How an Aussie Mum Turned Magnesium Into a Million-dollar Business

Cassie Sanghvi has learnt a lot while building her wellness brand The Base Collective – and she’s earned more than a million Qantas Points along the way with the help of her American Express® Qantas Business Rewards Card. Here, she shares her top five tips for scaling up her marketing skills and taking her business to the world.

Cassie Sanghvi launched The Base Collective with a single product in 2015, sparked by a chance conversation with a fellow school mum in the playground. 

Now the entrepreneur’s magnesium wellness brand offers more than 15 products and has evolved from a creative side project into a thriving ecommerce business. “I wanted to make something that could help busy people live their best lives,” explains Sanghvi. “I’m proud to say The Base Collective now turns over seven figures annually.” 

A qualified pharmacist, Sanghvi launched The Base Collective with a range of natural handwashes and body milks infused with magnesium – a mineral that’s essential for overall health but is often in low supply in modern diets and lifestyles. When these nutrient-rich products took off, she ran with it. 

The Base Collective now makes magnesium easily accessible in the form of sunscreens, body washes, skincare and salts that target health issues such as poor sleep, eczema and muscle aches. “Magnesium is involved in more than 300 processes in our bodies and I’m passionate about combining it with other natural, non-toxic ingredients to help improve health and wellbeing.” 

In the early days, admits Sanghvi, it was her business knowledge that required a boost. “My expertise is pharmacy, not marketing, so I needed to learn how to do that.” 

Sanghvi engaged a coach to help create a digital marketing strategy then took the reins and executed it herself, transforming her business. She urges other small business owners to upskill and learn how digital marketing works – even if you’re going to outsource it. Otherwise you risk being bamboozled by “smoke and mirrors”, she warns. 

“In the past 12 months, my online store has had insane growth – 500% year on year, thanks to performance marketing on Google and social channels,” she says. “With this kind of paid digital marketing there are lots of levers we can pull to manage our spend and results. My American Express® Qantas Business Rewards Card allows me to do that because I have up to 51 days to pay for purchases¹ and during that time I test and learn and keep pivoting to get it right.”

The Base Collective is now Australia’s leading magnesium wellness brand and Sanghvi says her American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card has been instrumental in getting her there. “The Card enables me to free up funds when cash flow is limited, pay my suppliers and earn up to 1.25 Qantas Points per $1 on everyday business spend.² I use these points to book flights and hotels for work trips. I visited a supplier in Singapore recently – it’s so important to catch up with people in person.”

Sanghvi’s pharmaceutical background meant that a bricks-and-mortar retail strategy was her first instinct. “But as a female-founded, self-funded small business, I didn’t have giant pools of cash to draw on, so producing the amount of stock required for big stores was really challenging for me. I had a hard look at my strategy and decided to focus on my digital store. I still work with smaller retailers on an individual basis but The Base Collective is pretty much all online. Interestingly, this has allowed me to get closer to my customers, which is important to me as my business is founded on helping people.” 

And with no pre-set spending limit³ on her American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card, Sanghvi has the flexibility to grow and try new things, even when cash flow is limited. “The Card has given me the space to make mistakes and learn from them.” 

Unlock the possibilities

Cassie Sanghvi shares her top tips on how she has scaled her small business and upskilled in digital to drive her own success.

“Be bold when you stock up for big sales events” 

Sanghvi is getting The Base Collective ready for November’s annual online shopping bonanza: Black Friday. “I’m purchasing a lot of stock for it right now and I’ll also be ramping up my performance marketing budget,” she says. “My order is four times bigger than any other I’ve made. To be honest, I don’t know if it will be enough, because we’re growing so quickly – which is exciting!” An American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card makes large outlays like this possible. It gives the business access to a dynamic line of unsecured funding³ and the buying power to seize golden opportunities without the immediate worry of how to pay for them. 

“Stay on top of your spending patterns”

Sanghvi makes sure she’s across all her numbers to better manage any ups and downs. “My American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card makes managing The Base Collective’s cash flow super-easy because it integrates with Xero, my accounting software, and I can instantly track my spending.” She makes regular payments to the manufacturer of her products and bottles, earning up to 1.25 Qantas Points per $1 spent on everyday business expenses, as well as to Australia Post, earning 0.5 Qantas Points per $1 spent.²

“Learn how to do things yourself”

Frustrated by the expense and results of agency campaigns, Sanghvi learnt how to market her business via social media platforms and email newsletters. “I realised it was crazy to be hiring people to do my Facebook and email campaigns when I didn’t know how to do it myself,” she says. “You need to identify your own knowledge gaps and find out how to fill them.” 

“Use performance marketing and pivot to profit”

Sanghvi says her performance-marketing success is made possible by her ability to flex her cash flow with the American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card. The Card gives her up to 51 days to pay for all purchases¹, including those on Facebook, Google and TikTok and, during this period, she keeps a forensic eye on how her ads are performing. “This time gives me space to try fresh ad creatives, scale the spends, test new audiences and keep doing it until I find the winning combination that converts to sales,” she explains. “I get to do this while knowing that I’m not risking cash flow. It’s real freedom – if I have a bad day with the ads, I learn and adapt so I can try something else tomorrow. Generally, I’m on top by the end of each month. My online ad spend has increased – and my sales have gone up 500%.”

“Put strong protections in place” 

“I was recently let down by a supplier and it cost me a lot of money,” says Sanghvi. “I learnt a hard lesson – that it’s important to have good contracts and agreements.” Quality insurance cover is another must-have protection and Sanghvi loves that by using her Card to pay for her return business trips, she receives complimentary travel insurance.⁴ “It makes me feel more secure when I’m away for work.” (T&Cs and exclusions apply, such as maximum age limits, pre-existing medical conditions and cover limits).

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