Latest / The Confident Entrepreneur With Jennifer Ann Johnson / Building a Beauty Brand with Ginger King

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Building a Beauty Brand with Ginger King · The Confident Entrepreneur With Jennifer Ann Johnson

• 0:36
  Jennifer Johnson: The beauty industry is a multi-billion dollar powerhouse, dominated by big names and legacy brands, but in recent years, we've seen a surge of innovative, independent beauty brands, shaking up the status quo.
• 0:48
  Jennifer Johnson: These brands are often led by passionate women entrepreneurs who saw a gap in the market and dared to fill it.
• 0:55
  Jennifer Johnson: Today, we're pulling back the curtain on what it really takes to launch and grow a successful beauty brand from scratch.
• 1:01
  Jennifer Johnson: We're joined by Ginger King, the founder of Grace Kingdom Beauty.
• 1:05
  Jennifer Johnson: She's turned her passion for beauty into a thriving business, navigating everything from product development to marketing in this highly competitive industry.
• 1:15
  Jennifer Johnson: Whether you're dreaming of launching your own beauty brand or you're an entrepreneur in an industry looking for inspiration and practical advice, this episode is packed with insights you don't want to miss.
• 1:26
  Jennifer Johnson: Get ready to be inspired, challenged and empowered.
• 1:30
  Jennifer Johnson: Your behind-the-scene look at the beauty building a beauty empire starts now.
• 1:36
  Jennifer Johnson: So let's dive in.
• 1:39
  Jennifer Johnson: So we're joined today by Ginger King.
• 1:41
  Jennifer Johnson: She's an award-winning cosmetic chemist and that is pretty amazing in and of itself and she's the founder of Grace Kingdom Beauty, a cosmetic product development firm located in New Jersey.
• 1:51
  Jennifer Johnson: She specializes in creating beauty brands from concept to launch, including formulation.
• 1:56
  Jennifer Johnson: She holds multiple patents and awards in beauty and prides herself on being Allure Magazine's beauty judge for breakthrough products since 2017.
• 2:06
  Jennifer Johnson: Also iconic fragrance judge for Elle Magazine in 2023, and then iconic skin product judge for Shape Magazine in 2023.
• 2:14
  Jennifer Johnson: She's been quoted in over 40 beauty magazines, including Harper's Bazaar, vogue and Oprah.
• 2:21
  Jennifer Johnson: She's been the keynote speaker and a regular TV beauty segment contributor on Good Day, sacramento.
• 2:26
  Jennifer Johnson: And she's most recently named the Queen of Cosmetic Chemistry by Elle Magazine and she's appeared in Forbes.
• 2:34
  Jennifer Johnson: We are so honored to have you here today.
• 2:36
  Jennifer Johnson: Happy to be here Jennifer.
• 2:40
  Jennifer Johnson: This amazing you have.
• 2:41
  Jennifer Johnson: You have been everywhere, haven't you?
• 2:43
  Jennifer Johnson: Yes, I have, and and you started out.
• 2:47
  Jennifer Johnson: I want to start from the beginning.
• 2:48
  Jennifer Johnson: I guess you have.
• 2:50
  Jennifer Johnson: You always wanted to do what you're doing now, or how did you kind of fall into doing what you're doing?
• 2:56
  Ginger King: I think in beauty has been in my childhood dream when, when I was born into beauty actually, my mom was the first woman started she said a boutique from Japan to Taiwan.
• 3:07
  Ginger King: So I grew up under that influence without me realizing it until I was 16.
• 3:13
  Ginger King: I came to America when I was 16.
• 3:15
  Ginger King: In the beginning I wanted to become a makeup artist because I saw how makeup can transform women's appearance and boost their confidence.
• 3:24
  Ginger King: But being Asian, I was asked to go to college.
• 3:27
  Ginger King: If you don't get a PhD, at least a master's degree.
• 3:30
  Ginger King: So I said, okay, why don't I major in chemistry and learn how to make cosmetics Smart?
• 3:36
  Ginger King: That's how the journey began.
• 3:39
  Jennifer Johnson: That is pretty amazing.
