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Handmade Beauty Connection
April 29, 2002
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A Publication of The Handmade Beauty Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Vol. 3, Issue 17

This Week's Sponsor:
The Handmade Beauty Network

The only trade organization serving the handmade toiletries industry, including soaps, cosmetics, candles and aromatherapy products!! Join HBN today to take advantage of our newest members only benefit: The HBN Monthly Media Blitz!!

May's Media Blitz sends HBN member products to The Today Show in New York City!! 

Other HBN member benefits include access to cost effective legal and business counseling services, discounts on raw materials and products, inclusion in our Beauty Calls and more. For a complete listing of member benefits, click here. To see what our members have to say, click here.

Join today to take advantage of this unique opportunity to expose your business ... Email your questions to Donna Maria at info@handmadebeauty.com!

~ Welcome New HBN Members!

Texas Sunshine Soaps | Kristine Hons | Texas
* Soap by the bar or loaf; also buttermilk soap, fragrance bars, tub salts, lotion bars, shave mugs and gift baskets

Wild Rice Farm | Sher Rice | Wisconsin
* Goat milk soaps featuring farm fresh goat milk and the purest vegetable oils; no synthetic or petroleum-based detergents

Hunter Handcrafts | Christina Hunter | Ohio
* specializing in handmade cold-processed soaps and lip balms for retail and wholesale

Muileh Skincare | Vivian Dawson | Connecticut
* Handmade, aromatherapeutic products created from the exotic oils, butters and waxes, locally grown flowers, etc.

Queen Esther's Soaps & Body Creations | Diane Buono | North Carolina
* All-natural, handcrafted, therapeutic soaps and body products

Da Shiznit! | Debra Landis | Indiana
* "The Best!" Body care products made with essential oils, herbs, clays, butters, hemp & more; homemade accessories available

Green Valley Aromatherapy | Emma Payton | Canada
* leading wholesaler of top quality essential oils, hydrosols, floral waters, skin care products, books, perfume oils, diffusers, bottles, etc.

Aunt Wally's | Jacque Riella | California
* specializing in natural soaps, salts, scrubs, butters, and more

TrueSoaps | Debbie Trueblood | Alabama
* We want to be in your bath! Soaps and toiletries that feel good on your skin, smell incredible, and are quite luscious!

Burgett Creations | Margaret Burgett | Alabama
* Using herbs and botanicals we have many different varieties to soothe your senses; something for everyone.

66-40 Productions | Marc Bates | California
* natural handmade toiletries ... the perfect way to relax and give yourself a little break from the world

BC Art, Inc., dba BC Bath & Body Experience | CA Bruno | Texas
* Poodle balm

AllyKats | Robyn Sessler | Maine
* Bath and body gifts for little girls ages 4 to 10

Levis Lathers | Michelle Davers | Indiana
* Homemade lye soaps made the ~old fashion way~ and using soybean oil

Learn more about our members and their exciting activities by visiting their Web sites through HBN's Online Member Directory, now with 4 ways to search: (1) by state/country; (2) by member business name; (3) by keyword search; or (4) using our new alphabetical listings!

This week's recipe for Lemon Ice Foot Butter was submitted by HBN members Rosanne Tartaro of SunRose Aromatics and Diane Buono of Queen Esther's Soaps. They tell me it's a really easy recipe to make and you'll love the way it makes your feet feel. Plus there's the great Lemon-Ice Aromatherapy Blend available only from SunRose. When you visit MakeYourCosmetics.com to get this and other recipes, it's easy to buy the ingredients you need to make your goodies by clicking on our Partner links:

Last Week's Answer: The physician is De la Bonnardiere and the term he coined is "thalassotherapy".

This Week's Question: I have been called the flower of the Incas. While I have no known essential oil to speak of and don't even really have a scent, there are millions of bottles containing fragrant liquid bearing my name. It is said that I sprang forth from the limbs of a beautiful Greek water nymph who died of heartbreak when the object of her affections cast his affections toward another. What am I?

Be the first to state my botanical and common names and win a copy of the audio taped Beauty Call™ with public relations expert Katherine Hutt. (To view a description of the tape, click here.)

1 Brûlée (about 2 ounces) | $4.50

As many of you on the east coast know, we have had some scorchers around here lately! Temperatures soared into the 90s a few weeks ago, and when they did, I took full advantage by taking a trip to Annapolis, Maryland for the day with my hubby and little Vanessa Grace (who turned 6 months old yesterday!!). We strolled around some of the bays and inlets and enjoyed sweet, warm breezes and the invigorating aroma of sea air.

As we were driving through one of the narrow cobblestone streets, my handmade toiletries addicted nose sniffed out a little shop called Bubbles 'N Brews. Ever the understanding husband, mine quickly threw on the brakes as I announced we simply had to stop for "a few quick seconds" so I could go in and have a sniff around.

