I knew her personally and knew her size and what she liked in scents but I’d never asked either of them to buy my products.  I filled his request and when he picked it up he was with another male friend who saw it and liked it.  He asked me if I’d prepare a gift similar to the one our friend had picked up for his wife.

Of course I did. My first dollar turned out to be  $250 and that’s because lingerie was added to the mix.  It was a creative move on my part because I knew that there wives liked my lingerie and the bath salts along with a body wash (hand made label) and a non traditional container were the key.  Each of them had to pay me $125  for the contents and my creativity.  These were special containers and time and energy went into the creation of the gift.

Did I celebrate?  You bet I did.  I knew then that I could sell beauty products.  We’ve discontinued the lingerie because I learned that I had a passion for beauty products.  Skin care has become my focus and love.

So when you make your first dollar, jump for joy.  This will be the beginning of learning how to scale your business to the point of making thousands, even millions.  Estee Lauder did!!

To Your Success!

Juliette & Robert

The Internet is just a tool used to market your beauty business.  You will need to learn how to write a headline, how to use bullets, how to write an Ad for print and the Internet and you will have to resolve yourself to being an ongoing student for the rest of your life.

This is no joke.  Without knowledge of what business you’re in, how to market it and how to use the many avenues available to sell your product to your clients, you will certainly perish.  However you commute to and from work, exercise class or the grocery store, your automobile should become a University on Wheels for you.  Music has it’s place in the spa but as far as your car or train commute is concerned, this time should be spent learning how to run your business effectively.

Once you learn a body of knowledge, take action and implement it.  This puts you ahead in the game of business.  To learn a body of knowledge is great but to act on what you’ve learned is smart.

It’s been said that in sports, the best athletes arrive early and leave long after the other team mates are gone.  It shows in their skills on the court and is reflected in the amount of money they are paid.  Would you like to become the best paid entrepreneur in your field?

Education and Implementation are the keys that set you a part from the rest of the players. Education equals learning what plays you need to know.  Implementation is practicing and executing the plays and strategies long after everyone else has given up.

To Your Success,

Juliette & Robert

A referral can mean nothing.  People who’ve done work without a hitch are all of a sudden not responding to emails and phone calls and have taken money from collegues not to be heard from again.  Not only have these vendors walked off with their money but they’ve walked away with their time and energy.  Don’t allow your time and energy to be drained.

If you’ve set milestone/deadliness with a vendor, stick to them.  If the vendor has not delivered by the first deadline, cancel the job because they are not going to get any better.  Let people that you are considering hiring know that you work on deadlines and time lines.  If they can’t work within the structure of what you’ve set up they’ll move on.

Your time is worth money but money you can almost always get back.  You can Never get time back.

To Your Success,

Juliette & Robert

I was talking with a collegue that’s an accupunturist and she was telling my husband and I about the stress levels that entrepreneurs go through.  She was explaining the importance of protecting your heart, your spleen and your adrenals.  They control the energy of the body.  When the organs are experiencing stress or we are experiencing fear we can bring trauma to our organs causing damage and stress to them thereby draining the energy level in our body.

Well by the time she finished, I was ready to eat dirt and grass.  Our children already tell us this is what we eat but I didn’t want any added stress to what already exist.

She mentioned taking naps during the day.  Well my great grandmothers used to take naps during the day and they were born in the 1800’s and lived to be 85 and 103 years old.  I knew them a long time in my life before they made their transition to the other side.  As children we think of naps for Old People.  Well I don’t consider myself as ‘Old’ but I ‘ll bet a nap or two becomes part of my schedule.

A nap during the day helps to increase your energy and protects your heart.  My collegue also mentioned exercising morning and afternoon, not eating after 7:00 p.m and turning the television off by 9:00 p.m.  Why?  Because the television brings in negative energy to the spirit.  I’m not trying to get woo woo on you but when’s the last time you heard something positive from the evening news?

