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Donna Maria's Handmade Beauty Connection
March 31, 2003

A Publication of The Handmade Beauty Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Vol. 4, Issue 13
To subscribe, click here.

I'd like to use this space to thank those HBN members who have taken the time to tell other people about the one-of-a-kind services provided by HBN!! These members referred new members to HBN during this quarter! Please visit their Web sites or email them for information about their fabulous products!

Cloud Nine Candle & Bath - Randi Aldridge, hand-poured candles and handmade toiletries
Country Meadow Creations - Colleen Johnston, wedding, bridal, baby shower gifts
Fallen Muse WebWorks - Kim Baron, unsurpassed Web design services
From Nature With Love - Kibby Mitra, supplies supplies supplies!
Irish Hearth Soaps - Lori Kimble referred two new members, soaps with an Irish flair
Kate's Soap - Kate Krival, soaps handmade with herbs and other goodies
Making-Soap. com - Michelle Rotherham, bottles, jars, waxes ...
Queen Esther's Soaps & Body Creations - Diane Buono, unique handmade soaps
Soapworks and More, LLC - Jessica Quintance, bonq@cwo.com

1. HBN Update: Welcome New & Renewing HBN Members!!
2. Handmade Beauty Recipe Of The Week: Two Delicacies Handmade Soap
3. Handmade Beauty Trivia Question: win a jar of Muscle Relief Bath Soak
4. Create The Life You Love™: Follow Up To Staying "On Mission"

Welcome New & Renewing Members!

A Woman Of Uncommon Scents | Rachael Shapiro | Pennsylvania
* renewing member; wide variety of high quality essential oils, absolutes, concretes, waxes and more sourced from around the world

Cheri's Country Cottage | Cheryl Noonan | Washington
* renewing member; luxury quality, hand-made soaps, creams & bath products and supplies to make your handmade beauty products

Provincetown Soapworks | Lynne Davies | Massachusetts
* renewing member; goodies blended & packaged by hand; soaps stamped with a view of the harbor

Susan's Soaps & More | Susan Svec | Texas
* soap and shampoo bars, salt glows, body butter, lotion bars & bath salts

Bee Naturals | Barbara Chappuis | Missouri
* beeswax-based all natural skin care cremes and lotions contain vitamin E and essential oils

Planet Earth Remedies | Judy Carter | Arizona
* aromatherapy massage oils, balms, creams, soap  and salts formulated with pure essential oils, herbs  and botanicals

Body Systems | Teri Lang Patterson | South Dakota
* handmade bath & body products available using natural, local and exotic ingredients

Oak Ridge Farms | Jan Flood | Missouri
* specializing in cremes for mature skin and products that help every woman look her best at any age

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.

Two Delicacies Handmade Soap is a new recipe submitted by HBN member TJ Currey. TJ is a master at making hot process soap in her crock pot. This recipe is for experienced soapmakers only! Don't try it unless you've taken some good soapmaking classes and have successfully made soap before. If you haven't made soap before, check out some of the other recipes that use a pre-made base that you can simply melt, color, scent and pour!

When you visit MakeYourCosmetics.com, it's easy to buy the ingredients you need by clicking on our Partner links:

SunRose Aromatics: pure essential oils (many organic), carrier oils and other aromatherapy products, each carefully selected for quality. Check out their new Perfumer's Emporium.

The Scent Shack: fragrance oils and soap supplies. Fragrance oils are pre-tested in cold process, melt & pour soap, and candles, and test results are listed at the Web site. Scents tested by soapers for soapers!

Lynden House International , Canadian supplier of soap and candlemaking supplies such as fixed oils, perfumes, essential oils, molds, powdered milks, colors, pre-made bases, candle wax, wicks, embeds and more!

Last Week's Answer: Sudden Change manufactured by Bishop Industries, Inc.

While time does not permit me to respond personally to all entrants, the winner will be notified by email and their name posted at HBN's home page.

Last week, I shared some thoughts and suggestions on ways that small businesses can stay "on mission." If you missed that article, you can read it here. (If you don't take a moment to read that article, this week's column might not make much sense.) This week, I'd like to express further thoughts after receiving a thoughtful email message from an HBN reader. 

