Why Small Businesses are Beautiful

Small Skin Care Businesses

Let's talk about small businesses, whatever name you give them.

It's something I have had lots of time to think about.

To some people, small is a bit of an unknown. 

You don't quite know what you are going to get.

Are they any good?

Am I going to get what I paid for?

I've never heard of these people - can I trust them?

These are all valid concerns which I completely get.

I spend my time espousing a different view.

Or course I am biased - but hear me out - I think with good reasons.

For most of us that run small businesses something a little different is going on behind the scenes.

There's usually a crazy busy stressed person on a roller coaster ride of great highs (when a customer writes a testimonial thanking you for helping them feel good about themselves) and great lows -  am I going to be able to pay the bills this month and shall I make more face cream or should I stop for dinner,  (usually the face cream wins).

I passionately think that small businesses make a positive difference.

Especially in the world of beauty where the industry is dominated by big players, whose businesses are built around scale and profit.

I don't necessarily believe this is wrong.

It just depends on whether answering to shareholders and delivering a profit is at the expense (no pun intended) of  looking after your customers.

Based on what I see, sometimes the answer is yes.

This is at odds with how I run my small business - and most others I think.

Here are some alternative words that resonate with me when I think about small businesses.

Independent. Community. Entrepreneurial. Innovative. Tailored Experience. Flexible. Creative. Adaptable.

And 3 reasons why I believe small businesses are worth your time.

1 - A Business With A Face

How many times have you had sense of humour failure when trying to speak to a real person to get help (or even the same person twice). 

A small business loves their customers and will bend over backwards to help them. 

My favourite thing is talking to my customers and helping them find beauty products that will make their soul sing.

You are the centre of our world, as a customer. Yes you right there. 

There is nothing more important than you. 

I can sometimes get distracted by that new plant oil for my next new product - but it always comes back to you. 

You are not a number on a sales report, a faceless person to be parted from their cash. 

Every small business owner I know wants to stroke and pamper you so you feel valued - as you should be.

2 - Small Beauty Businesses and Trust.

Let's talk about the tricky question of trust. 

Especially when buying something you are going to put on your skin. 

A small business is exactly that. 

You won't likely find us on the first page of Google.  

We probably won't have a gazillion reviews (which may or not be fake). 😦

Though I  am very proud of our 1000+ 5 star reviews (and all of them from real customers!) 

I know a lot of small business owners,  and I know from my own experience and theirs that our world revolves around our customers.

When a customer of mine explained why they trusted me more than a large well known beauty brand, their candid explanation was that they figured that the large brand could be sparing with the truth and their promises and likely nothing would happen - but if I did the same I would go out of business. 

And it's a fair point.  Myself and every small business owner I knows pours all their energies into building trust so they can help more customers.

3 - Small Beauty Businesses and Priorities

There is something beautiful about being small and being master of your own ship. 

I've been approached multiple times by investors, all keen to 'help me' build my business. 

But I have found their idea of help a little different to mine.

A drive on increasing margins.

Selling more units.

Marketing to a new huge audience.

Instead, I find that being small allows me to hold hands with my customer and listen to what they want.

It allows me to make decisions about what products I come out with - based on what they love.

It allows me to craft hand made, gorgeous, pampering skin treats with the most exquisite ingredients.

And I like it that way.

In a 2017 report on the cosmetics industry, Deloitte found that, “small is the new big,” noting that, “global brands are losing share as small brands and disruptors are gaining. Forbes.com