By Barb de Corti – CEO and Founder of ENJO
As one of Australia’s most recognisable female entrepreneurs, founder and CEO Barb de Corti has had a remarkable career spanning 30 years at the helm of cleaning institution ENJO. ENJO enjoys an enviable position as one of the first companies to lead the sustainable and chemical-free cleaning revolution.
From the very beginning, the cult brand has championed gentle, effective, and eco-friendly cleaning. Thanks to the vision and prescience of its founder, ENJO continues to pioneer cleaning methods that are kind to the planet and healthy for the body. Among a crowded market of copycat brands, competitors, and chemical laden alternatives, ENJO stands tall as one of Australia’s most enduring businesses based on the strength of its products alone.
Celebrating 30 years in business
Since its inception in 1994, Barb has made no secret of her method to achieving success. Having grown up in Austria as the eldest of a large brood, her determination and fiery spirit has been evident since early childhood. Her hardworking family and years growing up on a farm gave her the tools to overcome adversity and build ENJO from the ground up.
It was during a visit to Austria where Barb noticed her son’s allergies weren’t flaring up like usual that led her to discover its cause: chemical-free cleaning. An initially sceptical Barb was soon converted to trading harsh chemicals like bleach for ENJO’s ingenious Austrian engineered and manufactured fibre gloves. On her return Barb invested $40,000 of her family’s life savings to bring ENJO to the Australian market.
Working from her garage and going door to door, she introduced ENJO to Aussie consumers in the belief that other families could also reap the benefits of chemical free cleaning like her. Fastidious and house-proud, Barb knew ENJO had the potential to change how Aussies cleaned their homes for the better. To properly demonstrate the power of ENJO to transform household cleaning, the company has opted for a direct selling model from day one. Its founder says the only way for customers to truly comprehend the ENJO effect is to see it in action with their own eyes in their own homes.
Though the business did not truly take off until three years after its founding, Barb’s unwavering belief that she was onto a winner carried her through some exceptionally tough times including the sale of her house and car to keep the business afloat. Nonetheless sheer perseverance, passion and hustle led the company to incredible heights of success. A decade later, she placed 13th in BRW’s inaugural Young Rich List.
Company performance
- 189,210,234 Plastic Spray Bottles did not have to be recycled
- 36,373,749 sponges did not end up in landfill
- 10,231,368,187 wet wipes did not end up in landfill
- 15,347,052,280 Paper Towels did not end up in landfill
- We have planted 10,000th of thousand trees world wide
- We have helped 1000th women to start their own business, supporting them on their journey for a reason a season or a lifetime and still do so
- We have introduced ENJO into millions of households to healthier and a more environmental way to clean with chemical
- One of Barb’s personal highlights was being trained by Al Gore on the inconvenient truth
- Barb has been an active advocate for Climate Change since 1998 and have given numerous talks on it and helped people to make small changes with big impact
What’s next for Australia’s top businesswomen?
Today thousands of ‘ENJOpreneurs’, most of whom are women and mums, are the brand’s greatest evangelists. The company’s exponential growth and millions of dollars in turnover can be attributed to its founder’s devotion to the business and the talent of the team she has been able to bring on board. Barb’s major passion for empowering women has seen her nurture countless other women to take charge of their own flexible and remunerative business through ENJO. ENJO’s branching out into the beauty space with the well-received launch of makeup wipes label Santé is another win for the self-described ‘hands-on CEO’.
Barb’s devotion to sustainability and healthy living are qualities which drive her to lead innovation at ENJO and Santé. The founder’s well-developed strategic nous leaves her well-placed to oversee key growth strategies that would take ENJO through its next phase of growth. Her hard work, smart decision making, and compelling vision of a world where chemical free cleaning is the norm, has truly set her up as one of Australia’s most formidable forces in business.
As ENJO celebrates 30 years in the game, Barb is mindful of the journey that led her here from humble beginnings in a garage in a nondescript suburb in Perth. Full of ambition and hope for the brand’s future trajectory, she credits the ENJO team, her capacity to learn from failure, her family, and her passion for a healthy and meaningful life as her biggest motivations.
“The launch of Santé by ENJO speaks to our ability to straddle different markets,” says Barb. “I believe that passion and commitment is a recipe for success. When you have good people supporting you, amazing products, and a rock-solid ethos, the sky’s the limit to what you can achieve.”
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