Blitzscaling a Wellness Brand w/ Janell Stephens

the way that I run the company. We're we generally are very good. Um I think as a culture and as like people in business, at creating brands. But what we rarely do. We rarely own the distribution of those brands. And so we create a thing, and then in order to get that thing out in front of the world, you gotta go to somebody who holds the keys to distribution to get your product on a shelf in front

of the millions and millions of people. And the people who own the keys to distribution really ultimately hold all the power, and they pick and choose and and make the kings and the queens. Um. I wanted to create our own distribution channel that we can own and control so that we can then control what products go into it. Right, So us, you know, hair extensions are the product on where they're like the wedge product on which we build this network. Those beauty supply stores, they all go out

of business tomorrow if they're not selling hair. Right, that's where all the big ticket items is, where the margin is and everything. So on that product, we're also going to leverage that to build our network. Right, that's the product that our stylus can make the most money selling Immediately. Once we build a network up and we have the stylists continuously repetitively making making more money and income from these products, we start adding new products. Here. I'm Will Lucas.

This is black Tech, Green money. I'm gonna answer this you to some of the biggest names, some of the brightest minds and brilliant ideas. If you're black and building simply using tech to secure your back, this podcast is for you. Janelle Stevens is the mixed master, founder and CEO at Camille Roads. She's been at the forefront of the radical ship in the billion dollar beauty industry and

it's been an iconic Trendseter within the space. Her products are available stores nationwide including Target, Bed, Bathroom Beyond, Sally's, Beauty Hopefuls, Walgreen, CBS, and more. I asked you now how she employed technology to build her multimillion dollar business and if it would have even been possible to build her company. So since sessfully without leaning into tech, you know, I'm wondering if how would I have grown without it? Because I didn't have any money when um I started

my brand. I definitely could not put up a big billboard or do a commercial for a TV advertisement or even a radio spot. So I'm not sure if it would be inexistent and still be um in existence and still be one h owned and funded by myself. Because of course, like so many other people who start a new business or brand, our funds are very limited. Um So I know that would have been extremely difficult. I don't know. I'm not gonna sit here and say all Camo roles would not have been but um, I know

it would have been very difficult. So many people doing the in the word that you've succeeded at doing, but they don't get to where you got right, and there's there's still so many people still in the kitchen, you know, making that in that formula, and how did you grow the brand prestore shelf to even get on the shelf in the first place. Yeah, because I think you can have the idea, but you have to put the drive and the passion and it truly has to be your destiny.

You know, whatever business you want to get into our start that truly has to be you know, within your heart. And then besides having your passion, you have to be able to get up and do the work and you know, apply pressure or apply you know that one step going for further, you know every day, you know consistently. Um, if you combine the two, I think you have the formula for success. And it's just this feeling. I tell entrepreneurs or young entrepreneurs, it's just a feeling that you get.

You know, you you thrive off of Okay, I gotta do this for my business. Just working for yourself and making things happen for yourself. It's just this like high that that you're on. You you cannot have these great ideas and then keep procrastinating or putting it to the side, or I'm gonna get to it, or you know that that it's if you're lacking. You know, if you have that and you then you're lacking in in some sort

of ways. So um, I think all entrepreneurs who are true entrepreneurs, they have that I'm gonna make it happen attitude by anymis necessary and work doesn't necessarily feel like work. You know, when I started coming out, I had a full time job, got off of my full time job, and then um, came home and worked extra hard for myself and it really didn't feel like work. I enjoyed doing that. Yeah, you know, I see so many people, you know, let's say, even starting like a clothing brand, like, like,

what made you uniquely suited for this? Because you know again that people people come to me and they have a clothing brand. I'm like, well, is anybody asking you for clothes? You know? Like are people following you because you have great style? Like? What made you uniquely suited for this business? Yeah? So um, you know this was a hobby of mine turn business, and I just think, uh, spiritually, it was it's my true path. Um. I want to have a masters and science I didn't. I had no

idea would be in the industry. My goal was to uh do homehellth and work in the hospitals and things like that, and which I did for a little while, but I had this UM. I was kind of put in this position where my kids started having issues with their skinning and hair and be a dryness and exama that UM. I took it upon myself to UM create this whole holistic and natural environment for me and my family. And I think that when you see someone that UM you love uh in me, you try to do whatever

you could do to kind of solve their issues. And that was the start for me and Camille Rose. I. I had no idea I was gonna be selling it to anybody. I made all these formulas and products from myself and my family and friends started asking, and then they started coming back for more. And as I would use my own formulas, I would see the results, and so I said, you know what this is. This shouldn't be kept within my own family. I don't want to be selfish. I gotta share this with the world. And

