Home: Message List - Event: Turning a hobby into a full-fledged biz

Event: Turning a hobby into a full-fledged biz

SBOCTeam — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 22:01:12 GMT

Founded in 2003 by Lela Barker, Bella Lucce, http://www.bellalucce.com, was conceived from her frustrating search for sumptuous, natural beauty products. A wide gulf existed between "natural" products and "luxurious." Barker sought to infuse her natural formulas with delicious decadence, resulting in products that effectively bridged the gap between the two industries. The result is a collection of innovative bath and body products that marry exotic ingredients gathered from around the world with pure, naturally-focused formulas.

About Lela:

With no formal business training and less than $500 in start-up capital, Lela Barker commandeered nearly every inch of her 800 square foot house for the research and development of her naturally focused skincare line. Six months later, in the fall of 2003, the first 18 products made their debut. Lela was home with her children...and she was definitely working. Lela now has 8 full time employees and her luxury products can be found in spas and wellness centers from LA to as far as Dubai. Learn how she grew her business.

The SBOC Team is taking questions in advance from members who want to ask Lela about her journey from a home based business to an international phenomenon. Ask her how she:

Factored philanthropy into her small business
Marketed on the cheap
Secured international distributors
Networked
Bootstrapped her business

Post your question here and then check back on October 22 at 2:00PM EST for Lela's response. You can also pose a question to Lela anytime during the event.

Re: Live event: Turning a hobby into a full-fledged biz

SBOCTeam — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:01:05 GMT

Lela,

On behalf of the SBOC Team and the members of the Small Business Online Community, we wanted to say we truly appreciated your time today and your professional responses to user questions.

Community members, while our session with Lela has now concluded, please feel free to discuss today's session and the questions answered. Again, if you'd like more information about Lela and Bella Lucce, visit:

http://www.bellalucce.com

http://twitter.com/bellalucce

http://bellalucce.com/thebuzz

Thanks again,
The SBOC Team

Re: Live event: Turning a hobby into a full-fledged biz

LelaBarker — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:59:35 GMT

Hi Jamie,

While I love working local whenever possible, we have yet to find a local label company that fits our needs. I highly recommend Lightning Labels (www.lightninglabels.com) for short and long run digital labels. For all other collaterol, try Professional Printers out of Columbia, SC (www.proprinters.com). Great people...good luck!

Re: Live event: Turning a hobby into a full-fledged biz

jwilliams — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:52:12 GMT

Hi Lela,

Its great to see you are doing well. We have relocated to North Carolina and I have been looking for a quality printer in the southern region. Do you have any suggestions, we are rebranding and need labels and collateral materials printed.

Jaime

Re: Event October 22: Turning a hobby into a full-fledged biz

LelaBarker — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:56:14 GMT

Hi there Bamboo2,

GMP is a tricky beast, isn't she? In all honesty, I was compliant first, then registered through the VCRP program. I was worried that I'd put myself on their radar screen and an inspector would come knocking before I was ready- hence the hesitancy. However, having been thru the process and seeing how innocuous it is, I now encourage small business to get registered sooner rather than later. To date, I have not received any materials form the FDA designed to help with compliance.

I will tell you this: being cGMP compliant is not an easy task for small companies. I suggest working on serious quality-control issues first: track incoming materials closely, perform microbial assays on outgoing batches, batch number each product, etc. Some of the suggestions aren't realistic for people manufacturing within a home environment...but do all that you can. And- whatever you do- be insured to the nine's. From my recent chats with industry leaders and trade groups and my time spent lobbying in Washington in August, I am of the impression that a lot of these suggestions will soon become mandatory, not voluntary...even for small businesses. Getting compliant now rather than later will put you one step ahead of the rest!