• 3:40
  Jennifer Johnson: And what was it that actually inspired you to create your beauty brand that you have?
• 3:48
  Ginger King: Okay, so I'm a cosmetic chemist for 30 years and my personal mentor is Sharken's Damon John.
• 3:54
  Ginger King: There was one time I was with him and he took out a lip balm and applied in front of me.
• 3:59
  Ginger King: I was like Damon, if something that's so close to you that's in your pocket, on your lips, it has to be mine.
• 4:06
  Ginger King: So I created a vegan lip balm that is full of superfoods, without petrolatum, without linoleum, without beeswax that is commonly seen in the regular lip balm.
• 4:17
  Ginger King: So that's the healthiest options I want to give it to him.
• 4:20
  Ginger King: While I'm doing this, I might as well open it up for all the entrepreneurs.
• 4:24
  Ginger King: And because damon john, he is a speaker, he's a keynote speaker.
• 4:30
  Ginger King: So I named the product the stage bomb for lips.
• 4:34
  Ginger King: It's for people who talk a lot, who speak a lot, regardless if you are, like a, really on the stage or not, because every situation, every conversation is a stage.
• 4:45
  Ginger King: So with that particular lip balm, that was actually the inspiration for me to become a public speaker as well.
• 4:53
  Ginger King: I got inspired by my own lip balm.
• 4:56
  Jennifer Johnson: So does he actually have your lip balm?
• 4:58
  Jennifer Johnson: Yes, he does.
• 4:59
  Jennifer Johnson: Oh my gosh, I just saw him in a magazine and I read the whole article.
• 5:04
  Jennifer Johnson: Very, very interesting.
• 5:05
  Jennifer Johnson: That's pretty crazy.
• 5:07
  Ginger King: Yes.
• 5:10
  Jennifer Johnson: And you created that lip balm because of him.
• 5:12
  Ginger King: Yes.
• 5:14
  Jennifer Johnson: Wow, you mentioned that you were a chemist for 30 years.
• 5:19
  Jennifer Johnson: Did you work for a beauty brand previously?
• 5:22
  Ginger King: Yes, I worked for many, many beauty brands.
• 5:24
  Ginger King: Yes, and I do consulting now for the past 11 years.
• 5:28
  Jennifer Johnson: Wow.
• 5:29
  Jennifer Johnson: So how did you identify the gap in the market when you first started your beauty brand?
• 5:35
  Jennifer Johnson: And maybe you're continuing finding the gap, and that's what makes you successful, but how did you find that gap that you wanted to fill?
• 5:43
  Ginger King: Beauty is very, very competitive.
• 5:45
  Ginger King: So when I started on my brand, fan Love Beauty, I didn't really want to compete in the beauty space, because when you compete in the beauty space, it's really just you know the color, the shade, you know.
• 5:57
  Ginger King: It's like there's no differentiation.
• 6:00
  Ginger King: So I wanted to create a brand that's really for entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs are so busy, they just want something that work, that's good for them, instead of you know, this is the latest shade, this is, you know, whatever the gimmick is out there so my brand is dedicated to entrepreneurs, so I started out with the lip balm.
• 6:23
  Ginger King: My second product was a hand veil.
• 6:24
  Ginger King: What is a hand veil?
• 6:26
  Ginger King: Which is a very lightweight hand cream.
• 6:28
  Ginger King: The inspiration was from Steve Harvey.
• 6:31
  Ginger King: Oh my gosh, steve Harvey.
• 6:35
  Ginger King: At the Tennis Conference, he said before any conferences, the first thing he does before he speaks is put on a hand cream.
• 6:43
  Ginger King: The reason is, when you talk, if you talk with your hands, you will appear more confident, but at the same time, the camera also zooms into your hand, so your hands better not be ashy.
• 6:55
  Ginger King: Oh my gosh, my hands, yeah.
• 7:01
  Ginger King: So I developed this, this.
• 7:02
  Ginger King: I call it hand veil.
• 7:03
  Ginger King: It's because I don't want this to be a traditional hand cream that people just use and feel greasy, because you don't want to drop your mic that way if you're holding a mic.
