We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Altona Lomax a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Altona thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, let’s imagine that you were advising someone who wanted to start something similar to you and they asked you what you would do differently in the startup-process knowing what you know now. How would you respond?
If I were starting over I would procrastinate less and act more, cause your experiences are going to be your best teachers. I waisted a lot of time trying to see where I was going before I got there. I know now I can’t control everything, but I can make sure I do my part. At first I wanted to guarantee a outcome before I took the next step, instead of just doing the work. What I realized is you can’t base your work on results because, you have to do the work before you get the results. That seems obvious, but it took me a while to understand it. Second thing I would change is knowing the numbers. When you don’t know all your cost it like driving with half the windshield covered. Knowing your cost obviously helps with setting your prices, but it also helps your planning, budgeting, shows you if what you’re doing is profitable, or if there’s something you need to change.
Altona, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
We are a fragrance boutique specializing in custom blended scents, with a passion for creative design. We strive to not only curate beautiful luxury fragrances, but to design compelling packaging that visually tells the story behind every scent. I’ve always wanted to own my own business, or businesses to be exact, but I would have never guessed I would start with candles. In 2019 I had the worst year of my life. I got divorced, fell out with my entire family, lost my best friend, jumped into the stock market at arguably the worst time in history right before the pandemic and lost almost everything. I got involuntarily committed to a mental institution. Literally anything bad that could happen, happened. I’m actually not sure what led me to make a candle at this point, especially since I had never made one before. I was still dealing with a lot in my personal life, and honestly didn’t care if I failed or succeeded, I was just operating in autopilot. I got a LLC in 2020 but still wasn’t focused on the business aspect of what I was doing. I was still just making products with no direction, or plan. Around the beginning of 2021 I start noticing I would have difficulty keeping up with demand while I was working 60+ hours a week. So I started working less hours and actually put a focus turning my products into a actual business. I ended up losing my job in August 2021, and instead going to fill out applications I just decided ready or not I’ll learn as I go.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
There’s book called the secret written by Rhonda Byrne. This book taught me the importance of keeping a positive mindset, and practicing gratitude, also how having a negative mindset decreases confidence and inhibits problem solving. I am a firmly believer that if you focus on your problems you’ll find more problems, but if you focus on solutions you’ll find solutions.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
A consistent dedication to continuous improvement, and the ability to listen to customers. I’ve worked really hard designing, developing, and improving products that I thought we’re amazing, but didn’t know how they would be received, especially at a slightly higher price point than most of my competitors. I focus on getting repeat customers more than new customers, because in my eyes that’s what validates a product. The sale may be hard to get but the resale should be effortless. I want my customers to be able to tell a difference in my products, so I ask them what they want or how can I improve. I have a intentional focus on going above and beyond, and it shows in my products.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.nosedivesromas.com
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