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

Tina, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I have struggled all my life with self-esteem, self-confidence & self-worth, despite having a husband who has always tried to tell me that I am beautiful, intelligent and worthy. It always fell on deaf ears (after all, it’s his job as a husband to say those things, right?). For years, I spoke harsh words to myself that I would never speak out loud to another person.

Constantly comparing myself to others and trying to improve my figure, I learned about the damage preservatives, pesticides and processed sugar in our food were causing to our bodies. I cleaned up my diet and experienced a vast change in both my weight and how I felt. This encouraged me to start looking at other chemicals around my house. It shocked me to learn that the products I was buying to bathe with were actually classified as detergents, not soap. I began learning the process of soapmaking and quite enjoyed it. I got a little boost of self-worth handing these homemade soaps out to family and friends knowing I was improving their life just a little by giving them a healthier option to cleanse their skin.

That’s when my ever-supportive husband suggested I start this business. I had just finished a study on my identity in Christ at the time, and for the first time I was beginning to see that I had reason to stop speaking those harsh words to myself and start seeing myself as my husband does, and as my creator intended. I decided to combine these passions, and I came up with Sweet Beautiful You, a business that sold natural, chemical free soap with a mission to encourage women to refrain from using harmful chemicals as well as harmful self-talk, all the while telling them that they are beautiful (something we don’t hear everyday). I branched out into skincare, and now the company is known as SBU Skincare, where we encourage women to use natural products that heal and nourish their skin, because healthy skin is beautiful skin…and beautiful skin makes us feel beautiful all over!

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 am just like so many middle-aged women, seeking to improve my health as I feel the effects of aging set in. A few years ago I was looking for ways to lower my blood sugar and eat healthier. I stumbled upon startling information on the damage preservatives in our food has caused over the years to our bodies. When talking to a friend about this, she shared with me that a chemical used in commercial deodorants could very well be the reason for the increased number of women with Alzheimer’s. I then began looking at all my personal care products, and realized there were chemicals in all of them. The realization that our culture’s definition of beauty was encouraging women to put these chemicals on their skin on a regular basis in an effort to achieve what were sometimes unrealistic expectations was unnerving.

I started making handmade soap because this is a product that we use on a daily basis, and on all of our body. Seeking out high quality oils and botanicals, I discovered I could produce a luxury soap made with all natural ingredients that had a high glycerin content, which is a natural moisturizer. Offering a high quality product that was free of chemicals seemed like a great place to start.

I have expanded into other natural skincare products since I first started, and the response to my products and message has been overwhelming. I am truly grateful for each and every person who shares their struggles with me and how I have been able to help them.

I created a mission statement that would not only help others realize the dangers of some of the chemicals put in our products and provide natural alternatives, but that the unreal expectations put on us were causing us to see ourselves in a negative light. I encourage women to embrace their natural beauty, and to seek health over societal expectations for beauty. A portion of profits are donated to a local women’s shelter, where I also personally visit and speak to the women to remind them that their identity is not in their current circumstance. They are encouraged to embrace the idea that they were fearfully and wonderfully made, and created for a reason. They are reminded that they are beautiful.

And if you’re reading this, I want to remind you that it doesn’t matter what others think or say about you, they do not define you. Your background, past mistakes or what you think you see in the mirror does not define you. You are Valuable. You are Worthy. You are Beautiful.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

As I mentioned before, my husband has been a constant source of encouragement. When I shared my vision for the company and it’s mission, he was immediately supportive. We cashed in some small investments we had made and put it all into starting this business.

It was a tight budget in the beginning, so we learned to do some things on our own at first until we could afford to pay professionals. For example, I took a short online course on product photography and took my own pictures in the beginning. Now, I have a professional product photographer. It saves me a lot of time, and the pictures are much better than I could ever do on my own.

We chose to self-fund this business because I didn’t want the stress of an investor pushing for results, or trying to change my mission in any way. I have this business because I love it, and I love being able to make my own decisions with its growth and how it impacts the world. However, If you are looking to fund your start up business yourself, you will quickly learn that it will be impossible to do everything yourself. I encourage you to constantly evaluate where your time is going and what things you can affordably outsource that will both improve your business and give you more time to focus on the areas of your business where you can make the biggest impact.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

I had decided early on that I would use the highest quality ingredients and create a premium product that I would sell online and in retail shops. I did not believe that I could be successful setting up a card table at farmers markets to sell my product. However, a local affluent community wanted to start an annual day where artists and crafters could showcase and sell their creationsin an outdoor market setting. This area was rich in the demographic I was trying to reach, and the cost nominal, so I decided to try it. Knowing that the crowd was expecting an art show, I put each soap on display in a picturesque setting surrounded by the botanicals or other key ingredients in each soap. I wasn’t expecting high sales, only to build a little brand recognition in this community. I was completely overwhelmed by the response, and sold more in that one day than I had in any marketing effort prior to that. It was early in the business, so it also bolstered my confidence that this could be a successful business.

I went back the second year, and put a slightly different spin on my approach, choosing to focus more on my mission. I greeted every woman walking anywhere near my booth with the question “Has anyone told you that you are beautiful today?” and gave them a sticker that said “I am Beautiful” to wear. I also had “I’m with Beautiful” stickers for husbands/boyfriends to wear proudly. It gave me the opportunity to have conversations about my mission. The response was amazing, as it drew people into wanting to know more about my mission and become a part of it.
It made me realize how much both my product & mission are needed, as I was able to educate people on natural skincare, put a smile on the faces of many and even shed tears with a few others. For a business that does not do markets, this was the most successful effort at building followers of my brand.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.SBUskincare.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sweetbeautifulyousoap
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sbuskincare