The Indie Experience
March 24, 2008
A Publication of The Indie Beauty Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Volume 9, Issue 11
To subscribe, click here
-- Sponsor --
1. Meet IBN's New & Renewing Members
2. Indie Business Tip of the Week: Take The Jitters Out
of Cold Calling
3. New At the Blog: Using a
Publicist to Get Media Attention for Your Small Business
4. Trivia Question: More Member Trivia And Prizes
5. This Week On Indie Business Radio: Girls' Guide to a
Million-Dollar Business
6. Indie Candy: Colleen Hurley ::
The Gentlemen's
Quarter, West Virginia
7. New At The Forum: More Cosmetics Labeling Tips From
Marie Gale!
Indie Beauty Ritual: Spring Fling Flower Blossoms Body Butter
1. Meet IBN's New & Renewing Members
Welcome Renewing Members!
Personal Alchemy | Tiffany McCauley | California
* Member since March 2007; At Personal Alchemy, we believe
that health results from harmony and balance within oneself. Harmony and balance
are created by aligning purpose for being with ones thoughts, feelings and
physical actions. Personal Alchemy products are all natural, 100% cruelty free
and hand made in the USA. We take great pride in our work, and in serving our
clients. We love our products, and we know you will to. They truly are, the
essence of bliss. Enjoy!
Mixed Greens | Molly Gray | Idaho
* Member since March 2007; Quality handcrafted jewelry,
bath products, and cards. Bath Brews by Mixed Greens are made with natural
ingredients including Shea Butter - extra moisturizing for your skin with subtle
scents light enough for everyone to enjoy.
Gwendolyn's Gate | Wendy Goudie | Illinois
* Member since March 2007; Gwendolyn's Gate is the
manufacturer and distributor of 'Chrysalis' skin care line - a natural based
product created and designed with the mature woman in mind. The line includes
Gentle Exfoliates, French Green Clay, and Facial Butter - this we call, "3
Simple Steps To A Youthful Beautiful You". Researched and tested before
launching - the results are amazing and we have the testimonials to share. Other
products available are Body Butter, Body Cream, Body Oil, and Bath Salts. Once
you have indulged yourself in our products you will begin the Chrysalis
experience of transformation into the world of beauty and luxury.
Garden of Wisdom | Markey Martin | Arizona
* Member since June 2007; Garden of Wisdom is a small,
owner-operated company. We offer excellent customer service. Try our Finished
Product line.
Emily Skin Soothers | Mike Arsenault | Massachusetts
* Member since March 2007; Emily Skin Soothers--simple
solutions for sensitive skin. Healing balms and soap designed initially for
soothing and beautifying dry baby eczema, but now used for any dry skin
condition. Our products use the power of Chinese herbs in the simplest, most
effective combinations. We add no colorants, fragrances, preservatives or
anything else unnecessary. Products created by a concerned father who also
happens to be an acupuncturist and herbalist. Made with love.
Victoria's Lavender | Marilyn Thompson | Oregon
* Member since January 2005; Victoria’s Lavender, now
in our 5th year, uses what we consider to be the best lavender essential oil on
the planet in creating products that are beneficial to the body & soothing
to the soul. In addition to lavender we have created some wonderful combinations
to set us apart from the other lavender lines. We work passionately to bring our
customers exquisite products that are of premium quality as well as beautiful to
behold.
Welcome New Members!
Princetta's Beauty Secrets | Princetta Jones | Nevada
* Our all-natural beauty line is suitable for all skin
types and contains the highest quality pure essential oils, natural herbs,
unrefined butters and organic carrier oils. We do not use water, cheap fillers
or synthetics that could possibly damage skin in any of our mixtures. Our
products are simply pure and natural. Rejuvenate your skin the natural way!
Eagles Passion Organics and Wild | Sherry Strahsburg |
California
* Apprentice Indie.
Green Springs Body Works | Jo Collumbine and Maria Di
Maggio | Oregon
* Welcome to the Green Springs. We use the finest organic
and wild-crafted ingredients in our products, pure therapeutic quality
essentials oils and never use parabens or fragrance oils. Our organic oils are
infused with herbs, fragrant rose petals and love.
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. Indie Business Tip of the Week: Take the Jitters Out of Cold Calling
In a conversation last week, IBN member Tiffany McCauley of Personal Alchemy shared with me a tip she learned from another Indie, a soapmaker, at a farmer's market last week. Tiffany struck up a conversation with the other business owner, and shared with her the struggle she was having trying to get her products into spas in her area. The soapmaker said she is stepping up her efforts to get wholesale accounts too.
