Episode 38: Breaking Barriers - Leadership and Legacy

In this episode of The 7% Club Podcast, I sit down with Tarynn Hatton-Jones, a trailblazing leader who’s creating her own version of success, initially against the odds. Tarynn shares:

✅ Lessons on resilience and in leadership
✅ The power of representation and how it shapes industries
✅ Actionable strategies for carving your own path to success

Whether you're looking for a dose of motivation, inspiration or interested in building a global business —this episode is full of insights you don’t want to miss!

🎧 Listen now!

🔗 Don’t forget to share if you’ve enjoyed this episode!

Tarynn Hatton-Jones: Chief Executive Officer

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💡 Need help scaling your business from 7 to 8 figures? Get in touch jenny@jennystilwell.com.au

Remember: Better strategy, better business, better life! See you next time!

Transcript

 Hi there, this is Jenny Stilwell and welcome to the 7% Club podcast. For the (0:08) 7% of business owners who break through 2 million in sales and for those on (0:13) track to join this club, this podcast is to help you upscale. In this episode of (0:21) the 7% Club, I'm talking with Taryn Hatton-Jones. Now Taryn is a seasoned (0:27) design professional with a remarkable entrepreneurial career spanning over (0:31) 16 years. Born in South Africa, she spent the better part of her adult life (0:36) immersed in the vibrant design landscape of Hong Kong, where she now leads the (0:40) renowned Burnt Orange International. As the driving force behind Burnt Orange, (0:46) Taryn's greatest passion lies in collaborating with designers and (0:49) property developers on exceptional hospitality and retail design projects. (0:55) Her unwavering commitment to sustainability and her ability to craft (0:59) functional yet visually stunning furniture, fixtures and equipment pieces (1:04) have earned her a distinguished reputation within the industry. Taryn's (1:09) entrepreneurial spirit has been the driving force behind her success. Burnt (1:13) Orange International has provided her with a platform to create on her own (1:17) terms, pushing the boundaries of what's possible in the realm of design and (1:21) sustainability. With a wealth of experience and a genuine passion for her (1:26) work, Taryn is poised to continue sharing her journey in exploring the (1:30) boundless possibilities at the intersection of design, sustainability and (1:34) innovation within the furniture industry. Her confidence in her ability to deliver (1:39) exceptional results that exceed expectations makes her a valuable asset (1:44) to any project she undertakes. (1:48) Hi Taryn and welcome to the 7% Club podcast. It's great to have you on. (1:53) Good morning Jenny. I'm so happy to be here. Thank you so much. This is a (1:57) really big honour. So I'm very happy. Well I know how busy you are so I really (2:02) appreciate you making the time to be here. You know you've got a really (2:06) interesting story and I love interviewing people, you know international (2:09) people, just getting that different perspective on doing business in another (2:13) country, another city and you have a very interesting international business and (2:19) background. So I just wanted to kick off by having a bit of a chat about your (2:24) background and how a native South African came to found a global business (2:29) based in Hong Kong. So what was the motivation behind starting Burnt Orange? (2:34) It's actually it's quite a story. Actually the short answer is just (2:40) survival to be honest with you. So I left South Africa and basically I had to (2:47) start a whole new life in a different country. I had lost my partner at the (2:51) time and I was pregnant and five months pregnant with my young daughter and I (2:56) knew that you know once she was born there had to be a much better opportunity (3:02) for her somewhere else. So when she was five months old I moved with family to (3:08) Thailand and basically just started a whole new life and you know was (3:14) determined to do absolutely anything to give her a decent opportunity of life. So (3:20) I worked in Bangkok for two years and got the opportunity to transfer to Hong (3:24) Kong which I did and I was in the banking industry at the time and (3:29) basically just working 24-7 just to you know put food at the table, put her (3:35) through school and give her the lifestyle that she actually deserved. (3:38) And you know fast forward a couple of years we went through you know the (3:42) financial crisis after Lehman Brothers fell and I knew at that stage that you (3:47) know if I was given the opportunity to do something else I was going to snatch it (3:52) with both hands. So you know it took a year in the financial crisis for me to (3:57) finally get my exit strategy and my paycheck and my retrenchment check and (4:01) luckily in those days it was still a decent package that they gave us and (4:05) instead of being petrified and you know nervous about oh my god I don't have a (4:10) job and the worst financial crisis we had to date, I took that as a massive (4:14) opportunity and threw myself into being an entrepreneur. So that very same day (4:20) after getting my package I knew what I wanted to do and I wanted to open up a (4:24) bedding company and you know for a year before that I was constantly looking for (4:31) a decent sustainable organic bed linen for