• 7:12
  Ginger King: So it's non-greasy and it's very moisturizing and you feel a protective layer as well you know, you just said I have a tagline for your.
• 7:23
  Jennifer Johnson: It's very moisturizing and you feel a protective layer as well.
• 7:24
  Jennifer Johnson: You know, you just said I have a tagline for your.
• 7:27
  Jennifer Johnson: It's the not drop your mic.
• 7:28
  Jennifer Johnson: Right, it sounds like you have.
• 7:37
  Jennifer Johnson: Really, what really makes everything work that you're doing is you're actually listening to people.
• 7:39
  Jennifer Johnson: Yes, you're hearing what they're saying, and then you're creating a product around that.
• 7:41
  Jennifer Johnson: Would that be fair to people?
• 7:41
  Jennifer Johnson: Yes, you're hearing what they're saying and then you're creating a product around that.
• 7:43
  Jennifer Johnson: Would that be fair to say?
• 7:45
  Ginger King: Yes.
• 7:47
  Jennifer Johnson: And I mean a lot of people don't do that right.
• 7:52
  Jennifer Johnson: A lot of people just go well, I'm going to do my own thing, it doesn't matter if somebody else wants it.
• 7:57
  Jennifer Johnson: This is what I want.
• 7:58
  Jennifer Johnson: But you're actually listening, and would that be one of your keys to success?
• 8:03
  Ginger King: I don't think so.
• 8:04
  Ginger King: So, besides my brand, I also help entrepreneurs to develop their own beauty brand, and the first thing I will ask them to do is go through a strategy session and when I hear the why why they want to do the brand I usually can tell if they're going to be successful or not.
• 8:21
  Ginger King: Because the thing I don't want to hear is because I cannot find something.
• 8:26
  Ginger King: So I developed this myself.
• 8:30
  Ginger King: First of all, you are not a cosmetic chemist.
• 8:33
  Ginger King: You do not know the regulation.
• 8:35
  Ginger King: Even if whatever you develop works for you, it's not a guarantee that will work for other people.
• 8:42
  Ginger King: So you know, and your why is really critical for me.
• 8:47
  Ginger King: Or some people will say I want to have my own beauty brand for the ego reason, for the money reason.
• 8:53
  Ginger King: Sure, those will come, but if you don't start with the right motif, it's very hard for you to sustain.
• 8:58
  Ginger King: It's like writing a book you don't start with the right motif it's very hard for you to sustain.
• 9:01
  Jennifer Johnson: It's like writing a book.
• 9:02
  Jennifer Johnson: You don't write a book to make money.
• 9:04
  Jennifer Johnson: You write a book for other reasons, right?
• 9:08
  Jennifer Johnson: So can you walk us through the early stages of development of of when you started your beauty brand?
• 9:17
  Ginger King: uh, I will say in general, just because I mentioned how I developed my brand was really because of damon.
• 9:22
  Ginger King: That's a very atypical, so I will share how a typical process should be.
• 9:28
  Ginger King: So, first of all, you really need to have a strategy session to develop your brand deck.
• 9:33
  Ginger King: The brand deck should include the mission statement, vision statement, unit selling proposition.
• 9:39
  Ginger King: Why are you different?
• 9:40
  Ginger King: Why would people buy your product?
• 9:43
  Ginger King: You need to think about your packaging, your pricing.
• 9:45
  Ginger King: You need to think about your distribution.
• 9:47
  Ginger King: Since day one.
• 9:48
  Ginger King: A lot of people say I just want to sell on my own website, but what if Sephora is knocking on your door or Target is knocking on your door?
• 9:58
  Ginger King: Are you ready to be in the retailer shops?
• 10:04
  Ginger King: So thinking with a big, with an end in mind, is critical.
• 10:07
  Ginger King: Also, you want to think about philanthropy, because it's been so competitive in the beauty space.
• 10:14
  Ginger King: If you find your beauty product and also helping a nonprofit, you're doing society good, so that could be also a very important factor.
• 10:26
  Ginger King: So I would start with the brand deck.
• 10:28
  Ginger King: Then you work with a cosmetic chemist that understands your brand and developing the products and the whole process actually takes nine months, like having a baby the products and the whole process actually takes nine months, like having a baby.
