Latest news with #MarvellousMedicine
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Dog owner's $2 million business idea after being forced to ditch successful career
Brooke Jones thought her career was all mapped out. She was a successful lawyer living in Thailand, so the idea of moving in with her parents in Wollongong and starting her own business was unthinkable. Then COVID hit, and Jones's international life of travel evaporated. Stuck at her parents' home with nothing much to do, she regularly found herself boiling bones for a bone broth for her 13-year-old schnauzer, Ava, who couldn't chew. It was a reality check, but also the start of some real magic. 'One time when the bone marrow dried, some of it solidified into a small chew-like sliver,' Jones told Yahoo Finance. 'I thought I'd made something special, and I started trying to replicate it.' Aussie's accidental invention turns $250,000 profit and becomes caravan cult buy Coles shopper 'stunned' after getting $50 item free due to little-known rule: 'Insane' Centrelink issues urgent Age Pension eligibility change warning: 'Double check' It was easier said than done, and, in something akin to Charlie's efforts to remake his Marvellous Medicine in the Roald Dahl classic, Jones tried everything. 'I had pots and pots of boiling bones on the go. It takes hours to get the bone marrow out, and there's quite a small amount, and it rots really quickly,' she said. 'I'd have all these racks of bone marrow to dry, and I'd wake up in the morning, and it would all be rotting on the floor. "We had quite a few fights about how I was messing up the house.' But eventually she worked out the secret recipe and, given how popular the chews were with her dog, she started selling them at local markets. It was very much a hobby but when someone opening a pet store asked if he could stock them Jones saw the opportunity for wholesale. By October 2022, Jones was ready to go back into her legal career, but she was starting to wonder if her new venture could be more lucrative. She'd made $305,000 in sales in her first year, and then something happened that made her decision for her. 'I felt sick, like I was dying one night,' she said. It turned out to be very nearly the case. Rushed to hospital a 12 centimetre ovarian tumour was found which had twisted and cut off circulation to her bowel. She needed an emergency hysterectomy and bowel removal and, when it was discovered it was cancerous, a year of chemotherapy. 'I obviously couldn't go back to Thailand,' Jones said. 'I threw myself into running the business with my mum, Julie. It grew so much that we needed bigger and bigger factory space. "That year was all about chemo, then rushing back to work and throwing up and then working.' But in a case of right place, right time, Jones's chews, which she branded Marrowz, became super sought after. 'There was a boom in the pet food industry after COVID. We never had to advertise. People were hunting us down, and wholesale became 95 per cent of the business,' Jones said. She even had to shut down her social media sites as she couldn't meet demand. People (and their furry friends) liked the fact that they were pure meat (96 per cent protein) with no fillers or preservatives. 'They are 0.5 per cent fat, so they are good for any dietary requirement, and the fact they're dried liquid means there's no choking risk, making them popular for puppies and older dogs,' Jones said. The business was growing fast and on track to make $1 million in sales by the end of 2024, but Jones had a problem. 'I'm not a front-of-house girl,' she said. 'I wanted a partner for that.' It was this need for a retail guru that took her to Shark Tank in October 2024. Davie Fogarty agreed to invest and the pair haven't looked back. 'He's been great and helped build my website and retail has already picked up,' she said. 'We made $300,000 in revenue in retail between November and January.' And this is on top of the $2 million plus in revenue expected this year in wholesale. Even better, Jones is now cancer-free and able to fully focus on the business. 'We're building stock to sell internationally. The orders don't stop,' she said. 'It's still hard. Mental toughness is important in business. There's too much glamorisation of people becoming overnight millionaires but that's not the reality for most people.'Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data
BBC News
28-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
World Book Day: How to make a last-minute costume
This year World Book Day takes place on 6 March 2025. It is a celebration of authors, illustrators, books and the joy of reading and takes place every year. In the UK, World Book Day is celebrated on the first Thursday in is celebrated by 100 countries all over the world. Unesco - a worldwide organisation that encourages people to enjoy art and culture - choose it as a special day to celebrate well as talking about books and finding new books to read, many children celebrate the day by dressing up as their favourite characters. If you want to dress up, but don't have a costume sorted here are some tips. 1. Use your school uniform or PE kit Lots of characters wear school uniform so why not adapt yours for World Book Day. Matilda, The Worst Witch and Harry Potter are just three examples. Or you could use your PE kit for Football Academy or Girl FC. 2. Get crafty If you've got cardboard and paint you can get creative with all sorts of things. Fancy being the BFG, get a couple of cardboard plates, paint them your skin colour and attach them to the side of your face (with the help of an adult) to become giant ears. Or how about becoming Stickman with some cardboard and brown paint? 3. Upcycle There are lots of things that you might usually throw away which could be useful. Plastic bottles can be turned into rockets or jet packs for a space-themed book like Goodnight you can use one to make the medicine from George's Marvellous Medicine. 4. Go through your wardrobe There's probably lots of clothes you already own that would work well as an outfit. Stripy red and white t-shirt T-shirt Where's Wally or Tracy Beaker. A ballerina outfit and you can easily become Angelina Ballerina or Rosa the ballerina. 5. Put on your pyjamas Or just don't bother changing out of them!Sophie from the BFG, The Midnight gang by David Walliams - there lots of books where the main characters wear pyjamas so get your best pair out. Last year many schools let children wear pyjamas to represent bedtime stories as well so if you can't think of a particular book maybe that's an option.
