect of doing it with a girlfriend. It does the mental thing of the challenge.
Of doing surfing, which is huge.
And I just get out of the ocean, have a coffee, you have a laugh, you break down that wave or that thing you missed or how you stuffed it up, and then you get on with your day.
Oh so, have you surved for a long time?
No, not really. I started surfing when I was forty and I was living in Melbourne, so it was kind of difficult because it would only be on weekends or on holidays. And it was only when I moved to the northern Beaches of Sydney that the beach was just there that I went right, Okay, well I used to lie I liked it, but I never had the opportunities. So then yeah, I got my favorite board and yeah, me and my board go go for a goat in.
The water every day. Wow fantastic. So in addition to all those vitamins, do you also eat breakfast?
No, I don't eat breakfast. I will I'll come back in the morning and I will after my child because my child is pretty juicy. I do a Givani has a no sugar yogurt, right, and I'm again very routined. So I do that and I mix in with that creatine and restrevertol into the yogurt, and then I do a fiber in there and then I add in there again low sugar musli, which is a cocoa. And so that's what I have in the morning. I have that while I put the sauna on.
Do they go on the sauna? Ah? So when you do the sauna thing, is that a hot cold or is it just a sauna? It's sauna. And then I jump in the pool, right, Okay, so you do it out doing a bit of hot and cold. Yes, okay, that is quite a routine.
It is, and it's the same thing like now I say that. Look, I travel into state and you know, things get thrown out. But that is my routine that really is working for me.
Okay. My next question is, can you tell me about a pivocial moment in your career, approject that you took on, or something that you did that really changed the nature and the whole path of what you were doing. Look, I think it's the starting boost.
You know. I was a publicist at the United International Pictures for a movie company, and you know a couple of things. I had three little kids at home, and it was you know, life before and after. And I think the interesting thing with boost was naivety got me into it because I thought, how hard could it be? No one told me if I said to them, I'll by the way, I'd like to start at a juice bar with no business experience, not a degree in anything. Apparently, I'm actually the only degree I've ever got in my life is a yoga instructor degree. So I'm actually a yoga teacher. And that's kind of it right and so yeah, so for me it was really being this young woman on a massive learning curve of how to actually work out how to run a business because I found the weight of getting it right was huge. But I also believe that I'm not an expert and ever will be. But I'm a student and so I was a student of business and how to learn doing business was doing it.
So did you think long and hard before you set up boost or did you just think that's it, I'm going to just I'm going to do this. Just that's it. Let's see.
I saw the cad of in America of the smoothie category. There was nothing in Australia at the time that had anything anything that resembled food. You know, it was fried this and fried that or hot pies. And so for me to start a business that could get more fruit and vegetables in people's diet was like really appealing to me. I wanted to create something that I wanted to go to as a customer and that was a philosophy.
Okay, So what was the hardest part about setting it up At the time?
I think everything, Like the year I started was the start. This same year that GST came involved and I went, right, Okay, don't know how to do that.
We'll have to work it out.
So everything was I had to work it out. You know, I didn't understand about voltages of equipment. I didn't understand about das of science. I didn't understand about leasy, I didn't understand I didn't understand about food and stand about the food standards code. I can go on for the next fifteen minutes about the stuff I didn't understand, which I won't. But the thing was that it was just doing it and going, Okay, how do I learn? And then how do I create a system and how do I create a process. So when you look at any brands, all brands start within air an idea and then they have to become a business that has eight hundred stores in thirteen countries.
Wow, it's a great story. So what's the best piece of career advice you've ever been given?
You know, obviously high slowly and far fast is one thing. And making sure because it's all about people. You know, your business is only successful as your weakest person.
On that note, do you have you fired a lot of people as soon as their probation or just before their probation period has finished.
Yeah, ideally, yes, that's pretty much. But then sometimes, you know the other thing I've done badly is I set people up to fail. I don't mean to, but you know, if they're really good at something, you go all right, I'll give you more and more and more and more, and then suddenly they don't want to let you down, but they're not capable of what I've given them.
