return to archives home Donna Maria's Handmade Beauty Connection February 2, 2004 A Publication of The Handmade Beauty Network ISSN 1530-9630 | Vol. 5, Issue 5 To subscribe, click here.  -->This Week's Sponsor <-- SunRose Aromatics 10% off any order! Just enter coupon code HBNVDAY10 at checkout! (does not include shipping/valid thru 2/15) SunRose Wholesale $5.00 Off orders over $100.00! Just enter coupon code HBNVDAY at checkout! All orders over $150.00 receive *** FREE SHIPPING ** (valid thru 2/15)

1. HBN Update: Welcome New & Renewing HBN Members!
2. Unleash The Power Of Your Beauty Business at dM's Beauty Business Boot Camp!
3. Handmade Beauty Recipe Of The Week: Melon Blossom Foot Soak
4. Beauty & The Business Trivia Question: win some sugar scrub!
5. Create The Life You Love™: Think Win-Win

Dragonfly Dreams | Pamela Guest | Texas
* renewing member; fizzing bath salts, milk baths, lotion bars, salt glo, tub tea, sachets, spa gift sets, dream pillows, etc.

Terra Soleil, Ltd. | Karen Schmieder | New York
* renewing member; natural handmade aromatic facial, body and massage oil blends made with essential oils

Nature's Gift | Marge Clark | Tennessee
* renewing member; organic and wildcrafted essential oils and hydrosol, purity and quality tested and guaranteed

Kathleen Lewis Beauty Worldwide | Kathleen Lewis | New York
* renewing member; a line of bath and body products that combine traditional technique with modern aesthetic

Thimbleberry Hill | Elizabeth Savard | New York
* renewing member; handcrafted goat milk soaps, shampoos, lotion bars, body polish and TubTabs

Annabella & Company Creativity Collective | Alicia Grosso | California
* renewing member; Annabella and Company Handmade Soap, Rabbit Moon, Bunny's Garden and sk8 kleen

The Parsonage | Julie S. Pieper & Richard Darr | Virginia
* renewing member; 40 varieties of handmade soaps; lotions created from the finest ingredients

Leslie's Garden Handcrafted Soaps | Leslie Plant | Maryland
* renewing member; premium soaps are carefully made in small batches with 100% vegetable oils and superfatted for extra emollience

My Grandmother's Garden | Janice Sheplere | Tennessee
* renewing member; gently fragranced, unique, handmade bars of soap

The Scent Shack | Lori Kimble | Illinois
* renewing member; fragrance oils and soap supplies, pre-tested in cold process, melt & pour soap, and candles

Persimmon Tree Handcrafted Soaps | Revonda Moody |
* renewing member; handmade bath and beauty products including bar soap, lotions, scrubs, balms, and salves

Natural Impulse Handmade Soaps and Sundries | Karen White | Alabama
* renewing member; the needs of ablutophiles (bath addicts) and olfactomaniacs (scent lovers) everywhere

Gentle EMU OIL Products | Deena Gentle | Wisconsin
* renewing member; luscious lathering, long lasting, hand crafted bar soaps featuring emu oil ~ the ultimate skin care

Gambrill Mountain Soap Co. | Millette Miller | Maryland
* renewing member; handcrafted, all natural animal-friendly, earth-friendly herbal soaps

Aromaleigh, Inc. | Kristen Leigh Bell | South Carolina
* renewing member; mineral cosmetics and perfumes created by aromatherapist Kristen Leigh Bell

SKINCANDO | Sara D'Amelio | Washington, DC
* all natural, handmade Combat-Ready products

KARA'S Herbal Comforts | Kara Feminella | New York
* handrafted natural skincare products for the whole family; gift  baskets, wholesale

Elemental Soaps & Sundries | Aimee Mills | New Mexico
* handcrafted soaps, bath salts, lotions, potions, rubs, scrubs and more

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.

1. Branding Your Business: How To Maximize A Key Competitive Advantage
2. Using An Email Newsletter To Promote, Market & Grow Your Business
3. How To Get Inexpensive Media Attention For Your Business
4. FDA Regulation: Get Answers To Your Pressing Regulatory Questions

Date: March 24, 2002
Where: Harrisburg, PA, Whydham Garden Hotel
Tuition: $180.00 for all 4 information packed workshops, held March 27, 2004. Includes valuable networking opportunities! Don't miss this chance to benefit from business growth tips and camaraderie with fellow entrepreneurs!

Early Bird Registration closes Friday, February 20. Registration will not be available at the door!
HBN Members Enjoy Discount!!

