We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ethan Turenr. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ethan below.
Ethan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you share a story that illustrates an important or relevant lesson you learned in school
During 2021 After having started my business and gone on a romantic getaway to France I knew that I needed to make it a regular trip. As I was planning my trip, I began searching for as many perfumery related things that I could go and do while in the City of Lights. I saw perfumer stores, houses, but what really caught my attention was perfume school. I knew that in order for me to be taken serious in the Perfume world I’d need to be formally trained and that even if it didn’t improve my perfume manufacturing, it would atleast give me a new perspective and a more informed opinion. I sent an email over to the top school in the world for perfumery,ISIPCA (Institut supérieur international du parfum, de la cosmétique et de l’aromatique alimentaire), to see if I could do a tour of the campus. My trip was still about 2 months away, and I wasn’t expecting word back. I continued to build fragrances, grow my customer base, expand my brand, when about 3 weeks in advance I recieved a reply inviting me to tour the campus. To say I was elated is an understatement. I responded back quickly and we set up a time of arrival, unfortunately it would have to be the exact day that I landed. Fast forward a few weeks, and after a full day’s flight delay, a reschedule, rushing through a foreign city’s subway system with no true understanding of the way it worked, and a walk in the rain, I arrived at campus.
As I walked up I realized not only had I set forward in motion something I had always dreamed of, there was a much larger lesson to be learned. I toured the campus, and visited the renowned Osmotheque. After my tour, the admissions counselor, Martin, invited me back for an executive education program, something that would bolster my resume, business, and enhance my perfuming skills. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to do it because the classes were only 7 months away and I hadn’t planned on going, but I told him to send me the details. Knowing how huge of an honor it was to be invited to ISIPCA, I knew I’d have to make it happen. So I did.
July through August of 2022 I lived in Versailles, and traveled across Spain and Southern France. I learned about the history of perfume, the accords that create our basic interpretations of modern perfumery, the businesses and relationships of the industry giants, I met farmers, business owners, and of course fellow perfumers. The greatest lesson of school though, wasn’t even about perfumery – it was about taking the first step. When I graduated, holding my certificates I knew that this had all come from a small dream where I just needed to take the first step. When we are designing fragrances it is a lot of trial and error, which means you can’t be afraid to take the first step.
From that point forward it was about taking the first step. Applying for my first business credit card, first business line of credit, hiring my first employee, closing my first 5 figure contract. There are so many firsts that you will experience as an entrepreneur, but you have to be brave enough to just take the first step. Even if you fail, you will learn something valuable, grow, adapt, and be prepared to take the second step when the time comes. Even as I write this I think about the many more firsts ahead, and first steps that they will require. I think for any person on this journey it is valuable to get comfortable taking that first step, if you can do that, I think you can grow to be the person that you want to be.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Ethan Turner, is one of the world’s top perfumers, and has been awarded for Perfumer of the Year 2021, and also has had many of his fragrances awarded within various independent perfumer categories. He got into perfumery after leaving the Food and Beverage industry as a sommelier and seeking a new passion – which helped inspire his AskMen featured fragrance Anuri A La Plage. He is the founder of MOI Fragrances and Maison Ethan Turner. He is a sommelier through the court of master sommeliers, and has a love for olfactory art and technology. He sits on the Rules and Regulations Committee for the International Perfumery Code of Ethics. He has been featured in the news for both his activism and entrepreneurship several times from local to regional media; he has been published in national publications from Columbia College; and he’s even been featured in global media for his work as a perfumer. He is most known for his celebrity fragrance Shamala Hamala by Kevin James Thornton. He is currently in the process of publishing a book series called “The Smelly Safari,” which is a series of scratch and sniff books for children to help educate them on scents around the world. In addition he is working on building fragrances for other brands and celebrities.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
The initial capital from my business came from getting creative. I knew I wanted to get into perfumery, and I didn’t have much cash on hand. I started with buying bottles on amazon for 12-20 bucks, a few oils and alcohols from different suppliers for $30-$50, and beakers to start mixing. I had no clue what I was going to create, but offered friends and family an opportunity to build a fragrance with me for what would be considered insanely cheap prices. I sold fragrances for $40 to $80 depending on if you subscribed to my perfumery business and ordered refills or new fragrances each quarter. I had about 100 friends who were interested. Which made me enough to buy better packaging, nicer labels, and better materials. I then started to sell online, bringing in an additional 200 clients. After that businesses and celebrities/influencers began to work with me. I pushed on this way for about 2 years before looking for credit cards. After establishing credit with my bank, I eventually was approved for other credit cards with other companies, and then was able to return to my bank for funding through a line of credit. I am constantly looking for more creative ways to finance the business beyond investors.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
During the early stages of my business I was overwhelmed with orders, and offering my services at such a discounted price that I wasn’t able to make enough money. I needed to pivot my model to compensate for the time I was taking to build fragrances, so I began targeting businesses for fragrance products. That changed allowed me to not only have a sustainable income, but also allowed me to then put passion behind the products for consumers. I was then also able to justify a price increase as my time became more valuable. Those who understood stayed or gracefully left, but it brought balance to my time and business model. I am continuing to pivot from just a Bespoke Perfume House to adding in a Perfume Manufacturing model to help with scaling businesses and providing individuals unique scents.
Contact Info:
- Website: moifragrances.com
- Instagram: @moifragrances
- Facebook: facebook.com/moifragrances
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/76470642/admin/
- Twitter: @moifragrances
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@moifragrances3673
- Other: TikTok: @passionateperfumer
Image Credits
Nicholas Alexander Ethan Turner Kevin James Thornton