The Indie Experience
August 17, 2009
A Publication of The Indie Beauty Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Volume 10, Issue 17
To subscribe, click here
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1. Notes and Highlights From dM, the Chief Executive
Indie
2. Where's dM?: Seminars and Events With dM
3. Today's Indie Business Radio Show:
Professional Services Marketing
4. Featured Indie Beauty Network Member: Liz Zorn :: Liz
Zorn Perfumes :: Ohio
5. Indie and Small Business Resources
6. About dM, the Chief Executive Indie
Make It Yourself!: Lemon Tea Sugar Scrub
1. Notes and Highlights From dM, the Chief Executive Indie
As the leader of the Indie Beauty Network, I am always creating new ways to use social media tools to connect my members with each other and with the people who want to learn more about their products and services. This week, I created the Indie Beauty Blog Network widget to automatically drive traffic to my member blogs using the magic of RSS. Their blog feeds are captured in the widget, so anyone viewing it can click on a blog title to see the headline, and then click to the blog for the full story.
A few people have already added the widget to their blogs. Longtime Indie Beauty Network member Kelly Bloom's Southern Soapers blog is one of them, and so is Maggie Hanus of A Wild Soap Bar's A Walk In The Wild blog (right column). You can see how the widget makes it easy for Kelly and Maggie to add even more color and content to their blogs.
It's easy to the widget at your blog, and anyone can do it. Instructions on how to add the widget to your blog are at my blog at this link. The article includes a description of the requirements for your blog to be included, starting with (of course) being a member of the Indie Beauty Network.
I have discovered that it’s very difficult to find programmers who can customize widgets so I did this one myself. If you know of anyone who could make it better, please send them my way!
2. Where's dM?: Seminars and Events With dM
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--- Featured
photo: Me and Michelle Tennant of PitchRate.com
I met Michelle about 3 years ago when I was looking for a company to help me with my publicity outreach. Michelle and her team served me for a year and they did a fantastic job. We have continued to remain friends and colleagues, and it's a good thing too, because today, we are announcing our new partnership to help put Indie Beauty Network members in the best position to take advantage of media opportunities that will spread the word about their products and services and create new opportunities for them to grow both personally and professionally.
The monthly media training will take place on the first Tuesday of the month and will be hosted by me and one of PitchRate.com's partners. The first one will take place on September 1, 2009. Click here for details!
Today's Indie Business Radio: My guest will be Mike Schultz, co-author of "Professional Services Marketing, on August 17 at 1:00pm EST. Click here for information.
dM on "Coach In The Moment With Christine Laureano": 8/19/09 at noon EST. Christine will help me share the story of how I merged my work and life missions to create a cohesive whole (Christine calls this a "soul purpose life" that fulfills me both personally and professionally. Click here for information. For a quick snapshot of all things Indie, visit the Indie Business Twitter stream at this link.
The Media Is You: 8/20/09 at Noon EST (Please note that the session is free for members of the Indie Beauty Network.) Click here for information. (For Indie Beauty Network members only!)
Indie Beauty Business + PitchRate.com Monthly Media Training: 9/1/09 at Noon EST (Please note that the session is free for members of the Indie Beauty Network.) Click here for information. (For Indie Beauty Network members only!)
dM on "Small Biz Chat": 9/30/09 at 8:00pm EST. Along with my husband, I will be sharing on this Twitter chat some of our experiences working in a business together at the same time as we run our home and raise our children. It has some really incredible advantages, but for us, it has not been easy. We look forward to helping other couples who may be wishing to work together both in life and in business. You know me, I plan to tell it like it is! In the meantime, if this topic interests you, you may enjoy this blog post: Making Love and Money: Before You Work With Your Spouse.
3. Today's Indie Business Radio Show: Professional Services Marketing
Mike
Schultz, author of "Professional Services Marketing"
has the goods on how services providers build premier brands, generate leads
and create cultures of business development success. Sound good? Then join
us for today's show to learn more!
Indie Business Radio airs live every Monday at 1:00pm EST. There are two ways to join the live show:
Listen Only: Click here at 1:00pm EST and follow the instructions to choose your audio player.
Listen and Video: Once you activate your audio player (above), you can join us live on Twitter via Twitcam by visiting my Twitter page at 1:00pm EST and follow the link to join the live broadcast and chat.
Visit the Indie Business Radio Show 2009 Archives to enjoy past shows. You can also subscribe to the show on iTunes by searching on Indie Business Radio.
