- 2 weeks ago
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🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00So my name is Arielle Hobbsy. I am the founder of Bees Bayou. If you were here earlier, you heard me say this, but we do probiotic scalp care for dermatitis.
00:08I am part of the New Voices family, so this is an honor to be here today to also introduce some of my business friends.
00:16So I'm very excited. So we're going to bring up to the stage for today's talk back on customer service.
00:21We have Stefan, I love that name, Stefan with Creole Essence. Give it up, give it up.
00:30I like how you come out here with that energy. We have Patrice Chappelle of Milan Brand Skin. Give it up.
00:39All right. And we have Grace Yeboah Ofori with True Face by Grace. Come on, queen. Looking gorgeous.
00:47So thank you all again for being here. Do you have a microphone? Awesome. Thank you all again for being here, sharing about your brands.
00:55We'll talk about customer service as well. We'll get into it because we have some entrepreneurs in the audience, I'm sure,
00:59who can learn some lessons. But first, just give us a little bit about yourself, your brand, where you're from, when you got started.
01:06Give us the rundown. The rundown. What's up, everyone? How's everyone doing? Happy Sunday.
01:12My name is Stefan Jean-Baptiste. If any Haitians out there, boom. So who am I? I'm a kid from Haiti that had a big dream, right?
01:23I did undergrad at Temple University where I learned marketing communications.
01:27And my partner at the time, she experienced a hair catastrophe where we're talking about 2009 where the natural hair movement and education,
01:35I mean, we still need to educate, but it was still brand new and they applied way too much heat to her hair.
01:41Us being Haitian-American, we're like, we need something that's going to help grow this baby back.
01:45So after crying, we got to working. We saw an opportunity to extract our Haitian black castor oil out of Haiti to provide it to women that were suffering from this issue.
01:57Really focusing on scalp wellness and hair growth with all of our ingredients that we provide in the end products.
02:03Also clinically backed. I think we're one of the few black-owned businesses that actually has clinically backed ingredients.
02:09And we wanted to make sure that we continue to give you guys the best, right?
02:13And suffering from that quote-unquote trauma.
02:15So we want to make sure that you have access to hair growth products that actually work.
02:20Love it.
02:22Hello, everyone. I'm Patrice Chappell.
02:25I'm the co-founder and co-CEO of Mellon Brand Skin LLC, a natural, safe, and effective skincare company for black and brown children.
02:33My son, who's also here, Braun Echols, he's 14.
02:35He is also the co-founder and co-CEO, and we launched in May of 2023.
02:41And when Braun was a lot younger, he suffered from very dry skin, and I could not find any skincare products in Target, Walmart, Walgreens, for black and brown children.
02:50So we created it.
02:52Our products are vegan, cruelty-free, and gluten-free, and no chemicals.
02:57Love that.
02:59Hello.
03:00My name is Grace Yeboah-Aufori.
03:02I'm the founder and CEO of True Face by Grace.
03:04True Face by Grace is an accessories and jewelry brand.
03:09We make cultural, Afro-futuristic products, jewelry that speaks to you to be your authentic self.
03:19I'm originally from Ghana.
03:21I'm Canadian.
03:23Moved to the U.S.
03:25Wow.
03:25In 2014, and that's when I started a business, when I moved to the DMV, when I'll dress up in my African richness, I'll get lots of compliments.
03:38So people would be like, where'd you get this from?
03:41And so I saw the need for pieces that spoke to you, that have significance, that I had to make them.
03:50So we started our business around 2018, when Janet Jackson wore a whole bunch of our pieces in her video, Made for Now.
04:00And that's when we had to get a website and get a store.
04:04Our pieces are fabulous.
04:06And if you want to step out and be seen, you should be in True Face by Grace.
04:14I like that.
04:15I like that.
04:15And then she does have some beautiful pieces.
04:18Are any of you vending today, this weekend?
04:21Yes.
04:21Where are your booths?
04:22Our booth is 4708, just two down, so you can go check us out.
04:28Yeah.
04:29No, we did a pop-up yesterday, had a really great time, a focus group, some product giveaways, and a founder pop-up.
