The Indie Experience
May 4, 2009
A Publication of The Indie Beauty Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Volume 10, Issue 13
To subscribe, click here
-- Check out our new Apprentice Program for Startups! --
1. Lifestyle CEO Note From dM: A Chance to Support Our Troops
2. Featured Indies: Mike Neustrom :: Prairie Lavender
Farm :: Kansas
3. Pick & Click: Choose your fun!
Make It Yourself!: Emu Heel Balm: Monica says that she uses this balm to soften even very dry, cracked heels.. Get this and hundreds of other recipes with simple, natural ingredients to make your own cosmetics and pamper yourself at home!!
1. Lifestyle CEO Note: A Chance to Support Our Troops!
I'm excited to tell you about a fantastic opportunity to support our troops!
Premium Indie Beauty Elizabeth Kingston of
Liz's Soothing Solutions
(pictured at left with her daughter at a trade show) is
heading for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba later this week to set up a makeshift spa
for the troops right in the middle of the base!
Liz, who was raised in a military family, says that she and her husband are extremely patriotic people and hold military personnel in very high regard. "I have the utmost respect and appreciation for them, especially being that they serve in an all volunteer military, and knowing how difficult these economic times are." she says. "I wanted to do something to give them a boost and show our support, let them know that they are not forgotten and that people are appreciating and thinking about them.
Liz created "Liz's Bug Off Military Strength" body butter, which contains inspect deterrent like citronella oil to naturally deter insects, after an experience she had at Guantanamo Bay a few years ago. She said the mosquitoes are awful and she made the balm especially for the troops at Guantanamo Bay to repel lots of mosquitoes -- and big ones!
Liz has been planning her trip for 6 months. Accompany her are an esthetician and a permanent makeup artist. The trio are calling themselves the Beauty Battalion! As soon as they arrive, they'll unpack all of the boxes of products donated by Los Angeles South Bay area businesses, including hundred of product donated by a local beauty supply company. They'll also get busy displaying hundreds (if not thousands) of letters of support for the troops -- letter's they've collected over the past six months as they planned their trip.
If you'd like to join Liz in supporting our troops, you can easily do that by sending Liz an email message which she will personally carry with her on the plane and post in what she calls the Hall of Appreciation. "You would not believe how many soldiers will stand in that hall and read every single one of those notes," Liz says.
To send your note for the Hall of Appreciation, email your letter to Liz at liz @ lizsolutions dot com no later than midnight on May 6, 2009. I just sent mine!
And if you'd like to read more about Liz and her business, check out Liz's Indie Feature at this link.
And since I'm mentioning fun, our
Facebook page
is having a lot of it these days. My latest addition is a whole bunch of
photo albums! My most recent album features the photographs from the 2006
Lifestyle CEO Conference. How behind can one get? Oh well, better late than
never. Check out all of the product photos, event albums, conversations and
upcoming Indie Business Breakfasts
here.
I also want you to know about a new "LIVE CHAT" feature at Indie Beauty! This exciting new feature makes it easy to see who's online at the site at the same time you are. You can then send them a private message or visit their wall and leave a comment. You'll find the chat link in the bottom right corner of each page of the site. To activate it, just click "chat" and it will pop up. You can easily collapse it by choosing to do so using the icon in the upper right or the chat window. You can even open it up as a full new window of its own if you really get into a conversation with some like-minded Indies. Try it!
Finally, I want to invite you to join me for today's Indie Business Radio when my guest will be Heather Lutze (pictured), author of "The Findability Formula." Heather will share with us some of her best tips for optimizing your websites without having to become an SEO expert. Sign me up for that!!! How about you? If you could use some tips to get more traffic at your sites, join us for today's Indie Business Radio at 1:00pm EST. To listen to the show, just click here. If you also want to join the live chat during the show, click here. (It's free but login is required.)
Thank you for having me again this week. I hope you have a fantastic day as you also enjoy your life, build your business and have your way!
-- Media Partner --
2. Featured Indies: Mike Neustrom :: Prairie Lavender Farm :: Kansas
dM: When did you start your business and what is the inspiration
for it?
Mike: I'm one of those who backed into the business. I'd retired twice, and I thought I could grow a few lavender plants in my retirement. It just plain got out of hand! I actually fell in love with the herb, and all that could be done with it, so my inspiration mainly was trying to find ways to get rid of all the lavender I'd grown.
dM: How did your professional background help prepare you for launching your own venture?
Mike: It didn't! I've had to learn as I've gone along. I had experience in dealing with customers, but from a completely different field. Retail was not in my background.
dM: What are some of the things you did in advance of starting your business that have helped make it successful?
