Parisian's Pure Indulgence is born!
After I made and sold 200 Sugared Butter Whip Body Polishes, in 3 weeks, I thought to myself, now what? Should I make a business of this???
I would like to tell you, I have a business degree, so I knew exactly what steps needed to be taken to create a sustainable business..but, I didn't. I would like to tell you I was a Marketing expert, who knew exactly where, and how to market a product...but I wasn't. I'd like to tell you I had the know how to create an entire line of facial care products too...but, I couldn't.
Here's what I do know, I know how to enlist the assistance of experts in all these areas! And, my greatest advantage:
I know what women want and need from their skin care--
I was face to face with them for 25 years!
I didn't have much of a budget for the afore-mentioned experts either. As a matter of fact, the only start up money I had was my own small savings account. I paid for everything else as I went along.
My clients were my greatest resource! I had a client who was and attorney and handled the legalities, another client/friend was a graphic artist: she helped me design a logo and labels. I even had a client in the plastic container business!
My biggest challenge though, was marketing. I searched the web, day in--and day out, for information on how to market a small artisan business.
I learned, I needed to establish a "Niche" market for my body care products, and I decided to target the salon industry. After all, I knew it well. I sold to other manicurists, hair stylists and aestheticians, and my existing clients. In 2005, purity in products was beginning to be a concern. Organics were just around the corner. I'm proud that we were one of the first to introduce Organics into our line.
Those Damn Pink Bows!
Early on, I enlisted my family's help with filling containers, labeling, and "Those Damn Pink Bows." I decided to tie a pink bow on every product or package I sold. I wanted to make our packaging colorful and distinct, all within my very small budget!
It became a family joke, when my in-laws came over to help package and tie bows for my first large wholesale order. My mild-mannered Mother in Law, coined the phrase... "Those Damn Pink bows," after about the 100th little pink bow she tied! We learned she was the best at tying those Damn Pink Bows though! We later changed our labeling and added color, and lost those Damn Pink Bows for good!
Eventually, we branched out to Spas and Gift Boutiques, and developed our web site. The list of people who helped me get my foot in the door at these locations, were many. When you've been in the beauty industry, for as long as I have, you know a lot of people, and they know a lot of people. Things were humming along nicely for PPI when...
...2008/2009 and the great recession hit!!
Tomorrow I'll share how we got through this challenging time, are re-branding, and creating a NEW niche market, along with some exciting new products!
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