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

Larnett, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How do you feel about asking friends and family to support your business? What’s appropriate, what’s not? Where do you draw the line?

Asking friends and family to support your business can be hard but, if those same people are constantly asking your advice and view you as a trusted professional then they should be OK with you asking them to support your business.

Something to consider is that if you expect support you must give support. I had a friend who would call me only when she wanted something- a place to stay, help with fundraising, or even to support her children in their endeavors. This friend knew I had a business and my business included skincare products but, she never purchased one product. One day she called and asked me if I could support her daughter’s new business. I responded like this “I think it’s great that your daughter is launching a new venture and I would love to support but, can I ask why you’ve never supported my business?”

She immediately apologized and purchased a product. Now she is a long time customer. But I learned something from that. When I launched my brand I sent texts to everyone in my phone announcing the launch. But, that was the last time I personally reached out and asked for support from my friends and family. I do most of my marketing on my website, via email and social media.

I needed to ask. Personal requests can go a long way.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’ve been a licensed Cosmetologist for 43 years. I took a brief, 20 year break in between to nurture a successful corporate career but, retired early to get back to what I love.

My dream was to focus my career on the health and beautification of skin. So, I’m March 2020 I went back to Cosmetology School and got my Esthetician’s License in Florida. I started small with a tiny boutique spa on Lincoln Rd in South Beach. Then as my clientele began to grow I moved several times until I landed in my current location in the middle of the Mid Beach Business District on Arthur Godfrey Rd.

As business grew my client depended more and more on my advice for at home skincare products. I spent a lot of time researching product ingredients and giving advice. Then one day a good friend said “You know so much about products and ingredients that work. You should have your own skincare products.” That began my year long search for a lab that I could partner with to develop what is now known as Liscia by SKINN.

Liscia is a line of naturally based medical grade skincare products. Our serums have been clinically tested and proven to show results in the reduction of wrinkles, increase in collagen and elastin and firmness of skin. They also brighten skin and fade dark spots.

Our best selling product is Serum One Five. It delivers equivalent results to one injection of collagen filler within two weeks of use. We call it the “Needle Free” option.

I am so excited to share this with the Voyage audience that I will offer a discount of 25% off to all readers who use code “voyage” when ordering their products.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

I started out trying to develop a product in my kitchen. I used natural ingredients and made the products in small batches. My clients loved them and I even got one wholesaler to purchase some products. Unfortunately his demand for the product increased and he required a lower price for a higher volume. My business was not scaled to meet that demand. So, that was a big lesson learned.

It took me a year to mentally recover from that lesson. I spent a lot of time researching not only product ingredients but, how to scale a business and it became very clear to me that I could not do this alone. To grow a business you need experts as partners and advisors. So my first step to success was to hire a Branding Manager.

The branding manager is an expert in building a brand so, she has contacts in marketing, advertising and in manufacturing. This was exactly what I needed.

I also had to take a leap of faith and invest big. I withdrew a lot of my savings to cover the cost of my start-up. The goal is to show some marked success in the industry, Get a footprint and then leverage that footprint to seek investors for the next phase of scaling my business.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

This one is easy. I spent most of my adult life working in corporate. I am great at sales because my approach is educational. I listen to what a customer says, determine the need and educate them on the best solution to filling that need. So, I trained salespeople and wrote business plans. Basically I helped other people make a lot of money. But, my job was demanding and stressful. And I had suffered some very emotional losses in my personal life. So my health began to fail. I developed high blood pressure, my weight skyrocketed. I was irritable, in short, I was a mess. And my doctor advised me to reduce my stress or prepare to suffer a stroke.

This motivated me to start looking for a new job. And one day I realized that I could retire early and still receive my full retirement benefits. That opened up an entirely new option to me. I could be my own boss and create the life that I wanted doing work that I love while decreasing my external stresses. So, I did a complete overhaul of my life. I decreased costs by downsizing both my home and my car. I moved to Miami Beach so, I could increase my exercise by running or walking on the beach walk daily and I started a boutique skincare spa with a select group of clients who seek the advice of an experienced professional who actually cares about their skin and their overall health.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.skinnmia.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/skinnmia
• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/skinnmia
• Linkedin: Larnett Glenn
• Yelp: SKINN MIA
• Other: TIK TOK- prinsislg

Image Credits
Image credit: Skinn MIA