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A Publication of The Handmade Beauty Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Volume 6, Issue 28
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1. Happy Birthday Members!
2. Feature Article: No Handmade Beauty Business Is An Island
3. Handmade Beauty Product Review: Crash Course Manicure

I am often asked how I do it all. When I am asked that, I laugh hysterically on the inside but try to remain composed on the outside and say simply, "I don't do it all." I can't and no one can. I have learned 3 things about "doing it all" in my nearly 15 years of business.

1. If I have no choice but to try to do it all, I should try my best, knowing that I'm not going to be able to do it all but that I will eventually get to the point where I won't have to do it all.
2. If I don't have to do it all, but it still has to get done, I should get help.
3. If doing it all, even with help, is killing me or my business, I should stop doing it all.

While those 3 "mantras" are easy enough to articulate, they are far more difficult to actually implement. They do work, however, and if you are a small business owner wearing lots of hats, you could benefit by cutting and pasting them in a place where you will see them often. No beauty business owner is an island after all! If you are described by #1 above, hang in there! If you keep moving forward, you will eventually move past those trying times. If you are at #3, you have probably experienced some level of success, but you may not be having much fun anymore. If you are the mid-point space, described by #2, then it might mean you are still happy doing what you do, still enjoying family and friends and not yet totally broke. In that case, it may be time to get some help. In my experience in this industry (and others as well), there are 3 areas where help can be most useful on the first day it is obtained.

1. Office And Work Area Organization.

This was a really hard one for me. After all, why does stuff need to be organized neatly when I know where it is, even if it's buried under a pile of books or a mountain of beauty products? The answer is simple -- if things don't look organized, they are not organized and that means I'm not organized. The trouble is organization of "things" is not my strong point. My strength is organizing and implementing ideas. I don't like organizing papers and things. But when I don't organize, things look awful in my office so when I arrive, I feel awful. Sometimes, the feeling is prominent and sometimes it is subtle. Either way, it's there impeding progress and forcing me to constantly move one thing just to get to another thing.

When I finally broke down and paid an organization consultant for a few hours of time, it paid off immediately because implementing just a few space saving strategies made my office look more inviting, and that made me excited about being there, which in turn translated into a more productive workday. Today, I periodically hire someone to help me maintain order. I have less money to spend on coffee and newspapers, but the feeling of freedom from clutter around me is priceless. You might try finding a professional organizer in your area through the National Association of Professional Organizers.

2. Secretarial/Paperwork/Administrative.

I'm a good administrator. I don't need much sleep most days. I have a lot of energy. And I love what I do. I'm the perfect DIYer and I firmly believe that any successful small business owner on a limited budget has to start out that way. But after a while, instead of Do-It-Yourself, DIY can eventually stand for Do-In-Yourself, meaning if you DIY for too long, you may find yourself swimming upstream far too often. In that case, it could be time to hire a virtual assistant. Hearkening back to my days as an attorney at a large company, I remember that I didn't see my assistant sometimes for days at a time. His office was right outside my door, which I kept closed most of the day so I could get all my work done. When we needed each other for something, we used email or the phone. We had a very efficient working relationship and got along well, but we never really needed to see each other. A few years ago, I discovered a whole new industry growing around this concept -- that of assistants and secretaries formerly employed by large companies striking out on their own to provide those services for stressed small business owners, and doing it virtually. These virtual assistants, known as "VAs," do a variety of things to help any small business owner: create spreadsheets, edit and proofread copy, write and send letters, field various types of email inquiries, keep track of receipts and expenses, brainstorm, etc. I even use them sometimes as cheap psychiatrists!

I use two VAs -- we never see each other, nor do we need to. A phone, fax and working email provides all the tools we need to stay in touch and implement projects. A close friend who owns a successful public relations firm recently started using a VA to field requests for quotes for her services. Her VA answers the inquiries with materials prepared by my friend, and only serious inquiries are presented to my friend. A handmade beauty business owner could use the same kind of VA service to handle the many "cold" inquiries from potential wholesale accounts that come through a website. Paying someone to spend an hour a day to screen the requests can translate into valuable time for the business owner to deal with current customers and inquiries that have been screened for their potential value to the business. Check out Muse works, a new VA service specifically for the handmade beauty industry!

3. Technical.

The first time I considered hiring a technical wizard to conduct periodic checks and perform updates to my computer, I thought it was a waste of money. Why bother with hiring someone to come on a regular basis when it's easy to just call them as they are needed? I got the answer to that question in spades when a "trusted" source sent me an infected email message. At the time, I knew about worms and viruses, but they always infiltrated someone else's system, not mine. I remember opening up the message and immediately hearing my computer start to whine. I quickly hit the power key to shut things down, hoping that would stop the damage. I left my office to pray and take some headache medicine. I returned -- still in prayer -- and booted up the computer. It never came back on. I could not afford the rates offered by the guys who come to your office in an emergency so I took my laptop to my brother's computer geek friend and waited a full week for him to get to it in his spare time. All the while, I chewed my nails down to the quick and tried my best to call people as necessary to keep projects moving forward and meet deadlines. In short, it was a nightmare.

I have since learned that hiring someone on a periodic basis (quarterly is enough for me, but you may need it more or less often depending on how you use technology) to come to my office and live with my laptop for a few hours is well worth the investment. They are less expensive when scheduled regularly and in advance, and mine comes equipped with the latest computer "techno geek speak" so he can protect my data, give me options in terms of the latest, greatest virus updates, etc. He explains in detail and I listen as long as I can. Ultimately, I'm satisfied that I have done everything I can to protect myself and my customers until he returns. Check your local PennySaver or other neighborhood advertisements to see if there are any of these professionals in your own back yard. They typically charge $50 - $60 per hour, a fee that is well worth it to protect the computer which forms the backbone for so many small businesses. You could also try Geeks On Call, with franchise locations around the country.

Crash Course Manicure
4 oz. | $14.95 or 16 oz. | $29.95)

When I first got the 4 ounce size of Crash Course Manicure, I thought, "Fabulous name! Nice packaging. But not a very big package for a scrub." But then I remembered it was a manicure product, and my hands aren't really that big after all. Still, it just seemed like I would use the product up in a New York Minute. So I opened it and sniffed. After the fragrance proved to be one I liked, I happily dug in for a scrub. I quickly realized why the package is not huge -- a little of this scrub goes a very long way!

This is the perfect product tailored just for feet and hands. Made with shea butter and hemp oil, it's also infused with a heavenly combination of uplifting citrus oils. It's FULL of the rich oils that my hands (and feet) need -- so full that after using it and rinsing, I needed no moisturizer at all. The smooth, silky richness stuck to my skin and stayed there even after rinsing well with soap and water. My hands felt soft and were lightly scented. This product is PACKED with rich oils so if you prefer a less rich experience, you'll want a bar of your favorite handmade soap nearby to lather up and rinse well. Next time I get a minute to get to the manicurist (can't happen enough if you ask me!), I'm going to pack this up and ask them to use it on me!

You can get your own Crash Course Manicure from Ingrid at Symren.

Have A Great Week!!
Donna Maria
Editor, The Handmade Beauty Connection
The Handmade Beauty Network | www.handmadebeauty.com