Re: Event October 22: Turning a hobby into a full-fledged biz

LelaBarker — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:53:44 GMT

Hello sweetaroma,

We have been involved in philanthropy since the very beginning and it's a pillar of what we do. As a small business, I often feel overwhelmed with requests from local schools, national charities, and community groups who'd like both financial and/or product donations. While I empathize, I have found that planning each year's giving in the 4^th^ quarter of the year preceding is the best use of our funds and time. I find causes that resonate with me, both domestically and internationally, and plan our giving accordingly. With that method, I am able to unify our resources for the greater good and not be distracted by near-constant inquiries.

I do promote our professional giving, though not my personal, and I believe that doing so brings both awareness to the cause, as well as creates increased brand awareness for Bella Luccè. One of our most successful charitable programs is through Women For Women (http://www.womenforwomen.org/). I sponsor one woman in a war-torn region for every full-time Bella Luccè employee. It's an amazing program and we sponsor women from Congo, Afghanistan, Bosnia, etc. Those funds pay for food, housing and education costs and we are able to correspond with the women themselves. That creates a sense of responsibility among my staff, rather than them just knowing that I cut a check to somebody somewhere last month. It builds personal relationships and we can tangibly assess some of the good we're doing.

In regards to marketing/pr on the cheap, I think I might have answered that particular query through some of the others at this event. If you need any followup, just ask and I'll be more than happy to elaborate on any particular aspect/strategies.

Re: Event October 22: Turning a hobby into a full-fledged biz

LelaBarker — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:51:10 GMT

Hi Sindy,

A warm welcome and best of luck to you! I do have my labels professionally designed and have since the beginning. Find an independent graphic designer who's looking to build their portfolio and you might be surprised at how affordable that can be. I am aware of several beauty companies who manage their own design, but I simply don't possess that skill set and the results are so much sharper when I am not at the helm of that project.

That said, I absolutely believe that professional labels and professional photographs are essential to website success. Consumers are so visual- beauty consumers especially so- and the outside of a beauty product (unfortunately) matters just as much as what's inside the jar. Don't underestimate the power of your branding and find someone who can help guide you...it doesn't have to be expensive!

Good luck with your business and squeeze those babies. Moms of ill-children are superheroes...take care.

Re: Event October 22: Turning a hobby into a full-fledged biz

LelaBarker — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:46:18 GMT

Woozle,

If you find out where they are selling maps, will you please let me in one the secret? LOL

As I mentioned previously, I haven't had any real mentors. What I have had the benefit of is an incredible support network. Just ask Donna Maria of IBN how often I call in a panic/crying jag/uproar asking her opinion. She is such a treasure to this industry and she has worked with hundreds of companies like ours for YEARS and we can all reap the benefit of that. I also have a husband who possess the patience of a saint as is quietly behind all I do and kids who think that what mom does it just cool enough that they don't mind me jetting off here and there for a week or two at a time (provided I bring home presents and make a big family breakfast upon my return). I've got a fabulous mom who reads my blog and clips press articles she sees and sends me the sweetest notes virtually every week, and they usually arrive just about the time I am trying to figure out who to turn my resignation in to. It's critical that you find a support network to help sustain you.

I have also really enjoyed social networking sites as they've been a great way for me to connect both to our customer base and fellow entrepreneurs. I twitter obsessively and it's a great outlet. Additionally, I have idols rather than mentors and I chase them around like a groupie some days. I look at tradeshows and Ladies Who Launch events and see who's slated to speak. Anytime my schedule and wallet allow, I try to get to wherever they are and put my face in front of them. Sometimes I am welcomed more warmly than others, but I have enjoyed the opportunity to correspond and dine with some giants in the industry: top-level executives at Burt's Bees, creators of the Jonathon hair care line, the founder of Aveda, the Dr. Bronner family, etc. You never know if you don't try and I am not afraid to put myself out there...its lead to some verrrrrry interesting cocktail hours and a few wonderful opportunities!

Re: Event October 22: Turning a hobby into a full-fledged biz

LelaBarker — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:43:33 GMT

Hi Teri,

Great to see you here! I'll do my best to tackle these...