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4. Featured Indie Beauty Network Member: Liz Zorn :: Liz Zorn Perfumes :: Ohio
When I called Liz on a Friday evening to ask her if I could feature her in
the newsletter, an odd thing happened. I was kind of frantic in my call
because the person I had slated to feature had an emergency and we were not
able to complete our interview. I called Liz Friday night in a bit of a
panic. It was one of the last business details I had to tie up before
starting my weekend. I rang Liz, and, as soon as she answered, this amazing
calm came over me.
Liz's voice stopped me dead in my tracks. It was calm, smooth and reassuring. I paused, hesitated. I realized that I was in a tizzy and the person on the other end of the line was quite calm and collected. I took a deep breath, slowed myself down and proceeded to have a great conversation with Liz. The sound of another person's voice has such an incredible effect on us, don't you think? It wasn't planned, but Liz's voice actually prepared me for a relaxing evening. I am sure that she infuses that sense of smoothness and calm in every perfume blend she makes. I asked her to tell me a little about what she does, and she was kind enough to oblige me at the last minute. Here is some of Liz's story.
dM: When did you start your business and what is the inspiration for it?
Liz: My business started slowly creating perfumes for people in my spare time, I had always been interested in scent . My family were all avid gardeners. I suppose the greatest inspiration was my paternal grandmother who loved gardening and growing flowers. I spent a lot of time with her early in my life, so her influence stuck with me over time.
dM: How did your professional background or prior work experience help prepare you for entrepreneurship?
Liz: Before launching my perfume business I was a full time visual artist. Aside from a few early jobs I have always owned my own business. To me perfume is art, so not much has changed, just the medium.
dM: What are some of the things you did in advance of starting your business that have helped make it successful?
Liz: I spent a few years building my lab, stocking it with all of the materials that I would need. I also consulted with an accountant, opened up bank accounts etc. Of course none of this really prepared me for the response that would follow. It was a live and learn experience for awhile, but now we are in a good place going forward.
dM: How did you train as a perfumer?
Liz: I am self taught, as have been many perfumers
of the past and present. My interest goes back to the late sixties, when as
a young girl I was fortunate to meet a couple of very talented individuals
who made altar oils and incense. They taught me what they knew, and from
there on I had an interest in scent blending. It wasn't until I came across
the book Perfume by William Kaufman (published in 1974), that I learned
about the real world of perfumery. I purchased the book new, and have had it
ever since. The book contains the perfume Method of the great perfumer Jean
Carles (also self taught), along with formulary and a general primer on the
fundamentals of perfumery. From there I was really hooked, but the time was
not right, there was little available to an independent perfumer at that
time, and the majority of the work being done in
perfumery was in Europe. I continued to collect books, as well as materials,
experimenting and trying everything out.
It wasn't until 2001, just after 9/11, that I shifted my focus from a full time life as a visual artist to the possibility of creating perfumes full time. I had no idea that it would explode as it did. That so many people would take an interest in perfumery, and eventually become successful at it. I had no idea that I could be successful at it. I just knew that after years of serious dabbling I had a good working knowledge of the process.
Because I was already an artist I approached the crafting of scent in much the same way. In the world of perfumery there are artists and there are technicians. There are a few rare individuals who are able to artfully combine the two.
dM: What would you advise for others who with to enter the profession?
Liz: If I were to give any advice, it would be to get a good education. Study from an accredited school, and possibly get a degree in chemistry. My journey was a long one over many years. If I were just starting out today, and perfumery was my goal, I would surely follow my own advice. I would have the same advice for someone who only has an interest in natural materials. These materials are complex chemical compounds and to not understand the fundamental aspects of these materials limits ones ability to properly use them. So my best advice would be go to school.
It is easy to think of perfumery as being glamorous and perhaps an easy thing to do. And it can be less difficult if one is well versed in the process and has a good working knowledge of the materials. Watching Tiger play golf on television makes golf look easy, but get out on the golf course and start hitting a few balls and the reality quickly sets in. It is hard work.
Every new material added to my lab puts me back at square one. I have to learn by trial and error how to use it, and use it well. It takes time. Now add on to that a couple thousand or more individual materials. Learning about them, how they work, how they act and interact with other materials. There is a lot to know and keep track of. I am always adding new things, and in some cases removing others.
Like a painter who has a fondness for particular colors, perfumers also have a fondness for particular notes, or materials. I try not to fall into a rut of using all of the same things over and over, so I intentionally mix things up to stay fresh of mind. There are any number of perfume hobbyist who take natural perfume classes and only wish to make perfumes for themselves and their friends.
Simple formulations such as this are fine for the hobbyist, and can provide a level of enjoyment.
Serious perfumery requires a lot more work, not to mention safety and proper usage of materials. For instance creating a commercial formula requires adherence to industry standards, so as to create a product that it legal to market and distribute in different countries. I am always looking things up. And wishing sometimes that I had total recall of information.
dM: What questions would I ask in advance if I was considering engaging the services of a perfumer to create a custom scent for me?
