Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in skin care but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Alison Smith, Founder, and Owner of WildBloom Skincare, located in Wilton, CT, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Welcome to the world of WildBloom skincare – where we are dedicated to creating products that allow people to make healthier, safer, and more informed choices for themselves and their families. WildBloom skincare is proud to bring you some of the purest, safest, most effective natural skincare products on the market.
All of our products are now formulated and produced in Wilton, CT, where we focus on creating safe, results-driven products. Everything we make is fresh and crafted in small batches. Our ingredients are top-notch, and we don't sacrifice quality to save money. We source as many organic ingredients as possible, and we scent our products with 100% pure therapeutic-grade essential oils. We never use synthetic fragrances, harsh chemicals, phthalates, parabens, or retinol, to name a few. Our clean formulas offer you effective, non-toxic alternatives for beautiful, healthy skin.
We are proud to be a Net Zero Plastic Partner with Plastic Bank as we aim to reduce the amount of plastic used in our products. Our customers are from all across the country and include both retail stores as well as individual consumers. All of our customers are looking for hyper-effective products and appreciate our commitment to curating products that are good for both them and the environment.
Tell us about yourself
I originally started a company with my good friend, Courtney Kilcoyne. Courtney and I both had active boys, and we wanted to have a bug repellent that wouldn't sweat off. After formulation and testing, we launched BUG, our all-natural bug-repellent stick. After some initial successes, we realized that we needed to expand to more year-round products and began formulating skincare products with simple and pure ingredients. About a year in, we met the owners of WildBloom Skincare and merged WildBloom in with our initial company so that we could dramatically expand our product line and geographic reach. Our biggest challenge is reaching more people--once someone tries our line, they come back again and again because the results are just phenomenal while still keeping an eye on sustainability. We also give back to our communities, having founded a program called Culture Crawl CT that aims to bring people back to local theater post-pandemic, being a lead supporter of our local soccer teams and also a lead supporter of community ballet theater.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
It may seem a bit of a different answer, but I love seeing our interns thrive. We have had these folks each year, and each year they are accepted to amazing universities. We are excited to have shared a bit of the business world with them and hope to have them either rejoin WildBloom or bring sustainability to their future endeavors!
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Operations--making sure that we don't run out. Early on, we had a lot of operational issues with keeping in stock because of the quality expectation of our ingredients. Right as we were figuring it out, we ran into pandemic-related supply chain issues. We are through it, but staying on top of supply is something that I wish we had known early on. The hardest thing as a business owner is not knowing what you don't know and learning along the way.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
The first tip I would say--do something that you actually love. I formulated the skincare products not to make them the most profitable but to make them actually something I wanted to use. When you ask someone to buy something from you, you need to believe it. My second tip is--ask lots of questions. We learned a ton and avoided costly mistakes by asking literally anything we could think of--and we still made tons of mistakes!! My last tip is--leverage your network. Ask your friends to tell their friends about what you are doing. Ask them to share your posts. Ask them to like your content. There are free things that your network is happy to do to help grow the business that doesn't cost you or them anything!
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://wildbloomskincare.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wildbloomskincare
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wildbloomskincare/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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