1. See above for some other information regarding overseas accounts that might be helpful. Some of our distributors handle their own freight via freight forwarders and other times we assist- it's their choice really. In all cases, they do have a shipping point as they warehouse our products locally. Most serious distributors have that capability and I unfortunately have no wisdom to offer regarding clients without shipping points as we've never run into that ourselves.

2. As far as I am aware, there is no centralized membership. I think that a membership to the IRDB would be worth its while for you. Thankfully, the entire EU operates under the same regulations, so if you can jump the hurdles for one country, you can jump the hurdles for all. You ill need a European representative and specific labeling. Search "EU Cosmetics Directive" in Google for more information, but that IRDB database would be your best bet. European regulations are far trickier than most and take considerably more effort and resources to satisfy.

3. See above. With respect to the "one thing", that's such a difficult question. My answer may seem silly, but it's truly the essence of any success Bella Luccè has enjoyed: I kept going. There have been days I wanted to pull the covers over my head and hide; there are days I have to leave the office and walk the park or sit in a local Starbucks because I am so overwhelmed; there are days I am so angry or panicked that I have to put myself in time-out and give myself time to process. As I am certain you are aware, owning a business is one of the most exhilarating opportunities a gal will ever have, but it's also one of the scariest. We've battled production challenges, staffing challenges, legal challenges, public perception challenges, financial challenges...you name it. Bella Luccè's biggest challenge? Me. Keeping me focused, keeping me optomstic, ensuring that I guide the ship in the right direction. There's no magic step, or product or organization that's made all the difference in the world. I just got up every day for the last 5 years, despite whatever may have happened the day before, and told myself that I was going to do everything in my power that day to kick tail and take names- for the sake of me, my family and my staff. Not to sound ego-centric but small, women-owned businesses are based heavily on us. We are critical to our success and we are very prone to underestimating the magnitude of us within our business structure. You can't surrender or everything else falls like a house of cards. Take care of you...

Re: Event October 22: Turning a hobby into a full-fledged biz

LelaBarker — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:39:20 GMT

Hi there,

I have yet to hire a PR firm. Initially, I was convinced that's what it was going to take to get us to "the next level" (whatever that was), but I have since discovered that it's a very extraneous luxury- great if you can afford it, fine if you can't. If you have some time and tenacity, you can get yourself in all those glossies for less than 10% of what you'd pay a PR firm.

Take an afternoon and stop by your local bookstore. Grab every magazine you can imagine your products in and look for the editorial contact information. It's usually on a left-hand page in small type, a few pages into each issue. Work up your courage and give them a call. Media people are always on a tight schedule, so practice your schtick before you call- you've got 20 seconds or less, so practice, practice, practice. Go to essence- tell them you make the some fabulous (insert product here) that you'd love to see featured in (insert magazine here) and you'd love to be put in touch with the appropriate editor. More often than not, they'll put you through- once you're on the line, collect the editor's name, contact info (including email and mailing address) and ask for an editorial calendar. This is an issue-by-issue breakdown of their planned stories/themes for the year and is an essential tool in helping you pitch.

Now, write an utterly fabulous press release, tuck in a product or two along with your press kit (yes, you can make these yourself- Google it!) and send it on its way. In an unsolicited pitch, we usually only land 1 in 10. But that's essentially the cost of 20+ products, a few dollars in color printing and whatever it costs to ship...and you have a feature in a national magazine. Much cheaper than a PR firm, much more effective than advertising in those same magazines. After a while, the editors have you on their radar and they come to you. Every time we are approached by any media outlet, I add their contact info to the list...five years in, it's a nice-sized list that yields monthly results at minimal costs, but you have to be diligent and newsworthy and constantly be pitching!

As for funding, I get a payment, pay the bills, take what I need to live, and reinvest the rest. One foot in front of the other and every order builds upon the last!