Mike: I spent the first year doing homework, talking with fellow lavender growers across the country who were extremely helpful. I visited several farms; attended lavender conferences and read a lot. The knowledge let me know what was helpful from others' experience. More importantly, I found out what NOT to do. That has been a huge money saver.
dM: What's your niche? What makes your products special?
Mike: All my products have ingredients that I've grown myself, processed and used to make up my product line.
You can see my lovely granddaughter in this photo, posing in front of bunches of freshly harvested lavender.
dM: (Dang! I know that smells good!) How did you start running a lavender farm?
Mike: I hadn't planned on starting a farm. It just grew into that. My wife says I have a tendency to get carried away. I wasn't smart enough to approach the state for help. I just talked to the people doing it. I am hoping to get help with marketing, which is not one of my strengths, and just talked with the KS Department of Commerce today.
Many people tell me they find it difficult to grow lavender in Kansas, and I simply cannot understand it! It really is easy as long as you provide full sunshine and good drainage. More lavender is killed by overwatering that anything else. Lavender is drought tolerant, which is pretty much what Kansas is known for; usually in a drought. If it grew any better for me, I couldn't handle the extra lavender!
dM: Do you sell your lavender wholesale?
Mike: No, I've chosen not to. I have 98 different products and since I do everything myself I'd end up killing myself trying to stock inventory and handle bulk shipments. I've also priced my products to not only be competitive, but affordable to people in my area. That usually puts my pricing well below national pricing. It doesn't allow me a cushion for wholesaling.
dM: Do all of your products contain lavender you grow and harvest?
Mike: Of all my products I think there are only 3 that do not have my lavender/oil in them.
dM: Do you still lavender essential oil?
Mike: Yes, I use steam distillation to extract the
essential oil.
dM: Do you attend any trade shows, craft shows or spring
festivals regularly?
Mike: Yes, I do a few festivals. Last weekend, I was at the Jenks (Tulsa) OK Herb Festival, which I've done for the last two years. This weekend I'm at the Kansas Sampler Festival, which hallmarks all things Kansas. They've been good enough to list me as a manufacturer and feature the farm that way.
dM: What is your most popular product and why do customers tell
you they like it?
Mike: I've got several products that are very popular, but for different reasons and to different needs. My Premium lotion has been great for repairing damaged skin. Many of those customers come from the construction industry, especially those using concrete since the lime in cement sucks all body oils out of the skin. I've also had great luck with my lavender room sprays. My customers tell me that it lasts a long time and doesn't have that foo-foo smell, which men seem to like. So the women can spray away without the flack.
dM: What's new and exciting with your business these days?
Mike: Unfortunately it's been too exciting as my business continues to grow. My plan was to fill my retirement time. It has taken on a new dimension I'm not sure I want to take. The bigger I get the harder it is to control the product process. Now I make all the products. I will have to hire workers other than temporary who assist in the harvest, and I had left the working world to reduce those issues.
dM: Who helps your business be successful?
Mike: My friends and family first; however, my friends who also struggle with lavender farms and how to manage the numerous issues.
dM: What book have you used that has helped you start your business off on the right foot?
Mike: Dale Carnegie's work on how best to work with people and to understand what they want.
dM: What do you think are the best things about being Indie?
Mike: The networking opportunities, the avenue for getting answers quickly for product business related issues, the up-to-date info on the FDA, and of course the insurance!
dM: Is your family involved in your business?
Mike: That's not going to happen anytime soon! My wife, Dianne, tells me she already has two jobs, and doesn't need a third. However, she has helped me out on numerous occasion at festivals and farmers' markets. My two daughters are long gone. However, I may try recruiting my grandkids!
dM: What tips do you have for others looking starting a business?
Mike: Go and talk with people already doing it!!!! Find out what their experiences have been; both good and bad. It will help one determine if you want to live with those answers. Once you have determined you want to proceed, pester those folks (who'll let you) with as many questions you can. Try your utmost to keep from reinventing the wheel.
dM: What are you doing when you're not working in your business?
Mike: I love to read, travel and listen to classical music.
dM: What do you think of the FDA Globalization Act of 2008?
Mike: Scared me to death! I wrote more emails to congressmen and senators and to friends and family to help modify the "act". If it had passed, I would have closed down.
3. Pick & Click: Choose your fun!
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New Discussions: New Blog Posts: |
New Photos and Videos: Upcoming Events: |
Enjoy your life, build your business and have your way!
Donna Maria
Editor, The Indie Experience
The Indie Beauty Network | www.indiebeauty.com
Copyright (c) 2000 - 2009 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 newsletter 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.