By way of introduction, the reader's email message indicated that her business had received thousands of dollars worth of new business from international customers who had purchased from her after reading her ads in this newsletter. Since most of those customers do not have an online presence or a retail business at all, the reader suggested that my article may discourage some business owners from responding  favorably to international inquiries, thus rejecting some lucrative new business opportunities. I thought that her email made a lot of good points, so I am repeating parts of it here, along with my comments. Some edits have been made for context and ease of reading. I hope that, read together, this week's and last week's columns provide a balanced look at the topic of staying "on mission." The reader's comments are italicized; my responses are not.

I recently received many inquiries from customers overseas who don't have Web sites or other easily accessible presentations to "prove" their sales history. I wasn't planning on selling abroad, and it came as quite a surprise to know that so many HBC subscribers from outside the US responded so favorably to my newsletter sponsorships. I jumped at the opportunity to sell to them so I could be represented in other countries where there is a demand for my products. My competitors do not ship overseas. To date, I have four customers in the UK who are thrilled to have a natural line of cosmetics to retail.

These are really good points, and they highlight the fact that all inquiries must be judged on their own merit. There are no "across the board" rules that will apply in all circumstances. There are, however, some general principles and I believe one of them is that if a potential overseas customer uses the Web as their primary means of generating sales (as did Timothy's potential customer), and their Web site has been on the blink for 6 months, working with them before their online store is actually open again could prove to be counter-productive -- particularly if you are not familiar with servicing overseas customers. If you are receiving thousands of dollars of consistent orders from overseas, it would be ludicrous to turn them away. This was not the case for Timothy -- he was not familiar with serving anyone overseas, had only received one overseas inquiry, had not researched whether there were any special cosmetic labeling requirements to follow, did not know whether any special export licensing was required and did not know when the potential customer's Web site would be working again. Spending time to research all of those things for just one customer seemed far less productive than concentrating on building business in areas where there actually was a tangible, proven demand.

My company spends a lot of money on sampling, and the rewards have been tremendous. In fact, we have designated one day a week to prepare and ship samples. We don't jump when people ask for samples, but process everyone's request in the same way. In order to receive samples, they first must fill out a submission form with all pertinent company information, and we examine the legitimacy of their business as well as possible.

What a great way to manage requests for samples!! Requiring persons requesting samples to first tell you about themselves is a great way to screen requests for samples -- not to mention build a valuable mailing list! People who are not seriously interested probably will not take the time to provide details about themselves. Those who are interested will do so, and those are the people who make a reasonable amount of sampling worthwhile. Again, take precautions designed to prevent the sending of samples to those who just want free stuff. I hope businesses who have been inundated with sample requests will take your suggestion to require that some detailed information be provided by the requestor in exchange for the free sample. That way, it's more of an exchange, and if nothing else, you end up with an addition to your mailing list which could prove valuable over time -- whether or not it results in a sale. 

Even in the USA, my biggest customers (those spending over $500/month on my products) are women who have no official retail outlet. Many of them do shows, and by talking to them on the phone, I was able to determine the seriousness of their endeavors.

Another great point! You can maximize your time dealing with many people simply by talking with them on the phone. I wrote about the importance of phone calls a few years ago in an article entitled "Pick Up The Phone!" (scroll down to Item 4 to read the article) where you'll find the following quote:

"[T]he convenience of email will never be a substitute for one-on-one conversation between professional colleagues and people in business, especially those who rely on one another for particular products and services. Let's face it, if all you need to do is confirm an order, send "form" information, or ask a simple question or two, email is great. . . . [b]ut building personal relationships through verbal communication is a very important part of being in business."

In a phone call, you can quickly determine by asking a few questions and relying in part on your gut instinct to determine whether another business is worth pursuing at a given time.

Thank you reader for sharing your thoughts and helping me create a more informative article to help everyone stay "on mission!!"

And to all HBC readers, I learn so much from you!! Thank you for all your suggestions and thoughtful messages, and for the privilege of writing a column that I love and which seems to be so helpful and informative for so many!