Donna Maria's Handmade Beauty Connection
October 25, 2004

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1. HBN Update: Welcome New & Renewing HBN Members!
2. Handmade Beauty Recipe Of The Week: Honey & Lemon Sugar Scrub
3. Handmade Beauty University: Trademarking & Branding!!
4. Beauty & The Business Trivia Question: win a 1/2 hour Lifestyle CEO consultation with me!
5. The Handmade Beauty Cookbook: Join the Handmade Beauty Revolution!
6. Lifestyle CEO™:Shots In The Dark
7. Handmade Beauty Product Review: Quenchy by HK Baby Spa

Ac'Scents by Christine | Christine Gamez | Florida
* customized massage oil, lotions, creams, fizzies, salts, scrubs, and bubbles

Kasa Pure & Natural Skin & Body Care | Sandy Klein | Kentucky
* natural skincare

West Texas Memories | Dessie James | Texas
* soaps made with ingredients reminiscent of west Texas

Business Purchase Opportunity
Established California body care and candle manufacturing company is for sale. 50 SKUs in over 100 stores; several private label and contract manufacturing accounts. Serious inquiries only. Email blbiz100@yahoo.com for more information.*

*Disclaimer: HBN makes no representations about this business opportunity. Contact the email address above for information.

Learn more about these and other members and their exciting activities by visiting their Web sites through HBN's Online Member Directory, 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.

Last Week's Question: I was brought to Europe in the 17th century by Spanish explorers from South America. My oil is used to flavor foods and make perfume. When dried, my leaves make a wonderful tea that is soothing and relaxing. I'm also known as Herb Louisa, limonetto or lemon beebrush. What is my common name?

Last Week's Answer: lemon verbena

This Week's Question: Along with my partner, I have devised a series of books that Time Magazine has called "the publishing phenomenon of the decade." Through my books, which feature real life inspirational stories from around the globe, I have positively impacted millions of people. My story is a testimony to the power of persistence. I was turned down by over 100 publishers before finding a small company that believed in my idea that real life stories could sell. My series has sold 90 million copies around the US, allowing me and my wife and two daughters to live comfortably in southern California with our chickens, pigeons, cats, dogs, rabbits, fish, horses, peacock, hamster and an organic garden complete with fruit, vegetables, herbs and is full of hummingbirds, butterflies and wonderfully fragrant flowers. Who am I and what is the name of my series of books?

Be the first to answer this week's questions and win a 1/2 hour Lifestyle CEO consultation with me! Please read the contest rules here before submitting your entry. Put "TRIVIA CONTEST ANSWER" in the subject line or your answer will not be considered.

Here's what one inspiring Lifestyle CEO said after consulting with me just last week: 

"I am very grateful to you for the phone consultation. I wasn't sure what to expect, and even with my previous business background, we quickly identified a couple areas that you could help. We focused in on those, and you answered the questions I did have. From your experience as a branding specialist, I appreciated your advice on what makes a great brand  I will apply these principles, and look forward to a future consultation for you to critique my marketing package. I continue to absolutely enjoy your inspiring newsletter, look forward to completing my own handmade beauty project, and becoming an HBN member in the future!" Jan Laferriere, Canada.

While time does not permit me to respond personally to all entrants, the winner's name will be announced in the next newsletter!

Ready! Aim! Fire! These recognizable words have inspired people in all walks of life to select a target, aim at it and then shoot, hitting their mark right smack in the middle of its sweet spot. But all too often, people running businesses make the mistake of shooting before they actually have a target. Consequently, they fire -- and fire and fire and fire!! But they hit nothing, or if they hit something, it's so random that even with the hit, the results are uninspiring. Here are 3 things you can do today to make sure you don't make this mistake!

1. Start Small and Expand From There.
Make a small number of customers in a specific niche happy. Then make them happy again. Make them happier still, and expand from there. This is a powerful and often overlooked path to success. Tammy (not her real name) had a business making handmade products, yet she was unhappy with the number of sales she was generating through her website, the only mechanism she used to make sales. She was not making enough money to cover her costs and earn a profit so she knew she had to do something. Rather than figure out ways to increase sales to her small but loyal customer base, Tammy started selling raw materials and packaging supplies to bring in revenue. Rather than concentrating her efforts, she expanded them. This resulted in the loss of existing customers who only wanted to buy finished products. Due to entrenched competition, Tammy found that it was more difficult than she thought to find buyers for supplies. In the end, Tammy stopped selling supplies and instead concentrated on building and maintaining and growing a small customer base for her finished products. She is now building her name as a quality finished products manufacturer and generating sales at the same time.

2. Resist the Temptation to Become "All Things To All People."
This boils down to having focus! You will see results in any area where you focus your attention regularly and in a committed fashion. In today's competitive economy, with a new small business popping up every few minutes, it's more important than ever to resist the temptation to follow every trend in an effort to keep up with competitors. I am working now with Carla (not her real name) a client with a successful home-based soap business in a small county in the southeast. Carla's soap is so wonderful and her marketing strategy so unique that she is fielding requests daily from retailers looking to buy her soaps at wholesale prices to sell in their stores and at their websites. It's tempting to go into the wholesale market at this time, but Carla is determined to control her business and not have her business control her. Instead of being "all things to anyone who comes along," Carla focuses on being "the soap of choice for everyone in her county." This allows her to reach specific and attainable goals over a period of time. Her business operates efficiently and she can enjoy business ownership rather than be overwhelmed by it. She can meet and grow the demand for her products on her own terms. Carla calls the shots and that's the way she likes it! 

3. Evaluate Progress Regularly With a Quarterly Progress Report.
Even if you don't have the time to assemble a fancy business plan from start to finish, success still demands that there be some objective way to evaluate progress toward specific goals. A quarterly progress report is a great way to do this. At the beginning of the quarter, write down 3 goals you plan to accomplish to move your business forward. At the end of the month, evaluate your progress toward those goals and record the results. For example, let's say a goal this quarter is to maximize sales to your wholesale accounts. Even though the quarter has already started, it's not too late to put the quarterly progress report tool to work for you. To achieve your goal, you might do these 3 things: (1) contact all existing wholesale customers by phone to plug holiday products, promotions and discounts with goal of closing at least 1 holiday sale to each account; (2) contact 2 new wholesale prospects by phone between now and mid-November with goal of closing at least 1 new account by Thanksgiving; and (3). investigate the costs associated with attending a trade show in 2005 so you can start planning now by setting aside some funds and creating wholesale marketing materials. 

You're off to a great start and you have the brains to grow into a successful business venture. Don't ruin it by aiming at invisible targets, shooting in the dark or just plain shooting yourself in the foot! Start small and set reasonable and attainable goals which are clearly defined. Do your best to keep existing customers happy and coming back for me. Never expand into a new area without first planning how it will add to rather than subtract from your bottom line. Track progress regularly to stay on track while you enjoy the benefits of business ownership.

If the Lifestyle CEO articles are helpful to you, please send me an email and let me know!

Quenchy by HK Baby Spa
4 oz. | $18.50