The job began in September 2013, just before the team at Eyebright opened Nelson’s famous Christmas Store for the season. On a shopping trip with my mother-in-law, I saw a notice in the window advertising a retail assistant role. Despite having no CV, and probably looking a bit like I had been run over, I enquired about the role anyway. Luckily, Peter was behind the counter and decided on the spot that he would give me a shot, without needing a reference.
Being an incredibly kind man, I like to think he saw I was due my lucky break.
2013 was an absolute shit of a year. When I walked into Eyebright Country Store that day, I was still having chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Hiring me could’ve come with many inconveniences, but he did it without hesitation.
While at Eyebright Country Store, I learned the SME and retail ropes. I realised the respect that comes from working with a local, iconic, heritage brand. As Peter is a fantastic storyteller, it was here I began to understand the power of a compelling narrative. Not only that but the power of retaining customers through providing an amazing customer experience.
Helping Peter develop a design and template for his Mailchimp EDM newsletter, was the real beginning of my relationship with digital marketing. Realising I have a natural intuition for digital programs, Peter then asked me to help build an e-commerce site for Eyebright Country Store.
Using Shopify, we set up a beautiful site. Unfortunately, it wasn’t sustainable, as we learnt yet another lesson; online sales don’t generate themselves. The site was closed after I resigned as it wasn’t a viable option and Peter built a new site using Wix.
I had the pleasure of helping with the first few ‘Garden Art Expo’ events, as well. These were a great success, with various activities during the exhibition. The main feature was garden art displays from local artists, which were then auctioned off at the end of the exhibition. I helped with the auction process and digital marketing.
Of course, at the time I hadn’t realised I was learning all of this. The seed wasn’t even sown at this stage.
