Natasja Marcelis is curious person. With a background in science, marketing, business and now travel accessories, she is clearly curious about many things!

Her curiosity extends particularly into business, design and people too. So the extension to thinking about the everyday, but better, is very natural. As is the desire to build a business around travel and exploring new things! Hence her passion has translated into a travel accessories business - hedi. There are two brands - hedi - which adds a boldly colourful twist to travel and One hedi day - which is a range of delightfully gorgeous hand-made travel accessories.

Where did you get the idea to start up hedi and what were you doing before hand?

I have wanted my own business for a long time, but hedi started with a moment of frustration with inadequate gym bags! Over the course over the next 2 years I pursued a solution to this with designers, fashion design lecturers and a trip to China. In the end I had to make the painful decision to shelve the project for now! During this time I was continuing to build a successful career in product and brand management, which gave me great skills, but allowed very little time or energy for my real dreams of running my own business! At the time a friend suggested I design an alternative to the sandwich bag required for international customs - and given my love of travel and design - a new business evolved in the form of travel accessories! Once I had designed the first product the ideas kept coming and after some research and talking to potential customers, I decided to leap in to it!

I'm a big believer that the most successful people fail more times than those who aren't out there having a go. What are some of the mistakes / challenges you've had along the way and what are the tips you would give aspiring entrepreneurs?

I agree! Where do I start?? I'll start with the most expensive lessons I have learnt:

Start with the known. I learnt this the hard way through doing a disastrous trade show with very unique products. I made barely any sales whilst people around me with "me too" products were making me dizzy with the number of visitors passing me by. I am a very strong believer in having a differentiated offering as a fundamental to sustainable business success. However, in the beginning you also need to provide within your repertoire "known" products or known reference points that people can easily recognise and buy. This then provides the entry point for your brand. I have just been reading the amazingly insightful book The Culting of Brands, which highlights the fine balance of being different enough to stand out in a meaningful way to potential customers and being too different to attract a broader new range of customers.

Don't try and be perfect from the word go - know that as you do start, you will learn, and you will need to change things. So, no matter how thorough your research, if you are doing something genuinely new, do everything possible to minimise the money, and just importantly the time you spend getting things perfect in a certain direction. I am not saying do a half-developed job - I am saying to be smart about testing your concept in inexpensive ways. For example - conduct a survey with friends and friends of friends. Very importantly - talk to your potential customers to understand their needs, their reactions to your concepts and the basics of the product or service - would they buy it? How much would they pay? Most people are very happy to give their thoughts if asked, and I have found that some of them have now turned in to customers.

So - use the limitations around you when you are starting as a creative impetus. It can be a lot of fun when you manage to figure out some creative and whacky ways to achieve your goals on next to no budget! I have used my envelopes as point of sale, second-hand jeans from the local op-shop to manufacture product and sewn brochures together for a very stand-out catalogue!

Have you been able to incorporate your science background into your entrepreneurial endeavours?

Not thus far. Although I think that the academic rigour and creativity of thinking that comes from studying Health Science shapes the way I organise analysis and business planning.

One of your lines One hedi day - is handmade, whereas the other has components manufactured in China. What have your experiences been like both in dealing with overseas manufacturors and domestic production?

I have been very lucky so far with manufacturing overseas. I was liaising with my contacts for over a year before I actually ordered product, and given my orders are not as large as the norm, particularly sourcing from that region, I was extremely lucky! In fact, my contacts are really sweet! It was a pretty amazing experience going to China by myself to a large trade show. No-one would believe I was there on my own! It is not the norm for girls. But, I learnt a lot, mainly from the wonderfully random people I ended up in contact with throughout the time!

Having said that, I did have a small quality issue, my boxes got squished and the end product wasn't packed all as specified. But all-up, it was better than I was expecting!

Dealing with domestic production is pretty interesting! I have been learning about the generally unseen network behind in the fabric, fashion and textile industry. I have learnt that it is absolutely about who you know when it comes to getting things made. And contacts are riches. Some people are generous and some people are not.

I have also found the sad truth that between retailers expecting 100% mark-up, consumers not being willing to pay for hand-made and high cost of fabrics (seriously - I can get them cheaper over the net and shipped directly from the US!) and manufacture - hand made in Australia is a tenuously profitable model, unless you have larger volume or retail directly.

The good thing is that this just challenges me to be smarter and better about how I do things. I know I want to do - I just need to figure out a better way!

If you were speaking to an aspiring entrpreneur right now, what are the 5 best peices of advice you could give them?

• Start! If you are thinking of doing it, feel you might be ready - stop faffing and just start!
  
  
• Think your idea through from the customer perspective and let that shape your direction, offering and actions. Embed understanding your evolving customers in the business from the beginning, and in all parts of the business.
  
  
• Understand cash flow, and ensure you understand your cash position at all times.
  
  
• Understand and embrace selling. Everything you do from negotiating a lease to getting orders requires this skill set. It can be a lot of fun and deeply rewarding, all it takes is a positive perspective about it giving you what you want.
  
  
• Hugs. Lots of them, regularly, from friends and family. It can be a lonely and more emotionally extreme existence doing your own thing - so make sure you are looking after yourself and staying in contact with your wonderful friends and family. It'll keep you healthy, happy and able to fight again another day!

Who are you role models (in business or otherwise)?

Richard Branson - for his unerring focus on the customer.

Actually, my role models include brands - Aesop for their integrity and intelligence, Mimco for its playfulness and smart business, Kikki K for their fast, single-minded vision and sustainable growth, the Ritz Carlton for living their customer ethos and empowering every single person in the business to do the same.

And my wonderful friends and family - who inspire me with their courage, business prowess and determination to enjoy their life to the utmost, including achieving their dreams.

What are your three favourite books?

It evolves! Currently it is The Culting of Brands, Holding up the Sky and The E-Myth.

If you could go into business partnership with anyone alive or dead who would it be?

Tough call. Right now, it would be Graham Turner from Flight Centre. So smart, rigorous and customer-focused. And always looking beyond what is.

What was your earliest childhood ambition?

I am not sure! There was actress, dancer, pilot, artist, shopkeeper...and it keeps evolving! Maybe that's why I just started a trapeze course...