A Publication of The Indie Beauty Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Volume 7, Issue 21
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1. IBN Member Update: Welcome New & Renewing IBN Members!
2. Handmade Beauty Business Magazine: Start Checking Your Mailboxes!
3. Lifestyle CEO Report: Packaging Your Products To Sell
4. Handmade Beauty Trivia Question: win something wonderful!
5. Feature Article: From Layoff to Payoff
6. Thriving Through Cancer: How One IBN Member Is Defying The Disease

Handmade Beauty Recipe of the Week: Fizzling Shea Powdery Bath Oil

The 1Q 2006 issue of the Handmade Beauty Business Magazine is here and shipping starts right away! There are several exciting features, among them: (1) an update on the products liability insurance issue; (2) a feature on members with physical retail or spa locations; (3) an article on the FDA's Good Manufacturing Practices; (4) an article to help you set up your employee handbook; and MORE!!

Plus meet the 2006 Handmade Beauty Business of the Year! Stay tuned next week for an interview with the new winner in this newsletter!

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\Life.Style CEO\n. A person who owns and manages a business, not solely for financial gain, but also to enjoy the personal rewards of entrepreneurship, independence, flexibility and fun.

Upcoming Lifestyle CEO Show Guests ::

May 22: Author Rachel Hamman and I will talk about Rachel's new book Bye-Bye Boardroom: Confessions From a New Breed of Stay-at-Home Moms. Rachel talks about her interviews with moms all over the country (including me!) who abandoned the corporate board room to have more family time and own their own businesses.

Please read the contest rules here before submitting your entry. Put "TRIVIA CONTEST ANSWER" in the subject line or your answer will not be considered. While time does not permit me to respond personally to all entrants, the winner's name will be announced in the next newsletter!

Unlike many people facing the uncertainty of being laid off from a good job, in late 2001, Renee Deal of Deal Farm Soap jumped at the chance when she heard about the possibility of being laid off at her job of 7 years. In fact, she went to her boss and literally asked him to include her in the cuts! There's only one thing I know of that could make someone who is gainfully employed doing something they are good at make a move like that, and that's the discovery of a whole-hearted passion. One that makes the world spin on a different axis and pulls you toward it with a vengeance.

An Entrepreneur Since Age 9

Even as a young girl, Renee Deal had been a creative soul. As an only child, she had the undivided attention of a lot of people and didn't have to share time or space with siblings. Perhaps in part because of this, her parents allowed her to have as many animal pets as she wanted -- so long as she paid for their food. As a result, Renee tested her wings as an entrepreneur at the tender age of 9 when she began raising parakeets. To pay for their food, she made jewelry and other items that she sold to tourists who came to visit her hometown of Salem, Massachusetts. She also bought animal food in bulk and broke it down to sell into smaller quantities to kids in her neighborhood who had pets.

As a child, Renee visited a petting zoo as a child, where she fell in love with one of the baby goats, which followed her around the zoo for the entire day. "I didn't understand why my parents wouldn't let me take one of them home," she recalls. And so all those years ago, Renee's affinity for goats was born. It would not manifest itself until decades later. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

... Like Soap With Trees Sticking Out

Renee graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in 1994 with a major in Industrial Design. She landed a job designing footwear and settled into a promising career in the design field. Before too long, she began getting restless. She married her husband in 2000 and about a year later, uncertainty settled in at her job. By then, Renee had already started playing around making soap in her kitchen. While her first batch turned out "strange," she loved it and was hooked. "My first batch was made with hydrogenated oil and dried peppermint I had grown in my garden. The finished product looked like soap with little trees sticking out of it," she laughs. Still, Renee was proud of her accomplishment and the fact that she had created it from nothing. She began to experiment more, and got better and better at it.

"I loved the way it made my skin feel. I got a few books and did some Internet research and discovered what I heard was the 'Cadillac' of handmade soap -- that is soap made with goat milk," she says. Renee reasoned that if soap made without goat milk was great, then soap made with it must be wonderful. "I love the idea of making and using something handmade. It's neat and different," she explains. So she continued her kitchen soapmaking adventures until she had perfected things enough to think about selling soap.

The Layoff

It was during these days of experimentation that rumors of layoffs at her company began to spread. While everyone else was running scared, Renee found subtle ways to let her boss know that she wouldn't mind getting the ax. And he caught the hints. Renee was let go in May 2002, but unlike many who find themselves out of a job overnight, she started buying goat milk in larger quantities from local farms and set up shop.

A Big Purchase

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As small business owners, IBN members are used to pushing through the stress associated with owning and managing a business. Even when the stress is "good" (lots of new orders during the holidays, packaging and shipping products to media outlets for possible feature, etc.), it can still be tough to handle the pressure of being responsible for the rise or fall of a business. But those of us who do not also have a serious health issue to contend with only know part of the struggle.