Spaces are limited so sign up early to reserve your spot! Sponsored by Kim Lutz Isenhour of Lutzy's Lather! To register, click here or email Kim at LutzysLather@msn.com or (717) 226-1530. Register online, by phone or by email!

Relax your tired feet after a hard day by soaking your feet using this moisturizing and aromatic foot soak with Melon Blossom Foot Soak, a recipe by Selected Supplier From Nature With Love!

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

Essential Wholesale: pure essential oils, over 200 cosmetic bases, hundreds of carrier/fixed oils such as meadowfoam, cranberry, jojoba and shea butter plus a new Short Run Private Labeling Program!

Bramble Berry, Inc.: over 105 different fragrance and essential oils (including their exclusive "Energy" and "Relaxing"), all soap tested, soap molds and unscented soap bases!

Last Week's Question: I was directed by Sam Mendes and won a Best Picture Academy Award in the late '90s. I starred Thora Birch, Mena Suvari, along with Annette Benning and other stars of note. Name me.

If you're in business, you have to negotiate from time to time for what you want. Sometimes, negotiations go well and sometimes they don't. But either way, they can be intimidating for those who are not used to bargaining for what they want or need in business (or in life!). This week's article shares how to take the fear out of negotiations by adopting The Win-Win Mindset. Here are 3 simple steps to doing just that.

1. Begin With Your Goals (And Theirs!) Mapped Out.
Few of your negotiations will be successful unless you know in advance exactly what you are negotiating for. How can you bargain with someone unless you know what you want in the end? It's a good idea to put your goals down on paper, in order of priority so that you can see from top to bottom what things are most (and least important to you). In this way, you can fully appreciate what you can and cannot live with at the end of the day. For example, you are a retailer who wishes to purchase 50 bars of pink, rose scented Valentine's Day soap from a soapmaker so you can resell them in your store. What is important to you? Things like price, shelf life, scent, product quality, label appearance, liability insurance, delivery method, delivery date and perhaps several other things. What's important to your vendor? Things like price, when they will be paid, placement of the product in your store for maximum sales potential, etc. Make the list of things that are important to both of you and be aware of which of the things are your list are most important.  That way, when you sit down with the vendor, you know exactly what you want and what you don't want and you won't be wasting time figuring it out "on the fly." You'll also know what's most important to the vendor so that if the two of you disagree on any issue, you can go into the negotiation having prepared for that ahead of time. 

2. List Your Bargaining Chips Ahead Of Time.
Just because something is important to you, doesn't mean you can't live without it. In the above example, let's say that your vendor's price is $2.00 per bar and you'd like the soaps delivered the week before Valentine's Day. Your soapmaker cannot deliver them until 3 days before Valentine's Day but you also know that she's anxious to sell the soaps because if she doesn't she'll have far too many pink, rose scented soaps on her hands in March. You also know that she's a very small company and does not have a lot of options when it comes to selling the soaps. One of your bargaining chips may be the delivery date. That is, you'll buy the soaps from her even though she can't get them to you a week before Valentine's Day, if she'll sell them to you for $1.75 per bar and get them to you at least 3 days before Valentine's Day. Because you know ahead of time what you'll bargain away and what you won't bargain away, you are more prepared to negotiate when the time comes. During the negotiation, be firm and aggressive in demonstrating what you want, while also being considerate of the other person's right to the best deal they can achieve as well.

These are simplified examples but I hope they illustrate the point that half the battle is knowing ahead of time what you want, what they want and what you'll let go of in order to reach a win-win deal.

3. Remember That No Deal Is Sometimes The Best Deal.
Since the win-win mindset constantly seeks the mutual satisfaction of both parties, it's important to remember that if both sides cannot be happy with the best deal that can be made under the circumstances, then perhaps no deal may be the best deal. By that I suggest that all negotiations be entered into with the understanding that both parties may end up simply agreeing to disagree. This may be disappointing in the short run, but if both sides cannot come to an agreement that all can be happy with, a win-win situation for all, in the long run, it is usually better to let it go rather than to force a deal. Letting go saves both parties for a possible future deal without the bad feelings that often result if a deal is struck and one party later wants "out" and wasn't really happy from the beginning.

Starting with your own clearly articulated goals, knowing what your bargaining chips are and resolving ahead of time to be happy even if no deal is reached are 3 of the best things you can do to prepare to negotiate a win-win deal, and you will get better with practice.. Keep them in mind next time you 

To any of these three things, add a generous dose of positive attitude and no matter what the weather, you'll never be without your own personal sunshine!