We were lucky to catch up with Chantelle Martin recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Chantelle thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

Starting a business is a big risk. You ask yourself will it succeed? Can it actually be profitable? Do I even know how to start a business or what I’m doing? These are all questions I’ve even asked myself while going through my entrepreneur journey. With anything we want to accomplish in life that may make us feel uncomfortable, we need to really lean in to “why” we want it. That why will drive you to take the risk if it’s truly worth it. For me, my why was time & financial freedom for me and my family. Being able to be home with my kids when they are sick without missing work, having no cap on how much money I earn, and dictating my own day to day was worth it for me, and I would do it all over again.

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

My name is Chantelle, I am a wife, a mother, and the CEO & Founder of Mahogany Hippie™️. I got in to the business of self-care as I was personally getting in to the everyday habits and practices of self-care for myself. As a wife, mom, business owner, and all the things those areas encompass, taking care of myself wasn’t high on my radar. I knew I needed to, but I thought I either didn’t have the time or I just didn’t have the money to really pour into myself. Making skin care products wasn’t new to me, but transforming clean, simple skincare products that work for me and my family into products that not only treats your skin how its supposed to be treated but also helps your mental health and mood for busy women like me, is how Mahogany Hippie™️ was born. Mahogany Hippie™️ is a holistic self-care brand that sells aromatherapy skin & body care products and everyday essentials to help you manifest your best life daily. We take the simple hygienic tasks you do everyday and elevate it into something that benefits your body on a whole new level. We’re not just a skincare company, we truly are a holistic self-care brand that strives to help busy women feel better from the inside out because we realize when you look good, you feel better. We believe self-care is a priority and we are here to help you manifest your best life.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

I got started making skincare products just to use for myself and my family so making the products wasn’t a foreign concept to me, it was more of a learning curve to get the right ratio for larger batches. I love herbs, I love natural remedies, I love that nature can literally heal you if you know what you’re doing. There are so many amazing benefits to all natural herbs and oils and when combined, in my opinion, it’s better than anything man-made you can buy. The biggest lesson I learned along the way about mass producing my products is to make sure you have the correct vessel for your product. My first ever body washes were sold in a squeeze bottle that just wasn’t the right type of bottle for that product. It was hard to squeeze, hard to get the proper shake, and just overall a big no. I had a similar issue with the first vessel for my body butters that were sold in tin jars and there was just no seal which caused melting and spilling and it was truly an embarrassment. Taking your time and finding the right vessel beforehand, will definitely save you some dollars in the long run. Luckily, we got it right and together pretty quickly and our products have done nothing but thrived ever since.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.

If you’re a product based business and your goal is to run your business like a company, then having your own .com web address is a must and if you’re going to do it right, you should be on Shopify. I don’t know any other platform that gives you the analytic and app features that you get with Shopify. When trying to get to that next level, Shopify will be your best bet.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.MahoganyHippie.com
• Instagram: www.Instagram.com/ShopMahoganyHippie
• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/ShopMahoganyHippie
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/mahoganyhippie