• 10:43
  Ginger King: You're saying nine months to develop the product, or nine months to kind of get to the point where you can start developing the products.
• 10:47
  Ginger King: Nine months to develop the product.
• 10:48
  Ginger King: Wow, the first trimester.
• 10:50
  Ginger King: I love the first trimester.
• 10:53
  Ginger King: Yes, we will be doing the brand development.
• 10:57
  Ginger King: Actually, I can help you through the whole thing.
• 11:00
  Ginger King: I do brand development also.
• 11:01
  Ginger King: You will look at the competitive reviews, kind of scoping out what's different.
• 11:08
  Ginger King: And if you're a hair care brand, fragrance is extremely critical because when it comes to hair care, people buy the fragrance.
• 11:15
  Ginger King: They sniff it before they decide if they want it or not.
• 11:17
  Ginger King: Totally agree.
• 11:17
  Jennifer Johnson: Yeah, skincare, they don buy the fragrance they sniff it before they decide if they want it or not, totally agree.
• 11:20
  Ginger King: Yeah, skincare, they don't want fragrance, so, skincare, you don't have to worry about fragrance as much.
• 11:24
  Ginger King: Haircare absolutely fragrance.
• 11:26
  Ginger King: So for the first three months you're really looking at.
• 11:30
  Ginger King: You know what kind of products you're making.
• 11:33
  Ginger King: You work with the chemist.
• 11:34
  Ginger King: Then the second trimester is you have the chemist doing the prototyping and also doing stability testing, doing the micro challenge testing, doing the repeat insole patch testing.
• 11:47
  Ginger King: There are a lot of testing to be done.
• 11:49
  Ginger King: Cosmetic chemistry is very different than, like you go into the restaurant, a lot of this di wires.
• 11:55
  Ginger King: You know they.
• 11:56
  Ginger King: I create this on my own.
• 11:58
  Ginger King: You know I do this in my kitchen, but you know what they are missing.
• 12:01
  Ginger King: They're missing.
• 12:02
  Ginger King: The biggest part is on the testing part, because it's not like you go to a restaurant, a chef cook you something.
• 12:09
  Ginger King: You eat it, you don't have diarrhea, you are fine.
• 12:11
  Ginger King: But cosmetics, you cannot have separation on shelf, you need to have Right, right.
• 12:16
  Ginger King: So that requires but cosmetics, you cannot have separation on shelf, you need to have no, right, right.
• 12:20
  Ginger King: So that requires testing and a lot of DIYers.
• 12:23
  Ginger King: They don't understand this part.
• 12:24
  Ginger King: They don't understand what goes into it.
• 12:27
  Jennifer Johnson: That makes sense.
• 12:28
  Jennifer Johnson: It may not irritate your skin, but it may not last on the shelf more than a week.
• 12:32
  Ginger King: Correct.
• 12:33
  Ginger King: And also preservatives.
• 12:35
  Ginger King: When you put preservatives in your product, it does not mean it will not spoil.
• 12:41
  Ginger King: You need to go through a micro-challenge testing.
• 12:44
  Ginger King: What is a challenge testing?
• 12:46
  Ginger King: It's after you have the product consumer buy the product.
• 12:50
  Ginger King: What if they go to the bathroom?
• 12:53
  Ginger King: They never wash their hands.
• 12:54
  Ginger King: They dip their dirty finger into your product?
• 12:58
  Ginger King: You need to guarantee your product will not grow mold, or your shampoo conditioners in the shower.
• 13:06
  Ginger King: Do you notice how many times your bottle actually has mold around there?
• 15:37
  Ginger King: You need to make sure inside the product is still good, because bacteria like water, anything, humidity oh, they thrive.
• 15:47
  Ginger King: And this is the reason why preservative challenge testing is extremely critical.
• 15:54
  Jennifer Johnson: The things that you don't think about.
• 15:56
  Jennifer Johnson: You just think oh, how easy is that.
• 15:58
  Jennifer Johnson: If you're a DIYer, oh, I'll just make it my kitchen.
