Welcome to Episode 82 of the Indie Business Podcast! Today's Indie Story introduces you to Nadja Renise of FEMMENOIRE, in Alpharetta, Georgia. Nadja's personal business story begins with the low self esteem she once felt, especially where her hair was concerned. Not only did a stylist leave her with a style that can only be described as a painful disaster, but at one point, Nadja became so frustrated with her hair that she chopped it all off. While the “big chop” solved some problems, it also created others. But it led Nadja to empower herself as an entrepreneur through what has become the FEMMMENOIRE brand.
You'll love hearing about how Nadja has leveraged her naturally introverted personality to engage her target audience and create more sales oportunities And for those of you who may be feeling the stress of job insecurity, Nadja, who was laid off not too long ago, has some words of advice for you as well. Enjoy my interview with Nadja NOW!
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Episode Show Notes
Here are the topics discussed in this episode, with time stamps to help you find the information that interests you most:
- The “accidental” birth of the FEMMENOIRE brand (starting at 2:50)
- The connection between self care and hair care, and self esteem — especially where black women are concerned. (starting at 6:39)
- How Nadja, an introvert, built the confidence to go from making a few products to actually starting a business. (starting at 12:44)
- Selling vs. serving. (starting at 13:45)
- Nadja's advice for leading a business while your children are young. (starting at 17:00)
- How to stay in your own lane. (starting at 18:27)
- How Nadja selected her brand name. (starting at 19:51)
- How Nadja markets and sells her products, including Instagram and using alerts and quizzes. (starting at 20:41)
- Nadja's post COVID-19 vision for her brand. (starting at 32:30)
- How adding body care products to complement hair care products has boosted Nadja's wholesale accounts. (starting at 34:00)
- Making connections through being open and educating people. (starting at 37:26)
- Working a traditional job while leading a business, then getting laid off. (starting 39:39)
- Best selling products. (starting at 43:06)
- Nadja's words of advice for would-be entrepreneurs who are facing potential job loss. (starting at 45:50)
Resources and Links Mentioned in this Episode
In this episode, Nadja and I mentioned the following resources.
- FEMMENOIRE website
- FEMMENOIRE on Facebook
- FEMMENOIRE on Instagram
- Quiz app: Octane AI
- Website hosting: Shopify
- Text message marketing: Postscript
Important entrepreneurial insights from Nadja
I want to review some of the significant business insights Nadja and I discussed in this episode.
1. Serving vs. selling
Nadja says that the stress of selling was wearing her out, so she adjusted her mindset to embrace the notion of serving people simply by telling her personal hair stories and engaging people around their hair care journeys. It's an approach Nadja says works by leading to the engagement that naturally produces opportunities for people to want to buy her products.
2. Invest in yourself
One of the chief words of advice Nadja offered was the importance of investing in yourself. She recommended engaging the services of a coach or a mentor or someone who is always in your corner to help you get to the next phase of your business experience. No one can do it all alone! I've been in business over 21 years, and I love my business coaches, and I always have at least one.
3. Strategic use of Instagram
I am so impressed and inspired by Nadja's use of Instagram. I strongly encourage you to check it out. No matter what type of product you sell, Nadja's approach can be helpful to you. She talked about how she uses Instagram Reels to be light and entertaining, and how she uses Instagram stories as an eclectic mix of her life generally. Definitely check it out and get some ideas for how you can do the same sorts of things with your instagram account.
Win a jar of Sweet Cream Curl Defining Moisturizer
Want to in a jar of FEMMENOIRE Lemongrass Body Butter? I can tell you from personal experience: you do!
Check out our Instagram for instructions on how to enter to win!
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