Liz: My first suggestion would be for you to do your homework first. Know before going in exactly what you want. If you are in the market for a commercial/professionally crafted perfume you might want to go with a larger company who specializes in commercial perfumery. If you are in the market for a personal scent you could do a search of Bespoke Perfumers. Get samples of their existing work. In all likelihood it will be them asking you the questions. When someone contacts me out of the blue, usually by phone, I am the one who gets the ball rolling. After all, that is what I do. If there is a specific request I give them the hard facts.
Things that people usually want to know going in are the price, and how much perfume they will get for the money.
dM: What's your niche?
Liz: Our niche of hand poured small batch perfumes isn't quite so niche anymore. But like all art, it is the body of work itself that sets us apart. My sensibilities as an artist are unique to me, I am not interested so much in what other do, but in following my own vision and taste. This always comes through in the work, so in that respect it is the individual approach that makes the perfumes special.
dM: How do you market your products? Wholesale? Retail?
Liz: We do both. Our primary outlet is retail. We do offer a wholesale plan, but are somewhat selective in that regard. Due to the nature of our product, we are only able to work with smaller shops, which is fine because they tend to understand our approach and are able to then translate that to their customers.
dM: Tell me a bit about how you customize a perfume for someone?
Liz: Often the first contact is by phone, followed by a personal consultation at my studio. I usually know in advance a little bit about what the client is looking to achieve, so I will have several individual materials ready for them to try (smell). As we go through the selections they let me know if they like it or not. All of the likes are left on the table and the others are removed. I then go through the materials looking to see if we have a working scent. Surprisingly, most of the time, we do.
I have created scents with just the materials selected by the client, other times I have added or taken things away. From there I will make trial versions of the scent for them to try out. We will usually go back and forth a couple of times to get it just right. The process can take from two weeks to a year, depending on how long they take to evaluate their trials. Right now I am waiting on a client who has been with her second set of trials for around three months. Other factors, like skin type, can play into it, but for the most part, it is all about creating what the client wants. I do not try to influence them or interject my own taste into their decision.
The cost price from 400. 00 to 700.00 for a personal scent.
dM: Do you do any trade shows, craft shows or spring festivals regularly?
Liz: We participated in an area art festival recently and about five minute in I was ready to go. I don't mind doing solo's, trunk shows or , things of that nature, but the booth thing is not my thing.
dM: What's new and exciting with your business these days?
Liz: We are getting ready to launch a line of
scented teas, and will offer candles on our website this fall and through
the holiday season. We have always had candles in our boutique. This new
collection of four, will be the first created specifically for our Soivohle
brand.
dM: What is one of your best selling product and why does it sell so well?
Liz: I think it changes with the seasons. Our most popular fall/winter scent is Underworld, a natural perfume. A lot has been written abut it, and I think that people like it because it is edgy and bold. Something that can stand up to the dark cold days of winter. Our most popular scent at the moment is Pink Praline, a southern styled gourmand, based on a praline with a pink grapefruit opening. It was recently featured in the Food Network Magazine (foodie scents) and is a foodie scent, yet not a novelty scent. This also is a natural perfume.
dM: What forms of social media do you use in your business and why?
Liz: We are currently using twitter, FaceBook and
I also write a blog. I enjoy using these outlets because they allow me to
communicate in real time with people. Because much of my business is
internet related, having online communication in this way not only showcases
our business but puts a real face on it. People feel comfortable commenting
on the blog, and on FaceBook. I can be a business owner, and one of the guys
at the same time. It also works the other way in that I can keep up with
what others in my industry are doing. So far it has been a very open and
friendly exchange, I love that.
dM: What tips can you offer other home-based business
owners?
Liz: There is an old saying "Do what you love and the money will follow" I would say do what you love and work hard. Learn everything you can about your chosen field, no detail or aspect is too small not to know it inside and out.
dM: Who helps your business be successful?
Liz: Everyone. We have been blessed with good fortune. and I can honestly say that people across the board are supportive, kind, friendly and helpful. We have the best customers, and all of our working relationships are great. My husband is also very helpful, doing a lot of the shipping, running errands and keeping our stock room organized. He also has his own business as an organic grower, so I try not to bother him too much.
dM: How did you discover the Indie Beauty Network and what do you think of your membership?
Liz: I first became aware of the indie beauty network I think from reading about it on a blog. Not sure really it's been awhile. What I like the most is that it isn't a hard sell. Members can participate at the level that works for them. Yes I would recommend it to others.
dM: What do you think are the best things about being Indie?