• 16:02
  Jennifer Johnson: There's many, many steps and you've been through that.
• 16:08
  Ginger King: Yes.
• 16:09
  Ginger King: So let's say second trimester, right?
• 16:12
  Ginger King: So the third trimester is scale up, because when you can make in a small scale, even with a chemist, they do.
• 16:20
  Ginger King: A small scale in the lab, that's not translate, you can make it in the production.
• 16:24
  Ginger King: It's just like you can cook a delicious the lab that's not translate, you can make it in the production.
• 16:31
  Ginger King: It's just like you can cook a delicious whole meal.
• 16:32
  Ginger King: That's not guarantee you can do cater for like a thousand people, banquet, right, right.
• 16:36
  Ginger King: So there will be something lost in translation because of different equipment you need to.
• 16:42
  Ginger King: So you will have to do a pilot batch to make sure to minimize the translation.
• 16:46
  Ginger King: And this is again where a cosmetic chemist comes in.
• 16:49
  Ginger King: Your cosmetic chemist needs to help you with the first pilot batch to make sure if there's something different from the lab batch to the pilot batch, the cosmetic chemist needs to be able to sign off to make sure it's okay.
• 17:05
  Jennifer Johnson: And I assume that's to make sure that this batch is the same as this batch, which is the same as, so it's all the same.
• 17:11
  Jennifer Johnson: Yes, differentiations.
• 17:15
  Ginger King: Correct.
• 17:17
  Jennifer Johnson: Wow, that's the third trimester and third trimester.
• 17:22
  Ginger King: You also need to make sure your packaging.
• 17:24
  Ginger King: A lot of times your packaging and the product may not be compatible.
• 17:29
  Ginger King: You need to do your package compatibility testing, especially if your product comes into a pump.
• 17:35
  Ginger King: You know sometimes the pump that you have to pump more than 10 times the customer will not be happy about it or leakage you have one leak in the shipment that goes to your entire shipment, so you need to do job tests.
• 17:49
  Ginger King: So that's the reason why I say when you want to start your own beauty brand, please work with a professional.
• 17:55
  Ginger King: Don't do yourself, unless a professional is a cosmetic chemist.
• 18:00
  Jennifer Johnson: Right, exactly, you know and this applies really to many different areas of business when you're trying to do something, don't try to save money here or there.
• 18:10
  Jennifer Johnson: You can save money in places, but not on the places that really, really count, and that's going to really affect your business.
• 18:18
  Jennifer Johnson: I had an attorney on where we were talking about that.
• 18:20
  Jennifer Johnson: You should not skimp on the legalities of your business.
• 18:24
  Jennifer Johnson: You need to make sure you work with an attorney, and if they're working on doing a beauty brand, they should work with someone who knows what they're doing.
• 18:32
  Ginger King: Absolutely.
• 18:33
  Jennifer Johnson: Now, what were a few challenges, perhaps, that you have come across as you were building this brand?
• 18:43
  Ginger King: Okay.
• 18:43
  Ginger King: So I actually restaged my brand because in the beginning I just make.
• 18:48
  Ginger King: I'm a cosmetic chemist, I make sure my product is good, you know, and when it comes to the graphics side, I kind of rely on other people because graphic is not my strength.
• 18:59
  Ginger King: However, I didn't really serve people enough.
• 19:02
  Ginger King: Like people actually don't like my graphics, even though I've been quoted by over 100 times a year by beauty media.
• 19:11
  Ginger King: The beauty media is not pushing my product.
• 19:14
  Ginger King: So I actually asked them what is going on?
• 19:17
  Ginger King: You know, why are you not helping me to promote my product?
• 19:20
  Ginger King: They tell me we don't like the packaging, because if the packaging doesn't look good on our pristine magazine, we will not promote it.
• 19:31
  Ginger King: So I changed my packaging.
• 19:34
  Jennifer Johnson: Wow.
• 19:35
  Jennifer Johnson: So would it be fair to say that?
• 19:40
  Jennifer Johnson: Should you have somebody looking at that Like somebody who's versed in?
