Driving the Business: Beauty Brands & Entrepreneurship

Understanding the role of public relations as part of a beauty brand's marketing mix is a tough and sometimes confusing topic. What is PR? How is it different than other forms of advertising? What should I expect when I hire a PR agent or team? Well I've got a veteran in the space who is here to answer these questions and how beauty brands can successfully approach PR. Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw is an agency owner with more than a decade of experience supporting both large and indie beauty brands. You need this info in your life!

Check out Stephanie on Instagram @StephScottRocks and her company @FirstAndLastPR.

As part of every beauty brand experience you are going to receive customer complaints about your product. As an owner or someone who works in customer service you should get ahead of the issue by having a process for handling the issues as they come in. Don't let someone else's concern or anger set you up to be sued and manipulated out of money. I'm shelling out 8 quick tips that can be implemented today to save you $ and peace of mind. Enjoy!

The REALITY is that Black women founders are getting a dismal 0.002% of all venture funding. Hear what beauty brand founder Kim Roxie decided to do when she found out this startling statistic while also working to pivot her own color cosmetics line - LAMIK Beauty.

We get REAL and talk about what it was like for Kim to shut down her store in order to pivot. Her quest for education and participation in multiple accelerators has given Kim a new level of confidence and fire to not only fuel her own business but to help other Black women business owners.

Her story is soooo compelling and one that should resonate with any business owner who has ever had to ask for money to start or grow their business. Kim is knee deep in the fight with her own crowd sourcing campaign designed to bring other Black women (and people who support them) to the forefront of business ownership.

Find out more about Kim's campaign at iFundWomen.com

Kim Roxie can be found on Instagram & Facebook @LAMIKbeauty and @thekimroxie

I sat down with Craig Brimm who has successfully managed a creative career spanning two decades in the advertising world. Craig has created content for many titans in the industry like McDonald's and Toyota while also curating TV and ad campaigns for many of the largest beauty brands. We talk how the role of the ad agency has shifted, how he has managed moving in and out of full-time entrepreneurship, what it's like having his wife as a business partner and how he manages the chaos of life.

This is a new episode formatting I'm trying out. Life reflections that may or may not be directly related to the beauty business or entrepreneurship but are reflections that have proven immensely valuable for me in navigating this thing called adulting. In this episode I'm reflecting on how I have handled the big problems of life and embracing that there is no easy way out, no cheat sheet and no savior that's ever coming to "save" me. It's a hard pill to swallow but there is complete magic in embracing this truth. Hope you enjoy.

Get ready to have the FIRE brought to you in this one. I talked my way into an interview with one of the industry's busiest, most celebrated hair stylist and salon owners - Pekela Riley. She is teaching a MASTER CLASS in this discussion on her journey in the beauty industry.

We get insight into the curvy road that's led to her success and how hard work combined with humility have been her secret weapon. Hearing the strategy she took from turning her salon Salon Pk from a booth rent environment to a commission based salon where stylist make 6 figures is MIND BLOWING and worth your attention. Pekela also shares how she has landed a celebrity clientele of people like Gabrielle Union, Regina King & ISSA RAE into her hands with her signature styling.

Her book recommendation is Unfuck Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Life by Gary John Bishop. Follow Pekela on Instagram @PekelaRiley and her salon @SalonPK.

19 years of selling beauty products at live events and trade shows and I have the inside cheat sheet for you. This episode is filled with tangible tactics that you can execute and realize the kind of long term revenue that you should get from investing in a trade show. See how products sales, discounts and free giveaways play into your success. There is a real soap box moment here on why I HATE giving away free samples at trade shows. Hear why. Finally I lay out your email marketing strategy and how you can win the long game with a little pre-planning and prompt execution.

It's been way too long! But I'm back in the studio and ready to help you drive the business. First thing...let's catch up on life and what's been happening with me the last few months. In this catch up episode I talk about the insanity of running my own small, growing business; how celebrating small customer victories keeps me AMPED UP; and how the song Baby Shark saved my life last weekend. Plus, no matter where you are in your beauty journey I share why right now is the PERFECT time to start or kick your business into high gear. I've missed you gals/guys and am looking forward to kicking these next batch of episodes off.