Carolyn Creswell was an 18-year-old first-year uni student when she bought a small inner-Melbourne muesli manufacturer in 1992.
Fast forward 25 years and Carman’s gourmet range of muesli bars, protein bars and muesli is distributed around Australia and internationally.
In this interview Carolyn shares her secrets for building a strong team and culture, including a 10:15 am daily huddle. She also provides great insights into being assertive and honest when communicating.
Learn more about Carolyn here.
TRANSCRIPTION OF TRISTAN'S INTRODUCTION
Welcome to episode 10. I'm Tristan White and today we have an interview with an inspiring entrepreneur by the name of Carolyn Creswell.
Carolyn is the owner of Carman's Kitchen. It's a business that many Australians would know and love through their range of muesli bars, protein bars, muesli, and much more that's been developed over the last 25 years.
Carman's was founded in 1992 by Carolyn Creswell. The then 18-year-old first-year university student bought the small business that was making muesli for just $1,000 and delivering to just a few cafes and delis around Melbourne at the time.
Fast forward to present and Carman's gourmet range is now available in all major supermarkets across Australia as well as being exported to many countries around the world. Carolyn's a proud mother of four young children with her husband, Peter. Carolyn has a strong commitment to a healthy work-life balance, which is also reflected in the supportive culture of the Carman's office.
In this interview, Carolyn and I talk about some great ideas of how she has built a strong team and culture at Carman's including her 10:15 AM daily huddle, which she learned from Verne Harnish in mastering the Rockefeller Habits, which is exactly where I learned about it too. Carolyn also gives some great insights into the importance of being assertive and honest in the way that we communicate as leaders.
Tucked away in the conversation is a really practical tip from Carolyn of how to deal with might seem like an uncomfortable conversation, but to do it in a respectful and honest way using core values as a guiding way to make that happen.
There is plenty to learn and reflect on here from Carolyn Creswell. Enjoy.