We were lucky to catch up with Kim Easterday recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kim, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

I was working as a middle school teacher when my daughter graduated from high school in 2016. As a graduation gift, she asked if we could take a mother-daughter trip to France. So we saved up that school year and left for our 3-week vacation that June. We saw and did many things, and one of those was to make perfume. Many of the major and longtime perfumers are in the south of France, the home of perfume making in Europe. We had such a great time doing it that we talked about doing it in the States as there were very few offering that service ( and still are only a very few doing it). This year I took a risk, quit teaching full time, and pretty much just run my business. My daughter takes care of our website and social media tasks and I do the rest.

Kim, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

See previous entry for how this all started.

The thing I do is to teach people how to make their own personal fragrance. I’ve done it for up to twelve people at a time. Both women and men come to my studio. I teach people about perfume making and how a beautiful scent is made. I’ve done birthday parties, bridesmaids parties, girls nights out, date nights and anniversaries. I’ve done team building groups for businesses and even an engagement celebration.
I am most rewarded when at the end of the session the participants tell me they had fun!!! It’s the best and most common response I hear, and who wouldn’t love that!

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

When I really started pursuing my business, I used Facebook and Instagram to get the word out. I also had three pretty significant marketing gifts (I call them) that really helped me. The first was an article in a local newspaper. Previously to using my studio to make perfume, it was my pottery studio for fifteen years. Every summer I’d invite other potters to setup booths in my large yard to sell their wares. At the last sale, as I was transitioning from pottery to perfume making, a woman came up to me and asked if she could do an article on my new business. That was really my first big “get the word out” moment.

The second thing that was and is happening is that some of my customers made/make TikToks of their experience, and people saw/see those and made/make appoints to come to the studio.
The biggest marketing/advertising gift was being invited to talk about my business on one of the largest television networks in Detroit (WDIV) a show called Live in the D. This made my website explode and it’s been busy ever since.
Other then that, having a positive session with people encourages them to tell their friends and post to their own social media pages.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I feel like the best way to build your reputation within your business area is to be welcoming, to be honest, and to stand behind your product. In a world of Amazon-type instant gratification, it’s nice to offer people a different, more personal buying experience. I spend a lot of time with customers, whether it’s when they come to my studio or when I go to their homes or businesses. It’s nice to have a personal connection with buyers and that in turn, makes for a more pleasant buying experience.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.myscent.biz
• Instagram: atelierdefleurparfumerie
• Facebook: Atelier de Fleur Parfumerie
• Linkedin: Kim Easterday