We recently connected with Madalyn McArthur and have shared our conversation below.
Madalyn, appreciate you joining us 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?
I have to admit that I probably wouldn’t be quite where I am without my friends and families’ support of my business. They have supported me both financially and emotionally. My husband helps me sell my products, he also helps me brainstorm for new products and is pretty much my quality control person when it comes to putting wholesale orders together or marketing materials. Both of our families as well have been very supportive by encouraging me or being willing to try my products and give me feedback. In the beginning of my Etsy, I did ask friends and family to purchase from my shop so that I could build up my sales and reviews on there. That helped me get established on the platform and boosted my shops views. I have always told people what I do because I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished and it’s a big part of who I am, but I have never pressured anyone to buy from me and I don’t promote myself to friends and family. I welcome their support and their purchases, but my business doesn’t rely on them.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Madalyn and I’m the owner of Basswood Beauty a small skincare brand on Etsy. I began experimenting in my kitchen with a few basic ingredients such as beeswax and coconut oil making skincare items for my myself and my family. I have always loved creating things with my hands and I’ve especially always had a fascination with beauty products, so when I saw I could combine these two passions of mine I was immediately hooked. That happened about 11 years ago. I now have a sustainable business making, skincare, body care and lip care products. I not only sell online, but wholesale, shows, farmers markets and popups. My products are unique in that I use herbal infused oils in almost all of my products instead of fragrances or essential oils. This provides the nourishing benefits of the herbs without the irritations of fragrances. My products definitely meet a niche audience with their mild earthy scents and gentle formulas, but I think it’s something that more and more people are looking for in their skincare routines. We want effective products that actually do a lot of heavy lifting, that smell and look beautiful, but that are kind and gentle to our skin and olfactory nerves. I believe that is exactly what my products give to my clients, and I couldn’t be prouder of how far I’ve come with developing products that provide unique healing benefits.
Any fun sales or marketing stories?
I really enjoy connecting with people on a personal level. It’s very difficult for me to step out and sell to people that I have no connection with, so with my first wholesale account, I approached a local business that I had known for a while. It very naturally came up with in conversation with her that I make and sell products from my home, and would she like to try them with the possibility of wholesale? I definitely wasn’t completely comfortable with putting myself in a position like that, but I did want to try and diversify my business income. She was so sweet and instantly put me at ease with her enthusiasm to work with someone local. I’ve now been working with her closely for a few years and it has also become a friendship and mentorship where she helps me brainstorm product ideas and helps me know what customers are looking for. She has helped my business grow not only in financial terms, but in customer and product development. She also gave me the confidence to approach more wholesale customers which gained me new business. I’m grateful that I took that step out of my comfort zone and reached for something new.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I’ve had to change my business approach many times. Mainly the focus was on the products, where I had to change what I was selling. Sometimes it was due to something not doing well, sometimes it was due to a product doing really well. But the biggest change I had to make was earlier on when I was still new to skincare and learning all of the regulations. I’m a pretty hands-on learner, so I learned as I went. I did daily research, but it still took me a while to realize just how harmful it could be to make products with water if not done properly. This was mainly what I did, and it was the bulk of my business income. I was making several face creams and lotions. I did follow all of the guidelines that I knew of, but the more I read about potential harmful bacteria I really didn’t want to have that risk on my hands. It was not a responsibility I wanted to take on anymore and I didn’t have the means to do what was necessary to eliminate the risk. I decided to sell only oil-based products from that point on, this meant mainly my tinted lip balms at the time. I was pretty sure everything was over; things would just peter out and I would soon not have a business to run. Well, I kept to what I knew was the right thing to do and pivoted my business as best I could and what happened? It actually grew bigger than I ever expected. Keeping to your gut feelings and doing what you know is the right thing will be best in the long run.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.basswoodbeauty.etsy.com
- Instagram: @basswoodbeauty
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/basswoodbeauty
- Youtube: Basswood Beauty