We recently connected with Kylie Butler and have shared our conversation below.
Kylie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
When it came to our crystal sugar scrubs, that was probably one of the best original product ideas I had come up with to add to my shop. The idea stemmed from wanting to add some type of self care product but still wanting to incorporate and keep the theme of crystals. I have always loved and used all types of self care products, but always hated the fact that most popular skin care lines have so many chemical based ingredients, they are harsh for the gentle human skin, and oftentimes I don’t receive good results from the product. And especially when it comes to the face self care products, I often find ingredients like perfume inside which can cause unwanted reactions and understandably, most try to stray away from products like that. But it is difficult to find products without it too. Even though they can have a lovely smell, it’s not worth putting these formulas on the skin, especially if you have sensitive skin like me. It can be challenging to find natural ingredient based self care products for the skin, including the face.
Out of the different types of self care products, I chose to work with sugar scrubs because I personally like to use them often and I have also had a hard time finding ones that are suitable for my skin and face in particular. When I mean suitable for my skin and face, I think of a gentle natural formula but still impactful to where the scrub itself isn’t rough and burning the skin from using, but still retains and leaves the enriching and hydrating ingredients on your skin to where the skin feels hydrated and not dried out after. So, that is exactly what I came up with for my scrubs. I also used to be a gymnast, so I know what it’s like to have a bit more rougher skin and calluses. Scrubs helped me out after practice, but I would never use the same scrub or face intended scrubs on my face the way I do my product, due to its lack of facial use and properties. I wish I had this idea and product back then that I would use.
It took a little more than a month of many tries, trials, and formulas with different ingredients to create the very best natural sugar scrub that is gentle enough for the face and body. After many attempts, hours of research for the best ingredients and hard work, I finally created the base for our sugar scrub. The next step was to figure out what physical, metaphysical and spiritual properties we could add. Particularly, what crystals would have the most and best intentions and properties to incorporate that can impact everyone. I wanted to have options to which scrubs customers could choose, so I came up with two different choices. Rose quartz scrubs and amethyst scrubs. I thought those two crystals would be the most universal to everyone so anyone could truly be able to connect with it and use it. One of my favorite things to tell customers about my scrub is that it’s made out of genuine crystals, and it also includes a raw keepsake crystal inside corresponding with the rose quartz or amethyst option. And one of the best things is, it’s also naturally scented to ensure it’s available to all skin types.
Then, I created labeling and packaging for my scrubs. Soon after, my scrubs were officially ready to be released and dropped on our website. I took the scrubs to vending events and passed out samples. I engaged with customers about our scrubs and these moments are the moments of truth. Will they be a hit in our shop? Will people like them or even be drawn to the packaging? What if this is a complete fail and back to the drawing board? And soon, I happily received the best feedback on my first batch of sugar scrubs. I received many good reactions and had customers curious about this product I had put so much work into. Even sometimes a customer would curiously point to my scrubs and ask about our scrubs. As they continue to sell at events and throughout my website, I shortly ran out of scrubs. As I had to continuously restock my scrubs over time, that is when I knew this new idea I had brought to my shop was no longer a limited edition item, from then on our crystal sugar scrubs will forever have a permanent home in our shop.
As our business continues to grow, highlighting our scrubs, we are extremely excited to announce we are in the process of building a portable sink that we will bring to our vending booths. So each and every person we encounter at events will have the opportunity to sample and try our sugar scrub out first hand. And nothing is better than trying out a self care product with a team who loves to engage, talk about and help others learn about how they can enhance their self care routine with our scrubs.
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 back background and context?
Hello, I am Kylie, but most people know me as Ky! I am the owner and founder of Catch The Creation. One day as I was recovering from a knee injury, I realized I could turn my love and passion for crystals, jewelry making and self care products into a business. What was supposed to be a 2 week recovery from surgery has turned into a two years recovery and counting. And during the downtime to my recovery, little did I know my life would change for the better and be completely down a different path in life. It started the day I set my mind to it and to begin the process of starting a business without knowing anything on how to do so in 2021. I taught myself everything I needed to know to get started and I am loving every second since then.
Our shop includes a jewelry selection, it ranges from everyday wear to special occasion jewelry. Whether it’s for yourself or for a loved one, we know our pieces will make any outfit sparkle. From crystals that promote healing and peace of mind, to handcrafted jewelry designed with love. We strive to create unique pieces that evoke a sense of joy, beauty, and peace in our customers as we specialize in wire wrapped pendants to truly connect and speak to oneself. Our collection also includes elevated self care products that nourishes and refreshes the soul. All of our self care remedies are carefully curated with an eye towards natural ingredients, eco- friendly products, and gentle skin care practices.
