We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Frankie Croker. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Frankie below.

Alright, Frankie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your business and how did you resolve those issues?

Some of the most unexpected problems I faced was learning how to adjust based on my business needs, whether it be with marketing or growth strategies. I had to learn that my business would go through periods of ups and downs and I had to adjust to accommodate the gaps.

One adjustment that sticks out most for me is when I begin selling wholesale. I didn’t expect the difficulty that came with processing large volume orders and found myself scrambling with my first wholesale orders. I didn’t have enough inventory and didn’t prepare myself completely with proper packing and shipping scenarios.

The good thing is, with trial and error you can takeaway so many positives that can serve as monumental in growing as a business owner and brand.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My journey with skincare began with my extended battle with acne as a teenager. I later experienced another bout of acne during my pregnancy with my youngest child. There was nothing on the market that provided me an alternative from products that were not suitable during pregnancy. I decided to see a dermatologist after the birth of my child and again was only given two options, allow my acne to go it’s course or stop nursing to be prescribed products that I could apply.

I choose to research natural ways of correcting the issue without compromising my health or my child’s. That sparked my interest in learning on a deeper level and helping other women like myself, women of color, from settling for products that contained toxic ingredients.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Many will believe that you should post daily, engage, and all the things that are suggested that ultimately leads you to complete burnout. I saw a pivot when I begin to show up consistently. Not daily, but consistently that is when I begin to see upward results.

Also, when I focused more on showcasing the benefits of my products and less of creating pretty images of my products, I noticed I got a better response in terms of orders and interest from my audience.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.

I initially begin selling on my website that is powered through Shopify. I later decided to branch out in an effort to obtain different streams of income and opened an Etsy shop.

The pros of having your own website is you have full control. You are not subjected to the numerous changes that occur on marketplaces such as Etsy. Also, with a website you can add customizations that would assist with the buying experience for your customers and potential customers. The cons of having a website is you are fully responsible for driving traffic to your products. You don’t have an established audience so you have to put in the work to let people know you exist.

The pros of Etsy is you have somewhat of a head start because you have access to someone else’s audience, you just have to get there attention to your space on the marketplace. Etsy is a beginner friendly and doesn’t require an extensive budget to get started. The cons is you are competing directly with millions of sellers who have a similar mission as you and it makes it increasingly easy for your audience to get distracted.

I chose to go with a website because I wanted complete control of my business, something Etsy couldn’t give me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://xobrowngirl.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xobrowngirlco/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/xobrowngirl
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xobrowngirlco/