From fast horses to fashion labels - Annmarie Hughes on building two businesses in one world
Growing Kiwis with Claire WilliamsonShow Notes
Annmarie Hughes is an equine dentist and the founder of Aspin and Co, a New Zealand owned luxury equestrian apparel brand she launched while on maternity leave. Originally from North Wales, Annmarie built a career in equine dentistry in the Waikato before spotting a gap in the market between cheap throwaway riding gear and expensive European imports. This episode covers the courage to launch a business with a newborn on your hip, why getting comfortable being uncomfortable is the entrepreneur's real superpower, and the surprisingly simple secret to building a loyal community around a niche brand. It is fast, funny, full of side quests, and genuinely useful for anyone juggling more than one identity at once. In this episode Why Annmarie launched a new business on maternity leave instead of resting How she spotted a gap in the equestrian apparel market that nobody else had filled The best advice she ever received about failing fast and not taking it personally Why a batch of glittery brown jodhpurs taught her to trust her customers over her own taste How sponsoring riders built an entire community around the Aspin and Co brand The juggle of running two businesses, equine dentistry and a fashion label, alongside being a mum Why she believes self awareness is the single biggest predictor of entrepreneurial success Where AI fits into her business, and the one place she will never let it take over
Chapters Timestamps are based on the raw recording, nudge them once the intro is trimmed in the edit. 01:03 Welcome and introduction 02:11 From North Wales to equine dentistry in the Waikato 04:46 Launching Aspin and Co on maternity leave 05:47 Spotting the gap in the equestrian apparel market 07:03 Growing the range from jodhpurs to head to toe apparel 08:35 Building an online community during COVID 10:51 The best advice on getting comfortable being uncomfortable 12:01 The glittery jodhpur disaster that became a bestseller 13:43 From hand drawings to CAD to manufacturing 18:08 Sponsoring riders and building brand identity through values 21:15 Late nights, newborns and the reality of building a business 23:13 What makes a good entrepreneur, self awareness and failing well 29:05 The man in the arena, celebrating failure as growth 32:19 Manifestation, hard work and believing in what you are building 34:21 Secret sauce, taking action fast and trusting yourself 43:38 Using AI for customer service while protecting the brand's human side 46:53 The customer who was too intimidated to walk into the stand 52:09 Final reflections on redefining success
About Annmarie Annmarie Hughes is an equine dentist and the founder of Aspin and Co, a New Zealand owned and operated luxury equestrian apparel brand. Originally from North Wales, she trained in equine dentistry in the UK before moving to New Zealand, eventually settling in the Waikato. She launched Aspin and Co while on maternity leave with her daughter Nina, growing the brand from a single style of jodhpurs into a full range spanning clothing, footwear and even veterinary hoof care products. Annmarie balances running two businesses with raising Nina alongside her husband. Links Aspin and Co website Aspin and Co on Instagram Enjoyed this episode If this one resonated, follow Growing Kiwis wherever you listen, and share it with someone who is building something of their own. We would love to hear your biggest takeaway, so come and say hi over on Instagram.
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