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Handmade Beauty Connection
April 2, 2001

A Publication of The Handmade Beauty Network
ISSN 1530-9630
April 2, 2001
Vol. 2, Issue 13

-->This Week's Sponsor: Auroma and Donna Maria

Empower Your Small Business & Turn Your Passion Into Profits!

In cooperation with Auroma, a leading supplier of essential oils and raw materials for aromatherapy and handmade beauty products, Donna Maria will present an empowering afternoon helping you learn how to combine sound business, legal
and entrepreneurial principles to position your small business for success in today's competitive global marketplace. We'll cover:

1. How To Prepare A Business Plan To Ensure Future Growth
2. How To Protect Your Trademark and Other Intellectual Property
3. How To Establish a Reliable "Sticky" Web Presence

Date: April 21, 2001
Time: 1:00pm-5:00pm, with optional networking dinner to follow!
Location: Chicago, Illinois

Limited space available, so call to register now!! Call Auroma at (800) 327-2025 or send an email to Kevin@Auroma.com!

1. HBN Update ~ Welcome New HBN Members!!
2. Handmade Beauty Trivia Question ~ win a bar of "Honestly Herbal" handmade soap by HBN member The Parsonage!
3. Donna Maria's New "Legal Issues" Audio Tape Set!
4. Handmade Beauty Product Review by Donna Maria
5. Business Tip of the Week: Power Up! ~ Enthusiasm
6. HBN Members Remain In The Business Spotlight!

1. HBN Update ~ Welcome HBN Members!

Suppliers:

Biochemicals Int., Inc. | Larry Moroni | Florida
Soap and More, The Learning Centre | Maureen Oliver | Canada
Find their Power Profiles at MangoButter!

Handmade Beauty Products Manufacturers:

Renewing Member:
Quickscents Aromatherapie | Paula Quick | Virginia

Find their quality products through HBN's Online Member Directory, now with 3 ways to search: (1) by state/country; (2) by member business name; or (3) by keyword search!

2. Handmade Beauty Trivia Question ~ Last week's winner was Roger Rollin of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Roger won some handmade soaps made by Sunflower Soaps and Sundries.

Who is credited with first saying: "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."

Last Week's Answer: Eleanor Roosevelt

This Week's Question: At the Handmade Toiletries Summit in August in Reston, Virginia, one of the featured speakers is an officer at the FDA's Office of Cosmetics & Colors, which is responsible for enforcing the regulations that apply to cosmetics (among other things). To win this week, state the exact name of the speaker (including middle initial and any other identifying information), and provide the speaker's exact professional title.

Be the first to answer this week's question correctly and win a bar of "Honestly Herbal" handmade soap by HBN member The Parsonage! This bar is a creamy goat milk soap made with clary sage, litsea, and patchouli essential oils and speckled lightly with ground herbs.

Please read the contest rules before submitting your entry.

While time does not permit me to respond personally to all entrants, the winner will be notified by email and their name posted at the link above.

3. Donna Maria's New "Legal Issues" Audio Tape Set!

In this new 2-set audio series taped just a few days ago at the Conference of Handcrafted SoapMakers (sponsored by HBN member, the Handcrafted SoapMakers Guild), Donna Maria shares legal tips on managing your handmade toiletries business. You'll learn how to distinguish between true soap, melt and pour and cosmetics, how to label cosmetics and insect repellants, ways to protect your trademarks, copyrights and brand name and much more!

HBN Member Price - $15 (shipping/handling included)
Non-HBN Member Price - $20 (shipping/handling included)

To order, send an email to tapes@handmadebeauty.com with name, credit card information, number of tape sets ordered, shipping address or call (800) 934-5611 or (301) 464-4515 to order! Include your business name if you are an HBN member!

4. Handmade Beauty Product Review by Donna Maria

~ Greenman Bliss Bar by Leslie's Garden
4 oz. | $3.95

Made by one of the nation's premier handmade soapmakers, HBN member Leslie Plant of Leslie's Garden, this bar is a hands down favorite. It's named for the "Greenman," what Leslie calls "the spirit of the wood and the garden." It contains essential oils of ylang ylang and cistus, two of my favorites that I don't see soapmakers use much, and certainly not in combination. Leslie has come up with the perfect blend of both to create this exotic formulation that is not only fragrant but beautiful. It contains just the right amount of chrome oxide to turn it a beautiful shade of light green and the lather is creamy and luxurious. Congratulations Leslie on another exquisite bar of handmade soap!

Leslie teaches soapmaking and balm making classes in the DC area .. if you live or visit these parts, her classes are among the best. You can find them (and other great handmade beauty product-related events) listed on HBN's Events Calendar.

You can find Greenman Bliss Bar and Leslie's other fantastic handmade soaps through HBN's Online Member Directory.

5. Business Tip of the Week: Power Up! ~ Enthusiasm

The last (but certainly not least) of my Power Up! Principles is the concept of Enthusiasm. Anyone who has ever tried to sell anything knows how important it is to be enthusiastic about your product or service. In my experience, business persons who are enthusiastic about their product or service are much more likely to be successful at convincing others to purchase from them than persons who seem lukewarm to their wares. Here are some tips to spark your enthusiasm:

1. Use your products and be prepared to give your own personal testimonials about how they enhance your life. Tell people in detail about what they do for you, and do it cheerfully (even though it may be the 500th time you've done it that day!) While attending the Handcrafted Soapmaker's Guild conference last month, I watched carefully as one of the exhibitors demonstrated his product, an easy to use cosmetic base that could be used to make a variety of textured creams and lotions. I'm sure he must have performed the same demo over and over again that weekend, but when he showed it to me, it was fresh and alive ... like he was doing it for the first time that day. He spoke to me like I was the only person in the room. He commanded my attention and showed me that he believed in his product. The next time I need a large quantity of base, I will remember to contact him. He clearly had confidence in his product, and this instilled confidence in me.

2. Display your wares in a way that distinguishes them from your customers' other choices. Splashes of color and product displays in different heights lend depth and interest to a product display. If you are allowed, use a diffuser to waft a light aroma into the air to attract visitors to your booth or display area. Anything you can do to interact with the senses of your potential customers shows that your are outgoing and enthusiastic about what you have to share. People will be attracted to that, and then, to your products!

3. Toot your horn! Before a craft show or a trade show appearance, let your customers and potential customers know where you will be so they can find you easily. Advertise using your Web site, place flyers in boxed orders, send out inexpensive post card mailers to your customer list ... do anything to make sure they know where to find you and that you want to be found! Once they sense your enthusiasm about an upcoming event, they will be more likely to want to be there with you!

6. HBN Members Remain In The Business Spotlight!

Once again, HBN members are on the move!! HBN member The Soap Quarry is featured this week at the Idea Cafe.

Stacey Center, Soap Quarry's owner, makes all of her products by hand and her business is featured in "Passion Rules" by Alex Powe Allreed. Congratulations Stacey and all other HBN members who are engaged in such quality and inspirational endeavors!

If you have a suggested recipe, trivia question or information about HBN members in the spotlight, send it to Jenn@HandmadeBeauty.com. If we use either in an upcoming issue, we'll credit you!!

Visit The Handmade Beauty Connection Archives.

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Donna Maria, Editor-In-Chief, DonnaMaria@HandmadeBeauty.com
Jenn Givler, Associate Editor, Jenn@HandmadeBeauty.com
The Handmade Beauty Connection
The Handmade Beauty Network | www.HandmadeBeauty.com