Celia Allison
From Celia’s studio overlooking Lyttelton Harbour, the artist and businesswoman masterminds the growing Cecily empire.
Carolyn Press-McKenzie
Every animal matters for this passionate animal advocate.
Freelancing: What’s Your Time Worth?
Here’s how to calculate your rate and make sure you get it.
her inspiration
Celia sells Cecily
Celia Allison
By the seashore too! From her studio overlooking Lyttelton Harbour, artist and businesswoman Celia Allison masterminds the growing Cecily empire. Perhaps empire is too expansive a term, particularly as Allison’s stated aim is to have an income from her business but not to get rich. However, Cecily is certainly the queen of women’s humour for a dedicated group of devotees and, while the homeland of Cecily is New Zealand, under Allison’s management, Cecily has extended her realm to include Australia.
In case you have not been introduced to Cecily, she is a cartoon character. Not just a thin stick figure though, she is well rounded, sometimes more well rounded than she would like. Cecily is someone that women will recognise, for Cecily’s foibles are their own, yet they are originally presented through these carefully-drawn, black and white images with their wry humour. Through Cecily, Allison scrutinises their weaknesses, exposing their humour, irony and wisdom. Cecily diets, skips gym classes, sometimes drinks too much and worries about how she looks. She has bad hair days, occasionally consults her horoscope and struggles with technology. She is a modern woman, who lives life to the full as she pursues career, friendship and love.
I first met Allison in 2002, at which point it was almost impossible to tell the two apart. The same bob hair cut, iconic glasses, single marital status and enthusiasm for life were obvious in both of them. Then there are those names, Celia and Cecily. Surely this is too much of a coincidence. I put it to Allison that Cecily is her alter ego. “She is not autobiographical,” Allison asserts, “although she started off that way.” The seed for Cecily was actually sown when a girlfriend suggested a book of cartoons illustrating life for a New Zealand woman. What emerged was a slightly nerdy, yet quaint, character that could freely laugh at herself. The name Cecily seemed to fit, although sometimes I wish that I had chosen a name very different to my own.”
Cecily’s inauguration into New Zealand society was through a book of 53 cartoons titled Cecily. There has, since, been a second, The Return of Cecily. This was marketed in a way that exploits Allison’s great networking skills. With friends and connections liberally distributed around the country, she embarked on a series of book launches. Resembling parties with much wine and wit, these proved to be a huge success. Cards and calendars soon followed the books. The Cecily range is now exhaustive and includes limited edition prints, aprons, tea towels, oven mitts, fridge magnets, mugs and jugs. All are instantly recognisable with their Cecily image and droll wit. One print shows Cecily staring at the night sky with the caption, “As Cecily contemplated the universe her bad hair cut did not seem so important.” There is a tea towel stating that, “Cecily hated the thought of drying up,” and a slightly lewd medium-sized creamer with Cecily cupping her breasts and declaring that, “Cecily thought that these jugs were just right.”
Allison was greatly advantaged in getting Cecily into retail outlets throughout New Zealand because this was not her first wholesale business venture. After returning to New Zealand from London in 1984, Allison brought back a number of commercially viable ideas that she knew an energetic young graphic artist like herself could make work in New Zealand. This ultimately evolved into ‘Moa Revival’, a range of gift cards, wrapping paper and other stationary featuring classic kiwiana icons such as buzzy bees, kiwis and other native flora and fauna. The artwork in these products has always been skilfully drawn and has resisted the trend of increasing computer design. Recently, Allison has added fabric products to the lines of stationery with a range of tea towels and aprons displaying contemporary images of ferns, Pohutukawa flowers and cabbage trees, etc. It is only recently that Cecily’s sales have beaten this kiwiana range into second place, however, only just, with ‘Moa Revival’ still accounting for 47 percent of Allison’s total business turnover.
Allison introduced Australia to Cecily four years ago, using the same marketing strategy that had been successful in New Zealand. Small art galleries and shops in areas that have the correct demographics for Cecily were identified for launches. Two key indicators for the success of Cecily, identified by Allison, include a degree of disposable income and higher education. The press were always invited and they generally viewed Cecily as a worthwhile new immigrant to Australia. Cecily became a debutante at gift fairs, with appearances in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Then, two years ago, Allison, Cecily and various girlfriends took to the road in a gruelling road trip from Brisbane to Adelaide cold calling on likely shops. Neither Allison, nor Cecily, hides their light under a bushel. This energetic and personalised approach has been successful with Cecily Australia accounting for 36 percent of the total Cecily turnover.
With Australia under her belt, Allison then set her sights on taking Cecily to the UK. Two attempts to gain entry into this big market, using a distributor and a card manufacturer making Cecily cards under licence, have proven unsuccessful. Allison has not given up, however. Once again, she is returning to the strategy that worked for her both in New Zealand and in Australia, that is, another round of parties. Cecily would approve.
