Latest / Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections / Networking Unleashed: S1E90 An Interview with Ginger King and Michael A Forman, Public Speaker

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Networking Unleashed: S1E90 An Interview with Ginger King and Michael A Forman, Public Speaker · Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections

• 0:14
  Welcome back to another episode of networking
• 0:17
  unleashed building profitable connections where
• 0:21
  we break down the art of building relationships
• 0:23
  that actually grow your business, not just your
• 0:27
  contact list. Today's guest is proof that when
• 0:31
  you combine innovation with intentional networking,
• 0:34
  you don't just create products, you build a brand
• 0:38
  that gets noticed. Ginger is a beauty industry
• 0:41
  force. As the founder and formulator behind clean
• 0:45
  vegan innovations for brands like Fan Love Beauty,
• 0:49
  she's built relationships that go beyond the
• 0:53
  lab into boardrooms, influencer circles, and
• 0:57
  major retailers. But here's what makes Ginger
• 1:00
  different. She doesn't network to collect names.
• 1:03
  She networks to create impact. Whether it's aligning
• 1:08
  with celebrity founders or staying ahead of what
• 1:11
  conscious consumers truly want, Ginger's story
• 1:15
  is packed with insights on how to leverage authenticity,
• 1:19
  niche positioning, and strategic collaboration
• 1:23
  to stand out in a saturated market. If you're
• 1:28
  in a space where credibility, connection, and
• 1:30
  clean values matter, this episode is your blueprint.
• 1:35
  Ginger. Welcome to the podcast. I am so excited
• 1:39
  that you're here. Why don't you introduce yourself
• 1:42
  and give us a little bit about your background.
• 1:45
  Thank you for having me, Michael. So I am. award
• 1:49
  -winning cosmetic chemist as well as a certified
• 1:52
  10x business coach. So what I do is I help people
• 1:56
  to build their own beauty brand from concept
• 1:58
  to launch including formulations they can own.
• 2:01
  I also help them with the sales and marketing
• 2:04
  after they launch their products because a lot
• 2:07
  of time people come to me for product but they
• 2:09
  do not know how to promote the products and that's
• 2:13
  where my coaching comes in. Wow, that's very
• 2:16
  good. Oh, I can't wait to get started. That sounds
• 2:19
  very interesting. Okay, so let's begin here.
• 2:22
  Let's start with the beauty industry. It's crowded,
• 2:26
  competitive, and trend driven. What role has
• 2:31
  networking played in cutting through that noise
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  and helping you get products into major retailers?
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  It's going to the industry event. It's not only
• 2:42
  for networking. Going to industry event is actually
• 2:46
  a form of marketing to let people know that you
• 2:50
  are out there because if nobody knows you, nobody
• 2:53
  follows you. So get your face out there. It's
• 2:56
  very important. So it's beyond networking. Yes,
• 3:01
  that's very true. All of the events, people think
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  that they just have to go there just to network.
• 3:07
  But you're right. It's brand recognition and
• 3:11
  getting your face out there so that everybody
• 3:13
  can recognize you and say, oh, I know her or
• 3:17
  I know that product. So that's very important.
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  You create clean vegan products. That's a specific
• 3:25
  niche with loyal followers. How have you used
• 3:30
  that niche to build a powerful network that both
• 3:33
  amplifies and accelerates your brand? We all
• 3:38
  know in order to create a following, you need
• 3:41
  to be niche. So you need to find who is your
• 3:45
  target market for every single product or brand
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  that you do. So my brand, Fenwell Beauty, we
• 3:50
  focus on speakers, actually, because the whole
• 3:54
  concept for Fenwell Beauty brand was because
• 3:57
  I was with my mentor, Damon John. the shark at
• 4:01
  an event, and I saw him took out a lip balm and
• 4:04
  used it in front of me. I was like, Damon, that's
• 4:07
  something so close to you that's in your pocket
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  on your lips. It has to be mine since I'm a cosmetic
• 4:13
  chemist. And Damon actually had a cancer scare
• 4:17
  a few years ago. He's cancer -free now. But think
• 4:20
  about it. Lip balm is something that could be
• 4:23
  ingested because it's on the lips. And if you
• 4:26
  look at the market space, I guarantee you, you
• 4:30
  can either find petrolatum, lanolin, or beeswax
• 4:33
  in the ingredient list. There's nothing wrong
• 4:36
  with them. However, petrolatum, unless it's USP
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  grade, it could have carcinogen ingredient in
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  there because it's from petroleum. Lanolin is
• 4:47
  from the wool grease. Long -term use, you can
• 4:49
  get contact dermatitis. And beeswax, nothing's
• 4:53
  wrong with it, but where do you get beeswax from
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  the beehives? How do you like your house to be
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  messed up for human vanity if you are a bee,
• 5:02
  right? So it's not considered cruelty -free or
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  vegan. And this is the reason why I focus on
• 5:09
  clean vegan beauty. It's because I provide more
• 5:13
  value to the society by giving better products.
