An interview with Julie Austin, author of “The Money Garden: How to Plant the Seeds for a Lifetime of Income”  

Why did you write the book?

I was selling a product I invented called swiggies, wrist water bottles and things were going great. Then the economy hit rock bottom and never came back. Even though the product only costs $12.95, people haven’t been spending money like they used to. So my sales in the US dropped a lot. I realized I never wanted that to happen again so I started figuring out how to create more businesses and more business streams of income. I had been keeping notes on what I went through to get a product to market and realized I had some very valuable information for business owners on how to sell more in a down economy. Now 90% of what I sell is international, a market I really didn’t think I could play in. I have since found other markets for my product, like the alcohol industry. The book shows you how to find these markets for your own business and how to create new ones.

 

2. What in your background qualifies you to be a business owner?

Basically, nothing. I started out as an actor and moved behind the camera to become a TV/film distributor. Then I started working in film development, which meant I analyzed scripts for production companies and wrote summaries of them. I wrote 8 of my own scripts, 3 of which either made money or won screenwriting awards. I was a reluctant entrepreneur and just wanted to license my product and retire. Well, that didn’t happen and I ended up having to manufacture the product myself. I now have over 20 distributors around the world selling for me.

 

3. Why should women business owners read this book and what will they get out of it?

The book outlines how to create new businesses and new streams of income for them. According to the SBA, multiple business owners are more likely to be classified as high income earners. If you can start one business you can start multiple businesses. It’s all about creating the blueprint for what works and duplicating it. Most of what’s in the book is about free or low cost marketing tips.

 

4. What’s next?

Having an acting background, public speaking just seemed like a logical next step. I speak on what I know, which is innovation. The manufacturing business mostly runs itself now and so do some of my other businesses. But I can’t clone myself…yet.

The Money Garden is available on Amazon and through Julie’s website: www.creativeinnovationgroup.com.