We are more than just another small business, we wanted to become a space for individuals to come find unique pieces that will help people connect with themselves spiritually, mentally, and physically. We believe our creations can help each individual live life in harmony and be intune with the inner self.
We believe in quality craftsmanship and value the importance of thoughtful sourcing and materials. Our crystal selection is sourced ethically with intentions and respect for Mother Earth, while our jewelry pieces are handcrafted with precision and care. Each piece is one of a kind and made to bring out its best natural beauty.
Our mission at Catch The Creation is to provide a unique selection of meaningful, inspirational, and beautiful items through our work so that everyone can find something that speaks to the spirit and catches the eye.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I had just turned 19 and a few months later I graduated college in December of 2020. I had a degree in culinary arts and restaurant management. I really enjoyed cooking and baking all types of foods and generally just being in the kitchen. I had a good consistent job at a restaurant, I even had the opportunity to create a new dish on the menu to replace an old one. I even loved being in the hospitality aspect of things too. And in April of 2021, a few months later, I got into a snowboard accident. I tore my meniscus and fractured my tibia leaving me unable to walk and soon be followed with surgery. Towards the end of the following month, I finally had surgery and thought I was on the road to a two week recovery. After three days from surgery, I was able to take all the bandages off. And little did I know, I was left with a severe chemical burn on my knee down to my shin, due to some unknown cause during surgery. I was bed bound for what felt like the longest time ever while my knee was stuck in a bent position. I spent nearly the next entire year getting my leg to straighten out. And the next year I had to learn how to begin to walk properly and regain all the mussel I had lost. As I could start to see a long road of recovery ahead of me, that was when I decided to start my business and make my time useful in some sort of means. I was always looking for ways to pass time as I couldn’t walk for a while, like arts and crafts. Just building and creating in general is right up my alley. And I had always wanted to own my own business, but never knew what exactly. Creating and starting my business was one of the best decisions I have ever made. With all my recovery time, it has allowed me to work on my business and really be able to get it started. I spend so many long days and late nights working so hard to where I am today with my business. I would have never thought my business would blow up so much and expand the way it did. I now can say I have gone to these coll different places and festivals and meet so many incredible people along the way. I never knew how big the small business world was but I felt like I got swept right off my feet and put where I was meant to be. This has also given me a great travel opportunity and hopefully soon across the state to work and connect with others through my art. I can’t wait to see where my business goes after this major turn in my life! Never would I ever have thought of making it this far already in my journey.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I began my social media presence with Instagram and Facebook. I personally like Instagram because of it simple applications and navigations, but facebook also provides my business with some features and target audiences other platforms can’t. I built up my following base starting with friends and family. They would kindly share my work and word of mouth can go a long way. Currently, all my engagement and audience is all organic and some ways you can achieve this is my benign authenticity, a truth worthy account, and a continuous maintenance. When I mean continuous maintenance, I mean trying to be active on the app every day, engaging with customers rather that be the in comments or direct messages, and engaging with other accounts. These are some ways that I have personally found helpful when it comes to a new and fresh account/business. Managing social media can sometimes be a lot to handle, but try posting at least once a day. That can help maintain your audience. When you make a post, give your audience something to comment about, ask them a question, get their feedback, this can be a call to action. This will help boost and get your post reach out there. Try adding hashtags to your post. Sometimes I find myself looking at hashtags for inspiration, threads and fun diys. So you know somewhere out there other people are using them too. Post every day and approximately around the same time everyday too. This can just boost and maintain your activity and show your audience your still presents and ready to connect. I have always found adding your location (city/town/state), at least to your bio or website, can help show and prove your authenticity to customers. Let your customers know your real and maybe this could help lead to other local connections.
I also now have a snapchat, thanks and due to my friends and some customers’ motivations to have one for my product based business. Even though posting to your stories on snapchat will disappear after a day, it has brought me some business and attraction to my page. I would have never thought of using Snapchat to promote my business but you never know til you try!
I also have a Tiktok, however, I primarily use that platform to make fun videos for my business. But I have been noticing, very slowly my view count in going up or staying consistent.
Contact Info:
- Website: CatchTheCreation.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catchthecreation/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CatchTheCreation