I threw up a website and started getting orders. Yeah, we're gonna come back and talk about the website, because

I've heard you talk about this before. Before we get there, you know, there's It's something I heard you talk about in another interview when you said you know so much, it's forgotten talent in these overlooked places, like you know, you're from Louisiana and yeah, and I wonder like for people listening to this who feel like they're not in the right place geographically to to make their dreams real, what do you say to that coming from the Deep South,

you know, and seeing people make it from there, and you you being one of them. Yeah, absolutely, you know that is something like anybody could say, well, I'm from Little timbuc two, so nobody's gonna recognize me or care about me. That's so not true. And I learned that not only through my business, but so many other businesses that are UM that are successful. UM people are coming

from all over all walks of life. It's just I think that when you are a consumer and when you are in the trenches and you know what, you are around regular people, when you're hearing what they want, what they need, you know, I think that's an extra added gift you know that you are blessed with to kind of be like, Okay, I'm the consumer or I'm my mom. I'm listening to my mom or here my friend, or I see what you know this person needs and I can make it happen, or I can solve an issue.

I think that even if you're um, you're in this small area, if you talk loud enough, stream a lot enough, you know, put that extra effort of work in, make some noise, somebody's gonna hear you talk. Let's talk about this website for a second, because you you've you said that I threw up a little website. But let's get in on this. Because you talked about you were in the path to be in healthcare, right, and so I can you're probably not a coder, and so I wonder like, okay,

what is this website that you building? Tell me what you did. That's talk about that for I didn't do literally, I found a local my brother actually did. That's soloette um, that's kind of me. I'm like, okay, turn me to the side. I just want my brows to be a little longer. So yes, my logo. And so I ended up finding um um, this local graphic person to actually turn it in his sketch into a logo. The yellow rose um that's in my solo. It's hair it's UM.

I dedicated that rose to my grandmother. She loved roses, and it's the whole story behind it too. So I only wanted that to be UM the pop up color. But I found this local photographer, UM. All the content that I had on my original labels, I did all that myself. He was just in his little one room studio trying to take images, and I found a friend that knew how to UM. I think my first website was maybe like three or four pages. He kind of

through my products up there. We introduced the brand, introduced myself with the price, and that was literally it. That was that was it? Yeah, And of course that it was very active on like Facebook, kind of help us put the word out. Yeah, let's let's go in there. Because that's where my question is because I hear you say, you know, you gotta be in on you gotta be going at it when you if you come home from work,

you gotta be working on this thing. And I hear I can imagine so many people listening to this interview saying, well, I did I'm doing all that. I got the website, I got a logo, you whether I got it on camble, I paid somebody on upwork, some this freelance designed to do this thing I'm putting in the hours and it's not going where yours is going. Well, mine didn't go where I am right now on instantly like that's it was blessed? What tears in this? You know what I'm saying.

And if you keep at it, keep at it, don't give up. Show up at places that you need to be like, um, whatever your business is. If they have like seminars or different functions where you can introduce your craft, please go. Um. That happened to me. I just so happened to do like a beauty show, had all my handmade concoctions at this beauty show and met the right person. A year later, I was in Target. So don't ignore

those those those kind of places. And that's there, you know, trying when you're trying to figure out, Okay, I have this amount of money, where am I gonna put this in my business? Don't forget about those shows, don't forget about events, don't forget about things that's happening in your area where you can pass out little um samples um that you make in your warehouse are on your own, pass them out the word out. They're like that as well, you know, just getting the street and and kinda be

your own boys. You are in the biggest big box stores that are a Target, in Walmart and etcetera. And when you meet those people, those buyers, what is it that they're looking for? Like, what is it a certain number that they're looking for in your sales and in how do you prepare that documentation to present to them? I had when I met my the buyers at UM Target, I had just my online sales and it was not that much. UM. I think with me and my brand.

When I got up there and I told my story, they saw my passion, they saw how I was so authentic um and um just the way I spoke about uh Camillo rolls and what Camillo roles stand for. And then of course you know they were looking for company's lifeline. But UM, I didn't have big numbers on on any of my social pages at all. I just went in there and I kind of told a story, and um,

they liked it. And UM even with with my products today, like even my consumers like they know I feel like when they pick up a Camillo rose product, they can feel how organic and um UM authentic we are to our brand. I always want people to to know that Camille Rose is the same as Camille Rose was back in two thousand and ten. We're the same today. You know. Our message is the same. What we stand for is

