‘Wiped out’: 32yo’s multimillion-dollar comeback

A young Aussie couple have revealed the $500 investment they made that has changed their lives forever.

Jess Munday was on maternity leave from her job, earning $67,000 per year when she came up with a multimillion-dollar business idea.

It was 2018, and when Ms Munday started looking for custom LED neon lights for her son’s nursery, she realised it was almost impossible to find any.

It prompted Ms Munday to start Custom Neon. She created a business based on what she wanted to find, and it was low-risk.

“Our start-up costs were relatively low. We paid $500 for the initial signs, and the initial investment was modest, so if it didn’t work, it wouldn’t break the bank and wouldn’t impact our ability to pay bills,” she told news.com.au.

Ms Munday said that at the time, her partner Jake was running an e-commerce and car wash business, and she was relying on her maternity leave.

“While we weren’t scrimping, we were always fairly cautious with our finances, and we wanted to ensure we’d get a return on our investment,” she explained.

Ms Munday’s move to start a business is part of a wider trend. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), women make up 34.8 per cent of business owner-managers, a 46 per cent increase over the past two decades.

Jess came up with the idea while on mat leave. Picture: Supplied

The team has since grown from just her and her partner Jake. Picture: Supplied

The 32-year-old explained that the business wasn’t born from “financial necessity” but rather the fact she saw a lucrative business opportunity.

Ms Munday sourced a manufacturer and purchased generic signs for her own upcoming wedding to gauge interest.

“If there wasn’t much, we’d simply sell them on for what we purchased. Nothing lost. If there was interest, I’d set up a small signage rental business as a maternity leave side hustle,” she told International Cargo Express.

“On a whim, I set up an Instagram page with images of the signs at our wedding, and then couples that hired the signs tagged us with their images, and it was amazing how quickly it gained traction! The demand grew rapidly, transforming our project into a viable business.”

When the business launched, it relied heavily on social media for marketing, and people could pick up its neon signs from her home.

She also didn’t take a salary, which meant they could keep investing everything the business made back into it.

It didn’t all just work, though. Ms Munday said one of their “biggest money mistakes” was made early on.

She said they opted to work with an SEO agency that promised number one rankings and other promises, which basically just means it’d give the business a ton of visibility on Google, but none of it came to fruition.

“We spent thousands and got nowhere,” she admitted.

“We realised we didn’t have enough expertise in that area to be asking the right questions, so we decided to bring on SEO partners who provided a huge catalyst for growth.”

Her partner Jake is the CEO of custom neon. Picture: TikTok/CustomNeon

She turned her idea into a multimillion-dollar business. Picture: Supplied

The pandemic also hit the business hard because the lion’s share of the business was weddings and events, and when the pandemic hit in 2020, the business took a dive.

“30 per cent of our business was wiped out overnight. We were forced to close the hire arm of the business and swiftly pivot our marketing and outreach strategies towards a B2B market,” she said.

“We quickly got to work in our local community, offering discounted and even free signage, which was beneficial to local businesses desperate to entice customers, and beneficial to us, as they provided us with videos and images, which allowed us to overhaul our site content and keywords to target businesses.”

Ms Munday said increasing marketing spending was a “risk”, but opening the company’s target demographic paid off.

“We saw a revenue increase of 163 per cent from April 2020 to May 2021. This propelled Custom Neon from a seven-figure business to an eight-figure business,” she said.

She loves that it gives her flexibility with her family. Picture: Supplied

Even though there were hiccups along the way, Ms Munday watched as her business idea grew through hard work.

“The business has grown exponentially, turning over around $15 million per year! We’ve seen a substantial increase in revenue year over year,” she said.

“We process thousands of orders annually and have collaborated with notable brands, celebs and television shows, including Love Island Australia. Paris Hilton. Snoop Dogg, The Grammys to name a few.”

Ms Munday has found running the business “incredibly fulfilling” but it has also allowed her to be flexible with her family.

“I can attend school events and be present for my children if they are sick, have appointments etc, which might have been more challenging in a traditional 9-to-5 job,” she said.

“It’s also empowering to show my children the value of hard work, dedication, pursuing your passions, giving back to the community and women in leadership.”

Originally published as ‘Wiped out’: 32yo’s multimillion-dollar comeback