us to sleep on. It was readily (4:38) available in South Africa but there was absolutely nothing, nothing I could find (4:43) in Southeast Asia at all. So I knew that you know with a little bit of efforts I (4:48) could hop across the border and go into China and find some sort of (4:52) sustainability and that's what I did and open up Burnt Orange which was (4:56) originally just a sustainable bedding company and dealing in organics and have (5:01) basically never looked back from there. So you know I think I've been in in the (5:05) sustainability line for such a long time there's there's no going back to (5:09) anything else now. That is so amazing that story and I've spoken to a couple of (5:14) women in particular who've had a similar background and similar motivation for (5:19) starting a business and you know it's all about protecting the child and (5:25) providing for them which is a bigger motivation than anything isn't it (5:29) because not just you but to change countries and to just add into the mix (5:35) the GFC which was an incredibly difficult time you know that's a huge (5:41) challenge to go through. So what were some of the mindset challenges that you were (5:46) facing at the time you know because we all think about things like you know you (5:51) start on something and then you think I can't really do this or what am I (5:55) thinking or this is too hard. What was going through your mind at the time? (6:00) Oh gosh all of it all of it and and I think you know we can either be our (6:04) worst enemy at that point or we can be you know our biggest saviour. So you know (6:10) I had it was four seasons in an hour from an emotional perspective you know (6:14) there was a lot on the line and raising a little girl in a country where I have (6:18) no family. It's not exactly the cheapest country to raise a family either so you (6:23) know there was a lot of the line but you know you can also if you take that (6:28) negativity and put it into you know positive energy it really does propel (6:32) you to do some incredibly cool things and I think that's exactly what happened (6:36) there was just there was zero option but to make a success out of it. So you know (6:42) I had a lot of help from my husband now through the process and you know a lot (6:47) of support a lot of sort of you know speaking me off a cliff every two days (6:51) with oh my god I'm so insecure I don't know if I could do this anymore and you (6:55) know he just he gave me a lot of background support and he's my biggest (6:58) advocate he's amazing. And what was the drive behind the sustainability and (7:03) organics where did that come from? Well again you know my young daughter you (7:08) know she suffered from really terrible chest issues when she was when she was a (7:11) little girl and you know I think most people don't realize that formaldehyde (7:17) which is an awful awful chemical that's used to preserve cottons is not allowed (7:21) in t-shirts and it's banned in t-shirts because it's too close to the (7:25) respiratory system but it's actually not banned in bedding. So you know you go to (7:29) bed at night and you know your body's supposed to be in that rest and (7:32) relaxation and recuperation phase and yet what you're doing is you just you (7:37) constantly breathing in those awful awful chemicals. So and that was the (7:40) driving force behind it where she had really bad chest infections you know I (7:44) want to fix that and I just could not find any decent materials or anything (7:50) that was formaldehyde free and organic in Southeast Asia. You know there was (7:55) you know 16 years ago there wasn't sustainability in a textile perspective (7:59) was not a big thing at all. So you know the start of Burnt Orange probably for (8:04) the first three four years was educational work in its entirety you (8:10) know until we we took the step forward into going into into hospitality (8:15) industry you know from a B2C perspective it was just doing educational work (8:20) because people just and still don't know that formaldehyde is not banned and in (8:25) bedding. Wow that's amazing because you know now 2025 we know so much more and (8:31) we have different requirements and different standards and organics in the (8:36) whole supply chain food and bedding and furniture and everything is reasonably (8:41) well understood. But certainly back then I imagine it would have been very (8:46) difficult finding the right manufacturers and it would have been (8:50) quite a difficult you know you really would have had to persevere with your (8:54) belief in order to make it happen. Absolutely and you know finding finding (8:59) the right factories to work with and making sure that their product was (9:04) actually sustainable and that it was 100% organic and then also trying to keep (9:09) the cost to a point where it was affordable for most people you know. (9:13) People are quite hesitant to just throw money into something that they can't (9:17) physically see you know the cotton yes it's it's fantastic and you know the (9:21) world also thinks that you know a thousand thread count is so much better (9:25) than a 400 thread count and so there's a lot of you know disinformation so your (9:29) people are quite hesitant to throw money behind something that they can't see the (9:33) organic side they can't see the benefit you only feel the benefit. So it was (9:37) definitely a juggling