Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal care but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Noëlle Smith, Owner of Ellenoire, located in Dundas, ON, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
At Natural Beauty Company, we hand-make natural baths, body hair, and home care products. We also have a naturally curly hair salon inside our boutique.
We sell in a brick-and-mortar boutique and online via three websites. Our customers are primarily women aged 25–55.
Tell us about yourself
I’m a 56-year-old mixed-race woman. I started my company out of my house 28 years ago. I started making my natural beauty products and handmade perfume in high school. Still, I started my company when I was 28 years old.
I enjoy helping people believe they deserve to feel like they love what they see in the mirror. If that means they only use a simple skincare routine that makes their skin feel amazing, a full face of makeup, or a practical hair routine, I aim to meet people where they are and never try to change them.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment as a business owner is simply that I have managed to keep my company open through many family health problems, including my experience with breast cancer, many issues with landlords and location changes, two recessions, COVID-19 closures, etc. It’s been 28 years full of many struggles, but I am still open!
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Staff. Plain and simple. Finding trustworthy, hardworking staff is the hardest thing.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Do your research about how saturated your market is.
- Make sure you have access to financing to get you through at least a year (or keep your day job until your sales are high enough to justify quitting your job).
- Be prepared to be lonely, scared, overwhelmed, and overworked. And decide if your happiness in your chosen passion is worth trading for.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://ellenoire.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ellenoire
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellenoiredundas/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ellenoire
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellenoire/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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