Meet the Maker: Megan from Second Scout

Tell us a bit about why you started Second Scout, and what your journey has been?

As many mums do, I started Second Scout based on a need we had for our own family.

We faced the same challenges all parents do with everyday tasks. Getting our eldest daughter to help pack away, brush her teeth, put pyjamas on, bedtime, etc never ran smoothly...despite our best efforts to practice patience amongst the 427 reminders! 

As she couldn’t yet read, I created a picture-based prompts which not only empowered her, but saved our sanity as parents!

The aesthetic of my DIY laminated routine chart and labels always bugged me though.

I wanted to create something that I didn’t need to hide away when we had visitors over. 

I wanted a simple, paired back design, using quality materials, that wasn’t only practical, but beautiful too.

So, after a change of direction for me leaving my previous corporate career, I went on a mission to create it.

Just over 12 months ago our magnetic timber range hit the shelves. It’s been quite the ride, full of more challenges and triumphs than I could ever imagine.

Where does your inspiration come from when designing your products? What's the end to end process of coming up with a design, to having your design ready to sell to customers?

My inspiration comes from my kids. I know that sounds cliché, but watching the way they use the products and testing new ideas on concepts on them is just the most valuable source of inspiration. I figure if we have a need for something as a family, then surely we aren’t alone and others would benefit from it.

The initial process of creating magnetic timber was by far the most challenging one. I knew exactly what I wanted, and had spent months creating my own prototypes and designs however couldn’t find the right manufacturer to achieve the result I wanted. After countless suppliers telling me it wasn’t possible (some even laughing at me!) and failed prototypes, I finally found a factory that could make my vision a reality.

Then it was onto creating all of tiles and icons, which sounds pretty straight forward, but actually takes up so much time in the research phase because we love to test all of our icons on little people. What we see in a picture isn’t always what they see, so it’s back to the drawing board quite often!

Then there is the rigorous safety testing and certification we undergo through an independent laboratory to make sure our products are completely safe for kids. Often we’ve had to rethink things at this stage, and re-size or re-engineer to make sure everything is completely safe for children.

Once we’ve got the tick of approval, we then go into the production phase which takes almost 3 months from end to end. This involves the magnet manufacture, packaging design and production, timber assembly, quality control checking and shipping.

What does a typical day look like for you in your business? Do you have a regular routine, or is every day different?

Every day is completely different, especially as I am running the business solo and wearing all of the hats. Generally a typical day would include replying to customers and retailers, packing and sending out orders, social media content creation, website updates, and then there is always the finance side of things (snore!), business development, and working on new and exciting products.

What’s next for Second Scout? Any exciting new projects or plans in the pipeline?

So many exciting things!! I just wish there was three of me and a money tree so I could actually make them happen sooner! That’s been one huge adjustment I’ve had since switching from the corporate world into self-funded start up life, it’s a lot harder to get things off the ground when there is a limited budget and only you to make things happen! As the business grows though, I’m looking forward to being able to bring on more resources and direct my energy into new innovations and projects. That’s the dream!