I've done that before, and that's interesting. So if you learned from that and learned how to help people along the way rather than to set them up for failure, yeah.
Look, I have first and foremost acknowledging that maybe they're not able to do that next step and or ensuring that they're more proper head. So I think the key thing with any leader is that before you actually look at the person, you look at yourself first. Have I given them the resources? Have I given them the opportunity?
Have I given them the tools?
So if I've done if I can do that, and have I communicated more importantly what I needed done?
So if I can.
Tick all those those boxes and often I don't take those boxes and right I need to look at that, then you can go right Okay, well maybe it's not working out. So I think the key thing is people, and it's also reviewing people, but not only just it's not about firing fast. It's also about how do you communicate and be the best possible leader, How do you give them the tools for them to be the.
Best version of themselves?
And how do you motivate them, you know, how do you inspire them to create the unachievable.
So besides hiring slowly and firing fast, what other great piece of career advice have you picked up again?
With people you know, don't blunt their sword?
Can you explain that? Yes?
So what I mean by that is that you know, some person is if they're really highly creative, right, and you go, right, you're a creative and you're in the role, don't try and make them analytical? Right, So, because quite often what you do is if you try and go, you need to do better paperworking, you need to do this, you've got to do all these things or be or you've got to do the analytics of what you're doing. Well, suddenly you're killing their creativity. And so in actual fact, you're better off getting an analytical person with them and getting to respect each other and see where the power is. That's where the true power comes from. And so not blunting this sort I think is really important too, and just surround putting the right people in the right roles.
That's interesting. So do you think the same in terms of managements? Just because someone is creative and is really good at what they do doesn't necessarily mean they're going to be a great manager.
Correct, And they don't want to be a great manager.
So have you made the mistake before of promoting someone to a manager when actually that was.
Totally completely you know, and completely and sometimes I don't even know it. They just go, oh, I should be progressing because I should be. Well no, maybe you just love you do and that's okay, you know, so, but it's all about people. I think. The other one is on a business sense is really understanding the numbers, and I do, and so you know, to create make people accountable for our own areas. As your business gets bigger, you need to still think small. So and how do you do that? And how you do it is by going making people accountable for their areas. So instead of having this big black void of expenses, you break it into areas. So people are accountable and rewarded and recognized for ensuring they manage those costs or drive those sales.
Oh so drive the numbers into smaller parcels as you possibly can. Correct and give people responsibility for that parcel.
Correct and educate them to understand it. A lot of most people don't understand p and ls, and the P and L is the most easy, simple form of maths you can possibly do.
In other words, a profit loss account correct.
How much income did you get in and what are the expenses that went out?
And what's left? That is no more complicated than that. That's also really good advice. I love that. Okay, on that note, we are going to take a short break, but Jeanine, don't go away. We're going to come back and open our lovely chatterbox. Welcome back to fifteen Minutes with the Boss. I am Sally Pattion, the editor of Boss, and I'm here with Jeanine Alice, the founder of Boost. Now, Jeanine, this is our section called the chatterbox in front of you. As you can see, is this lovely quite our low fire I'm afraid cardboard box inside, which are about fifteen questions. I'm going to ask you to pick some out one by one and we'll do more Q and A. All right there, okay, great, thank you. What's the best or worst business idea you've ever had? Let's go with. Do you have business ideas all the time?
No, not necessarily, Okay, no, I suppose. But early on there was something called Harry Harry's in early days, which I thought it was going to be a children's headdressing salon that they have specifically for kids.
I saw it in brands.
I thought that'd be a great idea, and then I did the business plan and went, it's not going to make any money. And I'm never I'm not a hairdresser, so but it was a nice idea, but no, No. The other one was Tosses, which was a salad bar. But didn't realize that there's a lot of English landlords and they didn't like the name Tosses because tosses in England, that's true, Nanan's not the same as tossing a salad sod.
So if you happen to sell your current businesses and you could serve a business another business, do you know what it would be? Do you sort of ever think about what that might be.
Yeah, I think I would like to set up a cutting edge.
