By Sue White
If there's a downside that comes with being one a leader in your field, Kate Morris found it early. At age 21, she decided to start an online business selling beauty products. There was just one problem — back in 1999, she couldn't find a cosmetic brand who wanted to take her money.
"None of them wanted to be on the internet," says the founder of Adore Beauty.
Adore Beauty's Kate Morris discovered the power of the internet early.
[They said] it was dodgy, and a fad that would go away."
Determined, Morris found two small takers and used that money to build the site. Seeing it 'live' convinced five other brands to come onboard. Fifteen years later, Adore Beauty sells over 5000 products across 126 brands, and ships 500-1000 orders a day.
"People actually said to me no-one will buy beauty products online. Now I don't have to explain to people why it's good," she says.
While most entrepreneurs are keen to talk about success, Morris is equally comfortable discussing its flipside: "We approach failure in the wrong way; it's a really good way to learn. [Plus] technology changes so quickly I don't think anyone has all the answers. You have to admit that to yourself and say, 'everything you do will be an experiment'," she says.
Morris uses experimentation to 'fail fast and fail cheaply' and has learned that when bringing a team of 27 along for the ride, getting the culture comfortable with failure is vital.
"Our business is growing rapidly and the team is expanding. We came across some staff issues so I needed to do something to make sure we're all on the same track as we expand. We came up with some core values: one is 'courage to fail'," she says.
Easy to do privately perhaps, but Morris makes a point of getting staff to live and breathe it by asking for specifics in performance reviews.
"I like people to give me a list of things they've failed at — that shows me they've been trying. We talk about it very positively," she says.
Of course, not all staff members are comfortable with the idea, but for Morris, it just reiterates the need to recruit the right people for the business.
"There are certain people who aren't built that way and would find that too challenging. I like people willing to take a punt."
CURRICULUM VITAE
Name: Kate Morris
Current position: Founder and CEO, Adore Beauty
Responsibilities: Developing and executing business growth strategies, establishing strategic business relationships and overseeing marketing projects.
Education: Bachelor of business (management), Monash University
Additional training/courses: John Bertrand Leadership Series, Monash University, 2014
Professional associations: Member, NORA (National Online Retailers Association); Professional eBay & ecommerce Sellers Alliance (PeSA) Internet Conference Advisory Board
Honourable mentions: Australian Business Women's Hall of Fame 2015 Inductee; Telstra Business Women's Awards, Business Innovation Award (Victoria), 2014; Deloitte Tech Fast 50, 2014; Deloitte Asia Pacific Tech Fast 500, 2014; SmartCompany Smart 50, 2014; Telstra Young Businesswoman of the Year (Victoria), 2010
Strength: I'm very passionate about what I do, and I'm able to impart that to the team in a way that makes them less frightened to come on this adventure.
Weakness: I started 15 years ago doing everything myself, so the challenge is to be less hands on and trust people to go for it.
That's my biggest learning curve; I'm working on it.
Management style and tips: I think you do have to trust people, and you have to give them a clear and reliable framework to make decisions. Consistency is really important.
Work motto: Feel the fear and do it anyway.