Alright, Becky thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
Our mission is, “good for people and good for the planet.” These are more than words–this is how my family and I try to live our lives and I do my best to ensure I run every aspect of my business with this mission in mind.
This mission didn’t come to me overnight. I’ve always loved environmentalism and finding ways to help other people, but having kids and facing a cancer diagnosis during the pandemic lead me to dig deeper and become more mindful about the products I use and eat.
I started my business accidentally. In 2020, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to do treatment at the height of the COVID pandemic. We were living in a brand new state after my diagnosis caused us to repatriate from the Philippines to Arizona with our baby and our toddler. The trauma, stress and fear all built up and I knew I needed to find an outlet.
I’ve always loved creating art with my hands, so I decided to give cold-process soap making a try. It felt like the perfect way to create something beautiful and useful and it allowed me to control the ingredients of what my family and I were using on our bodies. After learning the science behind creating cold process soap, I unleashed the artist inside to develop beautiful designs and craft essential oil blends based on scent memories.
At the same time, I began to research the ingredients and companies who supply them to try to source what I was using as responsibly as possible. Even though it adds to the cost of my materials, I’ve committed to not using palm oils, micas, cheap fragrance oils and other commonly used ingredients in soap that often have a negative impact on the planet and/or people. I also try to source from smaller businesses, like Mountain Rose Herbs, as much as possible.
After giving away bars of soap to family and friends, I decided to take the leap and go public with my soap. Even thought I didn’t have a formal mission in mind at the time, I chose to keep my packaging minimal and plastic-free and have continued that mindful consideration of minimizing my impact on the environment as my business has grown.
Today, I’m the proud owner of Memphis’s first zero-waste refill store. In addition to the soaps, bath bombs, bath salts and more that I craft by hand, I supply bulk refills of many beauty and cleaning products and I vet everything that comes into the store to ensure it fits with the mission and vision of our company. If it’s not good for people and the planet, it is not something I care to carry.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I consider myself a soap artist first and an entrepreneur second. I didn’t start crafting artisan soap with the idea of launching my own business, but I love the journey it has taken me on.
Prior to 2021, my career was in public relations and writing. I spent many years working with big companies before my husband’s job took us on a journey around the world. For six years, we moved to different countries and experienced life in ways that expanded our minds and forever changed how we look at the world.
Today, I craft small batch artisan soaps using the age-old cold-process method. I use organic oils and butters, natural colorants (like herbs and clays) and essential oils in my recipes. I design the soaps to reflect some of the many places in which we’ve lived or visited and create custom essential oil blends from scent memories of our travels. I also craft bath bombs, bath salts, lotion bars and more with the same focus on high-quality ingredients and beautiful design.
One of the things that I believe sets me apart is my desire to not just create something beautiful, but my drive to stick to my mission of creating products that are good for people and good for the planet. Even when it might be easier or cheaper to source ingredients that have a higher environmental cost, I take the road that is less traveled because it’s important to me to respect the world my children are inheriting.
I’m most proud of taking a leap to open the first zero-waste refill store in Memphis. It would have been less risky to stick with selling my products at art shows, but I decided to dive in and offer the city a way to purchase eco- and people-minded products without having to do all the research I do. As one of my customers put it, I put in the work so my customers can more easily make better choices that reduce their own waste or support other small businesses.
How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?
Since “good for people” is one of the key tenants of my mission, I’ve tried to make my business as personable and down-to-earth as possible from the beginning. At art shows, I take the time to build a relationship with my customers and encourage them to follow me on social media to learn about new products or events. In the very beginning, I offered a dollar off a purchase if someone followed me or signed up for my newsletter.
When I opened my store, I purposely designed it to be a destination and not just a place you run in to grab a bar of soap or bottle of laundry detergent. Drawing on some of the experiences I’ve had in stores around the world, I created small touches that have brought many customers back again and again because they just love being in the space. I offer a daily sample of tea and encourage customers to sip on it while they stroll around. I also installed a small play area for kids so parents can actually enjoy their shopping experience and our littlest customers aren’t bored. Further, I try to remember as many customer names and stories as possible, so they know they feel welcomed and appreciated when they shop with me.
In addition, I launched a rewards program to give customers money back for shopping with us and making mindful choices like bringing in bottles to refill or bringing their bag in to carry their purchases. I still send out a monthly email, but I try to balance my promotions with things I would appreciate if I were my own customer.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
Instagram, art shows and community involvement have been the best sources of new clients for me.
Instagram is the main social media channel I focus my efforts on and many customers tell me they found me because of Instagram. I try to make my content a large mix of education and entertainment that is sprinkled with promotions and I try to respond to all comments. I also collaborate a lot with my vendors or other businesses and organizations to cross-promote what we are doing.
Art shows are another great source of new clients. Many of the customers that shop in my store now are customers that originally purchased from me at an art show. I think people love meeting the creators of products they use, because it feels more personal when the person who makes your soap knows your name.
Finally, community involvement has brought me new customers simply through conversations and getting to know people in my community. I was part of a women-owned passport over the holidays where 14 of us teamed up to help Memphian’s learn about our businesses. We all gained new customers through this cross-promotion. We’ve formed a community with each other and plan to continue to find ways to help each other grow.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.boshibotanicals.com
- Instagram: @boshibotanicals
- Facebook: Facebook.com/boshibotanicals
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/boshi-botanicals-memphis-2
- Other: Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/BoshiBotanicals/