Innovative company in the spotlight: Naked Wines (plus Giveaway)

Love it or hate it, working from home is the new normal for many of us. It has plenty of upside: less time spent commuting, easier to juggle pick-ups and drop offs (if you are lucky enough to be picking-up or dropping-off rather than home-schooling) and you can even squeeze in the odd load of laundry between meetings and tasks.

On the other hand, it can be really hard to get started, to stay focused and to switch-off at the end of the day.

A quick note from LH Agenda…
We are a brand created by women, for women, to support you to follow your passion and boost your confidence.
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Never fear!

LH Agenda x Naked Wines Giveaway

UPDATE: Giveaway now closed

LH Agenda has partnered up with another innovative Aussie company, Naked Wines and we have your back! We’re giving away a Work from Home (like a boss) package valued at $300.

You could win $150 to spend online on tools to help you shine all day PLUS a dozen wines delivered to your door for when it’s time to switch off.

To enter, simply visit www.nakedwines.com.au/giveaways and tell us what gets you going and keeps you motivated when you’re working from home.

Note this giveaway is open only to Australian residents over 18+, excl. NT.

And… if you need wine sooner, read to the end of this article for a special offer for all Australian LH Agenda readers.

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Discover our Make Your Mark planners and journals to help you create daily life habits to grow as a leader.

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Working from home

Whilst we compile your top tips, here are some things we have learned along the way so far:

1. Move your body!

Commuting no further than from the bedroom to the home office, kitchen or lounge takes a terrible toll on your daily step count. Try to plan some time each day to exercise. Take regular breaks to get up and go for a quick walk around the block or even around the house. Identify which meetings you might be able to do whilst walking and put your earbuds in. Consider a standing desk rather than sitting all day. The little things add up to a big difference in this area.

2. Connect.

It is possible to go entire days without talking to anyone about anything except work – especially if you live alone. Commit to calling a friend or family member every few days and talking about non-work topics to ensure you both get some mental breathing space and perspective. Buddy-up with someone to hold you accountable if you are not good at remembering to do it yourself.

3. Take time to reflect.

The hours, days and weeks can start to blur together so book time with yourself at the end of each week to reflect on what you achieved this week, what didn’t work, and what you want to do in the week ahead. This is best done, wherever possible, with a glass of wine in your hand!

Innovative company: Naked Wines

Kasia Gospos caught up with Naked Wines’ Strategic Growth Manager, Nicole Stallard.

Nicole, who is Naked Wines?

Naked Wines is an industry disruptor – we’re changing the wine industry for the better – better wine, better prices, a better deal for the winemaker.

We seek out and effectively crowd-fund the best independent winemakers, giving them the funding and security to enable them to make the best wine they have ever made. We then connect them directly with the customers who made it possible (whom we call Angels) to sell that wine, often exclusively, at prices that are truly hard to believe.

Increasingly, people are wanting to connect with and support their local small business more and more, and our model makes that more accessible for many. And for the winemakers, having access to direct feedback from the people drinking their wine is often their favourite part of belonging to Naked.

Originally a UK business, we now have businesses in Australia and the USA also. We operate the same model, and share learning and development across the countries, but each of our businesses behave as standalone units with our own local team, customer base and winemakers.

The Australian business is about 8 years old with more than 130,000 Angels and 60 winemakers across Australia and New Zealand. We’re growing fast and we see no reason why that can’t continue. Our model is truly win:win, and very scalable.

That doesn’t mean we haven’t had a challenging last couple of years though! The online shopping boom brought about by COVID has been a nice tailwind but has precipitated many process and logistics challenges for us to solve – particularly on the heels of some of the worst bushfires and floods ever seen by some of our wine growing regions. More recently, with the sting of new export tariffs slapped onto Aussie wines affecting so many winemakers and growers, we’ve challenged ourselves to extend our support further, bringing new winemakers into the Naked family.

What makes Naked Wines different to other subscription wine companies?

It’s more of a membership rather than a subscription model. Angels create an account with us into which they regularly put money. However, that money simply accrues until they are ready to spend it. Then they use their app to order the wines they want – they can order one bottle of this and one bottle of that etc to make up a case. We don’t automatically send cases every month or every quarter so you don’t end up with lots of wine you can’t get through or don’t like.

The Naked app is also pretty cool: It helps you keep track of what you liked or didn’t like (all our wines are backed by a No Fuss refund if you don’t like them) and this is how you can chat with or give feedback to the winemaker.

I’m personally a customer of yours and I love the idea of helping to scale and support local independent winemakers. Do you have a favourite winemaker story?

That’s a tough question as there are more than 60 of them and they are all really different! I do love the story behind the 2 Pairs label though: 2 lifelong besties (who happen to each be award-winning winemakers in their own right) marry identical twin brothers and decide to make wine together. Bizarre! But lucky for us! They make that wine for Naked Wines.

And your team are working from home now? How do you connect and stay motivated?

Our team developed rituals in the first COVID lockdown, which we’ve maintained ever since. We have a short video meeting to check-in on everyone first-up each morning and we finish that meeting with a 2 minute dance party – my husband thinks we are completely crazy but we love it. It gets us moving and energises us each day. You’ve got to have fun, right?

I then channel my energy into my to-do list, which I write each Monday, build-on through the week and love to cross-off. I am of course, one of your customers Kasia, and I love my Nevertheless, She Persisted notebook. Each meeting, I turn the page to new inspiration which is often very fitting for the conversation I am having – so it helps move the meeting along too!

LH Agenda subscribers! It is time to treat yourself!
Visit www.nakedwines.com.au and use code LHAHELLO password JNW15PJ3 to save $100 on your first case of wine*.

T&Cs apply. You must be 18+ years of age and resident in Australia exc NT to use this offer. Valid for first time customers only. Minimum purchase 12x bottles. Please see website for full T&Cs.