We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dana Miller. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dana below.

Dana, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, one thing many business owners consider is donating a percentage of sales or profits to an organization or cause. We’d love to hear your thoughts and the story behind how and why you chose the cause or organization you donate to.

A large part of my business involves working with charities and either donating a percentage of proceeds or actual products to support the organizations or cause. We have been involved in philanthropic work like this for over 15 years and find it very rewarding. Often times we travel around to different prestigious charity events to sell our products to guests and members then give 20% to 50% of our proceeds to the organization in support of the cause. We also create auction items that can be sold to raise funds for their organizations. Just to name a few of the organizations we work with, here is a short list. Pasadena Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Junior Leagues, Assistance Leagues, National Charity Leagues, Planned Parenthood, West Side Guild, Children’s Hospital, Huntington Library and Gardens, The Ebell, and more! A large amount of proceeds help children in some form and since I have always been a lover of children, helping to raise funds in support of them is very special for me.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I started the business out of necessity for clean body care products that were plant based, gentle on the skin and lungs and that were effective at cleansing, moisturizing, and balancing the skin. I wanted a company that produced products that everyone could use and benefit from. Then I thought, why not try to provide every user with the opportunity to indulge in a short mental therapy session or two within their day since cleansing or moisturizing some part of the body during the day was pretty much inevitable. At that point, I realized my idea was more than just a skin care company but more of an internal and external body care company for the mind body and soul. The need for products like mine was within my circle of family and friends and I assumed others would be in need and enjoy these types of products as well. When I started my company in 2000, I felt like people were really into products with tons of inorganic ingredients and synthetic aromas. I wanted a challenge and really wanted to bring back enduring traditions of making and bathing with simple, natural ingredients that worked.

As an Industrial Designer with a Degree from Cal State University Northridge, I found myself wanting to make everything custom and unique from the formulas, product names, containers, labels shapes and designs, displays and show presentations and so much more. The creative side of my brain was very much alive, but I was not quite sure how to balance that with a business mindset. I realized my skills were a major asset and could be used to set me apart from other brands entering the natural world of beauty, so I continued doing business my way and it all paid off. I don’t think any venture you truly have passion for is a smooth one. The beauty of the journey are all the obstacles and challenges that we face and overcome. I was very early in the game of vegan and natural body care products that had real therapeutic aromatherapy and skin benefits. This is all I knew how to do, and it was difficult at first finding the customer who also understood the products and how special they were . . . . more than just another bar of soap.

At times it has been challenging to get the larger accounts due to us growing mainly via word of mouth. I do not use celebrity endorsements, big name magazines, name dropping, etc. to gain status and recognition. Although we have several celebrities who use our products on a regular basis and high-end hotels that carry our soap in their guest rooms, I like our customers to buy from us because of pure personal interest in our products.

We specialize in creating essential oil-infused body, face and home care products that elevate the mind, body, and soul during daily personal wellness regimens. Our products are vegan, handmade, plant-based and work, while smelling amazing. Our aromas and product textures are quite phenomenal. I personally created all the formulas and aroma blends for wellness. I am known mostly for my amazing nutrient-rich, humectant soap formula that has a creamy coconut butter lather and smells fantastic while using it . . . leaving the skin cleansed and hydrated after use. I am most proud of the relationships and history that we have built along with the experiences of opening stores and pop ups and working with non-profit organizations to help raise funds by selling my soap that helps people’s skin and moods. It is quite a unique and rewarding way of doing business.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In 2007, after two years of meetings with the buyers for Ross/TJMaxx we got an order for 24,000 bars of soap. At that time I was living in a two bedroom apartment that was at the top of two flights of stairs and I was struggling through the loss of my Mother. I took on the order as a gift that she gave from her and proceeded to schedule volunteer help from family and friends to help me complete the project. The order came along with very strict deadlines, shipping guidelines and reporting details. Every one of them needed to be hip precisely or my payment on the goods would be deducted. My living room was covered with cardboard to create a disposable floor. Finishing, packaging, shipping, wrapping and labeling stations were created. The kitchen was no longer for food preparations and was converted into the soap pouring room. One half of the hallway turned into the ingredient stock alley and we prayed that the floor would not cave in due to the weight of all of the boxes. My parking spot downstairs was full of pallets with more ingredients. Every morning I would put on my workout outfit and do as many trips as I could up those two flights of stairs with boxes and tubs that weighed 43lbs or more until my legs gave out. We also had a storage pod delivered to the property, with the permission of the property manager, to store the shipping boxes as we finished making product. My oldest sister Andrea moved in with me for six weeks to help me with the order. We were the only two who knew the soap formula and who made the soap. I made soap from 6am to 10pm and my sister made soap from 10pm to 6am. Early in the process our plastic molds started breaking because of overuse so we had to find a local silicone mold maker to make us custom molds in a hurry to be able to complete the order. Once our new molds came in, production went. a lot faster and we needed a team of volunteers to handle everything after the soap was popped from the mold. Everyone who helped us get through this special time are still very dear friends to us to this day and we could not have gotten through that time without them. This was quite a challenging, memorable, exciting and special journey that changed the way I view all challenges in life and business going forward. Everything is figure-out-able and there is always a helping hand and someone to lean on for support out there somewhere.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

We started out doing farmers markets and street festivals which were fun and financially rewarding but not long term. I knew I was not the type of person who would be dragging my products out to events every single weekend and all throughout the week. My passion was in product creation and I needed to figure out a way to bring in sales while I was in the lab creating so I thought a website presence and doing wholesale was ideal. In 2004 I applied to be a vendor at a charity event that I dreamed of participating in for years prior. I was denied by after an in person meeting, I was approved. I did this month long event and was shocked at the amount of customers who quickly became repeat customers via phone, email and web ordering. I realized that by doing yearly instead of weekly events, I created a customer list of buyers I could market to via email and turn into repeat customers who purchase all throughout the year. As far as wholesale, doing the yearly trade shows gave me the opportunity to meet buyers and open new retail accounts where re-orders would come in throughout the year all while I created new and existing product lines in-house.

Today, we may do a trade show every few years or so and we do a hand-full of really great, prestigious charity events throughout the year and these provide us with new customers and wholesale clients to support the business. This is our formula for finding the best source of new buyers for us.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.herban.net
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/herbanbodycare
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/herban.inc

Image Credits
Suzie Kim Bazille Photography Owner – Dana Miller