The Indie Experience
October 13, 2008
A Publication of The Indie Beauty Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Volume 9, Issue 37
To subscribe, click here
-- Media Partner --
1. Meet IBN's New & Renewing Members
2.
New At the Blog: 3 Hot Tips To Kick Start Your Business
3. This Week On Indie Business Radio: Full-Time Woman,
Part-Time Career
4. Indie Candy: Jeanne Kissman :: Plum Hill Pure Body
Essentials :: Idaho
5. New At The Forum: A New Packaging Directory and
More!
Indie Beauty Ritual: Pineapple Paste
1. Meet IBN's New & Renewing Members
Welcome Renewing Members!
Dixon Candle and Bath | Sonya Dixon | Pennsylvania
* Member since October 2007; We manufacture handcrafted
scented soy candles, olive oil soaps and natural bath products. We also carry
various gift sets for all occasions. Our products contain natural ingredients
such as Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, JoJoba Oil, Coconut Milk, and Dead Sea Salt
just to name a few. Our Soy scented candles are made with cotton and/or paper
wicks. Take a bath, relax and enjoy our scented goodies!
Patti’s Potions Natural Soaps, Ltd.
| Patti Eder | Wisconsin
* Member since April 2005; Patti's Potions is your reliable
source for natural, handcrafted, environmentally friendly soaps, lotions, balms,
and home fragrance products. This is a woman-owned and family-run business.
The Shanti Project | Jessica Gulati | California
* Member since October 2006; Bath and body care products.
Smell No Evil | Allison Kontur | Ohio
* Member since October 2007; BathBodySupply.com provides a
wide selection of supplies including sea salts, bulk skincare bases, fragrance
& essential oils, exotic butters, vegetable oils, additives, chemicals,
waxes, packaging, containers & accessories. We specialize in customizing our
bulk bases from a wide selection of stock additives! Whether you require raw
materials or want to save time by ordering a customized base, we have what you
need to get the job done!
Mama Says Wash! | Kathy Jones | Texas
* Member since October 2006; Our handmade designer soaps
are beautiful and good for your skin. We offer a wide variety of themed soaps
for adults, children and dogs!
Mohea Natural Beauty | Margaret Helm-Duell | Oregon
* Member since October 2006; Mohéa Natural Beauty LLC
(formerly Natural Indulgences LLC) not only has a new name, but also a whole new
product line, retail boutique & studio. We specialize in using exquisite
ingredients from around the globe, particularly from the South Pacific, Morocco
and other regions in Africa. Luxurious shea butter soap, decadent body butters,
healing balms, creams and lip smacking lip balms available for retail and
wholesale purchase. Look for our official launch November 2006!
Welcome New Members!
Elements Bath and Body | Tamara Tivis | Kentucky
* Wholesale soap making & toiletry supplies since 2002. Offering a wide variety of products used in soap making, cosmetics, toiletries, candle making, and crafting. Wholesale pricing on bottles, jars, bags, soap boxes, huge selection of twistup tubes, waterproof labels, oils, butters, flavor oils, ingredients, botanicals, etc. Please visit our site to see why our customers keep coming back! Dedicated to superior customer service, low prices & fast shipping. Your One Stop Supply Shop!
Lyndie's Luxuries | Lyndie Kuffler | Louisiana
* Lyndie's Luxuries Has handcrafted bath & Body Products and hand
poured candles. We strive to make the highest quality products that we can offer. Our company has been in business since 2004.
Vital Traditions | Kelly Lynch Ring | Washington
* Vital Earth Traditions creates natural products for the home and body. Wholesale and private label accounts are available.
PureBliss Essentials | Grace Antares | Oregon
* PureBliss Essentials was born from a lifelong passion about quality
skin care and beauty products along with a frustration of the hype and pricing
in department stores. Our custom recipes are developed with organic and locally
produced ingredients, and combine the latest scientific technologies with the
best of nature. We specialize in premium anti-aging skin care and healthy soaps
and bath products at a competitive price and impeccable service. We deliver the
latest skin care technologies to the everyday man or woman.
Flaming Maple Herb Co., LLC | Alisa Andrews | Vermont
* From our location in beautiful, Huntington, Vermont, we handcraft and market very high quality,
all-natural herbal and aromatherapeutic body care products. We grow some of the botanicals we use in our products ourselves, and source as many of the others as possible, locally.
Sustainability, organic agriculture, and responsible wild-harvesting are three of our most important values in addition to our goal of providing the consumer with excellent, sensual, herbal body care.
Candle Light By Eve | Evelyn Sorto | New York
* Homemade candles and wax melts.
Kaylala, LLC | Heather Dodge | Maryland
* Handcrafted, all natural and organic skincare. Our products are petrochemical, paraben, and fragrance oil free and utilize the healing power of emu oil from our farm here in Maryland. We use local, sustainable ingredients and package in recycled or recyclable containers with fun, vintage style labeling.
Salts of the Seas | Tracy Krim | Texas
* We offer a full line of skin care products from our therapeutic salt scrub, creams, and facial treatments, to our bath line of soaps, bath oils, and soaks.
Scrubz Body Scrub, Inc. | Roberta Perry | New York
* Scrubz All Natural Sugar Body Scrub is four body care products in one!
It is a Body Cleanser/Scrub, Facial Scrub, Preshave/Shaving Oil and a
Moisturizer! We blend pure cane sugar with 9 natural oils, then use a mixture of
essential and fragrance oils to create 20+ scents! We use no alcohol, artificial
preservatives or color so it is safe for daily use on body and face! We're
Softening The World One Jar At A Time.
siennabelle | Tatiana Lopez | Texas
* We create quality, hand-poured candles using only the finest fragrances and 100% vegetable wax, primarily palm wax. We are also developing an
all-natural line, using only essential oils and vegetable waxes. We are meticulous about our testing and products and sell only our finest candles.
