We recently connected with Nicole Paul and have shared our conversation below.

Nicole, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

Tell us the story of how you came up with the idea for your business?

I wanted to make sure what I was introducing to my customers was honesty first & foremost. I wanted to make sure I was providing my customers with proof & results of my own journey. How switching to all-natural skincare has helped me especially during a hard battle with menopausal acne that left me with lots of black spots & scaring. My skincare products have cleared, cleansed, nourished & renewed my skin’s tone & texture. That’s how I decided all natural was the only way to go because it worked for me & I knew it could do the same for others.
I had so many ideas as to what I wanted my skincare business to be like. But most importantly I wanted to make sure it represented me, the person I am. I wanted to make sure everything I used was safe, all-natural & chemical free, for my families as well as our environment.

Walk us through how you knew this was a worthwhile endeavor – talk to us about the logic of why you felt this would work?
Well, I knew I had some good skincare products, but what I really didn’t realize at the time was how much of an impact my skincare products would have on so many lives.
All the wonderful stories I hear from my customers on how my products have helped them or loved one’s with their skin issue. Hearing how my skincare products have helped to clear other people’s skin. Hearing this alone is good enough for me to know I created something wonderful & it works.

Were you offering a unique approach or what about this idea got you most excited?

What got me most excited about the ideal of becoming an entrepreneur businesswoman was several things. Being able to share something wonderful with the world. Being able to collaborate with other small businesses. Another most exciting part for me & it continues to be every day. Are the interactions, connections & real conversations from all the amazing people we meet.
Being able listen to others stories, similarities & just plain old connections with so many people is a Blessing. I appreciate my family, friends & customers. All the love and support they continue to show; makes my heart so happy.

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

About You & Your Business / Brand I am Nicole Paul, Founder & Creator of Nico Nine Soaps & Skin Care. My skincare products are good for acne, eczema, psoriasis, diabetic feet, dark marks, scaring, dry skin & patches among many other skin issues I had never knew about until speaking with customers. I started out making all-natural skincare for me & my family about 7 years ago. I was also sharing my products with other family & friends. They all really loved the skincare & gave me so many great positive responses. Then one day my sister suggested I should try selling my products at my job. I was nervous about sharing with strangers not knowing how they would feel about my skincare products. You know how sometimes you think your family’s being nice because they love you loll…Naw I’m just kidding. My families are my biggest supporters. I know I could not do this without them. They constantly keep me motivated with so much positive words & energy. Anyway, I took my sister advice & started telling people about my products. I began with handing out samples & on that same day I started getting orders. It was amazing, I was totally shocked. I think I made around $60. It may not sound like a lot, but it was a huge accomplishment for me. The feelings of success I got that day verified a great moment for me & I knew I wanted skincare as my career. It gave me confidence & proved that I can do this. After that people slowly started spreading the word about my skincare products & it’s been moving forward since.
Once I knew this was truly what I wanted to do, my mind got right to work. I learned how to make my soaps & skincare products all online. I did a lot of reading, research on environmental uses & watched an overload of skincare how to videos every chance I got. I went into skincare stores I spoke with owners, managers, their staff. I examined the skincare products in grocery stores, learned all kinds of labeling & packaging ideas. I walked the 63rd st Swap & Shop spoke with several of the booth sellers. They all were so very kind to take time to speak with me, answers my questions I had prepared. They even shared some of their journeys with me. I walked the River Market & spoke with some of our local skincare & pet skincare vendors. I learned a few things & they even provided me connections to events at that time. This was such a great experience for me. Thank you to everyone, I greatly appreciate it.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Well, I’m still working on that part. Trying to build an audience on social media is all that easy. It requires a lot of attention. So for now I’ll say it is still in progress.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

For me, I would say proof, examples & samples. Proving you have something they want. Showing before & after images of your business product. Giving out free samples to draw your customers in works well for my business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nico-nine.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/niconine.soaps
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicole.paul.479