the exact same. And I think people feel that in my brand and in my um my content and my packaging that's on the retail ship stores, on the retail shelves and star. Yeah, when you do get that call to hey, we're gonna put your stuff in you know, fifty stores, a hundred stores or whatever, what kind of what kind of systems need to be in place on your on the manufacturing side or is that something that they step in on, like because I imagine you can't

fulfill those orders from your kitchen. Well, actually I did, um, and it liked to take me completely out, Like it was so frust Uh. When I got my first retailer, which was Target, Um, they wanted to give me a like I take that one too, your a large amount of doors, and then it was need that kind of step back and said no, I'll take a hundred. I don't want a thousand, and I'll take a hundred. You know, because I knew that I was still handmaking all of my products, and I didn't want to set myself up

for a failure. You know, first of all, what does this mean me going in retail? And then I knew nothing about laboratory. I didn't know how to give, nothing about that at all, so I had to continue to uh make mind you, I didn't have any employees either at this At this time, UM the lady that I met, this lady in my area and she was just like,

I'll help you out, you know, the label. So she would apply labels and put the tops on while I'm like literally squeezed, squeezing the product in the bottle, you know, and kind of packing it up. So it became I don't know what I was thinking. I don't know if I was like, okay, targets, they just put one order and let me fulfill this and we get but they started coming, you know, every week, and there was that At that point, I was like I can't, I can't

do this, Like how do I get a laboratory. So started research and went to the internet and researched how to get a laboratory. UM. I found several but they did not want to take me on and my brand because Cameo Roses, that gourmet foodie brand, and a lot of my ingredients are like costal their food great ingredients, and they don't laboratories don't typically order those type of raw materials, you know, they order chemicals. So I got a lot of nose until I found this one lap

laugh that was like, I'll help you out. But even that was a nightmare because I had to order all of my ingredients and send it to him. I was just kind of using his chains, you know. And but over time, it was the learning process. It was difficult, it was stressful, it was I lost a lot of sleep during that time. Um, and I just kind of I had to figure it out on my own. You know. You said you didn't have any employees in those early days of those first orders, and so you're so you're

in there, you know, squeezing it into the tubes. But you also say in a different interview, you know, coming off the shelf is a lot harder than getting on

the shelf. And so I wonder, like, how how are you likewise growing the brand to get off the shelf as you're running the business, Because there are so many people who are like you at that stage who are doing the whole thing, you know, and they're trying to grow the brand, fulfill the product and get it shipped, you know, ordered the raw materials, Like how is all

of this stuff happening? So UM, I think that for for newcomers, they need to utilize their platform to the best of their ability, like get on there and talk to your followers and let them know what you're doing, or try to grow your followers UM tag people, contact um um micro or influencers say head at this product, you know, would you like to try it? I could give you with this and then kind of get the

word out that way. UM. And then of course, you know, once we started to build momentum and target, I was able to bring on, you know, people, more professional people to kind of you know, pass things off on. But um, what I decided to do was I wanted to grow organically and take my time. So I told a lot of people, a lot of retailers know, you know, for a while before I was able to say, Okay, I'm at that point. Now it's yes, and don't be afraid to tell people know and think that this is my

only opportunity. If I say no, you know I may not get another chance. Don't don't think of it like that, because if you make a mistake and accept things that you can't handle, it's very expensive to come out of those retail stores. I know many great brands that came in with me that really didn't make it, and um, you know, so just don't be afraid to grow organically and as strong page. How did your your first sales happen?

Because you talked about you threw up a website and people started ordering, And how did those initial sales start to happen? You know? Were they family and friends or people who will live in your neighbor? Now? I think I New York. Like I started getting a ton of orders from grows from New York. And what was happening was, I think a blog or got ahold of one of my deep conditioners and she had a good amount of followers, so she started um reviewing my product, and from there

was like the snowball effect. But I can remember getting phone calls and me acting like I got this whole big old customer service team and that's just me on another and high and I started talking to this this girl who order, of course I had out of stocks a lot. So I was like, oh, so, what do you like about the product? And she was like, oh, Camille rolls and it does that's that not that? And now now that was me, I'm like acting like I'm

the customer service right, So UM, I really think it was. Um. The word of mouth YouTube was hot back then though it still is. But those influencers just getting on there talking to their followers about good products and good with good ingredients that they found. So it sounds like that

that happened for you by happenstance. Like if you were to redo this and be intentional about finding that blogger to write or finding that YouTube influencer to to talk about it on their video, what would that pitch look like for you? And let's say it's the early days again and you're redoing this and you wanted to be intentional now to go and get that person, what what

