We were lucky to catch up with Natalie Rodeniser recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Natalie, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the best thing you’ve ever seen (or done yourself) to show a customer that you appreciate them?

While I can talk about the nitty-gritty of business backend or how I came to start my business, the most important part of it all is our amazing customers, whom we get to serve. I have worked in customer service my entire career and so when I decided to start Lux & Lye LLC, I knew I wanted our customers to be the foundation of all we do. Our customers help to shape who we are and what we make. Because of that, we make sure to give back to our customers and community for supporting our small brand.

Some of the greatest ways we can show our appreciation to our customers is through excellent customer service, via our website, email, social media, and in-person interactions. We aim to respond to each inquiry as soon as possible. When a customer decides to order from us, we take the extra steps to make their order feel like a special treat, with thoughtful packaging, handwritten cards, and free samples of other products we think our customers would enjoy as a small token of our appreciation.

Natalie, 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?

Lux & Lye started with a passion for clean, natural skincare without the marked-up luxury pricing, for those of us who prefer a simple routine. We wanted to create an intentional product line of everyday items that would deeply nourish and gently cleanse the skin. Whether you start and end your day using our products, you can feel relaxed by the natural scents, and your skin feeling refreshed and hydrated.

At Lux & Lye we formulate artisan bar soaps, lip balms, body butters, and a facial care line to help wash away the stress of your day while making sure to give your skin nourishment with raw plant-based butters and oils.

Not only are our products simply luxurious, but we also build into our brand an emphasis on exceptional customer service as well as community service. With every purchase made, we donate profits to a local non-profit, Western Youth Network, and donate to Eco-Soap Bank. We are passionate about serving our customer base and our community and we are thankful to be able to use our business to do so!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

There have been many times where life and business have thrown a curve ball and I have had to adjust my vision and goals for my brand. However, the most notable is when I was surprised with my first pregnancy. I was coming up on a full year in business with Lux & Lye and getting ready to run headfirst into the pre-holiday rush to manufacture and gain leads on wholesale accounts. When I found out I was pregnant I knew some things would change but did not know how difficult it would be to manage a business while being sick for several months in a row.

Not only was I having to plan around the holidays, but we were also in the process of launching a new product line. While the pregnancy made us pivot our plans with the brand, we have been able to continue working towards growing Lux & Lye while crafting intentional skincare for our naturally beautiful customers. And now I have the added experience of using our incredible skincare products throughout my pregnancy to nourish and hydrate my sensitive, growing skin!

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

When we first decided to create a skincare company with our previous brand, we chose to self-fund, instead of relying on credit cards and business loans. Over the few years of our previous brand, we were able to grow from our initial investment, allowing our business to fund itself. We are so thankful that we then were able to make a larger move by doing a complete rebrand of our business to increase the quality of packaging and branding with the funds our previous brand brought in. We are still choosing to grow our business with the business itself, instead of relying on outside capital to maintain the business. This gives us much more freedom to run and grow the business we want, and our customers need while remaining resilient during economically challenging seasons.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://luxandlye.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luxandlye/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089533767049

Image Credits
Riley Corrine: Scodioli Creative Rylee Rosenthal: Rylee Rose Photography