The Indie Experience
July 16, 2007
A Publication of The Indie Beauty Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Volume 8, Issue 28
To subscribe, click here
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1. Meet IBN's New Members
2. New At the Blog: Indie Families Rock!
3. This Week On Indie Business Radio: Live What You Love!
4. Indie Candy: Emily Skin Soothers: More Than Hugs and
Kisses
Indie Beauty Ritual: Vanessa's Baby Oil
1. Meet IBN's New Members
Welcome
New Members!
Farmer's Wife | Kimberly Ballard | New Mexico
* I am a licensed esthetician and nail technician with natural
skincare, foot care and nail care products.
Treasures From the Heartland | Pat Bohnsack | Iowa
* At Treasures from the Heartland, all products are made in small
batches from the finest of ingredients. Our handmade soaps are made the cold
process (CP) method, using olive, canola, coconut, palm, and castor oils,
along with goat's milk, botanicals & essential oils. We also make a
wonderful lotion containing emu oil, MSM, and shea butter that has gotten
rave reviews for relieving aching muscles and joints. We strive to deliver
the highest quality products at reasonable prices.
Beauty By Bethie | Beth Serra | New York
* Apprentice Indie
Flour Sack Creations | Leisa Anne Carle | Florida
We are a handmade natural body company featuring many types of old
fashioned and glycerin soaps and bath salts. We use organics when possible
as well as essential oils and some high quality fragrance oils also.
A Rare Treasure | Cynthia Bonnette | Illiinois
Our soaps, lotions, scrubs, balms, cremes, candles, etc. are hand
crafted in small batches to ensure quality and freshness. We strive to bring
you products made with the finest quality ingredients.
Yonder & Green | Brenda Seldin | New York
At Yonder & Green, our plant oil, butter and essential oil ingredients are selected for their high quality from all over the world. Our skin care creations will nourish your skin. Keeping it healthy, happy and naturally beautiful.
Palm Beach Soaps | Jo Ann Diaz | Florida
Palm Beach Soaps, based in Delray Beach, Florida manufactures a full line of bath, body and skincare products for the mass retail and specialty markets. The largest segment of our business is contract manufacturing under private label. Products range from surfactant-free items to cosmeceuticals and homeopathic remedies.
Liz's Soothing Solutions | Elizabeth Kingston |
California
We specialize in glycerin soaps, bath salts, bath fizzies, body creams, body butters and other inexpensive herbal body and bath specialties. All of our products are hand crafted and where possible, we use botanicals from our own garden. We are firm believers that quality bath products can be affordable.
Soul of Serenity | Vicky and Demetra Washington |
Illinois
The mother/daughter team of Vicky and Demetra Washington operates Soul of Serenity. Vicky is a registered Aromatherapist and a Licensed
Esthetician. Soul of Serenity is an Aromatherapy based company. Here at Soul of Serenity our products are handcrafted using some of the best natural resources our beautiful planet has to offer. You will find Bath Drops; Bath Salts; Body Butters; Body Scrubs; Body Sprays and Oil Beads. Our goal at Soul of Serenity is to give our customers a choice for natural products at an affordable price.
Sisterra Essential Products | Susan Garramone |
Massachusetts
Sisterra Essential Products is a natural health and beauty business that creates beneficial products using the properties and powers of essential plant oils. Pure plant oils can treat, heal and soothe physical, emotional and spiritual ills bringing balance to mind, body and soul. Try Sisterra's synergistic oil blends for hair, skin and overall health!
Illuminating Balance | Andrea Crowell | Colorado
All of our candles are hand poured and manufactured in Colorado with soy wax, hemp core cotton wicks and essential oils. Candles that are labeled as All Natural are just that. Candles that are labeled Eco-Friendly are that and a little bit more. The dye that we use is made from eco-friendly ingredients. Each of our Eco-Friendly candles are individually colored. Each candle is unique.
Learn more about Indie members and their exciting products, services and activities by visiting their websites through our Online Member Directory. You can search for your favorite Indie by state/country, business name, keyword or alphabetical listings.
2. New At the Blog: Blogs of Interest to the Indie Beauty Community
Blogs
of special interest to the Indie Beauty community:
Success
Excess: How do you want to be remembered?
