Business in Profile
Penny Attiwill, Editor of Australian Baby Guide
Briefly describe your book ‘The Australian Baby Guide’
The Australian Baby Guide (ABG) is a printed and online resource for parents with children aged 0 to 3 years. Previously known as The Nappy Bag Book, ABG includes articles supplied by professionals across the parenting industry, Vox Pop contributions by new parents and an extremely comprehensive resources section detailing relevant products and services.
I think Kaz Cooke summed it up brilliantly when she called it “a mumburger with the lot”.
Why did you decide to write 'The Australian Baby Guide'?
I started pulling together the idea for a resource guide when I was pregnant with my first child in 1997. I had worked in publishing for many years and thought that there should be a resource for new parents but couldn’t find one in the market. In those early days I would have loved a guide that had all the information in the one spot rather than having to dig through brochures, samples and ask girlfriends for information.
The first Melbourne edition of The Nappy Bag Book was published in 1999 with other states following soon after. In 2005 we made it a national book and it became very successful with strong endorsement through maternity hospitals and via industry professionals.
In 2008 I decided it was time for change. I wanted a new title that truly reflected the book’s content and an overhaul of the design and format and the Australian Baby Guide is the result. The new book went on sale in April 2009 and we have since launched online.
Our primary aim is to make the lives of parents with young children easier.
How long did it take you?
The book is updated annually and has been released each year since 1999. Back in those days it was a mammoth task to compile each edition and took approximately 4 months from the start to sending it off to print. Over the years we have spent a great deal of money creating a sophisticated database which has made compiling content so much easier. I now really enjoy the production stage and can pull it together in approximately six weeks.
Has writing this book lived up to your expectations?
I look back now and can’t believe how naïve I was when I started my business. My gut instinct told me the book was a great idea and I just went for it! But the learning curve was steep to say the least and there were times when I just thought the whole thing was too hard and too much of a risk .
In 2000 I got a bit excited and printed 10,000 copies (quite a large print run for a new book – an average print run in Australia for a book is approximately 3,000 copies) and hired the services of a massive distributor to put the majority of the books through newsagents. About three months later I received back thousands of copies that were in second-rate condition because of damage incurred during the distribution process. I just had to pulp them and in the process lost thousands of dollars.
It would have been so much easier to have taken my idea to a large publisher and have them publish the book, but I’m a bit of a control freak and didn’t want someone else telling me how to do it. Ten years down the track I am amazed at the success of the book and every so often I allow myself to indulge in the satisfaction of knowing that I created this thing from scratch.
What have you enjoyed the most about researching and creating this book?
It’s the feedback we get from new parents that’s always the most rewarding aspect. To know that we have helped make a new mum or a new dad’s life easier through the book is a great feeling. It means that their life with their child is then more enjoyable and relaxed.
The other terrific aspect is dealing with the many, many parents that have also created and run their own businesses. We must deal with approximately 1000 small businesses when we produce each edition of the book and over the years I have come to know many of the directors very well. There are some very clever people out there with brilliant ideas and it’s great to watch their small businesses grow.
What has been the biggest challenge in delivering the book?
In the early days the biggest challenge was definitely managing cash flow. Because we were a fairly small company we had huge problems with major advertising agencies that would insist on paying us on 120-day terms. We had printers breathing down our necks for 30-day payments and there were many, many times when I just felt sick about finances and couldn’t see the way forward. Luckily as we have grown and become a little more savvy our cash seems to flow more consistently.
What did you do before becoming an writer?
I have a Bachelor of Arts and after a few years working in public relations I went back to university part-time and completed a Graduate Diploma in Editing and Publishing. I worked on several magazines in editorial positions and then in 1993 my partner and I decided to form our own graphic design company specialising in editorial design. In 1997 I was pregnant with my first child and the idea for the Australian Baby Guide started to evolve.
Have there been times when you've thought ‘this is just too hard!’ Tell us how you got over that.
There have been many, many times when I have been tempted to throw it all in and go and work for someone else again.
Tax time always gets me down – GST, PAYG, provisional tax. It seems just when you start to get your head above water the tax man dunks you under!
What I would love to see is some sort of recognition by the government of the work of small business owners. We contribute enormously to the economy and have all taken risks, borrowed against mortgages, given up personal time and there’s absolutely no reward, nothing that encourages a great idea, nothing that encourages people to take a risk and build a successful company.
Okay, now that I’ve got that off my chest … It really is the feedback from new parents that keeps me going and also the flexibility of my work – if one of the kids is sick I can just drop everything and stay home with them. I love being able to work my own hours, make my own decisions, work with a great team of loyal staff and know that I’ve created something successful.
Has this book dominated your life? Can you effectively break away?
I published the first edition of the guide when my eldest child was two years old. I had another child two years after the first edition and so in many ways the book and my business are almost like my middle child.
I worked extremely hard in the first few years (while looking after very young kids) and I felt like it did dominate. I worked after the kids were in bed, in between breastfeeding or I’d write notes in a park while the youngest slept in a pram. It was exciting though and I knew I was creating something that would allow me to be very flexible in my work while they grew up.
Over the years it has become so much easier and I’m very good at switching off when I need to – two days into a holiday and I’m totally in holiday mode. I went through a stage of carrying a Blackberry with me but couldn’t stand being on call all the time. So now I deal with emails and phone calls when I’m in work mode and not when I’m enjoying life with my kids.
Who are the key people or resources that have helped or influenced you on the way?
It’s other small business owners that have had the biggest influence. I have learned a great deal from people that I respect and I have also learned from others how not to behave. Each year we invite over 1,500 businesses to contribute a free editorial listing for the Resources section in the book.
I also tend to jump in the deep end just to see what might happen. In 2007 I booked a stand at the London Book Fair which in hindsight was quite a gutsy thing to do. I was by far the smallest publisher there and received a few patronising comments from other exhibitors. But I walked away with an agent to sell rights internationally for my small humour books and a strong belief that anything is possible if you have the confidence and determination to make it work.
Penny, how many children do you have and what are their ages?
I have two children: Matilda, 12 years, and Grace, 8 years.
How do you manage the juggle of writing with family life? Do you have help?
In the early days I used to think that I was doing everything half baked. I remember telling my eldest daughter that the local pool was in fact closed for renovations (it wasn’t) because I had a deadline to work to. I said that the zoo was closed on Wednesdays. Yes, I lied to my kids so that I could get some work done during the day occasionally! Other days I would forget about work and I would pull them out of child care just to spend a day in a park with a picnic.
I have now found the right balance and it works for us as a family. I work in the office during school hours and sometimes after they’ve gone to bed at night. I’m convinced the satisfaction I get from my work makes me a better more contented mother and hopefully a great role model for my two daughters.
We don’t have any home help although I always make a point not to be in my house when the sun is streaming through the front door as the dust is quite extraordinary. I’m currently trying to convince my 8 year old that vacuuming is fun. My partner is terrific and does the majority of the cooking as I burned out on that front in 2007.
What are your next steps? Any plans for a toddler guide?
To tell you the truth I’m not sure what my next step will be. We have just launched our new website www.australianbabyguide.com.au and so I will commit quite a bit of time to make that succeed and after that who knows? Perhaps a year living in France? Perhaps a complete career change. I always tend to go with flow and see where things take me rather than having rigid plans – it’s more fun and unpredictable and leaves the door open to endless opportunity.