As IBN's president, from time to time, I come into contact with people who are living with serious health problems and who wish to slough off the inflexibilities of the traditional work force and start their own ventures. Just last week, I spoke with a woman from my church who is dealing with fibromyalgia. She volunteers her time to various ministries helping people with chronic illness and writes for various health related publications. Her days are filled with much physical pain, which sometimes translates into mental and spiritual problems, yet she presses on.

As we celebrate National Women's Health Week (May 14 to 20), I salute IBN members and women everywhere who are building businesses despite the challenges brought on by serious health issues. One such IBN member is Leah Vartanian, of Florida-based Leah's Natural. Leah was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer on December 20, 2005. "I got out of bed one night and something told me to do a self breast exam, and that's when I discovered something that felt like an eraser head," says the 59-year old mother of two grown children. Leah says that the 1.5 centimeter lump was not discovered on a mammogram. Leah did not waste any time setting up an appointment with her gynecologist, who told her it was probably a plugged duct. Leah was not happy. "I told him I wanted an ultrasound, now," she recalls adamantly. Her doctor made the appointment, which included an uncomfortable guided biopsy with a needle. Within 24 hours, Leah had a diagnosis, and the ordeal of uncertainty began.  

"I had lots of meetings with health professionals and I received all kinds of advice from other women. If you had a broken leg, you have it set. If you have cancer, you have a lot of options. Mastectomy, lumpectomy and various different types of treatments," Leah says. She opted for a lumpectomy. "I'm finding that this is a unique opportunity to learn how to make quick decisions," she says. Needless to say, this was not how Leah had planned to spend the holiday season.

Leah's surgery took place on January 3, 2006, and after recovery came the chemotherapy treatments -- a round of them every 3 weeks. "A chemo treatment would put me out of commission for a week, and then I was up for 2 weeks before I had to go back. This allowed me to keep the business going," she says. Leah started her business in 2003 and joined IBN in 2004. "My belief is that I got cancer for a reason. Since I'm in the skincare business and I have cancer, I have begun to make products that counter the horrible dry spells my skin encounters due to the chemotherapy treatments. I have begun testing products on customers and I'm receiving great feedback from my mineral makeup, which I sell at home parties." Leah says she's not an obsessive worrier and has learned to work hard at keeping her mind occupied, and owning her own business has helped her to do that.

Leah starts radiation treatments next month, and then she says she'll be "home free!" In the meantime, she is doing everything she can to remain upbeat, forward-focused and healthy. "I want people to know that breast cancer is not a death sentence and that the survival rate is huge," she says. "Do your breast exams and if you are diagnosed, consider your options and take swift action. I know many many more people who are surviving than dying," she says, "But there are a lot of people who freeze up from fear after a diagnosis and they don't do anything. That's the worse thing you can do," Leah advises.

Leah has catastrophic health insurance, which covers her chemotherapy treatments, but not any of the doctor visits or other medications. Leah has discovered that it pays to ask questions and insist on the best care. She has received a lot of financial assistance and free samples -- simply because she asked around and did her research. For example, some drugs that treat the side effects of chemotherapy are administered differently. By asking questions, Leah discovered that one drug is covered by her insurance when it's administered through an intravenous tube, but not via other methods. "Call the drug companies and ask them for help. It pays to do your research," she says.

Leah is a survivor, but more importantly, Leah is a thriver, and there is a big difference!. And in the midst of her situation, she is making herself available to help others who are dealing with cancer. If you would like to contact Leah to share your experiences or to borrow a bit of her strength and inspiration, she tells me that her email door is always open, and you can also find her through her website at Leah's Natural.

Best & Success!!
Donna Maria
Editor, The Handmade Beauty Connection
The Indie Beauty Network | www.handmadebeauty.com

Copyright (c) 2000 - 2006 by The Indie Beauty Network (IBN) and Donna Maria. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized distribution or reproduction is prohibited. IBN does not necessarily endorse any product, event or ideology featured in The Handmade Beauty Connection (HBC) or on IBN's website. All information is provided on an "as is" basis and no express or implied warranties are given. Any use of the information contained in the HBC or on IBN's web site, including recipes, is solely at your own risk. IBN and Donna Maria disclaim any liability in connection with the use of all recipes, products reviewed and other information. Except for sponsorships, HBC refuses compensation from companies to feature or mention their names or products. Opinions expressed in any Product Review are personally those of the reviewer and do not represent the views of IBN, Donna Maria (unless she is the reviewer) or any other person or company.