Travelling for Boost took me back to those early years wandering the world before Boost began — and between missed flights, lost luggage and stumbling straight into meetings without sleep, it sometimes felt like I hadn't advanced much on my backpacker days! Definitely those early years as a traveller helped to prepare me for the rigours and surprises of working in new environments overseas.

I have always been good at solving problems and thinking on my feet, and learning the language of cross-cultural business relations was a new and exciting challenge.

To allow me to focus more on these challenges, however, we first needed to make some big changes at Boost and Retail Zoo.

Pausing to reflect

The birth of Tahlia gave Jeff and me time to reflect on what was important in our lives. After riding this incredible 50-foot wave of business, we asked ourselves, ‘What do we really want out of life and what does the future look like?' We were over 14 years into starting Boost and, even after creating Retail Zoo, we still really had all of our eggs in one basket. We were also aware that we needed more expertise in the international markets — although we were having some success overseas, we knew we could do it better.

Since the beginning of Boost, we have owned various percentages of the business during different times. I had never been overly concerned about the percentage we held — I focused more on the value of that percentage, and having enough percentage to ensure that we maintained control of the direction of Boost (which is an important lesson — know your shareholders agreement). Other than that, having the right partners was always the more important aspect of this balance, and making certain that all partners could contribute within their field of expertise.

Throughout the whole journey of Boost Juice, we had talked about the many ways of growth, and going public was discussed a number of times. We spoke to a friend of mine who was an expert in the field and who described the various options. One was private equity (PE). We had never considered PE before, because we had heard some horror stories from people who had gone down that path. If you have an open mind, however, you never know where this can lead, and that is what we adopted. We began to research all of our options and realised the right PE partner would provide us with capital out of the business for personal use and put capital into the business for growth, and we could also find someone with strong experience in the international marketplace.

We retained the services of my friend's company Wingate and once again embarked on a new learning curve — selling part of our business. The important thing for us was that we maintained real control of the business — that is, we would still control the day-to-day operations. Where our chosen PE partner came in would be to assist us in our international expansion, use their expertise at a board level and be a good supportive partner as we continued to grow Retail Zoo.

During the initial interview process we met PE companies that were ‘shockers' — some of which we wouldn't ever consider doing business with. (We felt like we would be playing with the devil.) We were then introduced to Riverside, an American company, and, after meeting all the partners in Riverside, we were quite comfortable they could meet our objectives and would be a good fit both personally and for Retail Zoo.

We started discussing a possible deal with the partners at Riverside. Selling part of my fifth child was an excruciating experience for me. However, I knew it was the right move to make on a very personal level, enabling us to take hold of opportunities that we have always dreamed of.

We still maintained a major share in the business and, more importantly, we still controlled the day-to-day running of the business. The reality of any decision is that you never know for sure how it will play out. There is always a ‘honeymoon period', when everyone is on their best behaviour. Fortunately, it turned out that our new investors are good to work with. The honeymoon period is over and Riverside are focusing on what they do best — finding new acquisitions for Retail Zoo — and leaving us to do what we do best.

Boost Juice is a vastly different company from when we started — as it should be. All of our executives now have shares in the business, allowing them to participate fully in the success going forward. The future is truly exciting for Retail Zoo.

Often I think how lucky we are that both Jeff and I have the business in common, as it keeps us on a similar path. Although we have different approaches and it hasn't always been easy working this closely, we have an enormous respect for each other's talents. In any and every battle, I want Jeff beside me.

A new age of Boost

In the early days of Boost, we spent our time developing the systems that created a foundation on which the business could grow. At the same time, we were hiring people and training them into the ‘Boost way'. All this takes time. If your business is only a year or two old, often people have not been with you long enough to truly add value. Mostly, I find it takes three months for people to immerse themselves into their role and a further seven months to be the best they can be. So now, looking around the office and seeing people who have been with Boost for one to fourteen years tells me the business has a great balance of experience and new up-and-comers.

The Boost team is passionate and committed to continuing to create an Australian iconic business that people want to be a part of. From our ‘rough around the edges' Boost general manager Adam, to the knowledgeable and experienced Olivia (who runs Boost's international division), all team members have the care factor and passion needed to make Boost what it is today. I love the debates that we have — all based around making Boost great. Another great example is Lealie, who runs our company stores. I love hearing how excited she gets when talking about a new team member showing signs of being a rock star or about her new venture, the Super Team, which is focused on showcasing our superstars. I love how excited and passionate she is about creating a great team that is world class.