The bottom line, even though we are entrepreneurs and run businesses from home or outside of our homes, we are in need of finding the simple things in life.  Grow your business at a pace that doesn’t place unnecessary stress on you.  In all of your scheduling and planning, include walking and afternoon naps.  Set a time for doing business, 7:30-3:30, 8-4, 9-5, 10-6, and when your cut off time comes, shut everything down.  This allows you to have a life and gives you a fresh mental attitude when you return the next day.  More importantly it lifts the added pressure of draining you of energy that allows you to have a more healthy lifestyle.

To Your Success,

Juliette & Robert

Keep your attention on the questions that your market might have, paying particular attention to the problems that they might have.  If a number of people come out with the same problems or challenges, you’ll know for certain how to address them and how to provide a solution for them.  This is how you will come out with products and services that will virtually sell themselves.

Make it your business to visit these sites at least three times a week so that you can stay on top of your market and their concerns. You can do a keyword search for blogs at:

• www.blogsearchengine.com
• www.technorati.com

For discussion forums and groups you can search:

• http://groups.google.com
• http://groups.msn.com
• http://groups.yahoo.com
• www.forumgarden.com

Social networking sites such as:

• www.myspace.com
• www.facebook.com
• www.meetup.com

So get started and see what you can come up with for your business and let us know what you find.

To Your Success,

Juliette & Robert

The awakening came when I was attending a seminar and the moderator said to us, “I don’t care what product you’re selling, you are in the business of marketing and metrics.”  Well this was not creative at all to me, after all I sold beauty products and I wanted someone else to take care of the marketing and metrics.  Fortunately for me, my husband is a genius at marketing and metrics and I could depend on him 100% to keep these things in check for our business.

As our business began to grow I realized that I’d better step up my game and join him on the side of marketing and metrics.  It’s what you don’t know that could hurt you.  I had the creative side down to a science and since this is what I’ve done for over 15 years, I could step back and allow the children to begin their reign as entrepreneurs.  They’ve worked with us since they were youngsters.

The business of marketing and metrics places you in a very powerful position.  When you know your numbers … what it cost you to acquire a customer, what’s your return on that investment, what your net net net profit is on a given product, what kind of margin you have on a product, how many units you need to sell in order to reach your sales goal …whew!  And these are just the basics.

But here is what we’re never taught about business when we go to consultants or workshops/seminars, basic math will give you every number you need.  Business is often made to seem more complex than it really is but if you can add, multiply, divide and subtract … you can run your business.  And for peaks sake don’t let go of your common sense.  If that little voice tells you to get another opinion before you make a final decision, do it!  You might come back to where you were but at least you’ll have peace of mind when you do.

And as for marketing, if you don’t let people know that you have a product for sale, it’s not going to leave your shelf by osmosis.   Early in my career, I read a book by a man named Joe Girard  called How to Sell Anything To Anybody.  He sold Chevrolet’s.  His premise was that if you came within three feet of him you were going to know he had  cars to sell.

One of his examples in his book was that of him attending a football game and every time a team scored a touch down or there was any type of excitement, he’d throw up a hand full of business cards.  He’d do this until he’d covered the entire stadium.  He figured the business cards were cheap enough at so many thousand for a few bucks, that it was a good form of advertising.

It never failed.  Every time he did this, someone would show up at his dealership looking for him and tell him they got his card at a football game and that they were in the market for a car.  Point being, he made himself known with his cards and he figured the number of walk ins he’d get from his visit to the stadium and  the number that purchased was worth his investment in time and money.

Some of you might feel that this is a bit pushy but the next time you’re watching your favorite program on TV, count the number of times you see a given product advertised.  Are they being pushy or are they making you aware of the product they’re selling?  It’s all in how you perceive it.  You set the perception that your customers have of you.  You’re not being pushy, are you?  You’re just making them aware of what you sell.

So, what business are you in?  You got it!  Marketing and Metrics.  Without these components, you have no business.

To Your Success,

Juliette & Robert

juliette10408@gmail.com

We’ve learned over the years that all of these Essentials have proven to be true.  For now we will list them as they were given to us.  Don’t panic, as you begin your Education in Marketing Online, you will come to understand the position for each of them as you grow.

