North Bay Woman

NORTH BAY WOMAN 41 studying the properties of various botanicals there, she learned to make soaps, lotions and other skin and healthcare products that she gave to friends. Increasing demand for her products led to selling creations in her home at tri-annual shows. With the success of these shows over the past few years, Steele is now ready for a different sales venue. She's planning to go online: Instagram, Facebook, and soon, her own e-commerce site, Steele Botanicals. "I'm content to keep it small for now, so I can keep control of the product," she says. "I want it still to be magical for me." Steele exemplifi es another element of success: Take time to do it right. Hamama For Camille Richman, Massachusetts In- stitute of Technology provided the impetus for her new business, Hamama, from the Hebrew word for greenhouse. Her alma mater provided multi-million-dollar equip- ment, facilities and support for her research in hydroponics and aeroponics. Here, she explored urban gardening, and here, too, she met business partner Daniel Goodman. Together, they designed, patented, and created microgreen growing kits — a com- plete, easy-to-grow indoor salad in a box. The business duo fi rst began selling at Marin farmers' markets, then online (hamama.cc). "Once our online sales took off, it's mostly online now," ex- plains Richman, who adds that customer feedback led them to also offer subscriptions, which provide monthly kit deliveries. Richman and Goodman do everything in the business them- selves, from product develop- ment to marketing to preparing the seed quilts and mailing. "Luckily, we have supportive families," she says. "People want to help." In fact, Hamama's success is directly attributable to the community involved in its creation, fi nancial support, and product development. Richman's story underscores the impor- tance of another element of success: Gather all the support you can. Royal Locks Haircare Gina Wilson had already enjoyed a successful career as a spa owner when she started Royal Locks Haircare, a line of prod- ucts for curly hair sold exclusively online. Born with curly hair that kept getting curlier as she grew, Wilson spent her life experi- menting with products to keep her locks in shape. "I always wanted to create my own hair- care products," she says. "I knew the need was out there, so I just decided to go for it." A friend sold products on Amazon and Wilson thought that would be a good place to start. "People are already going there to buy," she explains. But it wasn't easy. In addition to creating and testing the products, there is a huge learning curve for Amazon selling, she says. "There's just a lot of logistics involved. A lot of customer support." And a lot of marketing. Wilson took cours- es on Amazon marketing and eventually hired a social media marketer. What kept Wilson going was the sales. "As I learned more and more and got better and better at what I was doing, sales would just get better and better." Now, she is working toward her own eCommerce site. Self-employment is not for the faint- of-heart, Wilson says. But as her experience shows, the most power- ful secret of success is: Keep going. Persistence pays off. n Top to bottom: Camille Richman and Daniel Goodman of Hamama. – Photo provided by Hamama; Gina Wilson of Royal Locks Haircare with her new Crown Deep Conditioning Mask; Below; Three Royal Locks haircare products Wilson created herself and sells on Amazon: Curl Rescue, Curl Nectar and Curl Gel. – Photos by Stuart Lirette created microgreen growing kits — a com- plete, easy-to-grow indoor salad in a box. The business duo fi rst began selling at online sales took off, it's mostly online now," ex- plains Richman, who adds that customer feedback led them to also offer subscriptions, which provide monthly kit deliveries. everything in the business them- selves, from product develop- ment to marketing to preparing "Luckily, we have supportive of customer support." And a lot of marketing. Wilson took cours- es on Amazon marketing and eventually hired a social media marketer. What kept Wilson going was the sales. "As I learned more and more and got better and better at what I was doing, sales would just get better and better." Now, she is working toward her own eCommerce site. Self-employment is not for the faint- of-heart, Wilson says. But as her experience shows, the most power- ful secret of success is: Persistence pays off. Amazon: Curl Rescue, Curl Nectar and Curl Gel. – Photos by Stuart Lirette

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