04:35So I did my work.
04:38I put my time in.
04:39So tell me, what have been some of the biggest lessons that entrepreneurship has taught you?
04:45I know sometimes people say entrepreneurship is like a spiritual journey.
04:48It takes a lot to put your all on the table and see what happens, right?
04:55So what have been some of those lessons for you?
04:58I think the lesson is probably this panel, always be ready.
05:02Stay ready.
05:03Stay ready.
05:04I was actually eating some delicious ribs, and I found out about this panel.
05:10You're sorry.
05:11But, you know, I think it was a great lesson, though, of really, that's the journey, right?
05:16To be ready for anything.
05:18You could be on a plane.
05:20You could be at Walmart or anywhere, and you can find that buyer.
05:24We got into Whole Foods exactly through that.
05:28We just happened to be walking around in a Philly Whole Foods, and one of the buyers was opening up the marquee location in that city.
05:37We sat with them, asked some questions, identified what's called in the industry as the white space.
05:42You know, what is a product that they're looking for that they don't necessarily have?
05:45And she was like, I love the story.
05:47I love what you're working on.
05:48I'm opening up the flagship store.
05:49I want this product there.
05:51So this just reminded me of always stay ready.
05:54You know, it's a real thing.
05:56Like, you know, stay ready so you don't have to get ready.
05:58And I often tell my team that all the time because you just never know who's watching.
06:01And, you know, Grace and I, going back, what, five years ago, seven years ago?
06:08Five years ago.
06:09Yeah.
06:09We used to do this pop-up show called ZUVA.
06:13And I only got there because a buyer happened to find our products at a smaller boutique somewhere in Atlanta.
06:21So, again, stay ready.
06:23You never know who's watching.
06:24Love it.
06:24I think for me, knowing that this is a 24-hour, seven-day, 365-day-a-year job.
06:32All the numbers.
06:33Yes.
06:34Like, you have to keep going.
06:36You'll never fully get ahead.
06:38You'll feel like, okay, I put in all this work and, you know, I can take a rest.
06:42I can take a break.
06:42You can't.
06:43So I've watched founders who have started alongside of me and they quit.
06:48It's a hustle.
06:49It's a journey.
06:49It's a grind.
06:50Even being here, like we just found out two weeks ago, we would be here and I made it happen.
06:55I'm one of those people that will embark upon any opportunity.
06:59I don't let anything get in my way.
07:00So that's another thing is just to always keep pressing forward and to just keep going.
07:06For me, I think it's adding the human aspect to the business because it's not just your products.
07:14It's how you treat people, the experiences that they go through because there's a whole bunch of people that also make fabulous jewelry.
07:22There's always people popping up, but it's how you made them feel that will let them keep coming back.
07:27So that's very, very important to, you know, keep you ahead.
07:31I'm going to add something.
07:33And to piggyback off of what Prachee said, it is difficult to rest, but put the rest into that and treat it as equally important as your ROI because the best version of you is really what's going to make the company grow.
07:47And a lot of that spiritual point that you mentioned is that internal spiritual work that you need to do, right?
07:52Like often folks are like, hey, what's that first piece of advice that one would ask about starting a business?
07:57I said, do you have a therapist?
07:58Because, like, you know, the stronger that you are mentally, the further that you can go.
08:02And that comes from rest.
08:03One of the things that I heard you say is about how you treat yourself, and that reflects in how you treat your people and how you treat your customers.
08:12So this is about customer service, and I can ask you so many questions about customer service, but what are some of the things that you had to maybe educate your customers on about your brand in the beginning?
08:24Because I know as a scalp care brand that is inclusive, but I'm a black woman, the question was a lot centered around, is this for me, too?
08:34Is this for me, too?
08:35Can I use this?
08:37So that was a little bit of education we had to do in the beginning to get past that and then get to, okay, now can I serve you as my customer?
08:45So what are some of those in the beginning lessons that you had with your customers?
08:51No, great question.
08:53Everything, but I'll focus on...
08:56I get it.
