The Indie Experience
January 29, 2007
A Publication of The Indie Beauty Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Volume 8, Issue 4
To subscribe, click here
1. Welcome New and Renewing Members
2. Today On Indie Business Radio: Kick Start Your
Business With Romanus Wolter
3. Handmade Beauty Business Magazine: They Are Here!
4. Indie Candy: Jody Berry of Wild Carrot Herbals: From
Blossom to Bottle
5. Indie Calendar: Indies, Indies Everywhere!
Pamper Yourself This Week: Ginger Citrus Body Emulsion
1. Welcome New and Renewing Members
Welcome Renewing Members!
B-girl Aromatherapy | Cathryn Swan | New York
* Member since January 2005; B-girl Aromatherapy oils are wonderful magical
blends of organic essential oils in a jojoba oil or sweet almond base,
designed to be worn on pulse points. Carry them with you wherever you go!
The six blends are: love&bliss, empower, cash flow, de-stress, focus,
and sleep. Check out our website to see which oils are currently being
featured.
Supplies by Star | Starlene Moore | Texas
* Member since January 2005; We carry soap molds, oils, butters, colorants,
jojoba spheres, additives, herbs. Just about anything you might need for
soap or bath and body products. We are adding to our inventory each month.
S&D Aroma, Ltd. | John Brebner | United Kingdom
* Member since December 2004; S & D Aroma Ltd was formed in 1992 to work
with, and support Community Projects, producing organic shea butter, cocoa
butter, vegetable oils and essential oils, ensuring that producers were
fairly paid. We now support projects in over 16 countries as diverse as
Nepal, India, Rwanda, Papua New Guinea to name a few. We now have a USA
distributor.
Spoiled Rotten Bath and Body | Kellee Taylor-Smith
| California
* Member since January 2005; Handmade bath bombs, scrubs and body butters
made with the highest quality oils, salts and essential oils. All orders are
handmade fresh so you get a fresh product each and every time!
Lunaroma | Leyla Bringas | Vermont
* Member since August 2003; We are a family owned and operated Vermont
business. Our products are blended by hand, using the finest, highest
quality essential oils and purest botanicals available. We focus on creating
high quality aromatherapy and natural body care products which reveal the
true art, science and splendor of aromatic blending. Specializing in custom
design for spas and individuals, our lines are sold to boutiques, salons,
and practitioners; we operate a retail shop and mail order business.
Aromahead | Andrea Butje | Florida
* Member since April 2006; Aromahead.com provides both Essential Oil
Education and an on line web store for purchasing high quality essential
oils in small and bulk sizes. The 200-hour certification program through
Aromahead Institute is approved by the National Association for Holistic
Aromatherapy. Weekend classes and the certification program are approved for
National and Florida Massage Therapy CEU's. The Web store is for individuals
and businesses that want to buy high quality essential oils that are
imported directly from the distillers that make them. All the oils are GC/MS
tested and either organic, unsprayed or wild crafted.
Lutzy's Lather | Kim Lutz-Isenhour | Pennsylvania
* Member since December 2003; Lutzy's Lather creates soaps and bath &
body products with the goal of helping people while also honoring Grammy
Lutz (the founder's paternal Grandmother) who used to make her own soaps on
the farm. Kim, found of Lutzy’s Lather, has created several signature
products which help her to establish her niche within the bath & body
market.
Welcome New Members!
Rebecca Picard Photography | Rebecca Picard |
Vermont
I am a professional photographer who works with small-medium sized
businesses from around the world. I produce high-quality product and
commercial photography which will enhance your brand and help you sell
products.
The Packaging University | Jo Ann Hines | Georgia
Packaging, packaging consulting, packaging coaching, packaging
vendors and suppliers, packaging services, packaging expertise, packaging
training and education, packaging boot camp and packaging workbooks. Check
out the February 1 teleclass in the calendar!
Moji O Public Relations | Moji Oladehin | Tennessee
Offering an assortment of services that deliver results-driving,
individualized image-building strategies. Creative design, public relations,
copywriting and more.
'AdeeNah | Heather Henry | New York
'AdeeNaH began out of a personal necessity for lotions and soaps that
not only smell fabulous but actually moisturize the skin. Most of the
products in this line are handcrafted using ingredients that have been
proven to promote healthy, smooth and supple skin. We do not use any fillers
and the ingredients list on our products are short and simple.
Inesscents Aromatic Botanicals | Wendy Ashley |
Oregon
Supplier of organic carrier oils such as organic almond oil, organic
jojoba oil, organic avocado oil, organic olive oil and organic sunflower oil
as well as bulk raw materials such as unrefined and fair trade shea butter,
mango butter and cocoa butter.