I am very proud of the people we have within our business, and every day I am in awe of some of the innovations that are coming through to continue to keep us at the top. As I have mentioned in this book before, businesses are like a football team — you need the experienced people with the steady hand who have lived through many of the lessons of the past, such as Adam and Liv, and you need the new up-and-coming superstars such as Christian (our digital manager) and Nikki (our marketing director) to continue to push the boundaries of what we can achieve.

When you start a business, there is a start and a middle — and then you wonder, What is the end? Is there an end? Do I pass this onto my children? Do I do something else? I have started this business, risked everything and put everything into the business; how do I balance my business and my life? What do I want to do? Do I list on the share market? Get partners? How do I maximise the return? But then how can I hand over this business that I have created? You will ask yourself these questions (and millions more) during the journey, and I continue to ask them.

As I mention earlier, I have never been caught up in the percentage that I have owned of the business, rightly or wrongly. I started the business owning 25 per cent with lots of shareholders to share the risk. This ownership increased and decreased over time, with Jeff and me owning over 65 per cent at one stage. For me, the most important thing was control and I learned very early on that you can control your business when you own less than 50 per cent — it's all about the wording in your shareholders agreement.

I've come to realise through Shark Tank how many people think that the magic number is 51 per cent, but this is not the case. Many people are too concerned about parting with equity — and, in some respects, you should protect your equity — but if you get a partner who can add value, the smaller percentage you have can end up being ten times more valuable than owning the whole business.

Partnerships in business are sometimes even more valuable than cash or equity, and I learned early that having great partners on your business journey can make the journey a lot easier. (For the record, the reverse is also true. Get the wrong partners and it is a nightmare.) Our use of private equity a number of years ago has been good for us. They certainly did not assist in the operational side of the business, but I did learn huge amounts about buying and selling businesses. Every few years we will assess our approach and control of the business to ensure our arrangements are still the best for us and the business.

A rainbow of culture

As I mentioned, focusing on international markets and travelling for Boost meant I experienced all kinds of amazing cultural practices, from the boardroom to national festivals. I have honoured the practice of Ramadan during a visit to Malaysia and sat opposite a full Arab board, in traditional white flowing dishdasha, in Kuwait. On the king's birthday in Thailand I have worn traditional yellow in celebration, and acknowledged the hierarchy order when entering a room. I've even learned the simple but important ways to present your business card in different cultures.

My most memorable day-to-day experiences come from sampling local fruits as we localise the menu in each region. Each location has its own unique local fruits — some of which I'd never tasted before — and this made for some very interesting faces and amazing surprise discoveries!

A major challenge of working internationally is the language barrier and this sometimes requires interpreters, extending even to the interpretation of body language. It was interesting to discover that some gestures are not universal — and some gestures you really need to keep to yourself in particular countries if you don't want to offend people in the street! Sometimes simply being a woman in business is novel in itself. In some countries we visit, women have the same rights as men in the workplace. But this isn't the case everywhere and we have experienced countries where the notion of gender equality does not sit easily. Through personal experience, foreign businesswomen will be treated with great respect and courtesy but, regardless of the actual seniority of our party, there is still an assumption that the male present will naturally be the decision-maker. But I have never found this to be an obstacle for me in business — again, there is a lot to be said for the power of being underestimated!

Olivia Elsley has been with Boost since the very early days of our overseas expansion and has spent nine years translating the Boost Love Life ethos into countries all around the globe.

Rise of a global empire

Back in the early days of Boost, when we were running the business out of our own home and testing recipes in the kitchen, I never thought I'd be writing about how our little operation had grown into a global empire. But having grown Boost into Australia's favourite juice bar, focusing on taking the concept offshore seemed a logical next step. We now have over 370 stores operating throughout Australia and around the world, and we're operating in more countries than any other juice bar in the world. This far exceeds my wildest dreams at the start of the journey. We've seen absolutely amazing growth, with an average of two countries and 30 stores opening somewhere in the world each year for the past four years. And the journey isn't over back home either, with new stores opening in Australia every week.

You have to grow your business; it's your job as a business owner. Each year you need to grow the business and find ways to improve and be the best you can be, and growing internationally was one of the strategies that we implemented to achieve this. Our international strategy was not to look at a region and focus on it, which is what many advisors would tell you to do. Ours was a ‘master franchise' strategy, where you grant the right to a partner to grow your brand in another country. For this strategy to be successful, rather than focusing on finding the right region, you need to focus on getting the right international partner — a partner who understands the brand and what it takes to be successful. They need the right capital and the right attitude and then maybe they will succeed. Unless you have done it, no-one truly understands how hard it is to create a brand from scratch. It takes time, money and sometimes everything you have to create a brand. It has taken over ten years to get to a point where we have finally got some critical mass in some territories, but the vision to be the world's most loved and known brand will become a reality — I'm just not sure exactly when!