We recently connected with Miranda Wilson and have shared our conversation below.

Miranda, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a time you helped a customer really get an amazing result through their work with you.

As a small business owner, hearing from people who’ve tried the product is so valuable. When possible, hand written notes are included with each package along with my business card to encourage feedback.

Recently, an Amazon customer texted me to thank me for creating the product and including the hand written note. She let me know how much the gesture meant and that she didn’t realize I was a small woman owned business until she saw the note.

She then shared that she was sensitive to scents due to ongoing Chemo treatments. The product didn’t make her sick (which amazed her) and it didn’t irritate her skin or cause razor burn (when most things do). I learned she also suffered from POTS, something I had never heard of before.

She told me shaving in the shower could actually make her pass out! As if shaving in the shower wasn’t bad enough – it could actually be physically unsafe for some people? I had no idea and it really changed my perspective on the solution my shave gel provides. Personally, I hated shaving in the shower, found it wasteful and wanted a different and more enjoyable way. Knowing the product could make this kind of impact gave me such a sense of purpose… way more than a good shave does.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

So why dry-apply shave gel? After 15 years in natural product development and contract manufacturing I encountered a LOT of formulas. Almost all of them could be purchased, with the exception of a dry shave gel.

I was spoiled. It had been over a decade since I had “wet” shaved in the shower. When I lost the ability to make more product in labs I worked with, I decided to launch my special formula and share it with the world.

I believe people are ready to experiment with changes to norms in order to lessen their environmental impact. My product makes a dreaded task more convenient AND more eco-friendly by saving water. Its a win-win.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

We’re just getting started so we sell everywhere we can! Preferably on our website which is hosted with Square (good news and bad news there). We also sell wholesale on Faire (great site) and Amazon (whom I lovingly refer to as the devil).

First up – Square. We love the POS (point of sale) system and the website setup is super easy and user friendly. But as we grow, I’ve learned that SEO and template/skin based ecom/website creation platforms don’t play nice. There is SO MUCH hidden code that the SEO spiders (or whatever they are called) aren’t interested in crawling through all of it. They go for easy, code friendly websites first. Like those built in WordPress, or at least, that’s what I’ve been told. I haven’t flipped my site yet – it seems to intimidating at the moment.

Faire is a GREAT site. Nice and easy and I love opening up new retail locations. The payment terms are NET 45 so be ready for that, or giveaway more margin in order to get paid faster. Personally, I forget about my Faire sales and 45 days later its like a surprise deposit.

Amazon, what a love/hate relationship. I run a FBM (fulfilled by merchant) account. I’ve heard horror stories of lost inventory with FBA (fulfilled by Amazon) so I never gambled with that path. There is a $40 per month fee to sell on the platform. They also take a few dollars off each sale and the amount seems to fluctuate depending on if the purchase was through an Amazon prompted email solicitation.

The biggest con – and this is a big one – YOU pay shipping when Prime customers order. That’s right. It is YOU – the small business that has to eat that cost of UPS or USPS at at least $4 per package so bye-bye profit. We were forced to roll in some of our shipping fees into the price of the product but its not preferred.

Another con, its like humans don’t work there. You can only email questions for help. There is no help desk or phone number to be found. Let’s be clear. Amazon is for the BUYER, not the seller. Everything is such a struggle for setup it is no wonder there are thousands of companies out there to help you navigate. We didn’t have the budget for that so it was the school of hard knocks for us.

We also sell at local pop-up markets and despite an obvious QR code which leads to my website for re-order, its obvious re-orders from pop-ups come through Amazon 90% of the time. I’m left with the “if you can’t beat them join them” saying running through my mind.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Getting out and talking to people. Shaving isn’t something people set out to discuss so its a bit of a struggle. Basically, I shave in public for shock factor and to open a dialog. Its been super successful and I’ve learned so much about my clients, their shaving pains ad how I can develop products that help.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.h2noshave.com
• Instagram: @h2noshave
• Facebook: @h2noshave
• Linkedin: @h2noshave
• Twitter: @h2noshave
• Youtube: @h2noshave