Parisian's Pure Indulgence

What I've learned from blogging 30 days!

 

If you want to live a life free of fear, you have to face it down!

Today is Day #30, of the Indie Business Network blogging challenge. When I took the challenge, I immediately got a case of nerves and insecurity.  What in the world would I have to write about for 30 days straight? The ole, "and who cares" popped into my head regularly.

Turns out, it's been one of the best things I've ever done!

Before I share why, I have to give special acknowledgement to Donna Marie Coles Johnson, Founder of Indie Beauty Network.  On day 3 of blogging, she sent me this email.  She wrote:

Kelli,

You are Stunningly gorgeous!  (I would reply, more like...not bad for my age!)

Please blog more about self care for women over 50 like me.

I see that opening up multiple doors for you.

Beauty

Exercise

Food

Family

Nail care

Accessories

Hair

I have always seen this for you.  No doubt, Go!

Well, dm, you were right!  Blogging has challenged me to get out of my comfort zone, and the rewards have been numerous....for that, I warmly say Thank You!

The rewards:

While I knew our market for Parisian's Pure Indulgence products was the woman over 50, I felt, perhaps I didn't want to limit our brand, by targeting them only.  But you know what, it is our market! Women over 50 are the fabulous, wellness driven women, who use our products, regularly. They are powerful and dynamic women!  I am one of them, and it's a group I'm proud to belong to.  

You beauties, over 50, became my audience in all that I've written this past month.  Guess what? It's a great audience, who appreciate being spoken to. You have encouraged, commented, and even shared this blog.

You cheered me on when I was asked to be a contributing writer to Living Better at 50...another benefit that came as a result of the 30 day challenge.  Here's the blog currently being featured on Living Better at 50.

I can tell you all the benefits of increased numbers to our Web site, Facebook page, Blog, etc.  But, more than the business benefits, the biggest benefit of completing this challenge has been

...to live in my own integrity.

What I mean is...following through, and doing what I say I'm going to do; even if the promise is only to myself.  If it's something I'm frightened of, as I was writing, the sense of accomplishment--and fear stomping-- is very rewarding.

My challenge to those of you reading this is...do something that scares you.  Create opportunities to reach new achievements.  Eleanor Roosevelt said it best, "Do one thing that scares you every day." I don't know about you, but I'm all in! 

 

 

 

Image credit:  Getty Images 

 

 

 

 

My 4th of July Fail!

Every year, we spend the 4th of July with our dear friends, Jamie and Joy Farr. Like most 4th of July celebrations, it's a fun filled day of family, friends, food, and...Croquet!  

Today, I'm sharing my story, I'll call...Fail at the Farr's.  

I found this centerpiece idea on Pinterest, and thought, I can do that!  Naturally, I decided to elaborate on it--mistake #1. I've never been much good at craft type projects, --mistake #2.  But, off to Michaels Craft Store I went to purchase the styrofoam, the red, white and blue stars, etc.

I skewered the strawberries and blueberries with little white marshmallows (my idea), so far, so good.

I worked for hours on my project...gluing stars, skewering fruit, etc.  Sadly, what I crafted together, looked more like a 3rd grade solar system project, than a Independence Day centerpiece!  

The Rice Krispie stars were my undoing--they were too big and too gooey! - mistake #3. The centerpiece seemed to go together fairly easily, but by the time we got it to the car, a star had fallen off. Okay, no big deal right?  I can put it back on.  But, by the time we drove 10 minutes to their home, 75% of the stars had fallen off!  

When we pulled up in their driveway, I quickly put them all back on.  We walked in the door, everyone ooh'd and ahh'd at my creativity, I set the centerpiece on the table and took a quick, I mean very quick, photo.  

Plop, plop, plop, one by one the stars fell off!  They were all on the table in less than 5 minutes, leaving my centerpiece looking, well, less than stellar!  Jamie, Joy, and family, were the most gracious art critics though.  They didn't laugh...they applauded my effort.  I laughed though, and we're still laughing! Every year when we get together, I say, remember the beautiful centerpiece I made for you? We all chuckle, and they continue to applaud my effort.  

Don't believe me?  Here's my work of art! 

Isn't it funny how you remember the events, vacations, etc., where something goes wrong, forever? Yet, when everything goes smoothly, it's not as memorable?!  

We are on our way to the Farr's today....I'm bringing a salad ;-)

 

 

#IBN30-Part 3-The Great Recession hits!

The recession in 2008/09 didn't actually hit the beauty industry until 2010, in Southern CA.  Typically the beauty industry doesn't feel a recession much at all, but, this one was different!

In the salon business, we found, women changed their habits.  

