Meet Tara and Fara Hayward.
Twin sisters from Central Florida, rising entrepreneurs, and founders of Pure Essence Body Care, a maker and seller of natural/organic hand-crafted body care products.
Spending childhood summers on their grandparent's farm in North Carolina, Tara and Fara took an early interest in natural remedies from their grandmother, Mrs. Rosa Mae Henry-Peppers.
Today, at 30 years-of-age, the Sister, Sister duo have created a blossoming business from a family passion and childhood pastime. Operating from Central Florida, the future is bright for this unique, enterprising pair.
I had an opportunity to interview Tara and Fara to gain insights on the skills and methods they apply to run their business and achieve success.
Q: Describe the type of person who would love what Pure Essence Body Care has to offer.
Fara: Anyone that loves great organic body care products would love what we offer. We wanted to make sure everyone could use our products. We decided not to use any animal by-products, so we would appeal to vegans as well as non-vegans. Also, for those with allergies, we can custom make any item.
Q: Where did your initial funding/capital come from to get things off the ground and how did you go about getting it?
Tara: Most of our funding/capital came from our personal finances, and some from family. We've been able to cut most of the expenses by designing our own website, flyers, and labels for packaging.
Q: What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur)?
Fara: I would say to effectively run your business, a successful entrepreneur should:
- Have a business plan. If you have goals for your business, you must have a plan in place to achieve them
- Know how to market your business. There are many ways to market your business. Social Networking has made it easier to reach your target market for little or no cost.
- Be able to build customer relationships. Customer satisfaction is very important. It brings repeat business. It helps to provide revenue and certainty for your business.
Q: How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
Tara: For marketing we have used, word of mouth, a public relations rep, e-mail marketing, partnerships with other businesses, flyers, and we participate in various vending opportunities. All of these methods have proved successful. However, if I had to pick one, I would say that my favorite was when we decided to solicit the services of a public relations rep. With her help we were able to gain exposure to local and national media, as well as national organizations.
Q: What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Fara & Tara: Our favorite aspect is knowing that we’re getting paid to do something that we absolutely love doing!
Q: How has being an entrepreneur affected your relationship with each other as sisters, and your family life?
Fara & Tara: Becoming an entrepreneur has actually made us closer as a family. We solicited the help of our mother, sister, and even a close cousin. It's a real family business. I won't say that everything is perfect, we still have times where people don't complete tasks in a timely manner, but everyone wants to see the company succeed.
Q: Business aside for a minute. What are your other hobbies? What do you do when you're not working?
Tara: Well because we still have 9 to 5's and are working on building our business, we don't usually have a lot of time for anything else. In my downtime, I try to spend as much time with family and friends as possible. Our business started out as a hobby. So sometimes for fun, I like to go into my ingredient stash and just start experimenting with new product ideas. Also, anything that I can use as a creative outlet is great for my sanity, such as, web design, interior decorating, and even reading a good fiction novel.
Q: Some say you should never ask ladies their age, but... : )
Fara & Tara: We have no problems with telling our age. Every year we're given is a blessing. We've been blessed with 30 yrs so far.
Q: What has been your most challenging moment in business to-date?
Tara: I would say the most challenging would be knowing when to delegate responsibility or knowing when to say no. When you're building a business, you just want to try to do EVERYTHING that comes your way, because you just want to get your name out there. But when you take on too much, your once fun hobby, starts becoming a job, and you get burned out.
Q: Who inspires you?
Tara: I get really inspired when someone comes up to me, or we receive a testimonial from a customer that found relief from their skin issues while using our product.
Q: Where you see yourselves and your business in 5 years?
Fara & Tara: In 5 years, we see ourselves transitioning from our 9 to 5's and working for our business full-time. In addition to body care, we hope to have included hair care and facial care products. We also hope to have a building for local sales in addition to our on-line business. Our spa and vegan café would also be located in this building.
Q: Thanks for sharing your story with fellow Skillologists. Any last words?
Fara: Don’t be afraid to take risks. If you believe in your product or service, do not be afraid to get out there to let the world know about it. Be smart though. Take it one step at a time. In today’s economy, you may have to start working your business part-time until you can work it full-time.
To purchase natural body care products and support Tara and Fara's company, visit http://www.pureessencebodycare.com.
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