And what a journey it has been!
Can you believe that The Renew Room is 2 years old? What a rollercoaster the last 2 years have been. From navigating a pandemic, opening a successful business, hiring staff & having a baby – The Renew Room has done it ALL!
If you’ve been hiding under a rock, you might not know the backstory of how The Renew Room started. But in short Claire came from a corporate marketing background & Bek was a freelance graphic designer with a huge passion for art and design. Both wāhine wanted to use their skills, but put them together to create their own business, choose their own clients and be flexible with their own time. They wanted to help other businesses out there to reach their goals & help with anything branding and marketing. Therefore, in the craziness that was 2020 – The Renew Room was born.
2 years of locations!
From working at home, to working from a café for a few months, to multiple co-working spaces, – not to mention different cities and remote working overseas, The Renew Room has ticked every box when it comes to offices and locations!
Being out in the community, whether it be in a café or a co-working space, has meant that The Renew Room have made some really great connections. While they were grateful that they could work from home (either by choice, or forced lockdown) it can be hard to stay motivated and they felt that the whole team started to lack that connection with people.
Having an interactive space is important and if you keep your eyes peeled, The Renew Room are about to embark on a new journey at their old stomping ground (The Alexander Café) where they will rent a space and turn it into office space that will not only help with productivity but also community connections.
They’ve pivoted the business in the direction that their clients needed.
Originally, when The Renew Room doors opened they were doing more social media management and thought the business was going to grow that way. After a few months, they realised that social media management isn’t the most effective for them as a business or their clients and so they pivoted their marketing services to focus more on overarching strategy and workshops and offered training so clients could implement social media strategies themselves.
Beka & Claire have also been pleasantly surprised with the amount of branding and website design projects The Renew Room has received. With a graphic designer like Beka, it’s not a shock that her design skills are sought after, but they never imagined the amount of work that they have achieved. After 2 years of work – The Renew Room has worked with over 100 clients and they couldn’t be more grateful.
Mental wellbeing & family life
Being business owners comes with its challenges. But for Claire and Beka, it has had an overall positive impact on their mental well being. It has brought their purpose to the forefront of their mind and they feel as though they are in control of their own future and the people they meet.
Though they both work random hours and nights because of the added pressure of being business owners, they both agree they love being able to spend more time with their tamariki, and their Tāne. But the support at home has been nothing short of phenomenal.
2 Years of Renew | Beka's POV
What was your favourite project? (or one of them):
I loved working on the branding for MyFranki. It was a brand we were all passionate about. It is about changing the taboo around periods which we all align with. It’s a bright brand and was so much fun to design.
What is your funniest memory?
There's too many to count! I love that as a team we are always seeing the funny side of things… no matter what.
What is your biggest achievement?
I think employing someone in our first few months is pretty up there.
What has been the biggest obstacle?
I don't like having my laptop out around her girls, but as a business owner it can be hard to switch off and stop sometimes. I'm looking at the bigger picture though and know how great it will be to grow the business so I can get more support and hopefully be able to work less.
What does Beka's husband, Mike, think of The Renew Room?
“I love it. I love how Claire and Bek had a vision to use their skills in different ways then most, for their overall purpose of helping people grow their businesses. They work as a collaborative team with their clients and it’s awesome to see."
2 Years of Renew | Claire's POV
What was your favourite project? (or one of them)?
I loved working on the‘Don’t be a John’ Campaign for Indigenous Growth Limited.
It opened up our doors to work with Mike, Toria & the team at IGL and our values really align with theirs. It also was a complicated campaign to put together - a full on sales funnel - but watching it work when it's all live is so cool!
What's your funniest memory so far?
Where do I begin... we've done pilates classes to create content for a client, I was pregnant at our first ever conference and sober drove the girls. It's all been really fun but... what happens at The Renew Room – stays at The Renew Room ;)
What's your biggest achievement?
I think leaving corporate and a comfortable salary, I'm happy to now be achieving a salary at The Renew Room I would be in a full time job, but now with a better work life balance, and lifestyle in general.
What's been you biggest obstacle?
Definitely navigating maternity leave - couldn't quiet switch off. But I also have the flexibility to have my son at home 2 days a week so it's not all bad! And, delegating tasks / becoming a boss/manager has been a learning curve.
What does Claire's daughter, Arya, think of Mummy owning The Renew Room?
"I like that you like having fun at your mahi. And working a lot of times - even letting me press the buttons. And even having fun with you. That's all. That's all Mum. I love you because you are the greatest Mum ever.” (anyone got the tissues?!?)
So... where to from here?!
Both Claire & Beka love where The Renew Room is, however, they do not stop goal setting. They would love to see a bigger team – more designers, account managers and contractors. This will mean that Beka & Claire can focus on the overarching business strategy, client strategies & client relationships. Also the doors aren’t shut on The Renew Room getting new clients overseas. Australia… you might be next on the hit list.
Overall, the last 2 years have been nothing short of an incredible journey for The Renew Room.
Claire and Beka have taken risks, stayed positive, navigated hard times & overcome all of the obstacles of owning a business - so far!
The Renew Room speaks for itself and is only at the very beginning of what’s about to come!