• 19:47
  Ginger King: yes, but I did work with an award-winning graphic designer, but what happened was I didn't get buy-in from the editors first oh that's important because everybody have a different angle of looking at the packaging, but I think it's pretty might not be pretty to you.
• 20:09
  Jennifer Johnson: It's subjective or objective.
• 20:11
  Jennifer Johnson: Yes, exactly, exactly so.
• 20:14
  Jennifer Johnson: I know a lot of listeners may be just starting their businesses or thinking about starting a business, but they don't have the finances to do that.
• 20:27
  Jennifer Johnson: How did you and sometimes it's really, really inspiring to hear from another entrepreneur who started their business to say, hey, you know, how did you tackle that financial situation when you started your business?
• 20:42
  Jennifer Johnson: What did you do to finance your business?
• 20:45
  Ginger King: situation when you started your business.
• 20:46
  Ginger King: What did you do to finance your business?
• 20:48
  Ginger King: Savings, personal savings.
• 20:52
  Ginger King: I have spent like hundreds of thousands of dollars from my past corporate jobs.
• 20:55
  Ginger King: I had a six-figure job before my consulting business, so it's from all personal savings.
• 21:00
  Ginger King: I didn't take out a loan.
• 21:01
  Ginger King: I didn't have anything.
• 21:02
  Ginger King: But for majority of the people you know, you should really start with friends and family first.
• 21:08
  Ginger King: That is your first round.
• 21:11
  Ginger King: The second round should be your SBA loans, unless absolutely needed, and also once you need to prove that you're already on the track.
• 21:22
  Ginger King: Then that is when you get investors, because investors will not.
• 21:26
  Ginger King: When you get investors, because investors will not give you tuition money To get your investors money.
• 21:30
  Ginger King: They want to know that you know.
• 21:32
  Ginger King: When are you getting my money back?
• 21:36
  Jennifer Johnson: They all want to know that.
• 21:37
  Ginger King: Yeah right, it's like what is it for me and when am I getting my money back?
• 21:42
  Ginger King: If you cannot answer these two questions, no one is going to invest in you.
• 21:47
  Ginger King: And also, you don't want to dilute your equity since day one.
• 21:50
  Ginger King: There are so many brands without any investor.
• 21:53
  Jennifer Johnson: You know like.
• 21:54
  Ginger King: Sarah Blakely's bank 100% own, no outside help.
• 21:59
  Ginger King: So you can have outside help.
• 22:02
  Ginger King: You can try to barter with people like I do this for you, you do this for me, kind of deal.
• 22:09
  Ginger King: Or you can get friends and family, a spiel launch or line of credit from the bank.
• 22:15
  Ginger King: You know those.
• 22:16
  Ginger King: Uh, this should helping you to get through the first run until you go into retailers.
• 22:23
  Ginger King: Then that's when you really need to have mega support from investors.
• 22:28
  Ginger King: Absolutely yeah.
• 22:29
  Ginger King: But then when you have a PO on hand from the retailers, investors will jump in, but not on the early stage, because you don't have approval concept.
• 22:39
  Ginger King: You know investors.
• 22:41
  Ginger King: They don't know if you're going to be successful or not.
• 22:44
  Ginger King: Right, so bootstrap as much as possible.
• 22:49
  Jennifer Johnson: That's definitely great advice, for sure, no matter what kind of brand or business you're starting for certain.
• 22:56
  Jennifer Johnson: So, up until now, what has been your best marketing strategy that you've used for your beauty brand?
• 23:08
  Ginger King: Best marketing strategy, I would say.
• 23:11
  Ginger King: I did a billboard in Times Square.
• 23:14
  Jennifer Johnson: Oh, wow.
• 23:16
  Ginger King: Yeah, that drew a lot of attention, and I have Devin Zhang's photo.
• 23:20
  Ginger King: There too, he was holding my product.
• 23:22
  Jennifer Johnson: Are you serious?
• 23:24
  Ginger King: I'm serious.
• 23:26
  Jennifer Johnson: That's so cool.
• 23:27
  Jennifer Johnson: That's pretty amazing.
• 23:29
  Jennifer Johnson: That would definitely.
• 23:31
  Jennifer Johnson: I could see why that would work.