does that pitch look like for you? You know, it would still be UM kind of like today like organic, Like I like to work with people who A know the brand, you know, and I'm familiar with the brand and stand for the same things that I'll stand for, which is you know, ingredients matter great ingredients and not just um looking to review a product because it's the popular thing, or it's it's UM five none and no

are chief a cheaper product. I want label readers. You know, Commuo roast consumers are label readers because before I even got into the business. So when I thought about getting into the business, one thing that everyone, physician everyone was telling me make sure your label reads. You know, make sure you know what you are using one your body, what you're putting in your body. And that goes for

for food as well. I went on this whole natural quest, uh, from everything that we eat, to the products that we use to what you know, Um, I'm cleaning my house with so um label readers. They are my consumers, and I would do it this same way if if you're into a product that's holistic or natural, you know, I'm reaching out, Hey, I like what your page looks like, or I like what you're stand for. I love your curls.

You know, let me tell you about my products. How did you figure out things like unit costs, like what it costs you make one bottle? Because I imagine that so many people are just making Okay, it's it's ten dollars for the thing, but they don't really know what it costs that one single bottle. Sure that I used the same way initially, the same way, Like it's so much like I am so self taught, UM and I hope that because I think it just makes me that

much stronger now. Like I didn't have anybody holding my hand. I had to figure it out on my own, and it I think, man, just sitting there breaking down how much you're spending for everything, and that goes from the label to the ship, the shippers, the box that you are shipping with, to your stamps, to your bubble wrap, adding all that in too, of course, your raws and your components, adding all that in to your formula and just figuring out, okay, what's my how do I make

a profit? You know? And how much am I paying out? Adding calculating all that in. Um. I just had to sit there and do it because this is not an industry. I mean, so I'm curious, like is it. You're getting very intricate in the fact that Okay, if I'm buying let's say shay and it comes in you know, courts, and then I'm buying you know, coconut oil and it comes in gallons, and then I'm buying you know, ex

ingredient and it comes in a whole different denomination. And now I've got to figure out how much I'm using per bottle, and then I've got to figure out how much of like is it? Getting that deep into the it's really that deep to the point where now, of course, um, well, a year or so later into uh the business, of

course we had to bring on bringing experts. I didn't know was that either until I started meeting and talking to other people in the beauty industry and um, manufacturing in the laboratories and seeing, okay, eight ounces you have to add or calculate all of those ounces, you know, and it's a formula and um um I was taught that, and of course I had to bring people in into my business that um that knew it down to a t. Because at the end of the day, it's all about

how how much you can save. You know, you want to make sure you're not overspending on even your shippers, even your even fat X. You know, you have to take all all of that into consideration. No, what you know now about what it takes to do this, well, like what tools would you recommend other beauty industry wellness, haircare, skincare, um, smaller brands that are trying to scale, what tools, software or etcetera. Would you recommend that people find early that

helps them do better business? To me, I'm not even gonna say. What's more important is finding the right people uh and passing uh certain workloads off to people where that is their area of expertise. Like I had that problem, Like my hand is it everything all the way down from shipping to formulas to content like all that, Like my hand was in so much. And being able to kind of step back and say, okay, uh, you know you your your logistics, let me let you handle that.

This is your area. UM. So, just being able to let go a little bit, trust other people and let them do their job. I think that is extremely important if you cannot afford to bring somebody in one like as a full time employee. It's many different sites out there where you can contract people out. You know, you may not need a person to uh to be full time, which you just for content, you know, as different writers out there. I think you mentioned what you mentioned one uh, yes,

utilize that to the fullest I did. I did a lot you know in the beginning. So, um, those kind of tools and and um sites like that are are very helpful. You just have to do your research. At what sales number or is it a sales number? Do you start to really believe that you've got something for real and that is this is worth investing in. Well, it wasn't even a number for me. It was what me listening to what people were saying and consumers and and and people all on like YouTube and Instagram and

be like, oh my god, look at your hair. Look at look at how you styled your hair with my crawl up, you know, or just listen to them saying, oh your oil, your growth somewhem or your growth back drops. You know, I had a patch right here. Just look at my hair sists. You know. I love the fact that people that I haven't even met they're calling me Janelle like we besties. You know what I'm saying. I

love that. Um. But um, yeah, just just just just work, just staying true and know what your product and your brand is about. How important is things like content creation? You know, you guys spend a lot of time on YouTube. Um, and obviously it's you know, a hair care skill and care wellness brand. UM like, what tools and platforms should

an entrepreneur in this industry be focused on? Um? Content creation is very important because you want to make sure you are getting the right message to whoever you want your consumer to be. Um. Um, we use a lot of you'll be surprised head other websites Like I used a lot of foodie websites and restaurants to go there to help me, and it took so I could get inspiration on Okay, I know that I am using Garmet food the ingredients. How do I write this up? You know?