act to start with and as we have progressed through the (9:42) years we don't even discuss the sustainability side anymore it's just (9:46) it's you know we just take it for granted now but that's what we aiming for we (9:50) all aiming for sustainability we all want to you know do our piece for the (9:53) planet but yeah 16 years ago it just it was not like that at all. So what was the (9:59) vision you had 16 years ago for Burnt Orange and how much has that changed as (10:04) you become so established and you've grown so much? You know 16 years ago all (10:10) I wanted was a little retail outlet you know shipping product to whatever (10:16) country would have me and you know just sticking with with bed linen you know (10:21) fast forward now 16 years we we do all furniture and we don't just do textile (10:27) and we no longer do just bed linen so unless clients specifically ask us for (10:33) bedding it's just it's not even really in the repertoire anymore so you know we (10:37) do all furniture now which is fantastic so it's definitely it's morphed into a (10:43) much bigger thing than I would I thought it was ever going to be you know my my (10:46) sites were purely set on you know this little retail store with you know (10:51) somewhat of a global global presence not once did I think that it was going to be (10:55) an international massive sourcing procurement for you know hotels and (11:01) property developers globally so I look back sometimes and think oh my goodness (11:05) this is this is great and then I also have those moments of oh my god I still (11:09) don't know what I'm doing. So tell me how you you've actually gone about developing (11:16) your supply chain sourcing and procurement process because that (11:21) underpins everything you do you know the quality and everything you stand for so (11:26) how have you been able to find those furniture suppliers who actually embrace (11:30) sustainability and quality? I spend a lot of time as you know I spend a lot (11:35) of time traveling I spend a lot of time going to factories meeting people having (11:40) a look at the factory line having a look at their production process having a (11:43) look at you know what what sort of certification they may have but it is (11:48) about being on the ground and having that one-on-one connection with a human (11:52) being you know so we spend a lot of time doing our due diligence a lot of time (11:58) doing our research and you know we out of all of our clients probably about 70 (12:04) percent of our clients are very much in need of the sustainability side you know (12:10) 30 percent still they don't they don't worry too much about it but we still try (12:16) with every every contract that we bring in every piece of you know furniture (12:20) that we have in the production line we try as much as we possibly can to make (12:23) it as sustainable as this industry will allow us. And you've got clients all (12:28) around the world haven't you? Global yeah global so majority of the big (12:33) clients are US based but the client base is global which is great. It's (12:38) fantastic. So how do you manage to stay ahead of global trends in the design and (12:44) interiors industry given that you do have clients all around the world? We are so (12:50) lucky in the sense that because we're working with amazing designers so we (12:54) don't actually design any of the product ourselves so we work with (12:58) property developers and interior designers and they do the design so as (13:02) long as they staying in the forefront of you know the trends and what's (13:05) happening we sort of been dragged through that process with them so we (13:10) also again because we attend so many furniture fairs and you know trade fairs (13:14) that we always keeping an eye on the ground for you know for new products (13:18) particularly in the sustainability side you know for new trends speaking with (13:22) factories and you know most of the factories will work with if they are (13:25) producing anything new they will naturally send us you know an e-catalog (13:29) or something for us to look at because they obviously they want to get the (13:32) product out there too but we probably get most of the trends from the (13:36) designers that we're working with they come up with great great processes and (13:42) all we have to do is either find the furniture source it and if we can't (13:46) source it then we go into into customization and we reproduce it so they (13:51) basically they drag us along kicking and screaming into the new trendy stuff (13:55) fantastic you couldn't have orchestrated that any better exactly I don't I mean I (14:01) can we sometimes get involved in the design process but yeah we try not to (14:07) so we don't own the IP so the client owns IP and we just we their workhorse (14:12) they do all the prettiness we do all the grunt work in the factories and all (14:16) the dirty work for them and we make the process as easy as possible for them to (14:20) actually get you know the most perfect product to their clients so Taryn with (14:25) you know trade shows are obviously an in-person thing and meeting with the (14:30) manufacturers and seeing the latest trends and just inspecting what's going (14:35) on you know they're more in-person things aren't they and with the (14:39) designers is that in person as well yeah that's why you're traveling so much (14:44) because there's a