According to Tiffany, the soapmaker said she hates contacting retailers out of the blue about her products so she figured out a new way to deal with the jiggers. According to Tiffany, the soapmaker said she plans on going to two places every time she goes out to talk with prospects. The first call is to a place where she doesn't really care one way or the other whether she gets the account. She uses it as a sort of warm up for the second visit, which is to an account she really wants. By the time she finishes up at the first store, she's warmed up and ready to put her best and most enthusiastic, jitter-free face forward.
Thanks for sharing the tip Tiffany! Let us know if you try it and how it works for you.
3. New At the Blog: Informing and Entertaining the Indie Community
Here
are some current popular blog posts. Enjoy and feel free to make your opinion
known. And don't forget to leave your blog or website address so we can learn
more about you, your products and your services.
"Post and Go" Blogging: IBN member shares secrets of posting quickly, and getting on with it
Using a Publicist to Get Media Attention for Your Small Business
Taming the Email Monster: tips from an expert to keep email from taking over your life
Want more great information to help you grow your business? Then click here to get my blog posts automatically delivered directly to you through our RSS feed. If you prefer email, provide your email address at the blog, upper right corner.
4. Trivia Question: Brought to you by Cheryl Niemela of Good Thymes Bath & Body
Last
Weeks' Question: What is the coldest spot in the state of Minnesota?
Last Weeks' Answer: International Falls
Last Week's Winner was DeAnna Nelson of Mineral Silk! DeAnna won a Tropical Citrus Rejuvenating Bath Fizzy, courtesy of Good Thymes Bath & Body in -- you guessed it -- Minnesota!
If you have a trivia question you'd like to share with readers, send me an email and let me know. Your question and your business could be featured here!
5. Today on Indie Business Radio: Girls' Guide to a Million-Dollar Business
Today's
Show: Girls' Guide to a Million Dollar BusinessSmall Business Television host and author Susan Wilson Solovic joins me to talk about her new book "The Girls' Guide to Building a Million-Dollar Business" and how each of us can build our own.
Last week's show is now available! Author and therapist Jennifer Ryan offers some great steps on ending chronic dissatisfaction in life and in business, with guest Indie co-Host Tiffany McCauley of Personal Alchemy. Stream or download the show here.
-- Sponsor --
6. Indie Candy: Colleen Hurley :: The Gentlemen's Quarter, West Virginia
There are a lot of things I could say about America that are wrong these days. The war (or whatever it is) has lasted far too long, the economy is depressed, many people are losing their homes because of the greed of a few. The list goes on. But when I meet people like 46-year old Colleen Hurley of The Gentlemen's Quarter in Beckley, West Virginia, I get a glimpse of lots of things that are right about America, starting with the people like Colleen who take a little bit of innovation and opportunity and turn it into something very big and very wonderful.
How did you start your business and what was the inspiration for it?
The
Gentlemen's Quarter (TGQ) began years in the summer of 2003, under the name “White Sage & Velvet,” and was
originally geared towards women. I began making with the intent to sell it to women at local shows where my
husband sold custom knives. Having gone to more than one Gun & Knife show in my life, I knew first hand that there are always women in attendance strolling along with their husbands or boyfriends, wishing there was something of interest for them as well. And then there are women such as myself who also enjoy shooting firearms and
archery. Either way I decided there would be women to sell to at these shows.
I will never forget that, at my very first show, my first two customers were men!
I think it most fair to say that I've never had a “career” but have been in the working class. I grew up in the southern mountains of West Virginia; a beautiful
and rugged state which is and remains economically depressed. Jobs are few and far between. So a hard upbringing and strong work ethic have served me well. I have worked my way
through many jobs always trying to seek better. I have taken several training programs
through the years and some college courses. My last two jobs of significance were working with kidney failure patients as a Hemo-Dialysis Technician, and then as a Surgical Technician in a Veterinary Hospital.
What's it like to have a business while also being married and running a household?
My husband and I will celebrate our 7th anniversary this October. When my business remained on a “hobby” scale everything was fine, but as my business began to change and my time became more consumed by my
business, it has certainly had an impact on our marriage, and on me and the way I like things to be. Like the house for instance, I can remember when my house was neat and orderly, but now as I look around and see Black and Decker shelving in the living room and we haven't used the
dining room table as a dining table for 3 years!! Yes, it has had an impact. My
husband is a very patient man!