They were coming in less often to get their hair done. Make-up artists, aestheticians, and manicurists, were feeling the pinch of the economy the most.  I get it--when you lose your job--happening in alarming numbers, here in Southern, CA--you have to cut back. Nails, facials, and make up; are not necessities.

PPI (Parisian's Pure Indulgence) felt it too.  Our wholesale accounts were dwindling.  Spa's and gift boutiques were closing daily.  It was the trickle down effect.  Our web business was affected too. Women who purchased faithfully, every 1-2 months, purchased less frequently, in smaller quantities.

We held on for the ride, but it was not easy!  

I observed many artisan businesses, like mine, close down. I feel blessed to have the loyal customers we do, and for the new ones who are now finding us, thanks in part, to our existing loyal customers. The recovery has been slow, with many opportunities for learning, for instance, we learned--

As an Artisan businesses, you must market differently today!  

"You see, an artisan doesn’t have to be good Just at what they make, they have to also be good at social media, marketing, advertising and packaging. Large corporations have *departments* of experts that handle that, but your local artisan doesn’t.

--That’s where you come in--

We live in a new economy where you, the consumer has much more power than ever before; comments on social media have a lot more value than an advertisement, but you have to exercise your viewpoint. We artisans live or die by opinions, votes, testimonials and recommendations.

In the vast universe of advertising, usually the one who has the most money (biggest budget) wins, Period.

If you love your indies, SHARE AND RECOMMEND THEM OFTEN. Your votes (recommendations) go out to the Universe and multiply. Your voice has the ability to propel a virtual unknown into the big leagues (or, at the very least, keep them in business). We can’t succeed without your support, it’s a delicate symbiotic relationship, and one we usually don’t feel comfortable with," writes Jennifer Waller, Fellow Indie, and founder of Celtic Complexion.

Jennifer is SPOT ON.  Today, more than ever, artisan businesses need YOU, and no, we don't feel comfortable asking for your social media support, constantly.  We simply recognize, we have too.

Our Recovery News...

...Parisian's Pure Indulgence is re-branding!  What does this mean?  It means we are listening to you, our customer, and changing things up.  

You will see changes in everything from our packaging, to our website; and everything in-between. We are discontinuing our Men's line (Men are buying the Women's line anyway!).   Our informal facebook surveys, have uncovered how women like their skin care products to be packaged--We listened--Watch for foaming cleansers, and other changes in how we package our treatments; to better serve YOU!

Over the years, we have observed our Niche market to be:

Professional 50-ish Women, with sensitive skin.

So, the MOST exciting news is we are adding exciting timeless beauty treatments, and will be focusing on products for skin issues, such as Rosacea and Eczema.  I will also be blogging more on--Being Your Beautiful Best over 50!

What is the the biggest skin care issue you are dealing with?  Is your skin care line addressing these issues?

 

 

 

 

 

#IBN30 Parisian's Pure Indulgence and Those Damn Pink Bows!

  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!

 

Silpada Fine Silver Jewelry

Sally W. represents Silpada Fine Silver Jewelry.  We are proud to feature her in this weeks blog. Thanks to Sally, I am now the happy owner of a beautiful pair of emerald cubic earrings.  I love them!

Tell us a little about yourself?  I grew up in Michigan and now after many years in California, I’m not quite sure how I ever survived the cold Midwest weather.  I live in Westlake Village with my husband, Charlie and our recent college graduate son, Jonathan.  (Have you seen the movie “Failure to Launch”  … that could be us soon.) But truly, I love having him home and know I will miss him terribly when he does move away.

 What made you decide on Silpada Jewelry as your business?  I was looking for something else to do and LOVE jewelry.  I looked at several companies, but wanted to represent an elegant, sophisticated product.   I was very impressed with Silpada’s quality, customer service and support for their independent representatives. 

 What challenges have you had to overcome in order to create a successful business? Staying optimistic and persevering even in a down economy -

 Where do you see yourself 5 years from now in business?  Growing my team of representatives.

Contact Sally at www.mysilpada.com/sally.winstonstark

Home:   818-865-1881 Mobile: 818-497-5447

Here are some other amazing Women I met this week at Rosalie M.'s Heart Link Networking Group meeting.

Solange D., CAbi Consultant, Rosalie M., Tastefully Simple and Heart Link Area Coordinator

 

Helen A., Full Bloom Feng Shui, Lori R., Turn Old Gold Into Cash, Marsha B., Send Out Cards, Pam K., Organizing Solutions, Sally W., Silpada Jewelry

 

Leslie B., Troop Real Estate, Debe B., Certified Coach, Marlea N., Melaluca