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I found something I finally am ready to start executing on!

Idea threads

Zooman009

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So…. About time for that weekly update. Cause I kinda committed to it.

Honestly, not much has happened once again. But I did talk to my college professor who is an entrepreneur himself and discussed the idea, and he actually pointed out a niche that I could target and advertise to. That was pretty neat.

I also read through the entirety of shoe dog which is a fantastic book.

And I bought a domain name which might be part of the circle jerk that MJ talks about, but I was able to get it for $15 for a year and I figured I should hop on it since it was a short and pretty recognizable name that I want to hang on to.

I haven’t built a website nor do I have a logo or any marketing out, but I’m still optimistic.

Next I think I’ll reach out to those Facebook groups to see what I can do.
 
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Zooman009

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Weekly Update

Alrighty. A couple relatively big things happened this last week.

First off, I ended up completely reformulating the balm to be all-natural and all organic. It smells great too. So far it's been working really well and I'm not complaining.

I managed to pack it and make a label mockup that I put on the tubes and I've gotten a few samples out to people.

I'm optimistic. This will get me closer to testimonials that I've been wanting to help with marketing.
 
D

DeletedUser84644

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We’ve had many conversations about how we want more people to have this but that would be very hard to share, and most of the time it would stop there. Until recently when we were talking, she mentioned that 90% of makeup in the USA comes from just a few labs. I had the thought that perhaps there would be something similar in the this product category, so I went looking.

Just the other day I found out that these do in fact exist and that I could have them make the product and bottle it and label it, then just send it to me.

Though I haven’t gotten super far, I found a few companies that specialize in organic products and other things like that, that will help me make the products. So I have been sending emails over there last few days to them to get quotes.
See that kind of highlights one of the biggest misconceptions budding entrepreneurs have about entrepreneurship, is that they think that they have to do absolutely EVERYTHING in house. Which is, quite far from the truth. There are very few companies in the world that can be anywhere close to remotely being able to actually do such a thing, not even some of the biggest companies like Apple (Where its Founder was known for having a big EGO with wanting to do as much in house as possible), does everything in house. Why? well because it's often way more efficient and cost effective for a company to outsource a particular business function to another business that is a specialist in that said business function. The degree to which things are done in house versus what's outsourced varies from company to company, but no company in the world has the ability do it all in house (Even if it looks like they do most of everything in house, they still have some minor things outsourced.) Even stuff as insignificant as office supplies are a clear good example of a necessary business function being outsourced (B/c it would just make no sense for a company to spend all of the time, resources, and money to manufacture them themselves when they can just pay a manufacture to do it for them).
 

Zooman009

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See that kind of highlights one of the biggest misconceptions budding entrepreneurs have about entrepreneurship, is that they think that they have to do absolutely EVERYTHING in house. Which is, quite far from the truth. There are very few companies in the world that can be anywhere close to remotely being able to actually do such a thing, not even some of the biggest companies like Apple (Where its Founder was known for having a big EGO with wanting to do as much in house as possible), does everything in house. Why? well because it's often way more efficient and cost effective for a company to outsource a particular business function to another business that is a specialist in that said business function. The degree to which things are done in house versus what's outsourced varies from company to company, but no company in the world has the ability do it all in house (Even if it looks like they do most of everything in house, they still have some minor things outsourced.) Even stuff as insignificant as office supplies are a clear good example of a necessary business function being outsourced (B/c it would just make no sense for a company to spend all of the time, resources, and money to manufacture them themselves when they can just pay a manufacture to do it for them).
Yeah! It's definitely been interesting as I realized I could avoid a lot of expenses up front because I don't need to build out my our facilities in order to get a good product out.
 
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Hanabi

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Hey @Zooman009,
I read through your post and I have a few concerns that I think you should consider regarding your product formulation, marketing, and dealing with the FDA. BTW, I'm a licensed esthetician(skincare expert).