Health retreat one day, and you still might do that. Yeah, maybe, who knows? Okay, is it one where you're going to help me to live in til I'm one hundred? Yeah? Why not? Excellent? Okay, loving that, have another fish in the box. Let's go, Okay, here we go. Okay, in your experience, what is the best way for people to get a promotion?
Do a great job and don't be pushy about it, but make sure the right people know that you're doing a great job. And I think that when you're when you're going for a promotion, don't just sit in front of your boss and tell you why it's good for you. You need to explain it to them why it's good for the business.
And is that effectively saying this is what I could do for the business, and this is why I think I'm the right person.
Correct through evidence, you've noticed that I've done this, this, this, and I achieved this, and I was like, I beat my budget and I did this. You know, I'd really like to progress. And then I would say to them what do I need to do with courses or what do I need to do to achieve my goal of that promotion. So instead of just going I want say, all right, this is what I believe I can give to the business. But also this is the path I'd like to take. What do I need to do to achieve that?
And do you find that women are less good at doing that than men?
Less? So?
Now are they good?
We've got to remember that we are not a robot. We are human beings that have got thousands of years of DNA and how we are right. So, yes, the man goes up and goes kills a lion, it comes back and we eat it. Right. Women are social right, So even even today, if you look at any major overseas charities, the most effective charities is when they give the money to the women. Right.
Yes, we all know.
That, right because they will look after the group. So women definitely need recognition, but I think women are now starting to go. We also need to be rewarded for that. There's any women listening to this. Recognition is important and we should but equally know.
You're worth financially as well as in other areas rather respects. Right, Yeah, okay, no, I like that. Okay, next question, have a let's have a go who is the person outside of the business world whom you most admire and why.
You know, I don't put people on pedestals. And I learned that when I was twenty one year old working on Dave Bowi yacht, because I always thought there were special people, like there was people that were like super people.
And there was just us.
And when I actually work with Bowie, I met Mick Jagger and David Bowie, Michael Kain and Robin Williams and Eric Idol and all of these type of people, and I realized I was just people, right. And then I was a publicist for the United International Pictures and I met someone like Patrick Stewart and he's not the captain of the Star Trek Enterprise.
I thought he was, but he's not.
Right. So in actual fact, so musicians, I certainly admire God the talent of people who can can act and they can you know, they can see. I mean God, I admire the talent that's extraordinary. But I think it's people that make changes in the world, like Fiona Wood, you know, who is an inventor of skin for burns victims, which is life changing. She was Austrain of the Year and she did skin graphs for burn victims, you know, and then you link think of Warren Buffett, right, Warren Buffett who is a simple, clear communicator and speaks a lot of SATs to a lot of people who want to invest. Right, So there's people like that, I go, well, and what he uses his money for is to literally change the world. Bill Gates. Bill Gates wanted to help sanitization in third world countries because why because it is important? And so people like that are like extraordinary people. You know, people who helped with the vaccine for COVID, whether you thought it was right or wrong. Those sort of people which are quite extraordinary. Where I always thought one person can't change the world, it's whether those type of people can actually change how the world is and how we think and and what we think is possible.
So the fact that you have never put anybody up on a pedestal, at least since you were in your early twenties, has that somehow helped you in business because you're not You don't hold people in awe.
But I also don't hold myself in awe. Right, So I don't hold people in all, but I don't hold myself in awe. People who work for me, I always consider them working with me because I can't do it without them, right, I can't do it without it without a team of super smart people. And that might be the local lawyer or the local accountant. Now, I finished school at sixteen, right, My school didn't even go to year twelve, was a tech school. But equally, I never ever felt that I was less than someone. All I felt was in a room that we needed to get shit done, and I needed to learn a lot, and I hated paying legal fees, right, And so my view was I thought, and this didn't actually come to fruition, but I used to think, if I'm paying a lawyer who's been to school for six years to do law, and I'm paying them seven hundred to one thousand dollars an hour, I want to not just go is that contract right?
Right?
