Bex, can you tell us a bit about your background and where the concept for Cinderella cleaning products came from.

I am an ambient marketer and brand fanatic from way back. I did a Bachelor of Communication Business at Bond University and then spent time in advertising, marketing and public relations. I have had the opportunity to work with some great brands. I worked with teams to launch the Body Shops 'Juice It' brand in NZ, promote Amnesty International in an award winning campaign, drive sales of NZ's iconic Whittaker's Confectionary through campaigns for Peanut Slabs and K Bars, and launched Napoleon in NZ.

I have also spent time in the marketing highly regulated financial products, which was the motivation behind Cinderella.

Being a clean freak and a fragrance lover I was cleaning my home with Lush soaps, Cinderella created itself during Christmas 2004 when I realized the Lush soaps were better for cleaning people than houses. The brand created its identity quite quickly and it has maintained it fun, cheeky, honest tone.

Your website www.cinderella.com.au is gorgeous! Is this is where the bulk of your product sales come from – ie are you targeting the public directly more or do you predominantly wholesale to other outlets?

My main distribution is the Essentials range through Coles in NSW, QLD, VIC and ACT - I hope to extend that during the next product reviews.

The online store provides products to those that haven't got a access to the products locally and to support the limited distribution of the more expensive Super Fabulous range that is available in high end design stores.

We are currently rolling out a "Party Plan" program for the Super Fabulous range, which is exciting, as it gives us an alternate distribution strategy and also allows distributors to develop businesses in their own right.

Your overall concept is very innovative and funky. Aside from this, what are the three innovations / great ideas in your company that set you apart?

The products are differentiated by their combination of people safety, fragrances and affordable ecological soundness. The company in its brand has to stand apart with its honesty, product integrity and personality.

Cinderella is up against large fast moving consumer good manufacturers who have millions to launch new products and promote existing favorites so we have to cut through the clutter and stand out and make sure when we are noticed that we are truly loved, so people will repurchase and tell all their friends how great we are!

I'm a big believer that successful people fail more times than most the defining characteristic being that they learn from their failures. What have been some of the failures or challenges in your business and how have you learnt from them and would you change anything if you could go back.

The one that make me laugh the most, is that the factory burnt down the night before my first order was due to be dispatched - I used that as an opportunity to tweak the packaging and just kept going! It has probably given me a stronger relationship with my manufacturer as we supported each other through the 'hiccup'.

Moving into manufacturing and distribution of this type of product has been a big learning curve, it has been challenging to understand how some of the relationships work and it has been a challenge to admit you don't know the industry and ask for help while defending your business to ensure people don't take advantage of the steep learning curve you are on.

I originally met you when you won Pantene’s Young Woman of the Year for 2006 - Business, how important is publicity in your business and how do you go about making the best use of it?

90% of my promotion is through PR activities as I just can't afford to spend money on traditional advertising. We have been consistent with key messages and the press has been really good to us giving us great media placement. The relationships that we have built with the launch campaign have laid an excellent foundation for future coverage. We have a 12 month program in place with different relevant media angles and ambient activities.

Some of the catch phrases and marketing on your products are hysterical! (ie: for soap wrestling add to wrestling ring and fill with babes in bikinis for hours of entertainment) What target market do you aim for and where do you see your company going in the future.

The emails that we receive have really changed my perception of who our customers are. We have a huge range which is going to pose a challenge for strategic communications activities but we will just have to work around it!

We have everyone from allergy sufferers, to mothers, to grandparents to first time cleaners who have just left home and of course clean freaks of all ages.

Do you have any formal or informal mentors and if you had to list one person as being the greatest influence on your business success who would you say it is.

My parents are probably my best mentors and supporters. They have both run successful businesses and they are creative with a can do attitude. I am lucky that I have been raised to believe that I can do anything I set my mind to.

They both support Cinderella and apart from being my daily support team they have also assisted with financing.

Would you recommend any books for other people wanting to achieve success?

I read a lot of magazines for recreation and looking at trends, everything from Marie Claire, Wallpaper and Urbis to Adnews and Marketing Magazine. It is amazing how a small piece of one article and give you a cool idea.

If you had to give 5 pieces of advice to other young entrepreneurs what would they be

• Research - know where you will sit in the market and who your competitors are
• Cash flows - make sure you know where the money is and where it needs to go
• Passion - you need to love what you do as some days will be a bit tough
• Business Plan - even if it is on the back of an envelope or a full document it is good to have a reference point as you can get swept up in day to day stuff
• Commitment - you need to be committed to your idea as until you get it to a point where you have roped other people in it is just an idea. You need to be committed to make it a reality.

Do you love what you do? Absolutely. Cinderella is a project that was born out a desire to be creative and push myself. Even the tough days are incredibly satisfying. I have a long way to grow it and am excited about Cinderella's future. I am also acquiring new skills everyday that should make launching new projects easier.