PLEASE DESCRIBE THE PROCESS OF LAUNCHING YOUR BUSINESS.

I started my business out of necessity. Both of my sons and I have had dry skin issues. One of my sons was born with eczema and it was very severe. I watched my baby boy tear his skin to pieces for years. I felt hopeless trying everything the doctors told me. I gave him all the steroids, medications and creams prescribed. I bought all the top of the line lotions and creams on the market. However, my son was still suffering and I knew I just needed to find something to help him.

That is when I started trying different kinds of butter, salts, and oils while watching how he responded to them. Then I started blending them and saw how the skin began to “renew”/repair itself and that is how a new journey began. This process went on for several years until I saw the best results for him, others and myself. As the years went by as I am making the products for myself and close family, friends, and co-workers I was constantly being encouraged to start a business. After a while, I was like why not and that is when Renew You Body Butters became official.

In the beginning, I tried to keep the cost as low as possible by learning and doing everything by myself. When I decided to have more of an online higher quality handmade product, I had to invest and re-brand my business. Cost is always going to be there but I try to keep it as low as possible by networking and collaborating. 

WHAT DOES YOUR TYPICAL DAY LOOK LIKE AND HOW DO YOU STAY PRODUCTIVE?

My typical day involves family duties, reading, working with my coach, meditating, listening to music, engaging on social media and analyzing how I can improve in any aspect. As well, I constantly look and plan new vendor events, interviews, collaborations and marketing strategies that can help me grow my business and that are within my budget.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT AND YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE SINCE YOU STARTED YOUR BUSINESS?

Biggest Achievement:

My biggest achievement is co-designing and launching my website this year. 

Biggest Challenge:

My biggest challenge is facing slow revenue seasons. It happens sometimes and I had to learn to stay patient and consistent during these times.

WHAT STRATEGY DID YOU USE TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS? AND HOW?

I used organic and paid strategies to grow my business. I started just by word of mouth and doing vendor events. After some life-changing events, I started using social media such as FB, IG, and Pinterest. Etsy was my online selling platform since it was free to use. I joined many FB groups and did a lot of networking and collaborating to get graphics and digital work done in order to use them on all these different platforms.

Now that I have launched my website and re-branded my business, I am now paying for more advertisements. Social media, swag bag events, product testing, doing online giveaways, product teasers with orders and free samples to take at vendor events have helped me to take my business to another level.

WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS?

I am proud to say that the startup phase is far behind me and I will continue to work on further growth of my business to be able to generate consistent income. One of my next steps is to do wholesale and private label my products.