Friendship Reignited Over Coffee And Business Plans

Keely Skinner and Ardon England are the latest recipients of the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) Be Your Own Boss (BYOB) start up programme for their new ventures, Musings Media and Ardon England Makeup and Cosmetic Artistry. But they have so much more than business in common. We caught up with them both at the Thrive Whanganui office to chat about their unique stories and friendship. The pair were familiar faces having been students in the same year at Whanganui High School (class of 2009). Their paths after high school were different; Ardon left school early “It took leaving Whanganui to find and accept myself” he says. Ardon most recently lived in Auckland working in Dance, Boxing and the makeup industry. Keely studied Film and Television in Wellington before travelling overseas for four years.

They had both recently returned to Whanganui when they bumped into each other socially. Ardon heard that Keely had started the BYOB (Be Your Own Boss) programme with Thrive Whanganui. He joined a few months later and it was going through the journey together that really solidified their friendship. The pair would meet most mornings for a coffee, their favourite spots being Article, Mischief Cafe and The Burrow, to work on their business plans. Sometimes they would just go for a walk and share what was happening in their lives at the time.“Starting a business can be quite isolating,” says Keely, “there is so much that goes into it that you feel like you can’t really share it fully with anyone.” “It was really beneficial to go through the process together” agrees Ardon.

Starting a business as a sole-trader has been so much more than just writing a business plan, they have really had to back themselves. They talked about having to unlearn their social conditioning “It has been a huge journey of self discovery, of backing and being confident in yourself” says Keely.

Keely wants to be working in the activism space, she is especially passionate about environmental sustainability and restoration projects. She is not confined to Whanganui and is more than happy to travel around. Musings Media also does promotional and event work (such as Thrive Whanganui’s Expo 22 Ad and Intro videos) but her ideal client would be in environmental restoration.

Ardon says the support from MSD is just fantastic, he would have loved it in Auckland but there has also been benefits to returning home. Ardon’s typical clients in Auckland were editorials, television and events whereas here in Whanganui it’s mainly bridal and ball work. In Auckland it would’ve taken him a long time to build up his reputation whereas here he is already really well connected. Ardon says “There is such an interconnectedness and intimate relationship with our clients here because we are all in the same community web. The whole community is behind us ready to take on our services and support us.” Ardon has struggled finding commercial real estate with property owners based outside of Whanganui and perhaps not connected to local values but he is currently renovating a space and is positive about it opening soon. “It is quite laid back here so things can take a bit longer than I’m used to” Ardon laughs.

Ardon’s work is about improving people's confidence. He works in makeup, cosmetics and Scalp Micro Pigmentation (SMP) of which there are very few practitioners in New Zealand. SMP is a tool to improve people’s confidence and give them their sense of power back. It is used by men and women affected by hair loss and has the added bonus of being a long lasting but non-surgical cosmetic treatment. Ardon is the only one in the region at this time to offer this service “It’s quite a sensitive topic for people as it is connected to a lot of things like your self esteem, sense of power and confidence” he says. Ardon recognises that LGBTQI+ community members are not always as visible in regional towns like Whanganui. It is important to him to be the role model he didn’t have. A successful and proud rainbow entrepreneur.

Keely mentioned we are living in the burnout generation, “We don't have to constantly hustle, it doesn't have to be 9 to 5.” She says learning how to be her own boss has taken into account working around her wellbeing and energy levels, taking control of her health and looking after herself. This is a much more authentic way of working and her advice is to “Work in an area that you're really passionate about. People don't know where to start, it's such a leap from a normal ‘safe’ job to being your own boss, that's where MSD’s BYOB programme and Thrive have been great. The BYOB programme basically gives you permission to aspire to bigger things, you are allowed to enjoy your work, you are allowed to do things differently.” Keelys sees her business as its own entity and life and it excites her so much, she feels validated that she's doing the right thing.

You can follow their business journeys here

Ardon England - Ardon England Makeup and Cosmetic Artistry

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArdonEnglandIndustry

Website: www.ardonenglandartistry.co.nz

Instagram: @ardonengland_artistry

Email: ardon@ardonengland.com

Keely Skinner - Musings Media

Instagram: @musings.media

Musings Media vimeo: www.vimeo.com/musingsmedia

Email: hello@musingsmedia.org

Keely and Ardon’s Favourite Whanganui coffee spots:

Article Cafe

https://article-cafe.business.site/

Mischief Cafe

https://www.mischiefcafe.nz/

The Burrow

https://www.theburrow.co.nz/

About Thrive:

Thrive Whanganui provides kaupapa-driven enterprise capability building services to help great ideas take-off, grow and scale. The team offers wrap around services to help those who want to achieve good in the world make a real difference through business.

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