• 23:33
  Jennifer Johnson: And how did you make that connection?
• 23:37
  Jennifer Johnson: How did that all work?
• 23:38
  Jennifer Johnson: Was it through people you knew?
• 23:42
  Ginger King: Well, yeah, I do know the people who do the Times Square available and I'm personal friend with Damon, so I got his permission.
• 23:50
  Ginger King: I can do this.
• 23:50
  Ginger King: He said, yes, done.
• 23:53
  Jennifer Johnson: Wow, that's pretty, pretty awesome.
• 23:55
  Jennifer Johnson: Now this is kind of a how do you balance staying true to your core values as a business and as a person, yet keep up with the different beauty trends that keep coming at you, I'm sure, every day, because it seems like every single day we see a new product on the market?
• 24:19
  Jennifer Johnson: So how do you balance knowing to the core what your company is about but yet still trying to appease the consumer and staying on top of trends?
• 24:32
  Ginger King: Well, I'm a cosmetic chemist, but I'm also a consumer and this is the reason why I stick to clean beauty, because and I actually get hammered by some cosmetic chemists too, because you know they will they will tell me like my product, they are like a paraben free, whatever free right.
• 24:49
  Ginger King: I get hammered by other cosmetic chemists because you know you are a chemist, you're not.
• 24:53
  Ginger King: You're not supposed to tell people, you know, because those things are actually not bad in terms of cosmetic chemist standard, but I'm I'm a consumer too.
• 25:05
  Ginger King: If there's any noise out there saying the product, regardless if the research is valid or not, I have a responsibility as a brand to make sure my customer is gonna be liking and buying my products.
• 25:22
  Ginger King: At the end of the day.
• 25:23
  Ginger King: If my products don't sell, I cannot service more people.
• 25:28
  Ginger King: This is something, like you know, people always say I want the best thing on earth, you know.
• 25:33
  Ginger King: So I only like.
• 25:34
  Ginger King: I want an anti-aging product I use once and done.
• 25:38
  Ginger King: It's never going to happen, because if that happens, the company is going to go belly up.
• 25:45
  Ginger King: They only have one time sale and if the company get belly up, you're not going to find the product again.
• 25:53
  Jennifer Johnson: Right.
• 25:53
  Ginger King: This is a consumer's world.
• 25:57
  Jennifer Johnson: That makes sense.
• 25:58
  Jennifer Johnson: Absolutely, it does.
• 25:59
  Jennifer Johnson: Now, is there a moment in your entrepreneurial journey that you ever felt like giving up, Like things just weren't going right and you felt like I don't know what I'm going to do?
• 26:12
  Jennifer Johnson: Has that ever crossed your mind?
• 26:14
  Jennifer Johnson: Has that ever been a moment like that Of course, of course.
• 26:18
  Ginger King: Entrepreneur is a roller coaster.
• 26:22
  Jennifer Johnson: It is.
• 26:23
  Ginger King: Yeah, it's like you never know what's coming tomorrow.
• 26:26
  Ginger King: But if you have, you set you a goal, you know like you look at your goal like three times a day.
• 26:34
  Ginger King: That's what propels you and this is the reason why, when people do the strategy call with me, I would like ask them why seven times?
• 26:44
  Ginger King: Why do you want to do this and why is that and why is that and why is that?
• 26:49
  Ginger King: Like peeling an onion, because when you first ask them why, they give you a very superficial answer.
• 26:56
  Ginger King: You know, I, I've been in beauty, I, I love beauty, I want to do this.
• 27:01
  Ginger King: And then, why is this important to you?
• 27:03
  Ginger King: They give you something different as you fight again, it's another answer.
• 27:08
  Ginger King: Until you kind of drill down what is your real?
• 27:12
  Ginger King: Why?
• 27:12
  Ginger King: Because without that real, why, once they hit the bomb, they say forget it, I'm done right.
• 27:18
  Jennifer Johnson: So is that what you think got you through all those tough moments?
• 27:20
  Jennifer Johnson: Were the real?
• 27:21
  Jennifer Johnson: The real?
• 27:22
  Jennifer Johnson: Why for you?