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: 3 Hot Tips To Kick Start Your Business
Here
are some current new and 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. Do you have something to
say? Post a comment and join the discussion!
3 Hot Tips To Kick Start Your Business: what to do when you feel glum
Perfect Partnering Pitches: tips for collaborating with people to create new business opportunities
Survival of the Fittest: does exclusivity lead to extinction?
How to Get Listed in Alltop: a great tool to increase traffic to your blog
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.
3. Indie Business Radio: Full-Time Woman, Part-Time Career
This
Week's
Show: How to Combine Work, Home and a Career of Your Own
Karen Steede-Terry, author of Full-Time Woman, Part-Time Career, was looking for a way to make money in a new city where she didn't know anyone. She finally settled on technology training since her background was suited to that. Today, she helps other women assess their skills to create an at-home business.
This show was recorded Monday and the audio stream and download link will be available shortly. In the meantime, enjoy my October 6 interview with blogging expert Debbie Weil.
-- Media Partner --
4. Indie Candy: Jeanne Kissman :: Plum Hill Pure Body Essentials :: Idaho
Fifty-three
year old Jeanne Kissman is going to be a grandmother for the first time in a few
months, and she's excited. But as an Indie Business owner, she's in the business
other mothering so her experiences running Plum
Hill Pure Body Essentials will come in handy when it's time to nurse another
type of offspring. For the next few months though, as she moves through the busy
holiday season, Jeanne has her hands full with lotions, scrubs and other beauty
goodies. She took a few minutes out of her busy schedule to share some of her
story.
When did you start your business and what was the inspiration for it?
I started my business 2005. My inspiration came from being a Northern
California native who moved to the desert climate in Idaho. My skin became so
dry that I had to take action because I couldn't find anything out there that
worked for me and my daughters. I began experimenting with different
oils and came up with a formula for Sugar Scrubs that was very moisturizing.
After sugar scrubs, I moved on to body butters. Today, I have 5 products in my
line: sugar scrub, bath and body oil, body linen spray, body butter and body
wash.
Are your products available to retailers at wholesale prices?
Yes, my products are sold wholesale mostly to Idaho businesses. Idaho really support other Idaho businesses! I also have customers in New Jersey, California and Wisconsin.
What's special about your products? What's your niche?
Plum Hill products are all natural products that work for dry skin. They come in five scents: Cranberry Orange, Fresh Citrus, Rain, Lavender and soon to be launched Vanilla. I will bring back Coconut Lime for the spring and summer months. My niche is spas, resorts and boutiques, although I have had requests from several independent grocery stores.
What's new at Plum Hill these days?
My special project right now is redesigning my labels, I love to be creative, they are almost complete, they will have a very warm French Country look. Packaging is everything!
How do you market your products?
I love doing trade shows and farmers markets. Of course my website is the
main tool I use to get the Plum Hill word out. It's best if people can meet you, feel, touch and look at your
products and connect you with your products but when that's not possible, the
website keeps working. My next big leap is to do a large spa convention.
What tips can you offer others who are thinking about starting a business?
If your starting a business, my advice is you have to be do your research and you have to be very organized. The best business tips I have is make customer service number one. Get up when you fall down because you will, but if you are passionate about what you do, you won't fail. Don't let anyone tell you different
How did you find the Indie Beauty Network and what do you think of it so
far?
I found Indie Beauty Network doing research on the Internet, and have been with
you ever since November 2006. I find it very resourceful for my business and it's great to see other Indies like me and the knowledge that we
can all bring to each other.
What is the biggest challenge you face as an Indie and how do you overcome it?
My biggest challenge always is capital, as long as I have been in business Plum Hill products have always paid for itself. I grow one step at a time, but as I look at it, it will happen, the money will come. Plum Hill is my passion.
Who helps your business be successful?
I have a sales rep who is wonderful. My husband is also supportive. Business decisions for me are also hard so I sometimes look to friends and other trusted resources for help. I always want to make the right decision, but of course that doesn't always happen. I look to my closest friends as valuable resources. They are very honest, sometimes too honest. My oldest daughter, age 28, is in marketing and truly believes in me and my product. She's also a great resource. My 22-year old daughter is also helpful, but that may soon end since she's expecting my first grandchildren in December -- it's twins! I also look to the Internet for helpful information, and of course IBN, which I have found very helpful in my research.
When you're not working, what can we find you doing?
When I'm not working I love to take my dogs Jake, a German Shepherd, and Tucker, the cutest 5-month old yellow Lab in the world, for walks in the foothills or along the Boise Riber. I like to take time to stop and take a deep breath from business, which includes going to my favorite spa and to get a facial and pedicure.
What are your annual revenues?
I have doubled my gross income every year since I've started my adventure and the word continues to spread throughout Idaho and the
rest of the United States about Plum Hill.
What do you think of the FDA Globalization Act of 2008?
Worrisome, but but we just have to keep moving forward!!
5. New At The Forum: FDA Globalization Act of 2008 and More!
We
have collected well close to 3,000 signatures to the Petition opposing the draft
of the Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act of 2008! You, your
friends, colleagues and customers are to be applauded! Keep them coming!
Watch the video and sign the Petition against this law!
Here's what else is new at the Forum:
Request a new small quantity packaging supplier directory
How do I get a toll free number for my business?
How do I get international accounts?
A huge list of marketing tools listed here!
As always, share your thoughts and questions at the Forum!
Best & Success!!
Donna Maria
Editor, The Indie Experience
The Indie Beauty Network | www.indiebeauty.com
Copyright (c) 2000 - 2008 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 this newsletter 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 this newsletter 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, this newesletter 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.