1. SEO-Search Engine Optimization
2. PPC- Pay Per Click Advertising
3. Copy Writing
4. Analytics/Conversion Testing
5. Email Follow-Up Marketing
6. Joint Ventures & Affiliates
7. Blogging
8. Social Media

In time we will talk in detail about the importance of each of these essential elements in marketing your online beauty business.

To Your Success,

Juliette & Robert

Much like a flu virus, OK not the best analogy but you get the idea, these methods allow you and more importantly your clients and followers to spread the word about you and your product or service.

It’s like word of mouth, they tell two friends and they’ll tell two friends and they’ll tell two friends and before you know it  the internet or atleast your social circle on the internet, is buzzing with news of your new product, venture or what ever it is that you want a buzz about.

Twitter gives you 140 characters to work your magic.   So when you click the share button for Twitter, your message should not be about your trip to Whole Foods unless you’re telling us about meeting the manager of a Spa Boutique who’s interested in carrying your line of beauty products and Then, you send us to your blog post detailing the adventure.

What Does Whole Foods, A Spa Boutique and Little Ole Me Have in Common?  I’d bite.  But I’m not interested in how long it took you to get to Whole Foods from Your House.

Make every word count  whether it’s Twitter, Facebook or MySpace … when you spread the word or set it in motion …make it count.

To Your Success,

Robert & Juliette

Trying to get an Education on how to sell your product on the internet can be so overwhelming that you’ll wonder why you chose this medium.  It’s one of the best forms of media to use when you want to promote what you’re selling but before you can effectively sell your product using the internet you must Educate yourself on how to use it.

You’ll have to learn how the internet works,  Why google is used for search, how that search can help you know what to sell and how to sell what you’ve found in your search.

You’ve heard that Twitter and Facebook are the place to be.  But why is it the place to be?  How can they help you Market your business.  That’s right Market.  Here’s another word you’ll need to understand, Marketing.  Without Marketing, you have no business.  No matter what business you think you’re in, you’re actually in the business of Marketing  XYZ product.

What ever you  don’t know, it’s OK.  The key is in knowing what you need to know, learn that body of knowledge and this will be the beginning of the Education you’ll need to run your Beauty Business.

To Your Success,

Juliette & Robert

juliette@beautybusinessblueprint.com

People go bad.  They can have some issues in their  personal life and by the time you get them, their work is shoddy.  Vendors have been recommended to us, sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t.

Time is money.  If you find yourself in a situation where you’re faced with losing time and  money, cut your loses.  Forget paying up front for anything.  Negotiate paying any money up front.  Pay as little as you can up front and see what happens.  Set milestones, release the money as a certain amount of the work is done.  Always pay by credit card.  If the person you’ve hired doesn’t pan out to be as reputable as you hoped,  you can always do a charge back.

If you’re going to run a serious business long term, outsourcing is definitely going to be a part of your business and trying to find a good referral  can sometimes be challenging.  Treat every project as an individual project.  Never mind what was done for you 3 months ago, I’ll say it again-”People Change”.

Not everyone is incompetent or lacks integrity.  We’ve found some great people to outsource work to.  Make it very clear upfront what you want done and in what time line you want it done.  If the person you’ve hired begins to miss deadlines, cut the job short, right then.

So when you find yourself faced with needing to outsource work in order to run your business effectively:

• Check the referrals that might be given to you

• Get references and follow up with a phone call.

• Make it clear what job you want done. Set milestones for each job.

• Who says’ you have to smile when someone approaches your door, take a no nonsense approach.  They’re there to do the work not have a cup of tea.
• Set milestones for the work you want done- pay as portions of the job are done.
• Always negotiate the deposit, give as little up front as possible.

We’ve done other post on outsourcing and this one won’t be the last.  As we continue to learn and have experiences we’ll share them with you and would welcome you to share your experiences with us.  We have a tendency to feel that we are the only ones going through a certain situation or challenge, this is not true.  Your experiences can change someones  life and their experiences can change yours.

To Your Success,

Juliette & Robert