Sabrina Perrini has a 'Little Kitchen' of her very own and it happens to be exciting kids across the nation.

After starting her business in February 2005, Sabrina has managed to piece together a tasty marketing effort, and claims her website www.littlekitchen.com.au has done a lot of the hard work for her.

Check out Sabrina's business profile and her recipes for marketing to children.

How did Little Kitchen begin?
Prior to Little Kitchen, I worked as an early childhood teacher in a pre-school that actively involved children in preparing the day's meals. I saw first-hand how much children loved cooking.

However, it was evident that the majority of parents I spoke to about cooking with children felt it was too messy and too difficult and wouldn't attempt it! I realised this probably had something to do with the fact that there wasn't any proper cookware available for children.

Why do think your product is so successful?
Children had to use adult-sized equipment when cooking which of course was awkward as they struggled to get a proper grip on things.

Launching a 'real' range of cookware for children was a practical way to get more people cooking with children and ultimately get them interested in 'real' food.

Where do you advertise your business?
I did my first piece of advertising a few months ago in a children's fashion magazine and in a parenting newspaper. The sales that were generated from the ads covered the costs of what I paid to place the ads. I was overwhelmed with that result.

Do you engage media to tell your story?
The media has generously supported my business by running free editorials on Little Kitchen from day one. The first time Little Kitchen was mentioned in the media was after a journalist had seen my products for sale in a foodstore and liked how unique my business idea was.

Has having a website helped your business?
It's been a very cost-effective way of reaching a huge number of consumers and generating a large amount of sales. Having an online presence is a must for people running a business - it should be one of the very first things you do. It gives customers the chance to access a lot of information on your business quickly, easily and at any time of the night or day.

What are the major hurdles you've had to overcome?
I'd have to say managing cashflow. Little Kitchen started with just $2,000 my mum gave me as start-up capital. From day one, I made a conscious decision not to take out a loan or have a credit card as I didn't want to start the business with debt looming over me.

Everything achieved so far has been thanks to the turnover Little Kitchen has generated. Discipline-wise, it's been hard re-investing the majority of the profits back into the business rather than spending them. It has been worth it though as it's meant there have been no loaned funds to think about paying back!

Do you make decisions with your head or your heart?
I've learnt the hard way when making decisions with my heart. You should always trust your gut instinct. Experience has shown me that if something doesn't 'feel' right, it usually isn't.

This has happened a few times when I've hired the wrong staff - my head was saying 'you really need someone to help you so just hurry up and hire this person' whereas my heart was saying 'this is definitely not the right person for the job'.

What do you have to know when working with children?
I don't think it's so much what you have to know as how you have to be. Children respond best to those who show them genuine warmth and respect. It's important to cultivate these qualities first within yourself. That way you can be a teacher who makes a genuine impact on the lives of the children you teach.

Do you have a business idol?
I love studying other people's business models. There are so many business people I admire - Janine Allis from Boost Juice, Tim Pethick who created Nudie, Martha Stewart and Donna Hay. I admire how they've built such strong, recognisable brands.

What's your favourite recipe?
Chicken scaloppine with verjuice and caper sauce with mashed potato. It tastes like comfort food but looks special enough to serve at a dinner party! This is a great one to teach teens.

Sabrina is also featured in a recently released book titled, "101 Ways to Kickstart Your Business" by Claire Heaney.