lot of a high proportion of in-person work as opposed (14:48) to anything over Zoom absolutely so we're very client facing so you know (14:54) from a factory perspective we definitely in their faces and we spend a lot of time (14:58) obviously meeting and going around and doing factory visits but then from a (15:01) designer perspective we do a lot of one-on-ones if we know there's a big (15:04) project coming up I will fly to wherever my client is so that we can sit with (15:08) them and because it's a lot easier from the get-go for me to understand and have (15:14) a very clear understanding of exactly what the project is what it entails (15:17) because there's a big logistical side to to obviously making all those pieces (15:23) come together and work so I need to have a very good understanding what their (15:27) vision is but then also the client needs to have a very clear understanding of (15:31) what is possible so we will we will try our hardest to give them a world but (15:35) sometimes you know one or two things might just not be possible within a (15:40) certain timeline or for a certain product so it's important to particularly in (15:45) those early days of the design process to actually sit down with the clients (15:48) and go through their process but you know sometimes the timeline and these (15:52) things is is massive you know if we're working with a property developer their (15:56) timeline is generally around two years you know so we've got time on our side to (16:00) actually produce the materials and then again from a logistic perspective we need (16:05) to know exactly you know how long our factory is going to take to produce these (16:08) items because you don't want the items sitting in a storage facility for a year (16:13) so it's really making sure that we get that timeline right ourselves so that (16:17) nothing is sitting around the factory floors for too long and everything sort (16:20) of comes together at the right time so and then if we you know if we're working (16:24) on a smaller sort of retail project or you know a hospital then you know (16:29) sometimes the timeline is you know six months and then we've really really (16:34) really from the start of the design process to the actual you know the (16:37) logistical side where we starting to ship furniture over to wherever the (16:40) client is that six months goes really fast so you know we've really got to get (16:45) our skates on in that sense so but that's why I do so much travel just that I can (16:49) sit with the clients and and figure out the logistical side for myself my team (16:53) and then also just to you know put the client's mind at rest whereas we've got (16:58) this we know what we're doing and we work with them to make sure that they get the (17:02) best possible product. Yeah and that face-to-face is so important isn't it (17:07) because particularly if they've got a big project they want to see that you've (17:12) made the investment to go and physically meet with them and to have (17:17) that one-on-one time it's not just over zoom a bit of a chat you know that would (17:22) be really important to them and also the project management you know some of the (17:27) the logistics involved as you said you know just coordinating the timing of (17:32) everything and and managing delays and the unexpected and making sure the (17:39) clients were communicated with and is still happy and making it all come (17:44) together beautifully at the end that's a huge skill and art in itself it's (17:50) massive. Well yeah I mean I'm Jenny I'm always saying that you know I have the (17:55) best job in the world because essentially I'm a professional shopper that's what I (17:59) do so I go hunting for great products you know the downside of that is that (18:04) I generally get to redecorate my own home probably twice a year because I'm (18:09) like a magpie you know I see something that's nice bright and shiny and and I (18:12) want one too but yeah I mean sitting in front of the client and setting (18:17) expectation from the get-go is it's part of the success of the project because if (18:24) the client believes that you know we can you know turn the whole project around (18:28) in the drop of a hat and doesn't understand the process behind actually (18:32) getting something produced we are really on the back foot so which is why (18:36) it's so important to actually sit with the client to the get-go and talk (18:40) through how that process actually works because it's not the production (18:44) industry is not very well known so what happens on the backside of it so and if (18:49) you know once we've ticked that initial box and we've sat with the clients and (18:53) you know we've spoken through that process it's a lot easier to go back to (18:57) their clients and say there's actually a delay for this reason or you know this (19:01) has happened because then they have a much bigger understanding of the (19:05) behind-the-scenes processes versus just you know a cold call or a zoom call so (19:10) super important and I think that's just good business practice anyway isn't it (19:15) just investing that face-to-face time with your clients and building the (19:20) relationship totally totally I mean you know we we've been through coverage you (19:24) know none of us you know like love the zoom thing we're all very used to it (19:27) but there is nothing nothing that beats a