Indie
Families Rock!: The family that binds together binds together
Future
Indies Of America Show: where it all starts
Best Little Soaphouse In Texas: IBN member wins a book and shares her
Indie philosophy
Where
The Boys Aren't: Having nothing to do with Indie or Beauty, but for
anyone who cares about girls
3. This Week on Indie Business Radio: Live What You Love!
Indie Business Radio offers practical advice and workable strategies to achievement-oriented, independent entrepreneurs who are trading in the traditional corporate ladder to enjoy life and business on their own terms. Enjoy downloads and audio streams of recent shows at this link. The show has been on hiatus for a few weeks and will return next week with another great guest. What You Love!
This
Week's Show: Live What You Love!
Guests:
Husband and wife team Bob and Mel Blanchard, authors of Live What You
Love,
how they started 8 successful business out of determination to do what they
loved to do without compromise, and they offer their best tips and insights
on how each of us can live what we love.
Enjoy the Show: While
our
show engineer is on vacation, we are on hiatus until
July 30 when I'll be back with IBN member Jena Thompson! Email your questions
for Jena on how to have a great home party business to info@indiebusinessradio.com.
Upcoming Shows:
July 9 and July 16: show hiatus (encore shows will be played)
July 30: IBN's own Jena Thompson of Daisy Blue Naturals on how to grow a
home party business (confirmed)
August 6: Aliza Sherman, The Who, What, Where, When and How of
Blogging (confirmed)
"I Love Indie Business Radio! "
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4. Indie Candy: Emily Skin Soothers: More Than Hugs and Kisses
Honestly,
do you think there's anything sweeter than a dad doting on his beautiful
baby girl? I think not, but for one Indie, it's not just about hugs and
kisses. It's also about combining 2 longstanding professions with a new one
so that not only 16-month old Baby Emily can benefit, but also the rest of
the world. Emily's got his heart, but 36-year old Mike Arsenault will share
his Emily Skin
Soothers soap and salve with anyone with a patch of dry skin.
When and how did you start your business and what was the inspiration for
it?
My business was inspired by and created because of my daughter, Emily, who was born with eczema. I am a trained acupuncturist and herbalist, with a decade of experience. I did not want to put anything harsh on her baby skin, so I made a very simple, natural and safe remedy based on my training in Chinese herbs. It worked so well on her that I shared it with some of my patients. Their feedback was so overwhelmingly positive that I incorporated and launched the company. Emily is 16 months old now and I officially incorporated in February of 2007.
It may be a bit sappy, but I feel the products are so effective because they were truly inspired by my concern for my daughter. I am still an acupuncturist and work in my private practice 3 days and a hospital 3 days a week.
Sappy is good, Mike. What's it like to be a new dad and
how do you juggle fatherhood with business ownership?
I love being a dad and I do not find it challenging at all. My wife, Chi, chose to stay home with
Emily and everyone is doing well. The most challenging thing for me is not calling them more than
5 times a day.
I feel blessed to have a background in meditation and mindfulness practices, so though I am very busy with my 3 jobs, when I am with my family, I am completely present for them. I am able to work hard because I love my work and I find it rewarding and fun, so it does not feel difficult.
What is acupuncture, and does it fit in with your training as an
herbalist?
I have been practicing acupuncture since 1999. I work 6 days a week, 3 in my private practice and 3 in a hospital. The training was 3.5 years full time at the graduate level. Every state has its own licensure requirements, but in Massachusetts, we are licensed through the State Board of Registry in Medicine, the same board that registers doctors and nurses. I see people for everything you can imagine, including: pain conditions, injury, fertility, asthma, digestive issues, stress, allergies and much
more.
My herbalist training was part of and goes hand-in-hand with my acupuncture training. Chinese Herbal Medicine is a very deep, complex practice with a few thousand years of clinical practice behind it. With many patients I use internal or external herbal formulas to enhance their acupuncture treatment. I sometimes use pre-made formulas, but also often write individual prescriptions for people’s specific conditions and these formulas can have anywhere from 3-15 different herbs that balance and enhance each other.
With such a busy schedule, do you have any help?
