Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in natural body care but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Nathan Kelly, founder of Nate Personal Care Inc, located in Squamish, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We are NATE Grooming.
A Squamish founded startup with a small team of eager conscious beings who delivered on a vision of innovating a product we use every day that hadn't seen a significant update in years, deodorant. Over 3 billion single-use plastic deodorant sticks are NOT recycled each year! From packaging, to un-performing ingredients and scents we were ready to do it better... After 2 years in development during the most eye-opening time of our lives, we confidently launched our genderless line of advanced natural deodorant + upscale scents in our patent-pending refillable packaging that greatly reduces single-use plastic waste. Our passion for not only the nature around us but the nature within us has allowed us to create a product line that is healthier for both ourselves and our planet.
Grocery store-bought deodorant will do its job but we believe a quality product should satisfy on many levels. The weight, the look, packaging, proportions, ingredients, scents, and texture all must come together. To bring this product to market, required us to face many challenges from designing our sustainable packaging to formulating a natural deodorant with new advanced technology.
The persona, natural ingredients, and upscale scents found within our brand are simply an extension of who we are and what we believe in. Designing our deodorant line is only the beginning of what is to come!
Tell us about yourself
Ever since I was a kid I enjoyed the entrepreneurial journey. I grew up more as a misfit and outcast. The skateboard punk if you will... I was okay with that, and I found my people through it. School didn't exactly come easy to me and I often was distracted due to the immense amount of ADHD I had. I quickly realized that traditional schooling wasn't designed for me and that's probably one of the main reasons that I focussed more on self-education and business. Ever since I was a kid I had little side hustles that put some good cash in my pocket and kept me busy. As I grew older I had some jobs here and there but by the time I hit 20, I was back into business. I went on to grow a company in the property service industry and sold it when I was 28.
This company was something I was prepping myself for in a way. I had always wanted to create a product and brand that could be loved globally. Something that could positively affect millions of lives. This company was founded with the intent of disrupting a product category that needed an update but also to make a positive impact. I am motivated by the things I am passionate about. The biggest motivation each day is hearing how much people love our product. There's nothing that can top that satisfaction for me. Making people happy with what we create and enhancing lives and the place around us is why we do it.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Being able to start a business at 20 and selling it for a healthy profit at age 28. It also feels humbly satisfying to be able to employ people to share the vision with and provide steady income that sustains lives from something I incepted. That feels hella good too.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
One of the hardest things is trying to always make the best decisions every day as they impact the company as a whole and the entire team. I must say I do love the challenges though and it makes for every day to be interesting.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
1. Find something that you are really passionate about or you will eventually quit
2. Don't wait too long too to take the leap and start or you'll never start.
3. Embrace hard learning curves, that's when you grow the most.
4. Really understand what you are great at within your business, focus on that, and find other specialists for the things in your business that you aren't excited about or good at.
Anything else you'd like to share?
We appreciate your interest in us and thank you for taking the time to learn more about Nate Grooming. Sincerely, Nate Kelly
Where can people find you and your business?
https://www.instagram.com/nategrooming/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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