In this edition of Balancing the Grind, we meet Selasi Berdie, the CEO and Founder of Sprout Organic, aiming to revolutionise children’s nutrition worldwide.
Selasi gives us a peek into his daily routine, starting with an early morning training session and moving through a dynamic day at Sprout Organic, where he switches between sales, marketing, and strategy. He shares his philosophy on work-life balance, emphasising self-care and the importance of being present for family, despite the demands of running a business.
Let’s start with your background! Can you share with us your career journey and what you’re currently up to?
I’ve been a lifelong health entrepreneur that had a small stint playing professional rugby league for the Gold Coast titans. My passion for health and fitness lead me to work at Body Science as an R&D manager after completing exercise science at university and then I went on to start a series of health food businesses that included BSKT, Cocowhip, CMBT and my most recent journey that and my main business Sprout Organic, a plant based and organic kids nutrition business aiming to make positive change globally.
We’d love to know what a typical day is like for you. Could you describe a recent workday?
My day typically starts with a 5am training session at CMBT which is a martial arts and performance centre that I co-founded 5 years ago. From here I get the kids ready for school and go to Sprout HQ in Burleigh in which I have been fortunate enough to also have other start up brands including my own shared workspace and warehouse.
This is a great hub of passionate business owners looking to disrupt their chosen category. My day is diverse in which I generally move between sales, marketing and business strategy to keep driving growth and impact for the business. No two days are ever the same but they generally run between 7:30am – 6pm and the days will often go later at night to catch our northern hemisphere distributors and customers.
Can you define work-life balance for yourself and share with us your approach in maintaining it?
I believe it’s important to look after yourself first and most importantly ensure your health is in check because if you become sick things will fall down so I place a major emphasis on eating well and training generally before anyone wakes up so I get time in for myself so I can be the best version of myself for my team and my family.
We are all chasing balance but I believe it’s a never ending quest that constantly shifts so I set certain non-negotiables that I won’t miss when it comes to my kids and family. Anyone that has started a business knows the hours are really long but this is all part of the journey that I am really grateful for and over the years I’ve learned how to make sure I don’t miss any of the big moments in life whilst still working really hard. For me this is the closest thing to balance and as long as I’m enjoying what I’m doing then I feel at peace.
Change is constant, and it’s essential for growth. Have you made any lifestyle changes in the past year to improve your work-life balance?
The biggest change I personally made was having my family get involved with the business which allowed me to spend more time with them and for them to understand what I was doing on a day to day basis.
This has been really rewarding as we get to celebrate the wins and the losses together which has brought us closer together and has also provided more balance as I feel as I’m not talking the load all on my own.
We’re always on the lookout for new resources! Can you recommend any books, podcasts, or newsletters that have helped you in your journey towards balance?
My favourite podcast at the moment is The Diary Of A CEO hosted by Steven Bartlett. For any founder or entrepreneur out there it’s a must listen as it helps you realise that even the very best business minds in the world all go through the same thing.
Before we wrap up, do you have any final words of wisdom or insights on work, life, or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?
Enjoy the journey and don’t try to rush to reach a destination. One of my favourite sayings is “there’s beauty in the struggle” and whilst things may seem hard and challenging at times those moments often lead to the most rewarding outcomes so embrace those hard times and celebrate the growth post these times.