When you said you reformulated the balm to be "all-natural" and "all-organic" and said it smells good, it's a sign to me that you have quite a few essential oils and fragrant compounds in the formulation. The problem with these ingredients is that they have been shown in scientific studies to cause serious adverse reactions - from allergic contact dermatitis, photosensitization, contact urticaria, and even difficulty breathing (Yikes! Especially since your balm is intended to be placed in? or around the nose?). You could be faced with lawsuits from consumers. I don't want you to go through that.
Here's the studies. Unfortunately, only physicians, scientists, academic students(my case) can have access to the full study. You can read the abstracts though.
Surprising, right? The wellness and "clean" cosmetics industries have perpetuated the belief that "natural","clean","organic" products are safer and better, when scientific evidence has shown otherwise.

My advice to you is to ditch your "organic" formulation and "organic" lab and find a cosmetic chemist and/or lab(ideally one that follows Good Manufacturing Practices, GMP) that's not associated with the "clean" cosmetics industry (more on this industry later). People that are on Accutane or have just gotten off of it have extremely sensitive skin, because the drug did an overhaul on the skin's physiological process. Ask your formulator to make the formulation geared for sensitive skin. Glycerin, Panthenol, Avena Sativa Kernel Extract, Petrolatum, and Squalane are examples of good ingredients for sensitive skin. You'll want a soothing, non-irritating, and simple formulation for sensitive skin.

In your marketing, you need to be extremely careful about not making drug claims, which you already know. That's good. The reason is if consumers report your brand to the FDA, you'll possibly have fines to pay. The FDA has examples of warning letters sent to brands on their site:
Take the time to read them and understand where brands messed up, so you won't make the same mistakes.
Avoid any claims stating "natural" and "organic" because they mean absolutely anything beneficial for the consumer. The FDA doesn't even have a standard for these claims:
If you do decide to use these claims, you'll align yourself with the "clean" cosmetics industry. What's wrong with them? They spread the most misinformation, use fear-mongering marketing tactics, anti-science, and have problematic products on the market. I don't think it's a smart decision for you to be in association with them.

Lastly, I think you should consult with a physician about the safety of applying cosmetics in the nose. Consider even reaching out to the physicians on the forum. Everything I advised you above for a formulation; I know those ingredients are safe and beneficial for sensitive skin. But for the mucous membranes in the nose, I don't know; this isn't my area of expertise. Talk to them before attempting to reformulate again. Best wishes.
 

Zooman009

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Hey @Zooman009,
I read through your post and I have a few concerns that I think you should consider regarding your product formulation, marketing, and dealing with the FDA. BTW, I'm a licensed esthetician(skincare expert).

When you said you reformulated the balm to be "all-natural" and "all-organic" and said it smells good, it's a sign to me that you have quite a few essential oils and fragrant compounds in the formulation. The problem with these ingredients is that they have been shown in scientific studies to cause serious adverse reactions - from allergic contact dermatitis, photosensitization, contact urticaria, and even difficulty breathing (Yikes! Especially since your balm is intended to be placed in? or around the nose?). You could be faced with lawsuits from consumers. I don't want you to go through that.
Here's the studies. Unfortunately, only physicians, scientists, academic students(my case) can have access to the full study. You can read the abstracts though.
Surprising, right? The wellness and "clean" cosmetics industries have perpetuated the belief that "natural","clean","organic" products are safer and better, when scientific evidence has shown otherwise.

My advice to you is to ditch your "organic" formulation and "organic" lab and find a cosmetic chemist and/or lab(ideally one that follows Good Manufacturing Practices, GMP) that's not associated with the "clean" cosmetics industry (more on this industry later). People that are on Accutane or have just gotten off of it have extremely sensitive skin, because the drug did an overhaul on the skin's physiological process. Ask your formulator to make the formulation geared for sensitive skin. Glycerin, Panthenol, Avena Sativa Kernel Extract, Petrolatum, and Squalane are examples of good ingredients for sensitive skin. You'll want a soothing, non-irritating, and simple formulation for sensitive skin.