08:58I'm going to focus on the transaction because when we are serving our community, there's that expectation.
09:08Well, we're entering the space as entrepreneurs and often naive entrepreneurs that don't know what we're going to anticipate and get from the consumer base, right?
09:17And so for us, very early on, when your order is a little bit behind, when you're not getting that communication, we tear each other down more than anybody else.
09:30And so...
09:31He said it, I didn't.
09:33So I have...
09:34And again, talk about that self, right?
09:36I have to get my patience and my compassion.
09:39Check that.
09:41So, because I was getting like, yo, I paid this money.
09:44And so, and I got it because we are stepping to cater to the consumer and we're doing something that some of these brands, larger conglomerates, are not giving to our community.
09:59And we're stepping in and we're that purveyor.
10:01We're that curator, right?
10:03And that expectation, we wear it on our sleeves, but we need a break, guys.
10:07But the lesson was compassion for you and compassion for us as the brand owners, like we're serving you, but also saying, okay, hey, let's put in the steps that we needed to give you that white glove treatment to give you something that you weren't getting from another brand or a conglomerate.
10:26So you still listen to that feedback.
10:28Absolutely, absolutely.
10:29You have to listen to the feedback.
10:30And I would probably say maybe that was the biggest lesson of being sensitive enough and not sensitive, compassionate enough to our consumer and then listening to what their needs were.
10:40Love it.
10:41So price point is something that we did have to educate our customers on.
10:47Speak on it.
10:47We don't get a lot of complaints, but I've heard like, well, why does it cost this and why does it cost that?
10:52Well, because our ingredients are of quality ingredients.
10:56They are sustainably sourced.
10:58They are not products that you will find on the shelves like Walgreens, Walmart.
11:02If you want to use the, you know, generic products that are there that are not made for our skin, especially our black and brown children for their skin that may be eczema prone, psoriasis, then that's fine.
11:14However, we put our heart into this product, blood, sweat, tears, to make sure that we're bringing the best of the best.
11:21And quality at all times, even with the customer service.
11:25So our price point may be a little bit more than what you'll find on the shelf anywhere else.
11:30But I can guarantee you'll see the results.
11:32It's worth it and it's safe and effective for your children.
11:37I have a lot.
11:39Go ahead.
11:40It's jewelry.
11:42Yeah.
11:43So where do I even start?
11:44So, for instance, this horn ring is handmade and is naturally dyed.
11:51So each one, there will be not the same color.
11:55It's like 500 pieces and each one will be different.
11:58Unique.
11:59Right.
11:59So we will not be able to take pictures of each and every color.
12:03So if we put this color down and you see it and we have a long, in the description, we literally will explain and say, this is not, it's different.
12:16But somebody will come and say, I did not get what I ordered.
12:20We have a whole bunch of brass products that is naturally brass.
12:27So it will have patinia or it will turn a little over time and somebody will say, it's tarnished.
12:36You know, but, and I found out nobody reads the description at all.
12:41So you have to continuously educate them.
12:47Right.
12:48But then sometimes you cannot educate them after they come at you.
12:54Right.
12:56You know, because.
12:56Trying to find that place of.
12:58You get that one star.
13:00Mutual respect.
13:01Yeah.
13:01And education.
13:02You get that one star in your review that say, you didn't send me, you sent me the wrong product.
13:09But we did not.
13:12Right.
13:12You know what I mean?
13:12So it sounds like communicate, communicate, communicate.
13:16But one of the things you mentioned earlier was taking that feedback to make some changes.
13:20Right.
13:21So as business owners and entrepreneurs, what can, what are some of the systems that you may have changed or upgraded or what, what things did you do on the back end as you were starting to get some of the customer service issues, some of the same things coming up?
13:36Great question.
13:38So this is my, my Valleyway guy.
13:40I, as the chief operating officer, I look a lot of our systems, how we can get more efficient.
13:46And this is also a name of the game.
13:48Cutting down your cogs, your cost of goods sold, and also optimizing your systems.
13:52So on a quarterly basis, I'm looking at my systems, what's working, what's not working, how do we improve it?
