Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Magen Bynum . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Magen , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think it takes to be successful?
Success means different things to different people. Success to one could be overcoming cancer for the second time. Success to one could be leaving the grind of 9-5 and starting their own business. Success for another could also be working 9-5 and hitting their promotion they worked months for.
Success is completely dependent on the person. Goals, mindset, and grit determine the persons success. Nothing gets done without a plan in place. Being consistent in daily habits and goal setting to achieve whatever your ”success’ may be is the key.
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
Magnolia Soap and Bath Co began with a desire to bathe my newborn in products that didn’t contain harsh chemicals and phthalates filled fragrances. I started making my products in my home and salon to quickly find out– EVERYONE LOVED THEM! My customers became raving fans and helped fuel my enthusiasm to expand. We started with our first storefront in New Albany, MS with a population of 6,200 at the time. We killed it there and quickly started expanding.
Magnolia Soap and Bath Co found the corporate models were widely successful and profitable, so we decided to offer franchises. This process has launched us into a growing, thriving brand regionally. We plan to take our brand nationally in 2023.
Our products are handmade in every store. We bring amazing products to a fun experience. Walking in the bubble filled doorway, flooded with the tantalizing aromas of fresh poured soaps and candles, to the warm greeting and welcome from our soap stars, makes walking in Magnolia Soap truly an experience you won’t forget. We love to include our customers in our process and show the transparency in our ingredients. (You can actually read & understand the ingredients on our labels…. hello, transparency!)
Magnolia Soap and Bath Co currently has 31 open locations with many more to come in 2023.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
There’s no way to articulate how investing in yourself pays off. Surround yourself with smarter, wiser, more well-connected people. About 10 months ago, I got super serious about investing in me- my mindset, franchise knowledge, my processes, and growth. I actually became obsessed with it- and still am! Listening to podcast any free moment I had really helped keep my mind focuses and thriving.
One day while listening to my favorite franchise podcast, I had the opportunity to message the guy behind the podcast. I took this leap of faith and he responded back, asking me to call him. We chatted and he thought I’d be a great fit for his ‘franchisor’ mastermind. Mind you, this class was not free. It was $2800 or so! I thought, ‘man, I don’t have this extra cash, but my education is important’… so I pulled out the AmEx and signed up.
During this exact time, I had just hired my first in house franchise sales manager. I was training her on my process, my culture, and my way of organically selling my brand to potential customers. The knowledge I gained in the first month from my new mentor was GAMECHANGER. It also helped me understand the franchise sales process sooooo much better. I began introducing her to this mastermind class and filling her mind with this franchise sales lingo, connections, and mindset. Fast forward, we have internally grown a very successful- IN HOUSE- franchise sales process that has landed us 14 new franchises in 4 months. All of this possible Thanks to the leadership and mindset change we had with our mentor.
In this class, my coach brings in certain franchise experts. These people may be the expert in social media management, franchise development, or whatever we need help in that month. One meeting was with a guy that was speaking on how to have an amazing Discovery Day (this is where our prospective franchisees come in and I make sure they’re the right fit for my brand) and he began his awesome presentation. During this presentation, we were able to introduce ourselves, our brand, and have candid conversation with the speaker. He asked me a few questions and I could tell my brand peaked his interest. My coach also does an amazing job of hyping me and my brand. After the presentation, my coach called and said, ‘hey, this guy wants to chat with you. Are you ok with me giving him your number?’ I was all over it and obliged.
Long story short, this conversation, this introduction, this mastermind class turned me on to the top franchise expert in all of franchising. And he took a FAVOR to my brand. We now are partnered together, along with my coach, to expand and grow Magnolia Soap nationwide in 2023. This small (but very large amount at the time) investment monthly just paid off TREMENDOUSLY! The trajectory of Magnolia Soap is about to explode and I have the best of the best advising and helping me grow— all from investing in myself months ago and taking a chance on growing myself.
I’ll forever be grateful to that initial meeting. My life, my family’s life, and my brand will never be the same due to this one meeting and surrounding myself with the RIGHT PEOPLE.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Every customer we have becomes raving fans! I take great pride in providing ONLY the highest quality and ethically sourced oils, butters, and Ingredients used in our products. Can we get it cheaper somewhere else? Of course. Is it better for my customer? Heck no. I will not sacrifice quality for price. Our customers know this and expect a certain quality from us. This helps us obtain real, organic, raving fans.
We love on our community and pour into our people in each town. Even my managers for my corporate stores take on an ownership in their community and love on our customers. This, combined with our quality products, makes customer loyalty our fuel behind the brand. If we can get others talking about it on social media, leaving raving reviews about their remarkable service, and sharing their results from using our products, we have locked down the organic social game.
Make sure to share on your social’s story. Show your brand behind the scenes there. Show your customers loving their products there. Highlight your specials or new products there. People tend to watch those more than feeds these days. With social algorithms changing weekly, it’s hard to keep up with what they’re looking for. We have consistently done the story post, 1-2 daily wall post, and boosting post 2-3 times a week to keep the alorithm liking us. My main page has over 25k followers and we keep a healthy engagement.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.magnoliasoapandbath.com
- Instagram: Magnoliasoapandbathco
- Facebook: @magnoliasoapco
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/magenbynummagnoliasoap