We were lucky to catch up with Robin McDonald recently and have shared our conversation below.
Appreciate you joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.
“Never use your own money to start a business” is something I’ve heard over and over again. But had I waited for an interested venture capitalist group, I may never have begun the process of building my own company. At 60, I risked my personal savings to not only start a “business” but as an investment in my self-worth, my autonomy, and my passion for creating beautiful, aromatic, effective, sustainable, and cruelty-free skincare for everyone.
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?
To support my acting career, I went into the other industry I loved, which was skincare. I’d worked in restaurants like so many other actors for years. I was a bartender, a waitress, a hostess, a dishwasher – seriously, you name it. So when I was offered a receptionist job at Ole Henriksen, the famous Hollywood skincare salon, I jumped at it and within a couple of years, I had my esthetician’s license. At Ole’s, the celebrity clientele was a given. We were the only game in town for years and that’s where I garnered an amazing clientele of not only A-listers but people who just loved facials. The working girls, like myself, who saved up to take care of themselves and walk out feeling like a star. It was at Ole’s that I became interested in the formulation of clean, natural products and after over two decades of being in the room, I retired and began creating my own Organic Cactus Oil -based skincare, KINDri. KINDri stands for, kind to the skin, kind to the earth, and cruelty-free skincare of high integrity.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
I think people mostly respect honesty and a real dialogue from a company. Because we are a hand-poured, small-batch line, the chances of running out of components can happen, I found that simply reaching out without delay and communicating with customers personally is key. Many of our customers will send emails thanking us for replying immediately and for our candor when things go sideways.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
We are constantly reminded that our industry is saturated with indie beauty brands. To that, I like the quote about resilience from the actress Ruth Gordon, who said “Never give up, and never, under any circumstances, face the facts.”
Contact Information:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @KINDri_skincare
- Facebook: KINDri Los Angeles
- YouTube: @KINDri Los Angeles Vegan Skincare https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKZG1xiaTANxfU8n6RJv6eA
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