We recently connected with Ewelina Aiossa and have shared our conversation below.

Ewelina, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Innovation comes in all shapes, sizes and across all industries, so we’d love to hear about something you’ve done that you feel was particularly innovative.

• Appreciate you for joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

In my life, I have taken a good number of risks, some minor and some major. The last one involved making a radical shift from the corporate world to the untested realm of indie brands and uncharted waters of entrepreneurship.

I’ve always been proud of my academic background and professional accomplishments. However, after having a child, my path and priorities changed. A new set of goals and aspirations replaced my previous ones. Seeing my family only on the weekends due to long work hours and being confined to a single role with limited creative freedom were no longer an option. I was full of ideas and no longer felt fulfilled in my current position, so I wanted to look into new opportunities where I could use all of my skills, talents, capitalize on connections made and pursue my passions.

I made the decision to take a chance, go outside of my comfort zone— leave a reliable salary, structure, corporate support, familiarity with the system, and a sense of belonging —and start a consulting and beautypreneurial business at the same time. To my pleasant surprise, work and clients materialized purely by word of mouth. Although I am still learning how to build a business from scratch and be “independent,” it has not always been easy.

It has not always been smooth sailing. The reality is I am still learning how to navigate independent contractor identity and build business from scratch with limited resources.

Nevertheless, it is very fulfilling and allows for a better work-life balance (although one could argue that staying up past midnight on a regular basis to finish projects is called balance; but it is my balance). And that’s really all that matters—the sense of progress and accomplishments that are earned —every milestone matters.

Ewelina, 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?

• As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that, can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

Sure.

I am the founder of Topical Skin, a scientifically advanced skincare line sold through the physician dispensing channel and available direct-to-consumer.

I have a track record of success in business development, organizational leadership, strategic brand vision, and product innovation. I had the honor of working with numerous experts in the aesthetics and beauty industry during my 15 year tenure as an internal marketing executive, developing, launching, and transforming professional-grade lines as well as scaling operations. I am also a well-known authority on beauty and brand architecture and the creative force behind many of the most esteemed labels in the business.

Before assuming C-level roles at Osmotics Skincare and co-founding Clinical Skin, I held leadership positions at beauty giants L’Oreal (Skinceuticals), Pierre Fabre Dermo Cosmetics, and Topix Skin Health.

At the moment, I serve as a fractional CMO for global beauty brands in the skincare, fragrance, and supplement sectors, as well as a strategic advisor to medical spa professionals and aesthetic service providers.Proficient in scientific skincare and medical marketing, I fuse corporate expertise with indie ingenuity to assist my clients.

I am also a sought-after thought leader in the fields of scientific beauty and cosmetic marketing. I have work published in international peer-reviewed journals, frequently speak at industry conferences, and contribute to trade magazines.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

• Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

All businesses, whether they are product- or service-based, need to continuously bring in new clients. I’ll share with you some tactical advice that was effective for Topical Skin:

It is imperative to continuously infuse the pipeline with innovative products, technologies, novel ingredients, and unique indications. Prospects are drawn in by novelty, which eventually convinces them to become customers. Any skincare brand that hopes to stay relevant and successfully compete in the market needs to release new products twice a year. When creating marketing campaigns in support of these products, be sure to take a consumer-centric approach.

It’s critical to consistently promote your business and reach out to prospective new customers. For Topical Skin, we market to both end users and skincare professionals. A number of dermatologists and aestheticians are still on the prospect list, and we are making every effort to reach them through various marketing initiatives: trade show exhibits, relevant industry press mentions, educational podium presentations and podcasts, targeted advertisements directed at the beauty expert demographic, sampling programs, sell-through support, special offers, and much more.

For us, it has been crucial to have a social media presence and to take advantage of favorable brand sentiment. Email marketing and a brand website are essential, but social media and product reviews provide an extra layer of credibility. We made the decision to concentrate our efforts on two social media channels, where we develop our brand narrative, interact with users, and launch influencer marketing campaigns. In order to draw clients in, we frequently employ visual strategies (such as product imagery and aspirational imagery of a healthy complexion) and focus on trendy topics that bridge the brand – consumer conversation.

Our clientele has grown significantly thanks to SMS marketing. Even though email marketing has proven to be successful, SMS marketing is still a relatively unexplored strategy that all brands should consider leveraging for promotions, discounts, special offers, referral incentives, and general messaging.

These days, consumers have higher expectations of brands and companies. Long-term stability and a sense of connection with a reliable person are what they seek. Being of resource is a wise move. In the era of misinformation, it’s critical to establish yourself as an authority on a topic related to your industry, offer educational content via your website, blog, podcast, social media, e-newsletter, and e-books, and collaborate with other professionals (in our case, dermatologists and aestheticians) to help explain concepts, demystify information, and provide more detail on emerging trends.

Referral programs and rewards are essential for growing your clientele and they don’t take a lot of time or money to implement. Be sure to ask for recommendations and referrals, and look after any new customers that are brought your way. Traditional word-of-mouth marketing is quite effective and can work wonders for your business. Running more alluring promotions that are only available to referral partners is a terrific idea, as is changing them up frequently to keep things interesting.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

• We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Life is full of obstacles that we can use to strengthen our willpower, perseverance, and positive outlook, all of which can eventually benefit us and lead to success. I was a 19-year-old exchange student who could hardly speak English when I first arrived in the USA. I could understand basic English, but it was difficult for me to study business, economics, and other difficult subjects that require the knowledge and use of specialized vocabulary and lingo. I found it very challenging to finish assignments like reading a chapter from an accounting book the size of an encyclopedia. I had to consult an Oxford English dictionary for assistance. In fact, since this was before computers and smartphones with built-in translators, I had to look up the definition of every word I didn’t know first by using a dictionary. I then had to pencil in the translation above the printed text, reread the chapter in an attempt to grasp the context, and finally learn the lesson. Multiple-choice questions were difficult to comprehend and even more so for someone who did not speak the language natively. It was also difficult for me at first to adjust culturally to a new setting, live away from home for a year, and be surrounded by strangers. But ultimately, I was able to graduate with honors, thanks to my optimistic outlook on life (glass half full approach to life), my unwavering commitment to mastering the English language, and my relentless practice of the language.

This was my life’s first significant experience with resilience. Then came the bigger, more taxing challenges.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.topicalskin.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ewelina_aiossa/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ewelinaaiossa/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@EwelinaAiossa