I don't have any children of my own, but my husband has a lovely grown daughter from a previous marriage. I think it would be very difficult to have small children and run a full time business unless you had
a lot of help and support from family and friends.
What's your typical day like?
My day usually starts around 5:00am with coffee in hand sitting at the computer answering emails, following up on orders, then I get my husband off to work. Then a little house cleaning, dishes (with me as the dish washer!), laundry, etc. Then back to the computer to write down orders for the day, and then I head next door to the soap house. Depending on the orders, it's either a day to make products, or to clean and straighten over there, or fill orders and I this takes most of my day. By evening it's time to cook dinner, finish up the laundry, and then we sit down to eat around seven or seven thirty, and that's why those dishes are leftover for the morning, because I am just too tired. A typical day for me, is fourteen hours.
How many products are in your line?
I currently have three product lines: shaving soap, shaving cream and cold process bath soaps in several different
scent blends composed of essential oils and some fragrance oils. I also offer a
shaving "starter kit" (pictured) with soap, shaving cream and a boar
hair shaving brush. My shaving soap is made using a base.
I make my shaving soap by hand using a formula from the 1930's, and I also make
the bath soaps. The shaving soap and shaving cream are my best sellers for men, and my best seller for women
is the bath soap.
I always tell people that TGQ came about by God's sweet grace because I started out making products for women, not men. In the beginning, I did a few local shows, and then I juried into
Tamarack, a beautiful tourist facility located here in my home town of
Beckley that showcases artists of various disciplines from the state of West Virginia. This was my first and remains my only wholesale account.
My cold process bath soaps were the main item that I sold thru the Tamarack, and
women were the main buyers. But shortly after I started selling there, the oddest thing began to happen.
Women kept calling me telling me that their husbands had swiped their bath soap
to shave with, and they wanted to buy more.
It took hearing this story several times over a period of time for a light bulb to come on. At first, I thought it was just peculiar. But after a while, it became a point of curiosity for me, so I started asking questions of the women who contacted me and starting handing out free samples asking men to shave with the soap in exchange for their comments and suggestions on how the soap performed when it was used specifically for shaving.
Along the way the business name was changed from “White Sage & Velvet” to “The Gentlemen's Quarter.”
Who helps you make your business work?
During my first two years of business I really didn't need any help. When the Tamarack placed an order it was in bulk and they always gave me plenty of notice. Even after I started in earnest to develop my product line for men, I didn't need help then either, because I wasn't selling anything, only my products at the Tamarack and I still had a regular job.
I changed jobs and went to work as a part time housekeeper and took a full year and a half of experimenting, throwing away batch after batch and formulating my little heart out. Then sending out free samples to men, and gleaning information from their feedback to develop my product, and for a very long time......a year and half of experimenting....that's a looooonnng time for very little money to be coming in so my
husband has been my biggest supporter financially and my biggest fan. Time passed and my shaving soaps and shaving creams finally took that turn of “ I think you have something
here," and that's when the trouble came because there was never a period of time to adjust for what came next; a lot of unexpected orders.
I tried to do things by myself, until I became exhausted, my house looked like a bomb went off and I could barely remember what my own husband looked like, and that's when I got some help. My
mother helped me for a few months coming two or three days a week, and then it was suggested that I try our local university to find a college student looking for part time help and that idea was a Godsend.
My Dad has helped from time to time with a little extra pocket money and
Tupperware containers of yummy soup, and my stepfather helped with computer purchases...... I wouldn't have been able to come this far without the help of my family and I've also been blessed to have a wonderful mentor to discuss business problems with.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention my customers and testers for being such
willing test subjects. They have all tested some pretty lousy things, but
through it all, they've been extremely helpful and encouraging.
What makes your products stand out?
I set out in earnest to seek out the opinion of my intended customer, and gave them the product to test first with all expense coming out of my pocket. I asked more questions than you can imagine and I listened carefully to what my testers said and made adjustments. That in itself became the “unintentional
hook,” because by the time I finally worked out a formula, I had already developed a good working relationship with these men, and word of mouth began to spread and other men were comfortable ordering from me via email
(no website at first) because my product line was recommended to them.
My best selling products to men are the shaving soaps and creams, but the focus after the quality of the shave, remains the scent. My best sellers are four custom blends I created using essential oils and fragrance oils in Bay
Rum (pictured), Desert Ironwood, Cavendish Black and Leatherneck, and are sought after because they smell
so manly!
