One of the most exciting aspects of leading the Indie Business Network is being able to participate in the the fun and success my members enjoy as they share their artisan products with the world. I don't like to keep all the fun to myself though, so I recently sat down with our member, Kara Brook Brown of Waxing Kara in Maryland, to ask her about her business, her products and her IBN experience. Here is a bit of what she shared.
Q: How did you start Waxing Kara?
A: Kara says …
Entrepreneurship is in my DNA. While my business experience includes leading Internet-based startups, the truth is that I am an artist at heart. Among my past businesses is one where I made and sold paintings created with a medium composed of beeswax, tree resin and pigment.
Somewhere around 2008, I started painting with the wax medium full-time. I ultimately decided that I wanted to make my own wax medium for my work, and in order to do that, I really needed to become a beekeeper. I ordered a bunch of beekeeping kits, told my husband I was going to become a beekeeper, and launched a honey bee farm on our property on the Eastern shore.
As a beekeeper, I obviously learned how to support the production of honey. Once I figured that out, it seemed logical to start a business selling honey and honey-related products. And that's the short version of the journey from where I was in 2008 to where I am now, a little over a decade later.
Q: Why is honey a significant ingredient in Waxing Kara products?
A: Kara says …
Honey is the cornerstone to everything we do. Whether its the honey itself, one of our honey-based lollipops, or a honey infused body care product, there is honey in everything we produce. Whether you are eating honey or slathering it onto your skin, it is an amazing product, and we think it should be in everything … so so we put it in everything.
Q: What about honey is so good for us?
A: Kara says …
Honey is a humectant, meaning it's a supersaturated solution of sugars and other chemical compounds that pulls moisture to itself from the surrounding environment. When honey is added to creams and lotions, it imparts this humectant property into the final product that is used on the skin.
By itself, raw honey can be used to moisturize your entire body, from hair to toe. A spoonful of honey in the tub will help keep your skin moisturized long after you step out of the bath. It also makes a lovely treatment for dry cuticles.
A simple honey face mask can help ease inflammation and reduce redness in the skin. Honey also has anti-bacterial and acne-fighting properties. While honey certainly can’t replace prescribed antibiotics in the case of a bacterial infection, it makes a gentle and effective addition to any skincare routine. For example, if you notice a flare up in blemishes, try dabbing a little raw honey onto the affected spots and leaving (covered, if need be) for half an hour before gently washing away.
Q: What is your best selling product overall, and why do you think it sells so well?
A: Kara says …
There are a few really.
Our Spring and Autumn Honey, which we harvest from the farm with our hands. It’s so much work. We get stung a lot, but despite all of this, we are so proud of this honey, you would think it’s part of us.
Our certified organic Sweet Lips Honey Lip Balm made with aloe vera oil, hemp seed oil, beeswax, and honey is super delicious and very popular. It was recently featured in 200,000 Ipsy bags. Our Haute Cocoa Spa Tower is a quite irresistible collection of several of our chocolate infused products.
Q: If you were not at the helm of Waxing Kara, what would you be doing?
A: Kara says …
One thing, and one thing only: art.
Q: What can the average person do to help preserve the ability for honeybees to thrive and grow?
A: Kara says …
Don’t use pesticides. Don’t use herbicides.
If you must spray outside, do so when the bees are in their hives: before 6am or after 8pm. Ask a reputable local garden center or city and county extension services for the best bee and bird friendly weed management products to use in your area.
Try to avoid most mass produced herbicides, and plant clover instead of grass. You could also plant a pollinator garden.
Q: What is a most enjoyable part of your Indie Business Network member experience?
A: Kara says …
Well, that would be Donna Maria. She inspires me more than you could imagine. She is approachable and extroverted, a role model for so many. I enjoy how open she is, without being shocking.
Q: Would you share a little of your COVID-19 experience?
A: Kara says …
On March 3, 2020, when COVID was becoming something bigger than life, I was in New York and the news was heavy with reports of coronavirus illness. I was afraid, and found myself struggling to talk myself out of all the dark places my mind was taking me.
In an effort to force myself to relax, I ended up going to my bees and staying there for the rest of the winter. Interestingly, this is the first of 6 straight years that my bees made it through the winter unscathed. So that's something good that has come out of it. I also went into my studio and painted for the first time in a while. I did anything and everything that I could to just be still and not make any quick decisions.
I closed the store to the public, and my staff and I began to divide and conquer, taking turns working so no one works in close proximity to anyone else at any time.
I also signed up for a ton of online classes and started learning how to do new things, including online advertising and marketing. While our wholesale orders dropped by 70%, our online retail orders increased due to implementation of what I learned. Our business has actually grown during the pandemic.
I also have had time to take a look at our return customer numbers and discovered that 45% of our online orders come from customers who have purchased before. So, happy dance.
Another new priority I have is to focus even more on keeping in touch with Waxing Kara fans and improving communication so we can continue to enjoy repeat sales.
Of course I know the most important thing is for our world to get to the other side of COVID-19. Meanwhile, I work my part here at Waxing Kara. I am holding fast to my dream.
Q: What online advertising and marketing classes did you take that you can recommend?
A: Kara says …
For search engine optimization (SEO) training and resources, I recommend Ahrefs.
For Facebook paid advertising training, I suggest Admission by Common Thread Co.
Q: Where can we buy your products and follow you?
A: Kara says …
Go shopping at our website, or at the Honey House, our retail store, at 10209 Grand Central Avenue Suite 118, Owings Mills, MD 21117. The best place to follow us is on Instagram.
About the Maker: Kara Brook Brown
Kara is the founder and CEO of Waxing Kara, offering bee inspired goods from the hive including honey, honey-based beauty products, and honey-infused candles, gift boxes and baskets. You can listen to my interview with Kara on Indie Business Podcast at this link.
Questions for discussion and sharing
What a great story, huh!? Who knew honey could be so useful, and that we can all do things to help save and preserve our world's honey bees. And how about that pandemic pivot? Losing 70% of your business, practically overnight, and pivoting to come out on top. Are you inspired Kara's COVID-19 experience? Maybe you can incorporate some of her activities in your own business?
Feel free to comment below, sharing your ideas and feedback.
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