The future of ‘Moa Revival’ is more certain, being confined to New Zealand and having been running for 20 years. ‘Moa’, as Allison calls it, should avoid its namesake’s legacy of a once successful, but now extinct, oddity. Not that Allison takes this part of her business for granted. She maintains strong ties with her retailers through annual visits and regular phone calls. She also satisfies the market’s constant demand for new products by designing several new lines each year. She has counted the consequent risk of increasing inventory costs by reducing the number of units produced. This has been relatively easy to do as Allison has always used local printers and suppliers. The increased demand for New Zealand made products has been beneficial and newly produced items now carry the ‘Buy New Zealand Made’ logo.
Side Bar: Alison’s Five Key Pieces of Advice
1. Follow your excitement, do what you enjoy doing, otherwise it is going to be a drag.
2. Make sure that the numbers are there. Your excitement has to be shared by your customers.
3. Be prepared to work hard but work smart. Settle on manageable goals and be tenacious.
4. Continue evolving, you have to keep the new ideas coming to survive.
5. Be prepared to take risks but not at a level of financial danger.
A sixth piece of advice may well be to judge your success by your own values. Allison knows that many people may not consider her business turnover after 20 years to be indicative of success. Yet, by her own standards, she’s enormously successful, financially secure, doing a job that she loves and working from home in a purpose-built studio with an expansive sea view. I ask her how Cecily would judge her. “Cecily might say that I was her alter ego! Although, I think that Cecily would see me as more driven and hardworking than she is.”
What would Cecily think of her own success? Allison replies, “She hasn’t had her head turned, she loathes the celebrity culture, however she does like the attention”.
What does the future hold for Cecily? Allison is at once coy and evasive, observing, “Cecily is unique amongst cartoons in that she is aging, whereas other cartoon characters do not age. Does that give you an answer?” It seems rather like the sort of answer that Cecily would give but then Allison and Cecily are never far apart. This is not surprising for, while many women of a certain demographic might recognise Cecily in the shops and in themselves, it is Allison who has given voice to their thoughts and gone public with their idiosyncrasies.
By George Moran
her insight
Every animal matters 
Carolyn Press-McKenzie
Every animal matters to Carolyn Press-McKenzie, a passionate and outspoken animal advocate. After establishing and running the Pakuratahi Animal Sanctuary for the last seven years she has created HUHA, a network of dedicated volunteers committed to fostering and re-homing unwanted pets and educating people about pet care, which she hopes to take nationwide.
Starting out as a young veterinary nurse 22 years ago, Carolyn could scarcely have imagined where she has ended up today. Back then she spent a lot of her professional time talking her boss into letting her rescue pets that nobody wanted. Despite loving vet nursing, Carolyn says she was “always flitting off doing other things”. Those other things led to a career training animals for movies, television commercials and magazine shoots. Her animals have featured in many films including Lord of the Rings and King Kong.
Ten years ago Carolyn decided to become more involved in animal rescue, purchasing five acres in the hills near Wellington, parking up a house-bus, and creating the Pakuratahi Animal Sanctuary. Many of her original ‘crew’ from her training days remain with her at Pakuratahi. With husband Jim working full time and Carolyn working part time, the sanctuary was developed during their spare hours and with the help of many volunteers, including visiting corporate groups.
Originally Pakuratahi catered for mostly farm animals, but it has grown to include cats and dogs, native birds and even three monkeys retired from a circus. The primary aim for farm and companion animals is to get them rehabilitated and back to a caring and positive environment. Carolyn often develops a very strong bond with individual animals and says: “It is hard letting go, but you have to trust people”.
One of the cornerstones of the sanctuary’s philosophy is that they stay in touch with the new owners to support them. All new owners sign a contract to give their animal back to the sanctuary if they can no longer keep it.
School, family and community groups are regular visitors to Pakuratahi, with over 25 groups visiting this summer. Carolyn is a strong believer in the value of these visits in providing an educational experience. “How can you love and protect something you don’t know or understand?” she says.
Of course feeding all these animals does not come cheap. As well as donations from visitors and community groups, the sanctuary gets ongoing help with feeding requirements from markets dropping off left over food, and the local grain and seed merchant donating bags of broken seeds. Laurie, a 16-year-old Capuchin monkey, also helps with fundraising by indulging in his passion for creating unique paintings which are then sold through the website!
Carolyn and Jim have been lucky to have had the support over the years of some very talented people who have volunteered their time in a professional capacity, saving them thousands of dollars in the process. Their website, www.huha.org.nz, has been built by Anita Jones from Altered Ego Design, and many of the photos on it have been taken by professional photographer Jo Wall.
HUHA, short for Helping You Help Animals, is Carolyn’s latest project and has resulted from her belief in the power of education. Her vision is that HUHA will be a place where people can go to seek information and help.
“One of the key differences about HUHA is the emphasis placed on prevention rather than cure,” says Carolyn. “We aim to provide people with the information they need to choose the right animal for them in the first place and care for it well.”
Volunteers help by writing resource material and visiting schools with educational resources. HUHA also trains volunteers to act as animal foster parents so that animals are not sitting around in cages waiting for new homes.