Honeydripper Originals, Inc. | Kimberly Lang |
Florida
Every HDO product is made by hand with 100% natural soy wax using
century old techniques to ensure the highest quality product for your home.
We have designed our own exclusive HDO Home Accents wax blends for all our
vegetable based soy candles and our pillars. We add only the highest quality
essential oil and fragrance along with lead free cotton wicks to create our
masterpieces. All of our products have been tested and your satisfaction is
guaranteed.
Shambhala Soaps | Keith Emmons | Texas
At Shambhala Soaps we create natural handmade soaps, lotions, as well
as other bath and body products. We use essential oils and herbs gathered
from around the world. We work to limit the use of synthetic fragrance oils
when ever possible. The oils we choose are naturally sourced whenever
possible. We use real imported Dead Sea Salts in our Bath Salts and Sugar
Scrubs.
Katybugs Healthsense, Inc. | Katy Buggs | Virginia
At Shambhala Soaps we create natural handmade soaps, lotions, as well
as other bath and body products. We use essential oils and herbs gathered
from around the world. We work to limit the use of synthetic fragrance oils
when ever possible. The oils we choose are naturally sourced whenever
possible. We use real imported Dead Sea Salts in our Bath Salts and Sugar
Scrubs.
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. Today on Indie Business Radio: Kick Start Your Business With Romanus Wolter
Launched in October 2005 as the Lifestyle CEO Show, 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.
Today's Guest: Romanus Wolter
Author of "Kick Start Your Success" and "Kick Start Your Dream Business"
Topic of Discussion: Get "unstuck" and kick start
your business, no matter how big or small it is
How To Join The Show Live: Log onto Global
Talk Radio.com at 1:00pm EST and click on "Listen Now." Call
your questions and comments in live at (800) 773-0355.
About
Romanus Wolter
Known as "The Kick Start Guy, Romanus Wolter has enjoyed phenomenal success as the success coach for Entrepreneur Magazine. He is also a Trump "personal success" expert. His two books on kick starting your business are an awesome resource for any small business owner. Kick Start Your Dream Business" takes an in-depth look at starting a business from soup to nuts. It's very detailed and contains hundreds of items to add to your "to do" list to kick your business up a notch. "Kick Start Your Success" is a quicker read, based on the 4 things you need to do to kick things into higher gear.
Use the links below to purchase your copies today!
Upcoming Indie Business Radio Guests
February 12
Show: Duplicating yourself to increase profits
Guest: Debra Cohen, owner of Home Remedies of NY, Inc.
Topic: tips for expanding your business using a franchise model
February 19
Show: Making love and business work
IBN member couples talk about business as a lifestyle and how they combine
love and business amidst laundry, diapers, homework and other obligations
March 19
Show: Breaking the mold to promote your business
Sabrina Bouyahi, owner of Push The Envelope Public Relations
Topic: practical PR strategies to set you apart from the crowd
March 26
Show: Shout it out!
Shannon Cherry, owner of Cherry Communications
Topic: making your voice heard in a global economy
3. Handmade Beauty Business Magazine: They Are Here!
Members
and subscribers!
Check your mail boxes this week for the new magazine: The Soap Issue. Just look at that lovely cover featuring IBN member soaps and making a dazzling display of color, innovation, creativity and texture!
This issue was a long time coming and I thank everyone for their patience.
If you subscribe by January 31, 2007, you'll get this issue, plus the first two issues, plus all 4 issues for 2007, which will be published quarterly under our newly design masthead and cover to complement the Indie Beauty Network! Remember, members need not subscribe as your issues are a part of your member benefits!
4. Indie Candy: Jody Berry of Wild Carrot Herbals: From Blossom to Bottle
Far from the hustle and bustle of the "big city" lies a little
town called Rickreall, Oregon. It's just west of Salem and on the way to
Lincoln City. Well, you may not have heard of them either, and if not, you
are definitely missing out says Jody Berry of Wild
Carrot Herbals in Rickreall. "Lincoln City is wine country,"
she smiles. Not only do you need to add wine country to your "to
do" list, but you might also add Jody too, particularly if you'd like
to know first hand that no matter where you are, your business can be a
success.
"The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives." Native American Proverb
To Jody, that saying is more than just a "feel good" quotation. It's words to live by. As an organic farmer for many years before starting her beauty business, Jody knows first hand of the interplay between farming the earth and restoring its bounty. Today, she uses some of the products she farms to create her line of skin soothing products.
From Blossom to Bottle
"As an organic farmer, my skin got trashed from being out in the sun and dirt all day. I
remember being fixated on what I was putting inside my body, yet
paying no attention to what I was putting outside it. One day while trying to pronounce the ingredients in a lotion that wasn’t working
very well, I set out to find alternatives. I began to research medicinal herbs and their benefits for the skin. I began to grow
the plants I was learning about. I got to know them, making salves and botanical oils from them. Then I found
a recipe by noted herbalist Rosemary
Gladstar, made my first batch, and knew instantly that my calling had
found me."