• 5:20
  Wow. I can see where having the clean product
• 5:24
  really comes into it, especially with, like you
• 5:27
  said, the lip balm. And you wouldn't think anything
• 5:29
  of it, but you think about the ingredients that
• 5:32
  go into it and where those ingredients come from.
• 5:35
  So that's very astute. Okay. When working with
• 5:40
  celebrity brands or influencers, what have you
• 5:43
  learned about the importance of trust and timing
• 5:47
  in forming partnerships that... actually work
• 5:50
  trust and timing they are everything they are
• 5:54
  the basis for any business without trust it's
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  very hard it's not only trust you you and your
• 6:00
  partner have to be aligned on your mission on
• 6:04
  your vision and on the value proposition And
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  timing, like you see on Shark Tank, 10 seconds,
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  you take it or not. The ability to make decisions
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  is also very important. And if you are a good
• 6:19
  entrepreneur, you should have the gut feeling
• 6:21
  to feel if this is a good deal or not. Yes, that's
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  true. There's a mantra with networking. If they
• 6:30
  know you, if they like you, if they trust you,
• 6:33
  they'll do business with you. And know you, that's
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  pretty simple. Like you, all that narrows the
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  field just a little bit. But trust you, that's
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  the main factor. And you have to build on that
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  trust. So it's very good. Mixed with the timing,
• 6:48
  as you said, it all would be very good. You built
• 6:52
  a reputation for innovation. How do you network
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  with people who keep you forward thinking rather
• 7:00
  than just clapping from the sidelines? For you
• 7:05
  to grow, you really need to get in a bigger room.
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  So I constantly go to big events, big conferences.
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  So it's just keep growing because you are as
• 7:19
  good as your average five among you, right? Yeah,
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  people clapping is good, but if they cannot really
• 7:25
  move you forward, you need to consider a separate
• 7:28
  circle. Yeah, different friends. There's a saying
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  that you surround yourself with the people that
• 7:36
  you want to be around. So you don't want to be
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  around people that's going to drag you down or
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  just have the status quo. You want people that
• 7:43
  are going to lift you up and say, okay, come
• 7:45
  on, you did this right, go ahead. But you don't
• 7:49
  want yes men either. You don't want somebody
• 7:51
  to say, oh, you did great, you did great, when
• 7:53
  it really didn't follow through. So very important
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  to realize. What's one powerful introduction
• 8:00
  or unexpected collaboration that completely changed
• 8:05
  the trajectory of your business? And how did
• 8:08
  that relationship come about? I think this will
• 8:13
  be in reference of Devin John, my mentor. He
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  has helped me a lot ever since I know him. I
• 8:20
  was just like a regular person. But I stalked
• 8:24
  him on social media. I stalked him on every single
• 8:28
  event that he's there. I just show up and I provide
• 8:31
  value. I never ask him to invest in me because
• 8:34
  I understand you are not investable until you
• 8:39
  prove you are investable. You only get investors
• 8:42
  money to put fuel on the fire rather than take
• 8:46
  investors money as a tuition. So you need to
• 8:51
  know where you're coming from. And I think a
• 8:53
  lot of people, they go to him just because, hey,
• 8:56
  you are a shark investing in me. I never, ever
• 8:59
  do that. Yeah, no, it's true. That's so true
• 9:03
  that you have to bring value first. You bring
• 9:07
  a value to the relationships. And I'm going to
• 9:09
  go back to networking again. When you're trying
• 9:11
  to network with somebody like you did with your
• 9:13
  mentor, you have to bring value to the table
• 9:16
  first so they can see it. So then they ask you
• 9:20
  the questions that you don't have to. So that
• 9:23
  would really come about. Let's talk about product
• 9:26
  development. How does networking help you stay
• 9:30
  close to consumer needs while also appealing
• 9:33
  to retailers, influencers, and most importantly,
• 9:37
  the investors? There are different types of conferences.
• 9:41
  There are retailers' conferences. There are raw
• 9:43
  material supplier conferences. There are investor
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  conferences. It's like I go to them all. So you're
• 9:52
  a very busy woman then. Yes. You go to all these
• 9:55
  conferences. Okay, there's a lot of talk about
• 9:58
  clean beauty, but not all of it is genuine. How
• 10:03
  do you use networking to cut through the greenwashing
• 10:06
  and align with people and brands who actually
• 10:10
  walk the walk? I'm a cosmetic chemist myself.
• 10:14
  I do review ingredients when the ingredient suppliers
• 10:17
  bring in the new ingredients. So I can tell if
• 10:21
  it's science or if it's just marketing. Okay,
• 10:27
  good, good. Okay, then. So what role has personal
• 10:32
  branding played in how people approach you for
• 10:35
  collaborations? And how do you protect your time
• 10:38
  and energy in a space full of shiny opportunities?
