WELLNESS WEDNESDAY WITH JULIANNE PONAN FROM CREATIVE NATURE
This week I’m chatting to Julianne Ponan who is the owner and CEO of Superfoods brand, Creative Nature. I find Juilanne such a huge inspiration because in 2012 she saw a sinking ship but took the company over at aged just 22 and within 18 months the company was back in profit. Not only did she raise the brand’s profile but they also launched new product lines – and all of this with only two members of staff!!
In the last year, Julianne has taken Creative Nature from strength to strength, launching the brand into high end retailers Ocado and Supermarket Giant Tesco. She is also the youngest winner of the National Natwest Everywoman Artemis Award 2014 for Women Entrepreneurs. This coveted award is judged by some of Britain’s best known business owners including Cath Kidston MBE, Chrissie Rucke MBE (The White Company) and many more. Julianne also won 3 awards in FSB Surrey Business awards for Young Person in Business, Real Life Entrepreneur and Overall Winner 2014.
In her spare time, Julianne has recently become a mentor for Virgin Startup and enjoys helping young entrepreneurs achieve their goals. She uses her own experiences in business and hopes to inspire women to have the drive and the determination to develop their businesses to the next level. But I wanted to know how she finds balance in her own life?
How would you describe your lifestyle?
My lifestyle is time managed haha! Maybe being a bit top heavy on the work side at times. However I think balance is very important and that is with nutrition and life!
What’s your favorite food? Naughty or nice.
I have to say I love scotch bonnets or cayenne pepper! Any Chilli that has a bit of heat! Also I do love a Spaghetti Bolognese!
Do you exercise and if so what do you do to keep fit?
Zumba is my exercise! I absolutely love it in the morning and in the evening for half an hour. I always find a Zumba class in the morning and a shot of Creative Nature Hawaiian Spirulina in the morning gets my body and brain going for the day ahead!
How do you find balance in your day-to-day life?
Learning to time manage is key in my day to day life! Setting myself a to do list and taking regular intervals
How do you manage stress in your life? Do you meditate? Have you ever tried it?
I have never tried to meditate, however I have done a course where I’ve got into state and walked on 80 bottles of broken glass, walked across a fire pit over 15 times all with the mind.
The way I manage stress is organizing the tasks I need to do and setting myself smaller goals within those tasks. When things are getting too much though it is better to take an hour or so out than burn out!
A personal stress reliever for me is dancing as I have always loved it or watching Disney films! You’re never too old for Disney!
People often set goals or intentions as they go through life. Is this something you do?
I do set goals and objective and what I find works really well is having a realistic to do list every day!
Setting myself things that need to be priorities is important. You could spend all day answering emails as my inbox does get very full but this is not always the thing that is best use of your time. Making sure you are doing the things to get you to the next level should be made a priority.
How do you unwind after a busy day?
Zumba, Tea, and I’m a bit of a series buff!
It’s the weekend, what do you do for fun?
The weekends that I actually have free, sometimes I just want to sit on the sofa and crash out to a good film. On the other hand I can be a bit of an adrenaline junkie, so I do love a bit of Go Ape high ropes climbing, dancing the night away!
What’s your top health tip for our readers?
Make sure you are eating and staying hydrated regularly and if you do find you are working for a long period of time, then go in an extra hour early, just so that you can take those extra 4 15 minute breaks. It can help your brain function at a higher capacity.
Have a superfood smoothie in the morning to boost your energy levels and get you ready for the day ahead! Creative Nature Hawaiian Spirulina, Goji Berries and Chia are great in the morning keeping you fuller for longer too! Remember it’s important to know where the products are sourced from to ensure you are buying the highest quality and not the cheapest from China.
Finish the sentence – Being complete for me means…
Having a balanced lifestyle, work, fun, love, good health, good food and exercise!
CHECK OUT
OR FOLLOW THEM ON: