We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kayla McPhaul a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kayla, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?

Beyond all things, my biggest passion in life is to make preventative education a standard. I feel like we always focus on solutions, but not methods of prevention. From poverty, to healthcare, there are major discrepancies within our education system that could be resolved with mandatory education on topics that “matter”. I’m a firm believer in the phrase “If you know better, you’ll do better. “ and I feel that with the proper education, things could run more smooth.

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

As some know, I attended Eastern Michigan University with a Public Health major, with a focus in Community Health Education. For as long as I can remember, I have been passionate about wellness, the human body, health natural skincare, natural remedies, and etc.

I grew up with my grandmother extremely active in my life, and was into holistic health. Health and wellness was something that sparked my interest at an early age, and was cultivated into my adulthood.

I never had intentions of owning my own business… When working an internship at a health-food store in November of 2018, by my college, there was a racial incident that occurred with the store manager and myself. After taking this matter to HR and receiving no resolution, I quit my job. After quitting my job, I wasn’t able to find employment as quick as I thought I would, and had to think, what could I do for money? Cause the bills were due!

I sat and thought how I have been making skincare products for myself for years, and giving away my extras to and family for quite some time.I started diving into product-making in high school as I suffered from very bad acne, eczema, and sensitive skin my whole life. Like I said before, I had never considered running any type of business until, being in that predicament to need a source of income immediately.

I posted my Rosewater Face Toner on my Twitter page, as a joke, and almost immediately got an order! I was extremely excited to see my hobby become a business before my eyes.

In December of 2018, at my school, there was a vendor show for students to sell products. I was invited to sell, so I took a chance and went! With the support of my family, and classmates, I was able to quickly establish a loyal customer base. What was most exciting is that the people who purchased were seeing phenomenal results, which motivated me to keep selling. The customers loved the toner because of the results and requested that I make more products.

With my quick success I was tempted to venture off and do more, but my passion is natural corrective skincare. I saw the results I was able to help my customers active, and made a vow to stay committed to providing results.

After doing my research, in January of 2019 I expanded my product list to 6 100% natural products that help with skin ailments like eczema, and psoriasis, dark spots, pH levels in skin, hair enhancement, and general skin health.

The response I received after releasing the products was overwhelmingly positive! In July of 2019, I decided to open a website to grow my customer base even more. On my one year anniversary of my website, I organically grossed over $10k in sales, have over 15 100% chemical and filler-free products, have customers in 23 states (and growing), and an international customer!

I’m now four years in, and run my business full time, have been blessed to be in 38 states, 3 countries, and forever in our customers hearts!

It’s been a journey, but I’m extremely thankful for every step.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

To be 100% transparent, I’ve just been myself. I’ve put an emphasis on the fact that I am a person first, and a business owner second. With a brand that constantly preaches wellness, I demonstrate that by being a well-rounded person, and taking time for me. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve sacrificed a LOT to get where I am today, but I cannot give out my best when I’m not at my best. I stay committed to myself, my goals, and my core values and grow organically.

The only “technique” I can truly say is effective is consistency. No matter what, I stay up to date on my social media! Even if I’m taking a break, brand presence is a major key. For most people, things are “out of sight, out of mind”. Keep things consistent, follow trends for the algorithm, and stay true to what you set out to do.

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

While growing is important, up to this point, customer retention has been my priority. Providing quality service is my #1 goal, outside of providing quality products. I emphasize to my customers the value they hold to me, and the success of my business. Since COVID, things have been extremely hectic in the supply chain which means tons of orders have been delayed. While it’s frustrating for me, and the customer, I communicate as much as possible, and empathize with them. It’s never about “what” happens, it’s about how you make people feel.

Making people feel good makes them share their stories to others, which can help grow clientele. Now that I have an established base, I will spend the next two years focused on growth, marketing to wider audiences, and B2B sales.

Contact Info:

• Website: ShopJanesRoses.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/shopjanesroses?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/shopjanesroses?s=21&t=HDAS1iyqOYMgQd8bOZVQbw