How do you market your products?
After spending hours and hours answering emails for orders, it became clear that I desperately needed a website. So I turned to the
Tamarack for help, because part of what they do is to not only sell your wares, but they provide various programs of assistance for juried artists in business matters. And this is when I met the young man who was a college student working as an intern in e-commerce and web design for the Artisan's Resource Center, funded by the Tamarack. I
shared my concept of for the website and this talented young man designed my site for me and did a wonderful job. I truly feel blessed by the doors of opportunity that God has opened for me.
With the website, 95% of my sales are retail, with the Tamarack being my only wholesale account. I still find the best way to market my products is to talk to potential customers about
what they want a product. Then I tell them about my business, carry contact information, and have a good sale every now and then.
What are the best things about what you do?
One is the good feeling I get when a customer writes to tell me of the difficulty they've had with their skin and shaving, and then they say, “TGQ shaving products are the best they've used,” and even compare the quality with some of the finer European companies (big smile). My other favorite is being able to talk to people from all over the world and learning about their countries and different cultures.
What are some of the challenges you face, and how do you overcome them?
The most difficult thing for me in business, has been my complete lack of a formal business education, and a lack of computer skills. All that I've learned, I've taught myself , and there surely isn't anything wrong with that. I've made some serious mistakes along the way and mistakes are time consuming to boot.
I believe that all challenges are overcome, or not, by one's attitude .
I decided early on that my business would be my hands on college education. I realized early that I would make mistakes, that I would have failures, that I would have to invest money and time and it would take a period of years before I began to see results for my efforts. Bottom line; it takes a lot of hard work, dedication and diligence to see it
through.
What are you doing when you're not working?
This question is a little tough for me, because it seems that, if I'm not working, I'm sleeping. On the other hand, I've taken a lifetime of interests and placed small bits and pieces of the things I love and woven them into the fabric of my business. I love travel and stories of adventure, calligraphy, and painting, a good book, tending my ever expanding herb garden and baking homemade bread, antiques and the days of old when things were a little slower and easier paced.
What publications inspire you to be successful in your business?
My favorite are the trade magazines, I love it when they show up in the mailbox and I can hardly wait to curl up with my magazine and see what's going on out there in world of beauty, cosmetics and fragrance. I subscribe to Indie, GCI, Happi, and Skin Inc. I study carefully the trends in marketing, packaging and new ingredients on the horizon.
What business tips can you offer to others wishing to start a business of their own?
Be very realistic - about how much it will cost, how long it will take, and how much you think you will make. And be patient.
What do you love about being Indie?
What I love most about being a member of IBN is looking at the website and seeing all of the women owned businesses and hearing their stories. This has spurred me on many a time when I thought I'd like to quit and in sheer practical terms the availability of product insurance has been a blessing, and I love the directory of reputable suppliers.
This is Indie Candy, so if you were a brand of candy, what would
you be and why?
While I'm no stranger to candy, I can't think of a brand of candy that fits me. All that comes into my head is the line
from the movie, Forrest Gump. Me, my life, and my business, well..... it's just like “a
box of chocolates, you never know what you're goona get." Each day brings it's own set of problems to be solved.
What are your annual gross revenues?
It is good to look back on the growth of my business from 2003 until now, and what I see is a steady growth of 35% a year. Our
website launched in November 2007, and God willing, I have high expectations for growth this year of at least 50%.
What other things would you like to share about your business?
When I look back on my business from the beginning to now, I sometimes think
that if I had known at the beginning how hard it was going to be, I may not have
continued on. It's really hard, and it's really work and there have been a few times that I longed for the carefree days of working for someone else and letting everything be their problem, their responsibility to handle, not mine.
The flip side of that is that has time has passed, my business has grown. While
is will continue to be a lot of hard work, I've reached that stage where I can look back and see that I have accomplished some pretty amazing things and that feels really, really good.
I read a quote somewhere -- don't remember where -- but it goes something like
this: If you have a cart full of dreams, you'll need a team of horses to pull it."
I think that is so true because I would not be where I am today without the Grace of God, and my business would not be where it is today without the help of my
husband, my family and my friends. It really does take a team to pull a cart of
dreams.
7. New At The Forum: Tips For Proper Cosmetic Product Labeling
New
At The Forum
Find answers, ask questions, and share your expertise with others on other hot topics of discussion, including:
1. Tips
from Marie Gale on how to properly label your cosmetics
2. Indie
looking to buy your used soapmaking equipment
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.
