At the beginning of the summer I wrote about The Body Patisserie (previous post) The founder, Shermaine Davis, suffers from eczema, and even the scented “for sensitive skin” products irritated her skin. She started testing natural products for herself, and developed a line of pastry scented bath gels and lotions.
Over the summer, Shermaine has been very busy with some DIY marketing and PR and I wanted to share her success with you. It is inspiring and is a great example of persistence and ingenuity paying off.
One of the things she did was search online for events that were hosting gifting suites and offering gift bags (before Wednesday’s email list existed). She then determined who the directors of the gifting events were, and sent them requests to have her product included. This trolling expedition paid off and her product is being included in the celebrity gift bags at the Palm Springs Film Festival in January 2010. This is an enormous opportunity for exposure. This goes to show that if you want something, ask. Sometimes you’ll get a yes.
She then went to the Ft. Lauderdale Gift Show, as an attendee, saving the expense of getting a booth. She brought samples and press kits and did her marketing on foot. The response was amazing, and she received orders from several boutiques. Additionally, Shermaine writes a blog related to her products and sends out a monthly newsletter. Both of these are filled with health tips and skin care information.
Because of her tremendous DIY marketing efforts, Shermaine has created a buzz about her products. She was recently invited to be a speaker at the 2010 Georgia Spring Fling (A Celebration of Soap and Candle Making) regarding the importance of product packaging.
You do not need a lot of money to get your business started. You just need a desire, a belief in yourself, and a willingness to take chances. It pays off much more often than you might guess. Shermaine’s success is proof of that. The Body Patisserie
