Notes from Chris

Episode 1963

Ayanna [Uh-yah-nuh] Denise thought she had it all. She had designed clothing for some very successful companies, she’d done a lot of traveling, and even lived abroad. Engaged at age 30, she was looking forward to the wedding. Life kept getting better and better.

But by the time she was 33, Ayanna was the mother of a two-year-old, divorced, and living back in her home town in Georgia.

She was tired, broke, and felt lost.

Fortunately, she had a lot of good experience to draw upon, including a ton of knowledge she’d gained by studying holistic remedies in her 20s. While stressed and depressed, she began reading the small red notebook filled with information from her studies.

She wasn’t looking for a business, but the business found her.

Ayanna began mixing formulas based on her old notes and found it to be therapeutic. She soon created a hair and body oil and began giving it away to family, friends, and sometimes strangers ... until one of those friends convinced Ayanna that she could sell the product.

At the time, Ayanna was working in a hotel for minimum wage. It was a job, but she only felt happy when she was mixing her ingredients and seeing how the oil helped others. That same good friend bought the first bottle of skin oil for $10, and Ayanna was in business.

She decided to call it Head to Toe, and soon she had the opportunity to sell at a festival. She used $150 from her tax refund to get supplies and made enough money at the event to cover her rent.

Today, Ayanna Denise Skin (new name) is a thriving business offering simple, small batch skincare products, including a cleanser, a toner and a moisturizer—as well as that same oil she started out with. While she used to craft every batch of products herself in the beginning, a small production facility now makes the skincare products for her.

Again, startup costs were very low: just that $150 from her tax refund. Today Ayanna earns between $2,000 to $4,000 per month from Head to Toe. Going forward, she wants to expand the reach of her products and services. She’s looking to partner with wellness centers and holistic resorts.

 

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  MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Learn more about Ayanna and her products at her website, AyannaDenise.com.

SEE ALSO:

• Skincare Woes Lead Moody Sisters to Picky Products: When two sisters are unable to find the perfect skincare products for their needs, they embark on a DIY quest to test hundreds of recipes.
• “Geek Chic” Skincare Blogger's Persona Pays Off: A fashion and skincare blogger promotes a culture of trust using the scientific method to craft clever content online.
• Cow Fat Skincare Line Steers to Grade-A Paycheck: A mechanical engineer invents her own “fatty skincare line” after not finding what she wanted on store shelves.

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

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