Choosing a Company Name
"I used to grow flowers on my farm and sell bouquets to businesses in town. On my way into town I would gather wild flowers and mint to use as filler for my bouquets. Wild carrot was always abundant; so hardy it could grow in compacted gravel. It has delicious, edible roots and I often snacked on them while harvesting. Wild carrot is also known as Queen Anne’s lace, and is such a delicate, lovely flower. It will last a long time in a bouquet, was a major food source for coastal tribes, and the seed oil has cell regenerating properties. Finches love to eat the seeds too! Wild carrot has sustained and nourished me, my family and my community so well. It's the perfect name for my venture.
Help
me Lord!
"My best selling product is Lord! My Hands Are So Dry lotion. It's the first lotion recipe I ever made, and it sells well because it works. It is loaded with botanicals such as St. John’s Wort and calendula that help heal dry, cracked, inflamed skin. I wanted to make a hand lotion that didn’t just make me feel moisturized, but worked on the problems that I was having with my skin. It has been tried and tested on African hand drummers, florists, health care workers, concrete pourers, construction workers, gardeners, farmers, you name it. I think that folks like the name too-I always get a kick out of doing demos and having a customer ask me what I would recommend for their dry, chapped hands. I reply, "Well, how about the Lord helped my dry hands!?" They crack up. Try it. Like it. It also smells really good-with vanilla, frankincense and myrrh essential oils. Like all my products (except the organic Castile soap), the lotion is made here on the farm."
[Editor's Note: the photo here shows Wild Carrot's Orange & Pink Grapefruit Body Wash, which is wonderful. Please be aware that it actually comes full! I just couldn't wait to use it and the photographer was a little slow on the trigger. The jar with the orange label is a super-wonderful "Soulshine" rose and sandalwood shea butter cream. It is fabulous and you can read more about it in today's blog.]
Getting The Help On
"I am a one-woman show for the most part as far as the business goes. I have a part time
lady who works for me and helps me label, ship and process plant material in the
summer. I also have help with in-store demos, and I use independent sales rep
in other states to help me get the word out and increase market presence. I do most of the sales myself and tend to focus on local stores in my
attempt to be more sustainable. I have a website designer and an
accountant, but I do my own book keeping."
Tips and Suggestions
"If you plan to go into business, start something you feel quite passionately about, as you will need to draw upon that well of passion down the road when the excitement wears off, things go wrong or you get the biggest order you’ve ever had and your hair is standing on end. Start small and gradually test your market, which by the way you must get to know very well. Avoid debt at all costs, especially in the beginning. When looking at a capital investment, crunch the numbers to make sure the business can really afford it. Finally, utilize your local small business development center. I meet with a mentor monthly. He draws on years of experience out in the business jungle, keeps me grounded and makes me feel like a rock star! Best of all-it’s free!
The Times, They Are A Changin'
"I am 6 months pregnant with my first child. Well, Wild Carrot really feels like my first child, and now that she is pretty much on her own 2 feet, I am ready to have another. Right now I am asking Mom’s for tips on how they do it!"
Love Being Indie
"I have high freedom needs and am easily bored. Wild Carrot allows me a varied diet of activities-from manufacturing, farming, to working in stores, sales and doing the books. I love working with plants and being outside, getting to know each product I make from “blossom to bottle” is absolute magic. I also love living in a small, agricultural community. Wild Carrot allows me to live in the middle of nowhere and make a good living. Working with the public is also a total high, and my social fix. I love infusing people with the mystery of medicinal plants and talking to them about what they are looking for in a lotion or cream or even a lip balm. I have learned so much by listening to what people share."
Biggest Challenges
"As the business grows I find myself knocking on the doors of larger markets and grocery store chains. Discounting is always an issue and one that is quite difficult for a small business to afford. I also don’t feel right discounting to some stores and not giving discounts to the stores that helped me get here in the first place. Especially when I know that some of
the chains are a serious threat to the smaller businesses. When asked to give an opening order discount, I ask for a larger quantity. When asked for an on-going
discount on all products, I try to do promotional specials on one or two at
a time for a month or two. Being Indie can also be a hurdle since some
stores only work through distributors or brokers. If this is the case, I take the local route. In the Northwest, there is a huge focus on sustainability and supporting local businesses and farmers.
There is a good infrastructure of people who will work with you on the “local channel,” and not
look at you as just another independent business.
"Also, keeping the momentum up with sales can be a challenge in out of
state stores since I'm not there enough to conduct demonstrations and keep
the sales staff hyped. I cannot afford a fleet of sales reps at this time,
so once again, I go back to my local area and focus on stores in my neck of the woods.
