We were lucky to catch up with Lily Hart recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Lily, thanks for joining us today. Getting that first client is always an exciting milestone. Can you talk to us about how you got your first customer who wasn’t a friend, family, or acquaintance?
Regardless of what you are selling whether it be art, a product you have developed, or a service, your first clientele should always be your close friends and family. I take this approach for various reasons, the first being that your network will give you honest input which is very important. Learning from your trusted network about how they experienced what you are selling, what they liked, disliked, and could improve on is the best way to perfect your products and services before doing a full launch. Another key reason is that growing slowly while building a solid foundation of clients is the best way to grow because so much comes with a big order or tons of orders. Let’s say you do amazing marketing and get 1000 orders of your products but don’t have the infrastructure to fulfill the or the customer service systems set up to answer questions you just got yourself in trouble and left a bad taste in the mouth of your first clients. When I ran my marketing agency, the clients I helped who focused on slow and steady growth are the only ones still operating today. Those who took shortcuts or dumped a ton of money into marketing without building out their internal systems first are all gone, so there’s that.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Lily Hart, I migrated to America with my family when I was 5 years old so I grew up in LA. I always wanted to be a child psychologist but after getting my degree I changed my mind and focused on a more creative career path. Most of my adult life has been spent within the world of marketing either creating content, editing content, or using that content to develop and market a brand, product, or service. In 2020 when the world shut down I also shut down my business because I wanted to focus on my on creative output versus marketing someone else’s. Since then I have painted 3 different and unique collections, had 3 successful art shows that I produced and marketed myself, and wrote the first book of a series I am working on for young audiences titled Life Lessons For Girls, Beauty being the first topic I focused on and most recently finally developing my passion project, DEMK by Lily Hart which is a beauty and wellness company I am launching soon. DEMK means both Face and Character in Armenian, which is where I was born. I’ve developed 5 core products I am extremely proud of. My goal is to, get everyone off these chemical-ridden, toxic skin care products and onto clean, beauty products like my Skin and Scalp oils & my magic Salve which uses pure organic oils that have been used for thousands of years, mixed with Tallow which is incredible all on its own. As well as A liver protocol that includes a Liver Vitality tea and Liver Reboot Powder which are both pure, organic herbs that detoxify the liver and other organs. DEMK’s goal is to provide products that are Good For The Skin & Within. The best way to optimize our health and look youthful is to keep our liver healthy and only use pure natural skin products that don’t damage the liver when absorbed. I was inspired to go in this direction because of my father who has been battling liver disease. As a big-time daddy’s girl who absolutely adores her father, I went into full-on researcher mode for years and developed the most powerful liver products I have found and during that journey, I also felt it was time to go back to the basics with other products that my family and I were consuming. I have a huge family so this is very personal for me and I am grateful to have developed the skills necessary to bring these products to market. What sets me apart is that I will never sacrifice the quality of anything I create to cut costs, cut corners, or make a quick buck. That type of thinking is not only devious but also not good business. I am very proud of these products because since I’ve done a slow launch all of the feedback has been outstanding. My scalp oils have been helping my friends with their hair loss issues. My skincare products have helped my friends open up discussions about forever chemicals with their daughters and switch them over to clean beauty. Getting the feedback and the incredible reviews is what makes me so proud. Creating amazing products and adding value to the world is what I have always felt was my purpose and still do. I’m certain that the world is shifting, people are waking up to the fact that it seems like there is poison in everything around us so we need to be very careful of what we consume. I look forward to sharing my products and art with your audience and welcome any questions they may have for me. At the end of the day that’s what its all about, the people, our connection, and providing quality! Everything else is just noise.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
PIVOT whenever you are not learning or providing value, it’s OK. I have pivoted so many times in my adult life and every time I have done that it has been because I was too comfortable, I was not learning anything new, I wasn’t challenging myself, or was just completely bored. Sure I was making great money as a real estate agent but hated the shadiness of the industry, no offense but in 2008 it was very wild and I just didn’t like the energy around it all. I pivoted because I realized that I prefer to be around creatives versus business-type things daily. I then again pivoted in 2020 when after 15 years of running Hart Digital Marketing I was done with the digital world, at least as a marketing agency. I still love marketing, digital marketing, etc but was just done spreading myself too thin with too many clients and not enough time with my loved ones. Yes, I was successful and enjoyed it but I didn’t really have the guts to ask for the type of retainers I should have been getting. I also thought that if I continued to provide amazing value to my clients, they would just naturally increase my retainer yearly or even give bonuses. Well, that never happened and it was because I was too nice and got burnt out. Not complaining because I helped a lot of small businesses grow and thrive. I pivoted because of that and also it was time to work on my own creative output, from my art to my book series, to my beauty and wellness company DEMK by Lily Hart, I was ready to finally focus purely on my own creations. So never be afraid to pivot because along the way you are building skills that will help you in your next project. Be fearless and just go for it!
Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?
I’ve never wanted to share this story because I was ashamed of my ignorance when it happened but it is very important so might as well. In 2014 I got into business with a boyfriend at the time. He wanted to start a supplement company and needed funding and I knew a few investors. He and I lived together at the time and were in love or so I thought and I trusted him so without any serious conversations, negotiations, or contracts, I introduced him to an investor/friend of mine, and the business started forming. I was one of the first 5 founders of the company and continued to operate on trust being that he was someone I loved and thought he loved me. Well, fast forward to when it came time for contracts, and I was completely excluded from the company, given a bullshit severance, and sent on my way. I am still very close friends with the investor and never faulted him because it was my responsibility to get a contract with my ex before introducing him to my contacts, before shutting down my own company to help start that one. I took responsibility because I took things on trust and friendship which was a VERY expensive lesson I had to learn. ALWAYS have a contract in place when getting into business with anyone! Whether it’s your best friend, family member, or someone in your network, always have a clear understanding of the terms of your partnership before moving forward. Things have a way of getting complicated when money is involved, especially when it’s successful.
Contact Info:
- Website: LilyHartArt.com | DemkByLilyHart.com
- Instagram: @LilyHartArt | DemkByLilyHart