Two heads are better than one when it comes to getting organised, says Tricia Hales. Tricia and her friend, tennis doubles and business partner, Sally-Ann Dawking, have spent the past 18 months developing my.organiser, a diary come filing system designed to simplify the lives of busy families.
But the journey from idea to finished product has taken more than a decade. It began when Tricia’s son, now 15, started primary school and began playing team sports.
The mother of two found herself drowning in a sea of paper, which included permission notes, newsletters, receipts, bills and invitations. "I just had more and more paper coming home into the kitchen, and I was slotting it into a diary", Tricia recalls. "Then I would take the diary to the phone and the paper would fall out. It was hopeless. I thought there’s got to be a better way."
For a couple of years she played around with different concepts for a diary that was tailored to a family’s lifestyle. But it wasn’t until she mentioned her idea to Sally-Ann over a game of tennis three years ago, that Tricia’s dream started to take shape. Sally-Ann, also a mother of two and an interior decorator, whose job it is to organise people’s "things", immediately saw the potential in Tricia’s idea.
Casual market research involving local mums confirmed that Tricia and Sally-Ann were on the right track. They discovered that one woman kept all her paperwork in a disorderly pile in a drawer, while others used the fruit bowl, corkboard or fridge door.
The pair were further galvanised when they sought a backer and received a patronising knock-back from a company that specialised in executive diaries. "They looked down their nose at us because our product was aimed at mothers," Tricia says. "I don’t think people realise the importance of what a mother actually does. An Australian-owned family company, Zions Systems, wasn’t so dismissive. They saw the gap in the market for such a product and embraced the philosophy behind it." Tricia was more thrilled when she learned her "baby" would be printed in Australia.
Sally-Ann says one of the major advantages of my.organiser, which is presented in an Australian made Laminated A4 ring-binder folder, is its simple filing system. "It doesn’t just store the piece of paper, it helps you deal with them, and so the 'Due this week' pockets make sure the bills get paid on time".
The dynamic duo are already working on their next product for the family. "We are constantly thinking of new ideas," Tricia said. "If it wasn’t the organiser it would have been a new line of tennis wear!"