face-to-face meeting so even if it's (19:33) you know a quick cup of coffee or you know a two-minute hello you definitely (19:37) you feel like you you know the person better you know it's to be able to (19:41) shake a person's hand and just have a quick cup of coffee it really does it (19:44) starts that's the process of well and it's you know that it sets the rapport (19:48) going forward yeah absolutely you did mention something I was going to ask you (19:52) about I was going to say I'm sure you have an absolutely gorgeous interiors in (19:58) your own home being surrounded by all this beautiful furniture and the latest (20:03) in everything it is it's fun and it's definitely a perk for sure it is it's (20:10) definitely a perk of the job I mean I think it's a perk of the job I think my (20:14) husband differs in his view because you know he'll come home and you're back (20:17) where where is our sofa that we we've just got a new so why where happened to (20:24) the sofa and I mean there's another one coming tomorrow but you know I put it (20:29) down I put it down to you know I have to test the product so you know that's (20:34) always my excuse that I always have to do I did test the product quality (20:39) assurance it's quality assurance well you know that the whole time that's all (20:44) I'm thinking is quality assurance I think I think the one person who gets (20:47) the most jealous about it is the daughter who this is all for so you know (20:53) she's in Australia now so she lives a very far away from home so she never gets (20:57) the perks anymore of you know a new bedding suites or get a new new room or (21:01) so you know because I'm not going to put things on in cargo and send it over to (21:06) her so you know she gets textile she gets a lot of textile oh beautiful so what (21:14) have been some of your I guess we've talked about some of the challenges but (21:19) some of your more memorable successes over the journey I mean the I actually (21:25) think the biggest challenge we had was it was covered getting through covered (21:32) I mean covered for us just purely being in production you know the designers (21:37) could still design construction side obviously you know there was huge delays (21:41) on that sector but the production side it was very very very challenging you (21:46) know we work in multiple different jurisdictions so you know we've got (21:50) stuff in production in in China Vietnam in Indonesia and India but majority of (21:56) the product actually comes out of China and we know through coverage you know (21:59) China was pretty much in shutdown so it was near impossible to actually get (22:04) anything done because you know you would put wooden furniture on the production (22:08) line and you didn't know if that factory was going to be shut down and if they (22:11) were you know how far in the production process were you and you can't leave (22:16) woods on a you know a factory floor without air conditioning because they (22:19) obviously you know we live in a very humid climate so you know they warp and (22:22) they waved and they you know they suck up all the moisture and air and then the (22:26) glues don't seal properly so essentially that whole line of furniture is destroyed (22:30) so you have to you just got to dump it so it was near impossible to get (22:34) anything done so COVID for us was terrible but then at the same time my (22:39) favorite success and you know the biggest success to date has been coming (22:42) through that process and having our clients trust us to still produce for (22:50) them and not just producing the scale that we were then produce on the scale (22:55) that we are now and that is it's honestly it's incredible so I think we're (23:00) so lucky to have the clients that we that we do and we so lucky to have the (23:05) designers that we have who work with us and that to date is definitely the (23:10) biggest success that we we made it through that hellhole and it's actually (23:15) you know what we have now is much better than what we actually had pre-COVID so (23:20) that's definitely the biggest success but that's probably more down to the (23:24) incredible clients that we have to be honest with you. Wonderful clients make (23:28) all the difference in the world. Just quickly you mentioned you know working (23:33) with suppliers in India and China what piece of advice would you give anyone (23:38) who was about to embark on that for their own production requirements given (23:44) that you know very different cultures and very different ways of doing (23:47) business have you got a little snippet of advice that you could give people who (23:51) are thinking about that or it's part of their strategy to do it? Yeah the most (23:57) important piece of advice I could give anybody with is just do your due (24:01) diligence. There are a lot of factories you know India, China, Indonesia, Vietnam (24:08) there are so many factories and you can get it's it's the same with you know (24:12) retailers you can get incredible incredible quality of goods and then you (24:17) can get the other side of that so depending on what you're looking for (24:21) make sure that you do your due diligence that you know ticking all those boxes (24:25) you know what we normally do is we spend a lot of time obviously doing the (24:29) DD before we engage in it in a factory and then you know part of the DD that we (24:34) do do is