Liz: The best thing by far about being indie, is being able to fulfill a vision without compromise. Work from my own point of view and change my mind if I want to.
dM: What has been your biggest business challenge and how did you overcome it?
Liz: My biggest indie challenge is hitting the off button, setting limits for myself, or putting myself on a normal schedule. Most days I work from the time I get up till I go to bed. My idea of an extended vacation is fifteen minutes out by the pool in the evening with a cup of tea. But at the same time I am very low key. So I can't really complain. I am doing what makes me happy.
dM: What are you doing when you're not working in your business?
Liz: We are involved in animal rescue, and have several cats at the moment. This is also a full time job, but strictly a labor of love on our part. I don't really have hobbies. I enjoy gardening, I am a songwriter.
How to connect with Liz:
E-Commerce
http://www.lizzornperfumes.com
FaceBook
http://www.facebook.com/lzperfumes
Indie Beauty Social
http://www.indiebeauty.com/profile/lizzorn
Twitter
http://twitter.com/lizzornperfumes
Blog
http://lzperfumes.wordpress.com
5. Indie and Small Business Resources
<
-- Featured Photo: me and Pam Slim, author of the newly released "Escape
From Cubicle Nation," at a networking event last week to celebrate the
publication of Pam's new book!
I'm delighted to announce our new FaceBook Fan Page contest!
Enter to win a $100 Indie Beauty Shopping spree!
To spice things up and increase interaction between our social community and our FaceBook Fan Page, I have launched the Indie Love Indie Beauty Shopping Spree! Everyone who is a part of the Indie Business FaceBook page can enter to win a $100 shopping spree next week at the Indie Beauty Network!
All you have to do it join our FaceBook Fan Page and post a note sharing your Indie Love with the group. That is, tell us why you love Indie products! Maybe you like doing business with real people. Maybe you like that most Indie products don’t contain a bunch of chemicals and confusion. Or maybe you just like to support small business owners. Share you passion for all things Indie on our wall! Post as often as you wish! You will be entered one time.
All of the details are posted at our social network here.
You must post your entry by midnight EST (9:00pm PST) on Friday, August 21 to be entered to win!
6. About dM, the Chief Executive Indie
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Featured Photo: My husband in his element
As many of you know, I work with my husband in our family business. It is at once fulfilling and maddening. I've known this man since I was 16 years old so by now, you think I'd know what makes him tick. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. But he's my friend, my love and my partner for life, and together we are doing our best to raise a business and a couple of children without compromising either one. It's a challenge but at the end of each day, I am content to be working with my most permanent friend to provide for ourselves and our children and, hopefully, make the world a better place.
This picture is everything my husband loves most: a fabulous camera with a lens (that weights a ton) trained on our son, a USC Trojans cap and a bunch of sunshine. These things make him happy so it was especially wonderful to capture this moment of bliss. I love seeing my man surrounded by the things he loves.
We are frequently asked about how we make a marriage and business work. It's great to do what we love as we enjoy a lifestyle that fuels our values and allows us to invest more fully in each other, our home and our children. Cultivating a business while also managing the everyday challenges of raising healthy, well adjusted children can take a toll on a marriage. But so can everything else. Of all the options we have, working together in a business we own and control is the best one for us, especially while our children are young. If you and your group are interested in learning more about how we do it, send me an email (address below)! We'd love to come and share with you!
If you or some people you know are married, and are running a business together or want to do so, you may enjoy these resources:
- Making Love & Money: one of my meaty blog posts on the topic, with some great comments and discussions
- [VIDEO] How to Start a Couple's MasterMind Group: a video sharing an overview of one of the tools we use to stay on track
How can I help your group or conference gathering?!!
Donna Maria Coles Johnson, the Chief Executive Indie, helps small and independent business combine smart sales and marketing strategies with new media to create relationships and expand their sphere of influence. Through her blog and weekly radio show, dM delivers helpful and entertaining content that inspires, encourages and informs small business owners worldwide. Known for her innovative yet friendly style, dM's expertise has been showcased in Entrepreneur, Global Cosmetics Industry, Working Mother, the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, National Public Radio, ABC World News This Morning, WUSA-TV9 (CBS Washington, DC affiliate), Ebony and a host of other regional and national media outlets.
Whether the topic is integrating career and family, leadership, small business ownership or new technologies, dM has a life-changing presentation for you and your audience. Contact dM today at donnamaria @ indiebeautynetwork.com to discover how she can contribute to your unforgettable conference or gathering event.
If this issue of The Indie Experience has been useful to you, please feel free to hit the Forward key and share it with a friend, or you can link directly via URL to this issue here.
See you next week! In the meantime,
Enjoy your life, build your business and have your way!
Donna Maria
Editor, The Indie Experience
The Indie Beauty Social 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.