"Oh, and while I'm at it, one more hurdle I run into comes simply by
virtue of the fact that I offer handmade beauty products. I think some buyers think I am selling something I conjured up in my bathtub in a
paper cup. I often get the name of the buyer and then send samples and
information to back up the solid integrity of my products. Sending things is
good, but the best case scenario is when you can schedule an appointment to
present your products to a buyer face to face."
I Love My Life
"I am in business for myself so I have the flexibility to decide just what and how much I can do. I have no desire to be the biggest skin care company out there. I have a good idea of just how big I want to get based on what I can sustain here on my farm. I would like to continue my quality of life, live in a small town, work with the plants and raise a family. Wild Carrot will allow me to do that in my own corner of the country.
I love IBN and am proud to be a part of a surprisingly large community of folks that are just as hooked as I am on making skin care. The thing I like most about IBN is feeling that I am part of a world wide family of (mostly) women that is innovative, enthused and open to sharing information with others. IBN has depth, soul, and a lot of heart. Sometimes, when I think, “Why am I doing this?”, I read an article about another company’s trials and tribulations and I no longer feel alone. It is empowering for a woman in business by herself, totally grass roots, asking a lot of myself and doing my best."
Spare Time
"Spare time? What's that? I feel like Wild Carrot is such a huge part of my life. Many of the plants that I use in my products I find out foraging in the woods or river deltas in the Northwest, so I guess I spend my "free time" doing that. I spend a lot of time hiking and gathering plants with my two border collies, Tita and Randy, and my herbalist girlfriends. I also love to make cordials, honeys and vinegars for friends and family. I gather fruits and berries to concoct elixirs each year. I am also a tractor fanatic and spend as much time as I can out in the fields on Blossom, our old Kubota tractor, growing food for the family and herbs for the business. Right now my husband and I are trying to restore an old vineyard on our property and spend our free time pruning old neglected vines and trying to keep the blackberries at bay. We made our first batch of wine this summer and hope to make even more next year. I also just got accepted to the board of directors for Oregon Tilth, a certifying body for organic farmers and processors world wide. I am excited to be a part of an organization that is out there protecting the integrity of the name organic and holding family farms and multi-national corporations accountable.
Oh, and I am also growing a baby while I'm at it."
Favorite
Business Book
"I have been consuming Clif Bars on trails for years. I recently purchased a book about the company that makes them, "Raising The Bar: Integrity and Passion in Life and Business: The Story of Clif Bar & Co." I first bought the book because I liked the product. Reading it, I am struck by the fact that the founder's passion was his business. He passed up a huge sum of money from a food conglomerate to protect the integrity of his product, his employees and his customers. In this day in age, it seems that business owners are almost expected to grow their businesses to a certain point and then sell out to the highest bidder. It was refreshing to read about a company of his size that still had its heart and soul and has not lost its vision."
Looking Forward
"I just changed my logo, labels and packaging from plastic to glass. I would imagine that I will win some customers who are looking for an ultra-clean and more high-end looking product and willing (and able) to pay a little more, and lose others who like the convenience of plastic or the cheaper price. I am also currently working on earning an aromatherapy certification and plan to begin teaching classes to help massage therapists and regular people how to use essential oil to make their own beauty products."
You can get some wonderfully made products at Wild Carrot's website, and read more about Indie Jody in today's blog.
5. Indie Calendar: Indies, Indies Everywhere!
As always, IBN members are everywhere doing their share to support and encourage other Indies to maximize success. Check out the chart below for an overview of upcoming events and if you think one in your area is for you, click on our Calendar for more details and to register.
Members, listen up! This weekly feature is just one of the
ways IBN spreads the word about your business. Do you have an event coming
up that you'd like us to publicize? An open house? A special class? A sale
at your physical retail location? Add your event here
and I'll cue it up for the next newsletter!
| Date | Event | Location |
| February 1, 2007 | Consumer Trends That Can Make or Break Your Business | Virtual Teleclass by Jo Ann Hines, the Packaging Diva |
| February 3, 2007 | Create Your Very Own Spa Treats by Erica Shrader | Washington, DC at First Class |
| February 16, 17, 18 | The Business of Aromatherapy | Sarasota, FL at Aromahead |
| March 17, 2007 | Start Writing Your Business Plan Today | San Francisco, California; The Nova Studio |
| April 12-15, 2007 | Bath and Body Product Making Boot Camp | San Francisco, California; The Nova Studio |
| May 5-7, 2007 | dM Delivering the Keynote at the Handcrafted Soap Maker's Guild Conference | St. Louis, MO |
| Summer 2007 | The Indie Business Conference (pictures from the 2006 conference) | Charlotte, North Carolina, registration to be announced |
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.
