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We were lucky to catch up with Sherwin Loyal recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Sherwin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

Going from idea to execution is a pretty straight forward process, but it does have its speed bumps. Its all about executing with a calculated plan. I’d say about 95% of entrepreneurs get caught somewhere in the middle of an idea and execution because they didnt plan for the unexpected— and ultimately end up quitting before they even begin. I believe there is a lack of true desire there. The key is, you must continue NO MATTER WHAT…and if youre truely hungry for success, you will ALWAYS continue. Even when you hit a dead end, you pivot—but never quit. I always say the opposite of success isnt failure— its quitting.

My thought process was simple—to create a product that can be utilized every single day, and can be purchased re-occuringly. “One-time” purchase products were not on my radar, as i wanted to create steady, continuous cashflow. If you have an eye-appealing product that also delivers, your product has the potential become your customers #1 product preference. Securing new customers is important too, but retaining them is how you generate steady cash flow and grow as a business. Creating loyal customers was integral in my initial ideas for launching my product.

I also wanted to create something that I can advertise naturally, something that can be easily incorporated in my everyday life. In between work and home, most of my time is spent with my son. We spend alot of time doing alot of fun and exciting activities, and the world sees our close bond through social media. I then knew whatever i was going to come up with, needed to incorporate my son. The idea for childrens hair gel kind of just came to me through our daily routine, as we used an adult product everyday. A kids version checked off all of the boxes of being a parent’s potential product of preference, as well as a product that could secure reoccuring customers if forumulated and marketed the correct way. The idea was officially born.

For the next 6 months, I dedicated every minute of every day setting the groundwork to launch my business. I had designers in Europe, and my suppliers in Asia. They were in a completely opposite time zone as me. All at the same time, I had to figure out the legal portion of it, the financial portion of it, manufacturing portion of it, and of course the distribution portion. I laid out a hand-written plan for each of the categories above, and did the best to stay organized on paper. Writing down and documenting data as well as having real milestone dates really helped me as well, as it gave me a pace to work against and kept me prepared for every challenge that was to come.

I spent the first 4 months trying to set up the business, secure the funds, approve the product designs, forumulate the perfect product, and get it approved with e-commerce distributor (who makes it extremely difficult to get approved to sell in their marketplace). These 4 months were the most difficult. This is where most people would quit. My desire to succeed kept me resilient, and no matter what stood before me, i pushed through and always figured out a way to get to the next step. This was a lonely, “brick by brick” process. Finally, after 4 hard months of working 24/7 with people all over the world, a 3D mock-up of my first product was finally generated. Thats when it really hit me—a product that was once just an idea in my head, had actually come to fruition. I was smiling cheek to cheek, a moment i will never forget. At first, I couldnt believe that this was really happening, but soon, i knew it was meant to be.

Once the mock-up was finalized, my final payment was made, and a tracking # for my first shipement was recieved, i knew it was all or nothing, there was no turning back. Everything I worked so hard for for the past 4 months was finally coming into play. My dream was becoming a reality. I had the idea, i executed, and it was time to bring home results. It took about 6 weeks for my first shipment to arrive, and it took about 1 week after that to get my first sale. 2 years later, we are doing 6 figures a year, with no signs of stopping in sight.

My advice to any person who is scared to execute an idea, is just to keep on going. I know it sounds cliché, but its the reality of it. If you truely desire something, you will jump through every hurdle to get it. Do not be afraid to take the first leap. It can change your life.

Sherwin, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I come from a very big family. A family who has generational beliefs and morals that will continued to be passed down within generations to come. With this, I am a firm believer in making your family proud, and setting an example for the next to come. In everything I do, i do it with my family in mind.

In business, its the same mindset. I do everything with honesty, integrity, and honor. Just like in family, I feel that it is important to always hold yourself accountable in all aspects of life, good and bad.

Though i never thought I would be running a business dedicated to providing safe, natural childrens grooming products, I firmly believe it is my duty to ensure our end users are receiving a high quality, satisfactory product every single time. I think of each customer as my own child, and that ensures an amazing product everytime.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

As i mentioned earlier, true entrepreneurs dont quit, they pivot. I’ve had to pivot numerous times in my business’s early years, and i knew that if i didnt pivot fast, my business would fail.

After a week of sending my first units to my distributor, I was increasing in sales and growing almost instantly. I thought nothing could go wrong…

Little did i know, it could. I recieved my first review, saying my product had arrived damaged. I realized this was an issue i needed to fix fast, and at whatever cost. After days of brainstorming the most efficient solution, I decided to add an extra protective layer to my packaging, though it cost me more overhead.

This simple pivot saved my business and my reputation in the early days and i do not regret it one bit. I now know to look out for sufficient packaing when creating annew product.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Consistency. Consistency is single thing that builds and retains your reputation in the business world. Find out how to do something great, do it right, and do it right everytime. You will find yourself organically building a foundation of good reputation.

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