Well hello there,
My name is Renee, and my company is called Pampered Life Naturals.
Let's go back to 2020 when the pandemic started following what's going on now.
In March of 2020 my momma died of heart failure, and the world went on pause mode.
I only had a few hundred dollars from my business revenue, my work wages including sick leave, and an uncertain future. It took 3 months to get funding from various sources all the while I had to figure out how to pay bills and my mom's final expenses before that.
In October 2020 I decided to get a street vendor permit in order to make a living when all the money stops coming I still need to have a source of income to operate a business and household.
I made the decision to setup my business at Leimert Park, Los Angeles, and was there until March before another organization took over the area not allowing me to make a living on Sundays like I was before.
in 2021 I was able to network around different venues across Los Angeles County with a partner at the time. Although I lost money by not keeping up with the inflation, and low crowd turnout it taught me how to market myself better to attract the clientele I prefer for my business. I was traveling everywhere,but I was not in the niche market that would help me profit. Also I learned how different ingredients work better for disorders like eczema for example. People had the same problems with their skin they had frustration in common. The experience made me step my game up I did a lot of research on common skin conditions.
As a business I have a lot of expenses like: cellphone, insurance, vendor fees, taxes, supplies, equipment, gas, food, etc. This year started off like a dud my car had to get serviced, and it came out to $3000 in repair fees. Also what I noticed is attendance at popups were getting lower and lower even breaking even was a hard push. Also my fees were weighing on me. so I did a audit on how I was spending money.
I discovered that opting for the free version on my website saved me $150 a year, using a link tree as a landing page saves me extra fees from other platforms, and being selective about what events I will attend had made profits double in the last 90 days. Mind y'all I'm still in the hole for $3000 for my car,but at least I'm going in the black. However, inflation is killing business! I have been in business for over 5 years I have not seen this much inflation.
I decided to use link tree as a landing page because I'm taking advantage of anything free. The free version of my website only allows me to post ten products at a time. I do have an Etsy page,but that company is in serious trouble. It doubled its fees and is making the creator wait longer for their money. Since this inflation is happening I do not like to pay anything monthly if I can't buy a year's service I don't want it. That's why I don't have Shopify or Big Commerce because the service is high, and I don't want to pay monthly.
I have decided to add a blog to my link tree for the customer experience and also talk about aspects in making skin care products. I have found another ecommerce store that has unlimited product posts. Now people can buy from me online like how it was last year. When I'm not at events I am in the streets of LA getting my name out there. Now I am offering services like paper parties, consultations, skin care making classes, and how to form your business. I have been in the skin care industry for over 5 years,but I have been in the business industry for over 20 years.
My advice is to surround yourself with people who know more than you and want to help you. Also keep overhead low and profits high! Make your job income your business income! I financed my business off my job and savings for 5 years. Customer feedback is everything! I love talking to the people getting that energy! In the future, I will be advertising more and working on more social media content.
Check me out on Instagram @pamperedlifenaturals
if you want to donate for gas and food expenses cashapp $pamperedlifenaturals
check out my content on the link tree linktr.ee/Pampered_Life
You're not spoiled, you're not pampered!
