We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mia Gamble a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Mia, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
How did I come up with the idea for Susie Q Scrubs, LLC? Honestly, I was in search of more natural products that my family and I could use to care for our skin. I wasn’t finding much I or my daughters liked. There are a couple of us that have mild eczema and some of the products we tried irritated our skin or dried it out. After doing a bit of research and watching videos, talking to friends, and trying products, I decided “I can make that!” I wanted to use and make products as natural as possible, so I set out to do just that. I was also inspired by my youngest daughter, though I’m not sure she knows she inspired me. She is also quite crafty and helping her got me excited to give this a try! Initially, I was unsure if this would work because of the “big brand” products available to everyone. After making some small batches and having other family members try b=my body scrubs and encouraging me, I knew I had to take things a step further. What started as me simply trying to ensure my daughters and I have natural, nourishing bath and body products has turned into a small business I love!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Well, in case you have not read about me or my business, let me tell you a bit about us. I am Mia “Susie Q” Gamble. I am a mother to three beautiful, now adult, daughters. They are one of the reasons I started my business and they helped name the business! I am a full time teacher of elementary students with 36 years experience.
My business, Susie Q Scrubs, LLC, was a small idea, something I wondered about for a while, born out of a need for natural bath and body products, chemical free and nourishing. I got into the bath and body industry because, as stated, I wanted products that were gentle, effective, and made with ingredients I could pronounce and that I could trust. My and my daughter’s skin depended on it.
Susie Q Scrubs, LLC started with just simple body scrubs and now offers those handcrafted body scrubs, lotion bars, body butter, muscle butter, dusting powder and facial toner. All products I use myself. My newest product being added to the family is a natural, nourishing body wash. I’m excited to share it along with the other products I have. These products all help those with issues and concerns about their skin being dry. The natural ingredients used, like the clay powders, essential oils, and butters are all skin loving ingredients. I feel like what sets me apart is that all items are handcrafted and serve a self-care purpose. Products are made in small batches to ensure freshness and quality.
I am most proud of my dedication and work ethic as it is related to providing quality products for returning and potential customers. To help improve my product, I have taken courses on formulating using natural ingredients and they’ve been quite helpful. This is one of the many things I would want others to know about my brand. Behind the products and the name is someone who cares about what you put on your skin and how you indulge in self care because we all deserve self care! I want to offer a “pamper me” experience for potential customers.
Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?
Not long ago, after seeing posts on social media about Magnesium Oil and its benefits, I decided to learn more about this “oil”. I learned that most people have low magnesium levels and that can affect muscles, energy, and sleeping. I decided to try it as an oil since I was having trouble sleeping and getting muscle cramps. I wanted to see how I liked or didn’t like it. Well, I loved it. I was sleeping better and not having as many achy muscles leading to muscle spasms. That lead to using the oil in a lotion bar. Though the lotion bars looked great, the oil didn’t do well and separated from the butters. I was still learning and I felt defeated, like I was going backwards because I had such high hopes for the product. Then I thought to try it in a body butter form and tadaaa! My Magnesium Muscle butter was born. It has become one of my top sellers and the love for this product is real! Recently, at a holiday market, a potential customer came to my table because she had heard about my muscle butter and wanted to get some for herself. She shared with me that she works out and wanted it to help her muscles recover and because of the great things she had heard! That melted my heart. Something I made to help me has again turned into something that helps so many others, This is one of my favorite moments as a business owner.
Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?
I do, in fact, manufacture all of my products in my little kitchen. As I mentioned, I took a course on formulating using natural and plant ingredients. I learned about proper sourcing of ingredients, labeling, and something very important- measurement. Prior to that, I followed recipes from other makers and sometimes things worked out and sometimes they did not. I believe that course helped me to better identify quality ingredients when it comes to formulating and making. With some trial and error, especially with the whipped body scrubs, one lesson I learned, like many other makers, is to measure accurately. Having one ingredient not measured accurately can cause a whole batch of product to not mix properly or result in a texture you may not want. You can’t just guess when it comes to mixing your ingredients. In time, I found the consistencies, textures, and strategies for mixing and making that work well for me and ultimately, my customers. I take pride in actually making my products, “melting and mixing it up in the lab” as I call it. It is a source of calm and of pride for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://susieqscrubs.square.site
- Instagram: @susieqscrubs
- Facebook: @susieqscrubs
- Linkedin: http://LinkedIn.com/in/mia-gamble-16115a68