sounds like a joke, a DD and a do-do. Part of that process is looking at the you (24:47) know going and visiting the factory making sure that hey they're not a (24:50) sweatshop so you know nobody wants to be dealing with with a factory that are a (24:54) sweatshop then you're looking at their finances you also you don't want to be (24:58) plowing a huge amount of money into your production process and have your (25:02) factory not be stable enough to actually see through that process so you need to (25:07) ensure that they've got sufficient business that they can actually produce (25:10) your goods and then third of all that you unless you're a really really really (25:14) big player in the market you need to ensure that they're that factory is not (25:19) producing for you know the likes of Hermes or you know RH or any other very (25:25) big players out there because what happens is you know if one of them come (25:29) on to the fold and they've got something that they want to get produced you are (25:32) going to be bumped off their production line so you know we've all got very very (25:35) very tight timelines schedules and we have to make sure that our clients get (25:40) their product in that timeline that we've promised because if they don't their (25:45) project is obviously delayed and then you know their clients are upset and so (25:49) forth so the knock-on effect is massive so you know you don't want to be at a (25:55) factory that either has those big big big clients because chances are you're (26:00) going to get walked off that production line and you are going to miss your (26:03) targets so due diligence is seriously key to a successful product producing (26:09) career I wouldn't do anything without it yeah great advice now something I'm (26:16) interested to ask you because we all need someone to talk to and and get (26:20) advice from how do you find that support in your world and how invaluable has it (26:26) been for you apart from your fabulous husband yeah yeah and he is he's really (26:31) double one I think I'm the luckiest girl on the planet to be honest with you I (26:34) have a great group of friends of girlfriends who are so so supportive and (26:41) a lot of them are you know professionals or entrepreneurs themselves so you know (26:46) from a support perspective I've got great support behind me I'm also I'm (26:50) vice chair and soon to be chairwoman of the women's entrepreneur network in (26:55) Hong Kong we have a 40 year 40 plus year lineage of women in business and it is (27:01) actually the oldest networking group in Hong Kong so you know we've got some of (27:06) our members our older members who have been part of the membership for 45 years (27:11) so what they've seen from a global perspective is incredible what they've (27:16) gone through in Hong Kong alone is incredible and then you know we've got (27:20) we've got women who have basically just just started their business you know two (27:25) three weeks ago so you know everything and everything in between so I'm lucky (27:31) that I'm part of the network and if there is anything that I need I (27:35) generally I reach out to that community and somebody will know something for (27:40) sure you know when you've got 45 years of lineage there's not much that other (27:45) women haven't seen so in this community of women are they're just so so (27:49) forthcoming and you know the basis of the entire way network is just to (27:54) support one another to help teach one another and at the end of the day to help (27:59) women in business exit their businesses and go on to retirement or not or you (28:05) know but it really is it's more about the support so I have all these fabulous (28:10) women and my husband around me to help with that process so I'm very lucky it (28:17) sounds like a great support network and a great business women yeah okay now a (28:23) question I have to ask you burnt orange where did the name come from for your (28:28) company burnt orange is actually you know the part of what I missed so (28:36) desperately about South Africa when I left was you know in the afternoon you (28:40) would drive home from work and you would see that big orange ball and you know as (28:45) the Sun is starting to set over over Johannesburg and that big orange ball is (28:49) burnt orange that's that's the color it's the color of burnt orange and so (28:54) that's why I named my company burnt orange because it's really the thing (28:57) that I miss most about my hometown and then you know Jenny I thought I'd get (29:02) creative and spell it a little bit differently and you know I've replaced (29:06) the a with an I so you know it's burnt orange with an I I have regretted that (29:12) decision a few times because it's difficult to find me on social media but (29:17) it also at the same time it makes burnt orange memorable because people think I (29:22) have a spelling problem and they never forget the fact that it's an it's an I (29:26) instead of an a so you know I don't know I mean I regretted it but also I (29:31) think it's kind of worked in my program you know so it's worked for me in the (29:37) long run. Well we will have all your contact details in the show notes so (29:41) people will be able to find you but just one last question from a selfish point (29:46) would you share with us two fabulous places you love in Hong Kong that we (29:54) could visit when we're next there?