Episode 49 – Starting a Skincare Brand With Louise Thomas

Louise has been in the skin health and beauty industry for 26 years from a Saturday girl in a beauty salon to launching her own brand, Louise Thomas Skincare. Louise joins Nicole this week on Start Scale Succeed to talk about her journey from developing a skin condition, making skincare formulas for other people, to finally going out on her own and making her name a brand.    KEY TAKEAWAYS Louise is actually quite thankful that she developed bad acne. She thought it would be the end of her career before it even started but in fact it gave Louise the focus and passion for skin health as well as an empathy for understanding the psychological effects of skin conditions.  Quickly recognising that her own skin battles were making her fascinated about skin health, Louise’s column became dominated with clients that also had skin issues and facial treatments and it became what she was busiest with all day every day. Louise’s obsession with ingredient technology took over and she stepped away from the treatment side of things for a few years as a new career path led her to work for International skin care and device brands for five years. This took Louise all over the UK, developing and training other therapists, doctors and nurses in high level skin care products and machines and benefitting from an expanse of postgraduate skin health knowledge. Having her daughter made Louise not want to lose herself and her dream, it became a case of either she started her own business now or she never would.  Louise is so grateful that her business evolved organically from working in skin therapy, it meant that she knew her target market and was an expert before she even started. Her specifications for manufacturers were the most detailed they had ever seen.  When things were going bad during the pandemic Louise couldn’t launch in the way she wanted, she had everything done and empty bottles waiting to be filled. It was her daughter who gave Louise the determination and she didn’t want to set the example of giving up when it gets tough. She then went out and found a smaller manufacturer who could produce one product to put on sale instead of the five she originally wanted.    BEST MOMENTS ‘My heart is in helping people getting over their skin conditions, and I think my heart is a little bit in business’  ‘I had to find what was my message, what was I trying to get out there’  ‘Because I had all this experience I knew exactly what it needed to be’  ‘We had 25,000 bottles and jars ready to go, but suddenly we had no money to fill them’  ‘Recognition drives me, being known for being good in the industry’   EPISODE RESOURCES www.louisethomasskincare.co.uk Louise Thomas Skincare on Instagram Louise Thomas Skin Therapy on Instagram   VALUABLE RESOURCES  www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach  www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach   ABOUT THE HOST Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line.  Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM)  Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist   CONTACT METHOD  Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/ TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk  Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com  Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/ Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall