We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Stacy Stephenson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Stacy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I spent many years making my own skin products, often times as gift baskets for friends. After being approached by several friends and relatives over and over for these baskets so they could give them as gifts, I felt empowered to try actually making a business out of it. At that point, I started my journey of trial and error, research and development, maturing and growth as a creative business owner. The journey from making custom, single batch items to having a cohesive and consistent product line has been both a challenge and a reward. I have enjoyed meeting customers and fellow artisans who value quality ingredients and a handmade aesthetic.

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?

Most of my childhood, I was plagued with persistent skin issues and pretty much grew up not being able to use most of the popular commercial skin care items. In and out of dermatologists offices with no real answers, I finally saw an allergist and discovered I had sensitivities and allergies to many ingredients found in commercial skin products like soaps, lotions, and scrubs. Eliminating my exposure to these products/ingredients resolved my skin issues almost immediately. I finally knew what was causing my discomfort! Now I had to find an alternative to what was commercially available.

Growing up in a household where we routinely bought & grew herbs, used natural oils and butters for all sorts of uses, I knew I could make natural body products. It was not a novel idea, but rather just a way of life. This led me to creating some basic products that I could use without issue, while still caring for my skin. Over time, I embarked on a journey to learn more about these natural methods of skin care and how to make products that I would want to use. That research emboldened me to expand what types of products I could make and what ingredients and fragrances were available. I also found that I could really let my artistic instinct/flair shine in the choices I make when manufacturing my products. I can select the colors, designs, fragrance blends, and aesthetic that I enjoy and revel in the positive feedback I get for those decisions and efforts.

One of the things that I genuinely enjoying doing in my business is sharing what I have learned with my customers about the benefits of natural ingredients compared to synthetic materials and how to approach certain conditions/concerns. Since I continue to research and learn what customers want to see in this sector, I can often generate a recipe or new product that embodies both the features customers want and my commitment to using natural ingredients. Some of my most popular products are the direct outcome of this research and feedback. Having someone message me on social media or meet me at an in-person event and tell me how much my products helped them or a loved one is always a warming moment!

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

I had a basic understanding of some elements of the manufacturing process for some skin care products, but I had to learn a lot more in order to be at the level of proficiency I currently have. Extensive research and a long period of trial and error is behind every product I offer today. For example, hand made soap follows a pretty standard process but you have myriad decision points which all have their pros and cons. Moisturizers, like lotions and creams, are a more nuanced process that can be difficult to master which is one the products I am most proud of.

Finding reliable vendors with a consistent inventory and an attractive price point is an ongoing area that requires attention. I have a handful of go-to vendors for raw materials or packaging, but when I am working on a new product (or a variation of an existing one) I often have to find a new vendor that carries what I need. I like to try several vendors in order to have a list of places to obtain materials/packaging in the event my primary choice is out of stock or has increased prices beyond my current target per item manufacturing cost.

The most important lessons I have learned along the way about manufacturing my own products are: research your recipe/ingredients before purchasing anything to ensure you know what you are getting and why; cost out your recipe before manufacturing to ensure what you are making will be at a price point/markup you think the market will accept; once you make the product, you need to test it extensively so that you can explain it to your customers and trust its effectiveness; and when possible, buy your materials/packaging in bulk to reduce per-item cost as well as ordering frequency.

How did you build your audience on social media?

In order to grow my social media audience, I made a concerted effort to post multiple times per day for a six-month period. I created a large amount of content, edited, and scheduled the posts in advance. I set reminders/alarms for myself to post in the morning, the afternoon, the evening, and late night. I used various platforms/apps for the content generation, and posted to multiple social media platforms. Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube were my primary outlets. This effort increased my follower count from a few hundred to over 10,000!. Another effort I made was to offer free samples at in-person events for anyone that followed my business Instagram or signed up for my e-mail newsletter. Consistency is really the main driver for increasing my social media audience. I watched the trends on those platforms, and used the trending audio of the day/week/month, and filmed every step of my manufacturing process. Every time I made a recipe, I recorded it. I took footage of mixing, bottling, labeling, sealing, even the online order packing/shipping. Everything can be content, even if it feels mundane to you – someone else may be fascinated by it.

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Image Credits
Photos taken by Stacy Stephenson