• 10:44
  Okay, so what role does personal branding? Personal
• 10:49
  branding actually is more important than your
• 10:52
  own. for creating any other brand because your
• 10:56
  brands can be folded but you are still there
• 10:58
  so that goes personal brand you will always be
• 11:01
  around so your reputation is extremely important
• 11:06
  to protect in terms of shining object you just
• 11:10
  have to be very clear what is your purpose So
• 11:13
  you need to stick to your mission. So is taking
• 11:17
  on this project or partnership is going to detract
• 11:21
  you or move you forward? That's how you gauge.
• 11:26
  You need to understand your why. Okay, good.
• 11:30
  If a young beauty entrepreneur came up to you
• 11:34
  today with a breakthrough formula but no connections,
• 11:38
  where would you tell them to start? Social media,
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  because first of all, she needs to put herself
• 11:46
  out there by using her own social media to build
• 11:49
  her personal brand. Also, she can emulate those
• 11:54
  who are already successful and just following
• 11:56
  them to see what kind of messages that they share.
• 12:00
  And if they follow enough of them, comment enough,
• 12:05
  like enough of the posts, eventually you get
• 12:08
  noticed. Okay. So how would you suggest them
• 12:13
  increasing their social media presence? Post
• 12:18
  daily and post on every single channel, be omnipresent.
• 12:24
  Okay, good. And you know, we're, let me see if,
• 12:29
  nope. You are successful today, but I'm sure
• 12:34
  you weren't always successful. And you must have
• 12:37
  run into a problem as you're going up the ladder.
• 12:41
  So give us a problem that you had and how did
• 12:45
  you get out of it? I think a problem everyone
• 12:50
  will have if you're working in corporate is where
• 12:53
  can you go? What is the ladder the highest you
• 12:58
  can go? So that was the reason why a lot of people
• 13:01
  become entrepreneur because you control your
• 13:04
  own destiny. your upside potential is unlimited
• 13:09
  when you work within a corporation yes it's good
• 13:13
  and stable but you always need to consider what
• 13:18
  is the risk versus reward right with you being
• 13:22
  on your own Yeah, there are risks because there
• 13:26
  is no protection. But that also pushes you forward
• 13:29
  to work harder, to hustle more. And you will
• 13:33
  have untapped potential because it can only go
• 13:35
  up. That's very good. Okay, so let's bring this
• 13:39
  podcast full circle. And looking ahead, what
• 13:44
  kind of relationships are you seeking more of
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  now? And what does that say about your brand,
• 13:51
  how your brand is evolving? What kind of relationship
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  I'm seeking is whoever wants to work with me,
• 14:00
  we need to have the same alignment because without
• 14:02
  the same alignment, it's just very hard. Even
• 14:06
  with my clients, when they want to work with
• 14:08
  me, I request for a strategy call and I request
• 14:12
  that we align on every single element before
• 14:15
  we start. Otherwise, we will have a lot of conflicts
• 14:19
  down the road. That's very good. Ginger, this
• 14:23
  was very informational. I'm so glad that you
• 14:27
  came on the podcast. But if somebody wants to
• 14:30
  get hold of you for either a reason for your
• 14:34
  chemistry and cosmetics or whatever else, or
• 14:37
  just want to be coached by you, what's the best
• 14:40
  way for them to get hold of you? The best way
• 14:43
  is actually through DM, Instagram, the beauty
• 14:46
  shark, Ginger. Okay, good, good. All right, then.
• 14:51
  Ginger, thank you very much for coming on the
• 14:54
  podcast, and I look forward to speaking with
• 14:56
  you soon. Thank you. Well, hold on, folks. Don't
• 15:04
  go anywhere. Let's hear from our sponsors. David
• 15:08
  Neal, co -founder, Revved Up Kids. Revved Up
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• 15:25
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• 15:30
  When it comes to making the biggest financial
• 15:32
  decision of your life, leave it in the hands
• 15:35
  of a proven professional, Henry Kaplan. Henry
• 15:38
  is a global real estate agent with Century 21,
• 15:42
  celebrating his 41st year in business. No matter
• 15:46
  where you're moving, Henry has the right connections
• 15:49
  for you. You can contact Henry at 561 -427 -4888.
• 16:00
  insights today. And of course, a big shout out
• 16:03
  to you, our amazing listeners, for tuning in
• 16:06
  and spending your time with us. If you're interested
• 16:09
  in my digital courses, being coached or having
• 16:13
  me come and talk to your company, just go to
• 16:16
  Michael and fill out the request form. Remember,
• 16:19
  networking isn't about being perfect. It's about
• 16:23
  being present. So take what you've learned today,
• 16:26
  get out there and make some meaningful connections.
• 16:29
  If you've enjoyed this episode, please don't
• 16:32
  forget to subscribe, leave us a review, and share
• 16:35
  it with someone who could use a little networking
• 16:37
  inspiration. Let's keep the conversation going.
• 16:41
  You can find me on Apple, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube,
• 16:45
  or my website, foreman .com slash podcasts.