Bubbles & Brews does not have a huge selection of products, but they do have two products that I like a lot. One is a massage bar (which I'll review later this season) and the other is Cleopatra's Desire Bath Brûlée which I absolutely could not wait to use. This little tart contains the usually fizzy ingredients (citric acid and baking soda), but it also contains a healthy dose of cocoa butter. The sales lady told me to break it in half so I could use it twice. HA!! Not me! I want it all, so I dumped the whole fizzy in the tub. It slowly fizz/melted and began to scent my whole bathing area with fragrance oils of patchouli and orange. I smelled it for 3 more days! My husband thought it was a bit much but I rather liked it and will return again to get some more! As I emerged from the tub, I could feel the benefits of the cocoa butter ... my skin felt soft, smooth and moisturized.

Cleopatra's Desire Bath Brûlée is neatly packaged in a plastic cup with a re-sealable lid. I rinsed it out and used it to make some of my own goodies! You can get Cleopatra's Desire Bath Brûlée and other tasty treats at Bubbles 'N Brews by contacting Laura Shelton at bubbsnbrew@aol.com or (410) 295-6600 (they don't have a Web site) or by visiting their store in Annapolis at 47 Maryland Avenue.

Question No. 1: Do I Have Enough Money?
Question No. 2: Do I Have Enough Stamina?
Question No. 3: Do I Have Enough Emotional Support?
Question No. 4: Do I Have A Business Plan?
Question No. 5: Do I Think Big Enough??!!
Question No. 6: Do I Have An Open Mind?

This weeks' question is Am I Ready To Fly??!!

I saved this question for last since it really is the ultimate inquiry. Once you've saved up some money (or borrowed some), have a plan in place, have rallied your emotional support team, are physically fit enough to withstand the demands of small business ownership, have opened your mind and are thinking big, you'll need to be prepared to fly! Are you ready? Are you ready to rise above the mediocre and soar with the eagles, perhaps where no business like yours has ever soared before? Before you answer, perhaps it would be helpful if I provided a backdrop for the question.

1. Being Ready To Fly Means Being A Leader. Business owners who are determined to make a mark are in a constant state of readiness. Like a general leading the troops, they are always prepared to make the tough decisions, and they make no bones about expecting those who work with and for them to fall in line with their vision. For example, if you set up a particular procedure for accomplishing a specific goal for your business, you will sometimes find that not everyone will agree with your particular method of doing things. Yet, you will have to be prepared to follow up your decision with action. This means you may have to weed out those who do not fall in line with you. So, you will not always be popular ... but what leader is? A leader is a navigator. This means that once you have examined all available options, made up your mind and charted a course, you stick with it. Of course, there may be times when, even though you've made up your mind, a person of influence will convince you to change it. But those occurrences should be the exception to the rule. For the most part, as the leader of your business, you will politely listen to others' opinions and then proceed as you have decided. You will receive the accolades if your decision was a good one. Likewise, you will get the "grief" if it turns out badly. Either way, you have to continually rally the troops to move forward in pursuit of your vision. That means making the tough decisions that you feel will take you closer to your goal. If you don't demonstrate your belief in your vision by following your decisions with action, not only will you demonstrate that you don't believe in yourself, you will not inspire others to believe in you either.

2. Being Ready To Fly Means Having Single-Minded Focus. If your business (and you!) are going to fly, you must have the ability to focus on your vision and not be strayed from it. This means, for example, that you will have to cut friends off in friendly phone conversations so you can get back to work. You will have to forego some of your leisure activities in order to accomplish your goals. Keep your eyes on your prize and don't allow anyone to steal the valuable minutes you have in each day to move toward it. My friend, Patricia, taught me the importance of doing this years ago. If I happened to call her to chat during the 2 hours she had set aside to devote to her nutritional supplement buisness, she would politely tell me that she had set aside that time for that particular purpose. She continued to let me know that if my call was urgent, she would take a break, but if not, she would try to catch me after the 2 hours were up. This single-minded focus is what helped her build her business successfully. But she had to risk hurting my feelings to do it. If you're not ready to take the same types of risks ... to make the tough decision to put people and things on the "back burner" so you can accomplish your business goals, you may not be ready to fly.

3. Being Ready To Fly Means Ruling Your Emotions. If you want your business to fly, you will quickly learn to rule your emotions. That is, the "highs" won't take you too high and the "lows" won't take you too low. I call this staying in the "emotional stability zone". You know you're in the emotional stability zone when you refuse to allow your emotions to rule your business day. I remember when I was contacted about writing a book by my first publisher in 1988. I was swinging from the chandeliers, hoping from one end of the house to the other. A few days later (because, unfortunately, that's how long it took me to get back to work!!), I set my sights on following up with a potential new wholesale customer who was interested in carrying my handmade soaps in her shop. Well, she had changed her mind. Down in the dumpster of life I went ... splat!! Those were a few roller coaster days! Today, I remain in the emotional stability zone. I don't get too excited about the good things, and I don't get too out of whack about the bad things. That way, I am better able to deal with the FACTS and am not tossed and turned on the winds of life's everyday occurrences. Sure, I get down, but only for about 5 seconds. And when I'm excited, I always enjoy the moment (usually for a little longer than 5 seconds), but I don't get so carried away that I lose sight of everything else I'm twirling around on my plate(s).

So there you have it ... 7 questions you can ask yourself that could help save your business before it starts. Do you have money, stamina, emotional support, a plan, think big, have an open mind and ARE YOU READY TO FLY!!?? Good luck!!

Next Week: On Being A Mom & A Business Woman ... tips to help you survive both!!