13:58I'm bullish on technology and even AI right now.
14:02So Gorgeous was one of the first systems that I bought into the company.
14:06Gorgeous is a company that handles all customer service tickets, has AI backed in it.
14:11It is one of the more expensive players.
14:14There's other players out there.
14:16She's like, yeah, I know.
14:17Yeah, yeah, yeah.
14:18There are other players out there.
14:20But, I mean, we started off with Zoho, right?
14:22So there are a variety of different applications based on your budget.
14:26But I certainly would look into some systems, right?
14:28Like, there's a philosophy that I have is you do it, you do everything until it becomes painful.
14:34So once you're feeling that itch and like, you know what, it's costing me the time of like to work on the business versus working in the business.
14:42Once you start feeling that tension, start looking into systems.
14:45I'm not even going to say people because it's expensive.
14:48People are expensive.
14:49So if you can develop a good system to support you and have your backbone, that's a great place to start.
14:55And then you add the people on top of it.
14:57I love that advice.
14:58Definitely being careful, hiring too fast.
15:02Yes, absolutely.
15:03So implementing additional policies has worked for us.
15:07We actually got feedback from one customer that was like, oh, my daughter's face is dried out.
15:12And I'm like, okay, she probably used too much, you know, toner, moisturizer.
15:15So now we have a policy in place for the parents that says, you know, the first few times walk through the three-step process with your kids.
15:24Make sure that they aren't putting too much cleanser, not enough moisturizer, too much toner or skipping a step because, you know, drying your skin out can happen if it's overused.
15:33So I think that making sure that we are efficient at everything.
15:37So we have that with our discovery kit.
15:39We have it on the website, like on the description and the policy section.
15:43Make sure that you're utilizing that and walking your kids through the step-by-step because these children are ages seven and up.
15:49This is their first time using skin care, most of them.
15:51And so they need guidance.
15:54Awesome.
15:55So we have something called a customer journey.
15:58So you place your order.
16:00You will get, you know, you get all, every step, you get an email, notification, text message.
16:06It's been received.
16:08We are working on it.
16:10It's been shipped.
16:11It's been delivered.
16:13And then after it's been delivered, we'll wait a couple of days and send you an email.
16:18How did you feel about it?
16:19What do you think?
16:20So we have that integrated in our whole journey system.
16:25What are you using?
16:26I use Klaviyo.
16:27Klaviyo?
16:28Yep.
16:28Y'all got that?
16:29Klaviyo.
16:30Okay.
16:30Yeah.
16:31That's another one too.
16:32Klaviyo.
16:33Postscript.
16:34Mailchimp.
16:34I love Yappo.
16:35Yappo, yeah.
16:36Yappo.com.
16:36I love it.
16:37It works so good.
16:38Looks.
16:39Which one?
16:40Looks.
16:40L-O-O-X.
16:42So share with us a few more tools because I want to make sure folks who really want these solutions
16:48can get them.
16:49So you mentioned?
16:50Gorgeous?
16:51So Gorgeous is my customer service platform.
16:54All tickets get centralized there.
16:57Shopify.
16:57It connects with Shopify.
16:58It connects with social media, Instagram, the whole nine.
17:01So it's one central location and I can answer anything.
17:04You purchased with me today.
17:05I know when was the last time you purchased and I know all the issues that you've had.
17:09And I can, you know, we can communicate that way.
17:12You mentioned Yappo.
17:13Yappo.
17:14Yappo works really good.
17:15So that's Y-O-T-P-O.
17:17Yes.
17:17And that's for reviews, right?
17:19I use Klaviyo.
17:19I use Klaviyo and looks.
17:22It's like the review.
17:23Review, okay.
17:23And in PostScript, it's my SMS.
17:25Okay.
17:25Yeah.
17:26Yep.
17:26So we have some time for some questions from the audience.
17:29If you're an entrepreneur or if you're just curious, maybe you're thinking about starting
17:34this journey for yourself.
17:35It could be about customer service or other entrepreneurship related questions.
17:40But would anyone like to share or ask the question with the entrepreneurs while we have
17:44them on stage?
