Have Yours Fizzled or Sizzled?
It's the last day of the first month of 2008. Have your new year's resolutions fizzled or sizzled? Let's admit it, we Indie Business owners can easily set ourselves up by making resolutions that are a little unrealistic. And while hope may spring eternal, the reality is that specific goals beat lofty resolutions any time.
Take Indie Beauty Network member Kayla Fioravanti of Essential Wholesale. Kayla, pictured here with her oldest daughter, advocates keeping things simple. Here are her top three suggestions to help Indies set the rest of the year on the best course possible.
1. Set goals and take one step forward at a time
2. Forgive yourself for mistakes
3. Review and renew your passions
Set Realistic Goals
Kayla's in the cosmetics business where she formulates bath and body products using natural ingredients. She tries to avoid preservatives that contain parabens because some studies show they can be harmful.
Says Kayla, "We saw the writing on the wall for parabens, so we set a goal to find a paraben-free preservative. Unfortunately, we jumped at the first one that met our testing standards. While it preserved our products, we quickly learned that it came with some unattractive side effects. For example, it turned products pink if they also contained peppermint oil, and it turned many products brown due to other essential oils they contained."
… Then Forgive Yourself If You Don't Meet Them
Since her customers didn't want brown lavender scented lotion, Kayla learned that while you don't want to be the last person in line to innovate, you don't always want to be the first either.
Kayla says that she was able to move forward quickly from this expensive lession because she forgave herself, made things right with her customers, went back to the drawing board and re-launched correctly — all the while remaining focused on her goals.
Review And Renew
Kayla says that the most important thing Indie Business owners can do in 2008 is to evaluate their company policies, practices and products to ensure that they are all in line with their goals, passions and vision. For example, Kayla's company focus this year is on education and communication.
Says Kayla, "We believe it is our duty to share with our customers the knowledge we have gained as industry insiders. To do this, we launched a blog and are expanding our online newsletter. We are also improving Essential U, our cosmetics education program, and creating an Aromatherapy Certification which will launch later this year."
And today only! You can get 10% off on a lot of the cosmetic bases Kayla sells. Just visit their website and use Coupon Code: big10 at checkout. Some exclusions apply so be sure to read the fine print.
Update: Essential Wholesale has extended the sale to February 7th! Use the same coupon code.
Goals Followed By Specific Action
Kayla's goals of educating and communicating with her customers are attainable and specific, making it easy for her to decide what specific activities will help her achieve them. Blogging is one of the best ways to communicate with your customers and an online newsletter is an inexpensive way to keep them educated and informed. An educational curriculum is a much bigger undertaking, but still doable as long as it's also focused.
What About You?
I know you have some exciting goals for 2008, and I'm sure many of your are sizzling and not fizzling. Only 11 more months to go! Tell me about it, and don't forget to leave a link to your blog or site so we can learn more.
