As Pure as It Gets

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and beauty but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Kelly Winterhalter, founder of Ellovi, located in Berkeley, CA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

We are a California-based, women-run, small business that makes moisturizers that are pure enough to eat. Our products contain just 6-ingredients total and are free from synthetic chemicals, preservatives, and water. We are vegan & cruelty-free, eco-friendly, sustainable, and handmade. Our mission is to disrupt the skincare industry by creating products that are healthy for your skin and that work better than everything else on the market.

Our customers are mostly women who really care about this world and want to make it a better place. They are interested in natural products. They are frustrated with big corporations that take advantage of the consumer by selling cheap junky products with high markup and unsafe ingredients. They want high-quality products that work, full transparency about what they are putting on their skin, an ethical company, and something that does not negatively impact this world. I want full transparency about what they are putting on their skin, and they want a company that holds high regard for the well-being of others.

Tell us about yourself

Ellovi was born in my kitchen. It happened because I wanted products that didn't exist in the market. I was always very interested in cosmetics and skincare. Before creating Ellovi, I was using mainstream conventional products. At a certain point, I noticed none of them seemed to be helping my skin. They were actually making it worse. I remember looking at the ingredients label on one of my products and seeing 50+ words I couldn't even pronounce. It had me realizing...I always look at the ingredients in the foods I eat; I try to avoid things that are not healthy...so why wouldn't I be reading the ingredients in my skincare products as well? This was the beginning of a huge rabbit hole.

I started researching the industry and was shocked by my findings. I learned that it is standard for skincare companies to make products that are loaded with synthetic (and hardly tested) ingredients, preservatives & cheap fillers. That even products labeled "natural" use synthetic chemicals and cheap fillers.

When I decided to make the switch to natural for all of my skincare products, I had the hardest time finding products. Just looking through the ingredients label on natural products was confusing. I found a lot of the products didn't work, so that's when I decided to start making my own.

Handcrafted products opened my eyes to the most incredible discoveries:

Simple, clean ingredients work better.
You don't need fillers and preservatives.
You don't need dozens of ingredients to make great products.

I found the simple products I made in my kitchen were better than anything I could buy, so I decided to bring them to the market.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

It's learning the inner dimensions of business. That business is a tool for transformation & evolution.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Adapting to everything that comes. You go through a full range of experiences as a business owner. There are times when things are full of passion and creativity, and then there are times when that feels stuck. You have successes, and you have setbacks. You have plans that go well and plans that fail. It's easy, and it's hard. It's everything wonderful and perfect and then suddenly something breaks.

The biggest challenge is facing all of it and finding a way through everything. It's to recognize that business is not really about stepping in and having it all go perfectly. It's going to be a wild ride. The point is to enjoy it, learn from all of it, and transform along the way.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Compassion for your consumer. If you authentically care about who it is you are trying to serve, it opens an awareness of understanding that builds the foundation of what your brand is all about. So many lose this connection in business because they are too focused on money and growth. Without this connection, you don't have a brand.
Your business is a mirror to your mind. Suppose you are stuck in your business look to where you are stuck in your mind and open it. Practice developing yourself and your business, and watch how they coincide.
Ask yourself why? If you can answer that question with a fiery intensity, then go out and do it!!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.ellovi.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elloviskin
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellovi/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.