17:45This is the time to do it.
17:46Anything that you're thinking of, we would love to hear from you so you can get your answer.
17:52Anything or open books.
17:54Yeah.
17:54Come on over.
17:56Yeah.
17:57Come on.
17:57We'd love to hear your question.
17:59I'm going to give you the microphone.
18:01Don't be shy.
18:02And you look gorgeous.
18:04Here you go.
18:05Good afternoon and thank you very much.
18:08My only question is, I have wonderful business ideas, but in order to get some funding for it,
18:13there's always, do you have a business plan?
18:15And I have no money to write a business plan.
18:17So how do you find someone to get you, to help you write a business plan?
18:21Chat GPT.
18:22I was going to say for starters.
18:23Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep.
18:25Chat GPT.
18:26You set yourself up for that one.
18:28The secret is out.
18:29The secret is out.
18:30That was the first thing that came to mind.
18:32But her question was, if you don't know how to, or if you haven't done it before, writing
18:38a business plan.
18:39You have the idea, but you don't have the official on paper plan.
18:44So Chat GPT came out first.
18:46Explain why that was your suggestion.
18:48Let us know.
18:50Because before, I used to pay people to write product descriptions for me.
18:55Back in the day.
18:57Now, with the prompts, you can write, you can do anything.
19:01Absolutely.
19:02And it's easier and it's free.
19:03You can start there and build it up.
19:06What advice would you give about how to prompt AI to make sure it is maybe being as close
19:14to your voice, as close to your brand mission?
19:17What are the things that you typically feed it?
19:20Because I want to hear from you all.
19:22I could go on and on about Chat GPT.
19:23That's my new best friend.
19:24But yes, what advice would you give?
19:27You definitely have to train Chat GPT.
19:29I mean, I call my Chat GPT, Lachat.
19:32That's her name.
19:32That's her name.
19:33And so you have to feed information, descriptions about your business, about you.
19:37Sometimes it will be thrown off a little bit and give you the wrong information.
19:41And I'm very direct with her and I tell her what needs to be changed.
19:44Like, I'm talking to a person.
19:46A hiring.
19:48Yeah.
19:48I'd say that going a little deeper into training, if you already have existing manuals, SOPs,
19:57standing operating procedures, stuff that you've written already, right?
20:01So it understands your voice and your tone.
20:03There's a section, as soon as you open up a chat, you can upload your instructions.
20:08I would definitely build that out first and then create that feedback loop that Patrice
20:13mentioned so that you get more comfortable and you don't have to worry so much about,
20:17oh, let me download these 1,001 prompts.
20:21You don't need to do that.
20:21If you train it and it understands you, mine is Ziggy, you know, so.
20:27I'm behind.
20:27I'm going to name my Chat GPT.
20:30You know, I spent a whole, like, I spent three weeks training Ziggy.
20:34And then now Ziggy knows everything about my life and the business.
20:38Yeah, it's worth it.
20:39And the more you feed it and the more you give it, the more it learns.
20:43That was great advice and a great question.
20:45Thank you, because we hadn't brought up AI like that.
20:47I know Gorgeous has some AI built in.
20:49Gorgeous, yeah, yeah, yeah.
20:50Convert.
20:51Any other questions?
20:53All right.
20:53Well, guys, thank you again.
20:55Thank you all so much for sharing.
20:56Thank you all.
20:57Real quick, where can we follow?
20:58Real quick.
20:59Oh, absolutely.
21:00At Creole Essence.
21:00We're also sold nationwide at Ulta Beauty, Whole Foods Market, JCPenney, Amazon, and Creole Essence.com.
21:06I know that's right.
21:08So for us, it's Melon Brand Skin, and we're Melon Brand Skin.com.
21:14And we are True Face by Grace.com.
21:17The true doesn't have an E in it.
21:20And we have, that's our Shopify store, and all our platforms are True Face, it's True Face by Grace as well.
21:26Awesome.
21:26Thank you all so much.
21:28Thank you all.
21:28Give it up.
21:29Thank you again for staying around.
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