We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Liz Appulese a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Liz , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?
As someone who struggled with acne for nearly 10 years, I decided to take matters into my own hands finally and begin creating my own herbal elixirs to combat the issues that modern medicine and topical treatments prescribed by a doctor were never able to heal. In November of 2019, I began doing extensive research on herbal remedies for acne and formulating cosmetics to prepare for making my own elixir that would be effective and safe for my skin. After a few months of continuous research, trial and error and testing on myself as well as a couple of friends, I felt confident in the acne controlling tonic that I created! I was astonished that my first ever product completely cleared my acne and friends were also seeing ground-breaking results! At this time, I was 19 years old going on 20, graduated high school the year prior (2018) and was still trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my future. Seeing such wonderful results from such a simple herbal remedy that I blended myself gave me the motivation to create more healing potions and begin sharing them with a wider audience.
I have always had a a passion for natural living and encouraging a sustainable, plant based lifestyle to others. I truly felt that things were falling into place and maybe, this was what I was meant to do!
In May of 2020, I finally launched my business, AuraPure Essentials. The first products I released were skincare items such as toners & serums and aromatherapy products like oil blends and water based perfumes made with essential oils. I believe my holistic, eco friendly and plant based approach to beauty & wellness routines is eccentric and thoughtful and fell into place at the perfect time. Fast forward to 3 years later at our present date, it seems as though everyone is now leaning towards a more green, nontoxic lifestyle!
I currently offer about 50 different organic, botanically based beauty & wellness products for men, women and children and have began working on writing my own Ebooks as well to help assist others in growing their knowledge and transitioning to an eco friendly, nontoxic lifestyle.
Due to the influx of so many becoming interested in nontoxic related home remedies and beauty care, many locals in the central Ohio area and folks who have discovered the AuraPure difference from other parts of the US have reached out to me to learn more about my mission, which in turn has allowed myself and my business to grow more and more. It is crazy how a simple goal to clear my acne ended up turning into a business idea, that turned into a life long career and I am so grateful that I decided to take charge, plan and put in the time and effort to make my business what is has turned into today. Without believing in myself, a positive support system and patience… I would never be where I am today.
Liz , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
To sum up what I do, I am an herbalist and cosmetic formulator! I always have had an earth-loving, plant based lifestyle, and as I mentioned before, I struggled with severe acne for nearly 10 years, which is what got me started on my business venture- creating formulas using holistic methods and plant based ingredients to help treat acne prone skin! I never knew that after creating a simple herbal infusion, I would be running a successful business with 50+ products that I formulated all on my own, and receiving outstanding results & reviews amongst many across the United States. I simply had a goal to heal my skin and my path for the future quickly began paving itself, truly serendipity! I am quite proud and very confident in the products that I have created and look forward each day to helping someone new! I have folks often contact me in regards to needing healed from common issues such as acne, eczema, PCOS, psoriasis and more. I of course am no doctor and always suggest you consult with one first, but I have found that my clients have received great results with my herbal remedies. I believe my deep passion for herbalism and care for healing others is truly what sets me apart from others. I have a great deal of expertise in herbalism and cosmetic formulating that continues to grow through discipline and studying my craft on a daily basis!
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
Funding a business and being self-employed is never “easy”. Although with dedication, hard work and a ton of patience, you will be prosperous eventually. During my first 2 years of business, I worked full time to be able to pay bills and afford all of my tools, ingredients and everything else that a business requires (state registrations, trademarks, taxes, etc).
At the beginning of my 3rd year in business, I decided to stop working full time and cut back to just doing a little part time work to keep up with bills and began focusing on AuraPure full time.
I sold online mostly but when I quit working full time at my office job,I started participating in local markets to bring in more income.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
I truly believe the most effective strategy in growing your clientele is by creating a positive reputation for yourself and word of mouth. Definitely 70% at least I would say of my clientele found my business through a friend or positive feedback they saw on social media. Once folks start talking, the topic becomes hot and everyone wants to see for themselves!
Contact Info:
- Website: AuraPureEssentials.com
- Instagram: @aurapureessentials
- Facebook: @aurapureessentials
Image Credits
Liz Appulese