Last Updated on November 16, 2020
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About Roberta Perry
I am a proud daughter, sister, wife, mom, grandma, aunt, friend, entrepreneur, drum player, and mild adventure seeker. I grew up on Long Island in New York and stayed. I went to college here. I married a man from here. I raised my family here. I started my business here. I love this place! My background was in graphic design and after getting my BFA in design, I worked for years in NYC as a designer. I love that I am able to use my background in graphics in my present business. I design all the logos, labels and literature and maintain the daily changes on the website.
About ScrubzBody Skin Care Products
My company was started on a whim, a prayer, and a lunch with my sister. My skin was super dry, itchy and irritated at the time. So much so, that one time I scratched my elbow and it started bleeding. I knew I had to do something. I had created a body scrub for myself based on a few I had purchased. I liked various things about some, and various things about others, so I combined those things into one. My later sister, Michelle, tried some and told me I , or “we”, as she put it, should sell it. She even came up with the name. I started at home parties and small salons. Then we sold to natural markets, such as Whole Foods. We decided to open a shop and realized that retail with customers we could speak with one on one and get to know, was a much better business for both of us.
We stopped selling to large places and concentrated on our shop. We expanded to hosting Make Your Own Scrubz parties as well as in shop treatments. After Michelle passed I moved my shop to another town and created an even better space to please our customers.
I recently started serving a wholesale clientele again, mainly as private label which I love because it gives me a chance to help another entrepreneur create a business of their own.
Contents
How Did You Get Your First Several Customers Or Users? How Many Users Or Customers Do You Have Now?
I sold my first jar of scrub to the receptionist of my chiropractor. She then offered me the chance to sell at her house party. She had a few other vendors coming over that night. We sold out. It was amazing.
I started collecting emails at every event we went to. I have built a solid list for over 14 years. I send out an email once a week. I believe email is the best way to stay directly in touch with your customers if you can’t do it in person. Respect your email list and the people who trusted you with it.
Now I have thousands of customers! I sell online, in store, wholesale and private label.
How Does Your Company Grow And Acquire New Customers?
We grow mainly by word of mouth. We grow by people buying our products as gifts and then the recipient becomes a customer. Then they send it as a gift to someone else. And it really expands and grows from there!
Hosting parties at the shop really helps bring people in. We get plenty of walk-in traffic, as well.
I send an email out weekly to our list. I use Help a Reporter Out to reach writers and journalists who need information I can provide. I occasionally run an ad, but that is never my first go-to option.
What Actionable Tips And Tricks Do You Have For New Founders Who Are Looking To Get Their First Thousand Users Or Dollars?
Build relationships with the customers you have. “Forget” about the new customers and concentrate on the ones you have. They will then bring you friends and family and co-workers. They will share what they love about you and your business. Then you will treat these new people as you have treated your original customers. You’ll give it all you got. Then they will bring you more. And so on. And so on. That is how you grow not only organically, but you will be building a solid base of amazing and loyal customers.
What Is Something You’ve Learned That Would Not Be Obvious To Somebody Who Hasn’t Worked In Your Space Before?
How many little things it takes to run a business. How many moving parts and components, especially if you produce product. When we do inventory, I am always blown away by what we have stored here. When I look at my to-do list, however, I remember how it is those little things that keeps the business ball rolling.
What’s The Craziest Thing That’s Happened To You (Good Or Bad) On Your Founder Journey?
We were the Season One Finale episode on a Bravo show called Sell it Like Serhant. It was called “Pore Sales” and concentrated on my best and worst sales person. It was so much fun taping the show and then getting to watch ourselves months later. https://scrubzbody.com/we-were-on-sell-it-like-serhant-on-bravo-tv/
What Are Your Favorite Books?
I love historical fiction or books that teach me about a culture the most. I am now reading “The Girl with the Louding Voice”. I recently read The Vanishing Half and Dutch House. Business books include Who Moved my Cheese, Marie Forleo’s book, Everything is Figureoutable, as well as Ash Ambirge’s The Middle Finger Project Book.
Anything You’d Like To Plug?
https://scrubzbody.com/product-category/scrubzbody-sugar-scrub/
If I was on a desert island and only allowed one product, it would most definitely be the scrub. I love how multi-tasking it is.
Recommended Posts:
- Minimizing Risk By Selling Upfront With Thejo Kote
- Building Relationships And Supporting Small Businesses With Michelle Y Talbert
- Why You Should Reach Out To Everybody You Know With Kara Duffy
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