When you read one of my labels, you know, I want to spark um, like all of the senses. I want you to smell my product and be like, oh my god, it smells like they're goods or if you're reading what's on my label, it sounds like this is like delicious, you know, and UM. So it's definitely important for you to get your content just right and really really nail it because that is your opportunity to grab your consumers attention and kind of bring them into your

your whole brand family. You you mentioned that when you got ahold of Target, there was they were looking for brands like yours, and you talk about timing and how important it is for you know, that thing that you really really can't control, We can just be prepared for it, right, And how important is timing to somebody who may feel, like, you know, it's not going the way that they thought it might go. And what would you say to encourage them in that regard? Yes, so I will say, Um,

I got into Target. Listen, I did a a beauty show and it was no one there at that show. I mean I was just standing in my booth and so bored. So somebody came up to me. Actually it was a Caucasian mail with flip flops and a backpack on, and you know, I look, he said, so tell me about your brand, and like, I could have said it's not for you or you know, but I didn't. I

just chose to speak about Kamil Rose. And while I started Kamille Rose, and he was like he really saw and felt the passion when I described all of my products, and you know, um, thank god I didn't like, uh profile this person. Um. I spoke with him like he was a girl with the afro, and by the time I finished, he was like, you know, I am made buyer for from Target. I would love to fly you

up so you can tell us about your brand. So never never, if you have an opportunity to tell any and everybody, please do If you have an event that, um, you know, you have an opportunity to be a part of it an event and you can do it, go that extra mile. You know, because of COVID, couldn't do a lot of in person things and we're still we're

on the tail into that. I hope. UM. And but you talked about, you know, because of the pandemic, you know, you've been able to talk to people you don't think you would have been able to reach otherwise had it not been for the pandemic in that regard, and what what do you say to people who may not realize what this moment could be in creating an opportunity for

them to go get their thing? My god, it's so many ways, like I think by us when we got on a lockdown on it and we were forced to comment dig deep into ourselves like it it was just opportunity to start to recharge, refresh, like we think things I hold I hold marketing budget like through we just went out of the window. I mean, we couldn't do anything. I think was a year for Camille Rose to do their own Camille Rose events in different cities and this whole you can't do it, So how do we pivot?

What do we do? What do you mean we can't do it? What do we do now? So I told my team, you know, we have almost filounders and something thousand followers, Like, there's not one show that we could do or we be a part of where we're able to reach all those people. So we need to take advantage of that. Let's take our beauty kitchen, which we call it when we travel, take our beauty kitchen, and how do we have that same kitchen, that same beauty experience,

give this to our consumers on our social pages. And we did, Like I was so proud of myself. So we had everything that we would have at a show or an event. We brought it to social media entertainment. I had people coming and I had DJ's, I had a violence, I had um chefs because I know, for me, I was like my kids home, I'm sick of cooking. I don't even know what to cook. You know, this is too much. So I had a chef come on

every week. Um, my social media girl. She was like, I'm having so much anxiety because my my happy places shut down and it's just too much for me. And I'm like, okay, I'm I'm gonna get a psychologist on. So she spoke about, you know, how to handle this situation, self care. We had dermatologists on. My husband came on

and he spoke about COVID. He's a physician. Um, we had some of everybody, and when somebody said they got a problem, really you have that problem, a lot of other people must be having the same problems for less addressing. So we just kept our followers and our consumers on social media entertained. And of course we had our stylus on, you know, doing different hairstyles uh for them as well. So what it sounds like you did, like you didn't. You weren't saying by my stuff, by my stuff, by

my stuff. You were you were offering your customers, your your fans, your believers. Yeah, the experience and things that they believed in. But it wasn't directly Camille rose stuff. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely, Camille Roses were a whole lifestyle break. We're more than a hairstyle. Your lifestyle. So even when I started my my Instagram page, I told my social media a person, I wanted to feel like people are coming and they're looking at a magazine. It's not just by my prol up.

It's not It's not that at all. It's an experience. Black Tech Green Money is a production of Black The Afro Tech, The Black Fact podcast Network, and my Heart Media and it's produced by Morgan Dubonne and me Well Lucas, with additional production support by Love Beach and Raven near Born. Special thank you to Michael Davis. It's a carsavon jan you know, like the wine. Yes, that's his real name. Learn more about my guests and other tech disruptor to

innovatives at afro tech dot com. Do me a Salidy and rate this podcast five stars on Apple Podcasts. Go Get your money. Peace of Love,