We recently connected with Tracey Lucke and have shared our conversation below.

Tracey, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

When asked about our success, we always point the finger at God. We would not be here today without His will and mercy. With that being said, your personal drive is just as important. Starting a business is not for the weak, there are many long nights, even longer days, problems to work through, employees to manage, social media to keep up with, and the list goes on and on. You can’t slack in any of the areas because all are equally important. While the work can be tiresome at times, it is always so worth it to see what you created grow.

So if I had to pick one thing that drives success, it would be a dream and a drive. It’s taking your dream and actively making the decision and taking the steps to make it a reality, every day. Never forget where you started and your “why”. Keep on the path, even when you’re tired. Make sure you’re ready for the ride, because once you make that call, your life is going to change for the better.

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?

I, Tracey, started in the cosmetics industry when my daughter Carmella (known as Mel) began getting acne at age 10. We tried so many products that never worked, and honestly, after researching the ingredients in them I was not comfortable with my young child putting that all over her face. I knew there had to be a cleaner solution, but I couldn’t find one. With that, I decided to be the solution.

After word got out, I began selling these products to locals. We just kept growing from there. Then, in March of 2019 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. This diagnosis surely did turn our world upside down. Mel, determined to not let her mother’s dream die took over during my treatments. She was only 16 years old, so while going to school, taking me to treatments, and trying to be a normal teenager, she was now running a business. And above all else, this diagnosis was fuel to our fire of providing clean skincare. Before graduating high school, Mel decided to change her college major to business and become a partner in MelMarie. We’ve been running the business together ever since!

We offer a full line of skincare, body care, hair care and more! We even have a Men’s line. Our biggest accomplishment to date is the Magni-Chill: a magnesium product. It has been so amazing to here the success stories of people using it! Many people are magnesium deficient, so simply adding it back to the body can have so many benefits to your overall health. So much so that this product made its debut on November 29th, 2024, and by December 31st, 2024 it was our highest selling product for the year. It truly has skyrocketed even up to this point. I have a feeling it will always be our biggest seller! Heidi says, “I have tried many magnesium products, and they dried out my skin or just didn’t work. This one works great! I sleep better and it even helps my restless legs!! Definitely a MUST HAVE!!!!”

Of course our goal is to bring clean skincare to as many people as possible while keeping it both effective and affordable. But our mission runs so much deeper than that. Our biggest thing by far is helping women grow in their confidence, because confidence helps us to face challenges with a positive attitude, even if that challenge for some is just getting through the day. There is nothing better than hearing someone say that they feel good in their own skin. We all deserve to feel that feeling, and we will keep working until we reach as many people as possible. We truly want to help everyone “love your skin more”.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Maintaing a high morale throughout our workplace is one of the most important things to us. We believe a good attitude and being surrounded by positivity increases both confidence and productivity. I will always recommend encouraging an open and honest communication style amonst all people in the workplace. This often comes first from leadership. We have found that when we are open and honest, even when it’s not an easy topic, our employees follow suit. This way, no one is carrying around work related negativity that can affect their relationships and productivity.

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

This business actually started as Simply Homespun, where I made home decor, was melts, room sprays, and other home care products. When we introduced the skincare upon Mel’s acne, that is what took off. We tried to hold onto the was melts and room sprays even as MelMarie Skincare for as long as we could, but the bigger we grew, the more we had to refine. Although we still loved the home care side of it, we knew it was time to let go and put our sole focus into skincare. With more time devoted to the skincare we have been able to scale and grow it even further.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://melmarieskincare.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melmarieskincare
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melmarieskincare
• Other: Tik Tok: @melmarieskincare