In your marketing, you need to be extremely careful about not making drug claims, which you already know. That's good. The reason is if consumers report your brand to the FDA, you'll possibly have fines to pay. The FDA has examples of warning letters sent to brands on their site:
Take the time to read them and understand where brands messed up, so you won't make the same mistakes.
Avoid any claims stating "natural" and "organic" because they mean absolutely anything beneficial for the consumer. The FDA doesn't even have a standard for these claims:
If you do decide to use these claims, you'll align yourself with the "clean" cosmetics industry. What's wrong with them? They spread the most misinformation, use fear-mongering marketing tactics, anti-science, and have problematic products on the market. I don't think it's a smart decision for you to be in association with them.

Lastly, I think you should consult with a physician about the safety of applying cosmetics in the nose. Consider even reaching out to the physicians on the forum. Everything I advised you above for a formulation; I know those ingredients are safe and beneficial for sensitive skin. But for the mucous membranes in the nose, I don't know; this isn't my area of expertise. Talk to them before attempting to reformulate again. Best wishes.
Thanks a lot for reading and responding to this. That’s definitely something that I was worried about. As I’ve been working on it, I’ve wanted someone who actually had experience in the field to help me out, but haven’t had any luck with it. I’ve been slowly adjusting it, but you have some really good points.

I’ll look into all the sources that you referenced and I’ll consider adjusting what I’m using. For the most part I don’t intend on making any false claims and I fully intend on staying as transparent as possible about my products.

This has been an amazing journey, and I’m glad you’re helping me with it.
 

Hanabi

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Jan 22, 2022
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Thanks a lot for reading and responding to this. That’s definitely something that I was worried about. As I’ve been working on it, I’ve wanted someone who actually had experience in the field to help me out, but haven’t had any luck with it. I’ve been slowly adjusting it, but you have some really good points.

I’ll look into all the sources that you referenced and I’ll consider adjusting what I’m using. For the most part I don’t intend on making any false claims and I fully intend on staying as transparent as possible about my products.

This has been an amazing journey, and I’m glad you’re helping me with it.
I know you want to help people. You'll do good, and you'll be fine. If you have any questions about cosmetics, skin care, and the skincare industry, feel free to to reach out to me.
 
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Zooman009

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Well... I guess the whole weekly thing kind of died. But I've gotten to a finalized recipe that works quite well.

I am registered to go to at least one farmer's market this summer.

I'm freaking out and literally overthinking everything about this. I haven't even had a real chance to test it cause things like product photography scare me, or marketing baffels me.

Honestly it's definitely kind of rough because I know that there's no way that I will let myself get caught up in a normal carrier for my whole life, but I also struggle with getting some pretty bad anxiety when I'm about to reach out and actually try and put things in people's faces.

As much as I wish that this would be easy, I understand that it'll be a difficult path. But it really does turn out that selling something is a lot more than just having something to sell.

definitely pretty hard tho
 

Zooman009

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SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
I had my first-time selling at a farmer's market, and it went way better than expected!

After changing the claims on my product, I decided to change to advertising as just lip balm. More specifically, it's a lip balm for people with really dry and sensitive lips. That mostly got rid of my issues with nose stuff. Even though I often use it that way, I didn't want to make any dangerous claims that could end up hurting people.

The formula turned out incredibly smooth and easy to put on and I added scents for others with less sensitive lips as I thought it would attract more people. (it did). But I did keep the original plain mix for those who didn't want scents.

I ended up selling 96 tubes of lip balm in just the two days I had my booth, and both days were pretty slow because it's a lesser-known farmer's market! I totaled $367 in revenue, which was way higher than expected! Selling out of one of my scents, and nearly sold out of 2 more of the 6 scents that I brought.

But above all, the thing that paid the most (at least emotionally) is that a wonderful lady went onto my website from one of my business cards and left a note telling me that she's struggled to find a lip balm that works well for her and her daughters extremely sensitive lips, and my stuff is the first stuff that's actually helped her!

Considering this whole event was just market validation, I'm really optimistic! I really think I just need to improve my website and try to build a presence online so that I can sell to more people who might need it. I'm also looking into selling at small local shops that might let me have some shelf space, to see if retail might work!

Honestly, this has been amazing! I hope you all have a great day!
 

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