I am currently a one-person corporation, but not for much longer. I do have professional help from an accountant, a webmaster, and I just gave my books to a bookkeeper (that was a relief!). I am currently shopping around for help with bottling and would love any leads in the Northeast for bottling.
Tell me about your products.
My two products
(soap and salve) are both powered by the same 3 Chinese herbs. I cook them into olive oil for both the salve and the soap. One of the ingredients is a type of mint, the others are angelica root and
potentillae. The formula is based on formulas for eczema that are hundreds
of thousands of years old. All together their indications are to nourish the skin and to help vent ‘heat’ or dryness from the skin. Both products are for dry skin conditions.
Because I made them initially to put on my own infant, they are very minimalist. Neither product has any artificial color or fragrance or chemical preservatives. I use very high quality herbs from Mayway Corp. They do not use sulfur preservatives and batch tests the raw herbs for pesticides, contaminants and heavy-metals. As Emily uses these products daily, they are always high quality and made for use on my own daughter.
How do these herbs work in the products?
One recent client that has done well is a 9 year old boy who has had asthma and skin problems since he was 2. He had a long history of eczema and folliculitis with ongoing use of topical steroids. His dad was my patient and bought my salve and soap for him. His mom was skeptical but she tried it, and when his skin cleared up, she began bringing him for acupuncture. Now about 2 months into the process he recently had a follow-up with his doctor who took him off of Flovent (a steroid inhaler) because his oxygen saturation in the blood and his peak flows (2 ways to diagnose asthma) are both within normal ranges. His skin has been clear for a while now.
4. You are also an herbalist? Trained where? What do you do as an herbalist?
What are the best things about doing what you do?
The best thing about having this new business is the feedback and before/after photos, of babies especially. I remember how concerned I was when my daughter’s skin troubled her, and there is nothing better than hearing back from a parent of a child who was suffering and got relief and help from the products. No matter how many positive testimonials I get, each one makes me smile.
What are the biggest challenges about small business ownership and how do
you overcome them?
For me, the biggest challenge is having and finding the time. So far, the business has grown smoothly and organically without too much effort. But, as it gets bigger and I get more involved, I realize I will need more help. That in itself is a challenge. I have to learn a lot about hiring and outsourcing and growing a business. What keeps me going though is the knowledge that I am providing products that are safe, and natural, and helping people.
What business book have you enjoyed lately that has helped you in
business and why?
I read a lot of books on tape when I commute or exercise. I am currently enjoying:
EVEolution : Understanding Women--Eight Essential Truths That Work in Your Business and Your Life by Faith Popcorn. It is pretty insightful.
Why do you love being Indie?
I became an Indie because of the insurance offerings. I was very happy to find the group policy rates. Since joining up I have enjoyed using the site as a resource to find suppliers and also enjoyed getting tips from and hearing how other Indies are building their businesses.
What tips do you have for other people who might want to start a
business of their own?
If I were to give tips to others starting a business, I would say “do not do it unless you love it and are inspired.” If you are doing it for other reasons it will be too much trouble and too hard. If you love it, it is fun and an adventure.
Beyond the fun though, there is much to learn, so I would also say that it is very necessary to learn something new every day. Unless you already have an MBA, there is a lot to know: supplies, sales, marketing, customer service, etc. In the early stages, you need to wear all these hats, and you need to be constantly learning on the job.
When you're not working, what are you
doing?
When I am not working I am reading to or going to the park or little outings with my daughter and wife. In my pre-Emily life I had other hobbies that I do not really miss because it is more fun to be with my daughter.
We can certainly see why, Mike. Tell me more about how you promote your business.
So far I have not done any paid advertising. I am considering the possibilities. Up to this point I have been lucky enough to have lots of word-of-mouth from my acupuncture practices and patients and a handful of local newspaper articles spread the word. I also have done a lot of leg-work placing the product in retail stores.
What's on the horizon for Emily Skin Soothers?
My short term plan is to get the products into retail establishments in over 20 states. I also plan to get the products some exposure in national magazines in the Fall/Winter. Other products are in the pipeline, but I’ll keep my mouth shut until I get it done!!
Best & Success!!
Donna Maria
Editor, The Indie Experience
The Indie Beauty Network | www.indiebeauty.com
Copyright (c) 2000 - 2007 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.