I want to make sure they sit down and go through everything and learn. So, you know, I think that I know as much about trademarks, worldwide trade monks and any other lawyer right contract law. You know, I'm certainly no lawyer, but I've but I've taken the time to understand it, so I know what question the right question to ask the other thing I found out by having that curious mind is lawyers get it wrong a lot, and so do accounts a lot. And so if you just blindly go, oh, the lawyer's looked over and sign it or more for you, and don't actually complain in five years time if you need to get that contract out, it's not what you want.
Ah. So it sounds like your humility and your just desire to learn and to be across everything has really stood you in good stead.
I don't see it as humility. I see it as understanding my knowledge base and understanding that I'm the student always, and I'm talking about that even this current era. You know, I've got a son who's a successful YouTuber. So if I'm talking about social media, I'm not going on the parent, I'm the all wise and knowing parent. I'm going hey, Riley, can you help me with this? Or Oliver, what do you think of that? Or so, Yeah, it's not humility. I think it's realism.
Yeah.
You know where people talk about this imposter syndrome, right, I think it's just bullshit.
Right, Oh okay, tell me why?
Well, because we are all learn there is no one out there who's an expert if someone turns to me and say I am an expert in blah, then I just look at them and go, wow, that's really sad for you, because there's nothing more fit to learn. I mean, I know, I'm the fifteen minutes with the boss. Well, I'm sorry. If anyone's listening to her, you're not listening to an expert. Right, But as soon as someone thinks you're an expert, that means that they don't need to learn anything else.
They're an expert. Oh that's interesting. So if we're all learning, then there's no such thing as improcesses.
No, No, we're just learning. If you're just there on the curve and you're learning. Yeah, so when someone sort of goes, I feel like I'm supposed to be. No, you're supposed to be wherever you are.
Yeah, that's okay, that's great. Okay, next question, have a fish in the box, So tell me about your favorite health hack. Assuming you've only got one, you've probably got lots. Can you point to a couple.
I'm an early adopter in the health hack, so let me explain why health.
Is important to me.
I really care about future Jeanine, about future Jeanine. Right, I care about her. So I want to have the dis today to ensure that future Genine's okay.
So what does that mean for me?
It means that I get good sleep, I don't drink much alcohol, I exercise, and I.
Eat relatively well.
Right. I know that sounds like I'm incredibly boring person, but I've also got the curious mind of elder out there. So people like David Sinclair Peter Attia who are really leading the way in longevity. You know, there's a Japanese scientist that actually discovered something called muse stem cells m US, and these are cells that come from embilical cords and other sort of blood components that actually are super strong. And they are now doing IVS with stem cells using these mw cells and actually having some incredible advancements on spinal injuries and MS and all sorts of things. It's actually quite fascinating research. So I'm sort of fascinated to look and investigate all of these different hacks that can help future Janine be the best version of herself.
And is this because you want to live until you're one hundred?
No?
You know what it is.
I had an a harm moment years ago, and I saw a little old lady walking with a walker, and I sort of thought, oh God, I do not want.
To be her. I remember being in fair Haven.
Beach in Victoria and I saw a woman she was probably eighty eight, with a surfboard under her arm, and I said, I want to be her. And so that was my AHA moment of going I can choose. And I also decided that every decision that I make today dictates which version of myself I will be. And I feel great. I have a red light bed at home, so it looks like a solarium, but it's actually red light. So I lay in that every day and I all love it. So a part of that morning routine of saunas da data, I ended up with doing videoga and I ended up in the red light. And so yes, so I'm finding that, you know, I'm feeling the best I've ever felt.
So that would be one of your hacks. Maybe a red bed, a red bed. And what supplements do you take?
I got how long have you got? Oh? No, I've got abrisrevitol MNM. I take a mega th free, I take gincing Genkobela BA, I take creatine, I take vitamin D.
So yeah, so I take sort of range a range, and then how much slip do you get in it.
I like to be in bed by eight thirty nine o'clock, so i'd like to get a good eight and I mostly get eight uninterrupted eight hour sleep. Oh and I'm also on and a massive fan of hit.
Oh okay, it works for you.