• 27:23
  Jennifer Johnson: Or was it something in conjunction with that?
• 27:26
  Ginger King: you?
• 27:27
  Ginger King: Well, I think about my real why all the time.
• 27:29
  Ginger King: So, yes, there will be tough moments, but you know how they say tough times don't last, tough people do.
• 27:36
  Jennifer Johnson: That's true.
• 27:37
  Jennifer Johnson: That's very, very true.
• 27:39
  Jennifer Johnson: I would agree with that.
• 27:40
  Jennifer Johnson: So how do you, going back to the consumer, how do you incorporate into what you're doing as a business your customer feedback?
• 27:51
  Jennifer Johnson: What do you do with that?
• 27:52
  Jennifer Johnson: If a customer comes to you and says something, how do you incorporate that into what you're doing?
• 28:00
  Ginger King: Well, so far I have five-star reviews from all the consumer feedback.
• 28:04
  Ginger King: But then mentioned earlier how the editor said your packaging's ugly.
• 28:09
  Ginger King: I changed packaging.
• 28:11
  Ginger King: That's another $20,000, $30,000 expense, but I did it.
• 28:17
  Jennifer Johnson: So it's listening and then making the change if need be.
• 28:20
  Jennifer Johnson: Yes, yeah.
• 28:21
  Jennifer Johnson: What would one piece of advice if you could give new business owners or aspiring business owners out there, or even people who've had their company for a while, what would be one piece of advice that you would give them?
• 28:40
  Ginger King: One piece of advice would be you.
• 28:42
  Ginger King: There are so many advices out there, right?
• 28:45
  Ginger King: Everybody can give you advice.
• 28:47
  Ginger King: Everybody is actually giving you an opinion.
• 28:50
  Ginger King: You only ask advice for with people that who have actually proven they have done it before.
• 28:58
  Ginger King: So you know, you kind of see who has done it and listen to that person rather than the reason.
• 29:07
  Ginger King: Part of the reason why I also have my own brand is because I do consulting.
• 29:12
  Ginger King: I help people to build their own beauty brand from concept to launch, including formulations they can own, and I need to prove to people I have my own brand too.
• 29:21
  Ginger King: Otherwise, why are you believing me?
• 29:23
  Ginger King: If you have never created your own brand, how are you helping me to create the brand?
• 29:29
  Ginger King: Right, you go to a lot of cosmetic chemists.
• 29:31
  Ginger King: They only know how to do product.
• 29:39
  Jennifer Johnson: They don't know how to help you to push the brand right.
• 29:39
  Jennifer Johnson: You go to a lot of cosmetic chemists.
• 29:39
  Jennifer Johnson: They only know how to do product.
• 29:40
  Jennifer Johnson: They don't know how to help you to push the brand out.
• 29:40
  Jennifer Johnson: So your advice would be only accept advice from people who have done what you're doing.
• 29:43
  Jennifer Johnson: Yes, and that's great advice, because we all know that there's a lot of coaches and consultants and many different people out there who I want to help you.
• 29:51
  Jennifer Johnson: I want to help you, but they don't know how, because they haven't walked in your shoes.
• 29:55
  Jennifer Johnson: They haven't done what you do.
• 29:56
  Jennifer Johnson: So that's a great piece of advice for certain.
• 30:00
  Jennifer Johnson: So, ginger, I have thoroughly enjoyed our conversation today and I know that there's probably an aspiring person out there who wants to be in the beauty industry.
• 30:12
  Jennifer Johnson: If they want to get a hold of you, how can they do so?
• 30:15
  Ginger King: The best place is actually my Instagram, the beauty shark ginger.
• 30:19
  Ginger King: That's where I'm wearing a shark.
• 30:25
  Jennifer Johnson: The beauty shark.
• 30:26
  Jennifer Johnson: Yes, that's amazing.
• 30:28
  Jennifer Johnson: I love it.
• 30:29
  Jennifer Johnson: All right, and we'll make sure that we put that in our show notes as well.
• 30:32
  Jennifer Johnson: Thank you again, ginger.
• 30:34
  Jennifer Johnson: So much for joining us today, thank you.