What next for this incredibly energetic animal lover? Carolyn holds a Diploma in Herbal Medicine and has used this knowledge in treating the sanctuary’s animals over the years. After treating some particularly nasty skin wounds on animals, she began to think about utilising this knowledge to produce her own skincare range. Together with friend and business partner Stephanie Fifield, the Nude skincare range was born.
The range has grown phenomenally due to support from local outlets. Due to this demand it is currently being rebranded and repackaged, with a relaunch planned for later this year. The new formulation Nude is one of the few skincare ranges in the world to be free of palm oil derivatives. This is particularly important to Carolyn as palm oil plantations destroy the valuable habitat of orangutans, animals which are close to her heart. And, of course, a percentage of every purchase is donated to the Pakuratahi sanctuary.
www.nudeskincare.co.nz
By Paula Short
Enriching your dog’s life!
1. Learn to communicate with your dog.
2. Your dog will learn best if you include it as an important member of the family.
3. Have a basket of toys and rotate them every day.
4. Go to fun obedience or agility classes.
5. Include your dog in fun family outings, paper rounds and walks.
6. Have paly dates with neighbours.
7. Enlist a reputable dog walker or doggy day care.
her inform
Freelancing: what’s your time worth?
If you’re in business for yourself, it’s often difficult to know what to charge for your services. Here’s how to calculate your rate and make sure you get it.
When it comes to money, what you do for a living doesn’t necessarily matter as much as what you charge. I know writers that make more money per hour than doctors, and freelance designers that make more than attorneys. Do the writers and designers work more? No. Do they work harder? No. They just do three things differently from the doctors and lawyers:
1. They charge the right amount per hour.
2. They keep their overhead to a minimum.
3. They outsource almost everything that pays less than their hourly income.
Just ask yourself: would you rather work 40 hours a week and make $52,000 a year or 80 hours a week and make $100,000? If you’ve got a husband, kids, friends, or a life, you probably answered 40 hours a week.
Calculating your rate
First, calculate what you want to earn in a year. Here’s an example: Target annual salary: $52,000 divided by the typical work hours per year: 1,920 (this assumes 40 hours a week x 48 weeks a year, leaving four weeks for holiday, illness, etc.) equals what you need to charge/make per hour, which is $27.
That hourly rate, of course, assumes that you are working for eight hours a day, five days a week. Realistically, you may not be doing billable work for all 40 hours. You may be spending time on miscellaneous things, like phone calls, emails, invoicing, surfing the web, paying bills, etc. So let’s assume that 25 percent of your hours are non-billable. Now we’ve just subtracted 10 hours from your billable hours. That means you now need to divide your annual salary goal ($52,000) by 1,440 (30 hours a week x 48 weeks a year). Your true hourly rate should be $36.
Outsourcing lower-paying work
Now that you know your true hourly rate, it’s important to recognise that almost any work that pays less than half your hourly rate (in this case, $18/hour) can, and probably should, be outsourced. That doesn’t mean that you have to hire someone to play with your kids, cook every meal or do your laundry. It does, however, mean that unless you enjoy something, want to learn more about it, or feel that you can do it much faster yourself, then you should seriously consider paying for help.
Some examples of things you can outsource:
• Event planning.
• Errands (returning gifts, shipping, groceries).
• Cleaning (vacuuming/dusting/watering plants in your office).
• Accounting (invoices, accounts receivable, taxes).
• Filing, setting appointments, answering phones.
• Sales.
• Web design and/or maintenance.
• Customer service/fulfilling orders.
• Marketing and PR.
Not all of these require you to hire a live, warm-bodied, on-site employee. The beauty of the Internet is that you can now hire virtual employees who work from an office halfway across the globe or a home right down the street. You can also streamline your order-taking, fulfillment and shipping so everything is done online or through a separate facility.
There are some instances where it pays to bring people to you instead of the other way around. If a trip to the gym will take up three hours of your time (commuting, parking, waiting for your turn on equipment, exercising and commuting again), it may make sense to pay a personal trainer to come to your home or office. Even $60 for a one-hour session is cheaper than driving to the gym and waiting around ($36/hour x two hours plus your gas). Likewise, paying $20 to have your groceries (or office supplies) delivered is much cheaper than spending two hours of your own time commuting and shopping.
It also makes sense to pay a teenager to run your errands or to pay a college student to update your website and anti-virus software? Have you ever tallied the number of hours you spend each week answering the phones, responding to emails, shuffling papers or trying to take care of things that aren’t making you money? Keep track of all your miscellaneous work for just one week and then do the math. If you spent 10 hours doing tasks that could have been outsourced, you spent $360 (based on the example above) that could have gone toward a part-time assistant for one-third of your hourly rate (10 hours at $12/hour).
A word of caution: don’t outsource tasks without using the time to create billable income.
The best part is that now you’ve got a formula to calculate your raises, holidays or gradual retirement. Just change your formula by increasing your annual salary goal, decreasing your number of annual workweeks, or decreasing your weekly hours and you’ve got your new hourly rate.
Stop guessing what your services are worth. Your time is valuable or you wouldn’t be in business. Make the most of it and you’ll have a great salary … AND a life!
By Wendy Burt-Thomas