There's a curve that actually goes up with regard to increase of all sorts of mortalities, and then the curve when you are taking HRT. It also makes sense to me. I don't know if on the most simplest terms is that as soon as you cannot bear children, the body goes, well, what's the point, But it kind of goes what's the point. So I think if you're continuing to keep your hormones im balance, then your body is in balance. And I implore women.
To at least do the research on it. Well, I wish you luck and I have every confidence that you'll be surfing when you're eighty eight. Yeah, that's a planned great. Okay, I have another go in the box. What part of your job don't you like filling informs?
I think that is just the monotonous thing, you know. I'm lucky enough for to Pa, so most of the jobs I don't like she gets. So, you know, being on hold for Telstra, you know, waiting for builders to turn up and they don't turn up, filling informs, dealing with bureaucracy is just does my head in.
Are they parts of leadership that you don't like so much?
The people part sometimes I really struggle with. I love the I love the people part when you're see people develop and being the best they can be. And I hate the people part where people don't do the right thing in the business, or that they do the right thing, but you know they're not quite good enough at their job. I'm not very good when people tell me problems because in my head, in the back of my head, I go really, but externally I go, oh, really, so your dog broke its leg.
That's sad. I'm sorry it did.
But I also believe in verbs and souls, and what that means for me is people who are victims titled Rescue and Blame BERB, which is the people who come and go I deserve a promotion because I've been here for a year, or the mistake happened, it wasn't my fault or I'm entitled to work from home. Right, So those sort of things is like they're verbs. Right, But if you can change your life and become a sore, which is solutions in businesses always problems, but if you're constantly train your brain to go to solutions, ownership, ownership is actually gives you power. Sore is solutions ownership, accountability and responsibility. So I hire on that, I promote on that. I look for people that has that. I do business with people that are the SAW. So yeah, So I truly believe that if you have everyone who is accountable and will call it when they get it wrong, and a solution based you can achieve anything.
I love that. So one side just equals complacency. I guess yes, ultimately victims victims. And on that note, Janine, you have finished with colors the chatterbox section. I now have one last question which we ask all our guests, and that is, if you weren't running Boost and Betty's Burgers and all the others, what would you be doing.
I'd like to it one day, maybe do a health retreat. The longevity health space is booming. If we can get more people to consider their health, I mean the amount of money people spend on cars and other stuff, but their health.
I think i'd like to do that.
I think that there's a lot of cutting edge stuff, which you know, we have to be safe with and we have to make sure that we know what we're doing. But I think there's a lot of stuff out there that could really help people. And it's not about living forever. I just want to leave as healthy as I can until i'm not.
Yeah, and so is eighty eight like that age or do you think about an actual age or just I don't think at age.
There's some super young eighty year olds and they're super old thirty year olds. So I don't think people are a number. Live as long as I can, as long as I'm healthy, and if that's eighty, great, if that one hundred and fifty, great, But that's my goal.
And Janine, that is our time up. Thank you so much. I've really enjoyed listening to you about your morning routine and the fact that you go into the water every morning and you get those minerals from the salt water on your skin. I love your health hack. You are preparing now to be the future. Jeanine with a surfboard under your arm at the age of eighty eight. I really like the idea that you should promote people the capability because the alternative is that you might promote them too far and they'll fail and it won't be good for you either. I love the idea that you just say yes because that is your chance to learn, So I'm going to adopt that don't say no. And I really like the idea that the successful people really should be all about solutions, ownership, accountability and responsibility and don't be a victim. So thank you so much following us to spend fifty minutes with the Boss. It's been an absolute pleasure, and thank you to everyone for listening. If you like the podcast and would like to hear more, consider sharing the podcast or writing a review, as it helps us to reach more people and follow us wherever you get your podcasts. At The Financial Review, we investigate the big stories about markets, business and power. For more, go to AFAR dot com and you can subscribe to The Financial Review the Daily Habit of Successful People at AFR dot com slash subscribe. This podcast was hosted by me Sally Patton, producing edited by Mandy Colan. Our theme is by Alex garr And. Our executive producer is Fiona Beffini. The Australian Financial Review
