00:00So I think everyone wants to be an entrepreneur until you are writing check after check after check.
00:14Welcome to my office. I think the color of the year is plum. I love it. Isn't it moody?
00:22It's a vibe. I love this face. I'm Janelle Stephens and this is Founder State of Mind.
00:27Camille Rose is a beauty brand for textured hair, curly hair, all different hair types and textures.
00:37And we're addicted to all things beauty. I sold my first Camille Rose product back in 2012.
00:46I think when I started Camille Rose, I wasn't trying to be in the beauty industry at all.
00:51I was trying to create products that would help with eczema and allergies and allergic reactions that my kids was
01:00having at the time.
01:02I began to label read ingredients because everything that I was using that I thought would work and was organic
01:10and natural, it wasn't working at all for me.
01:14I told myself, you know what, I need to educate myself on ingredients and the benefits and I was in
01:22a lab with a pen and a bag.
01:25And I wrote everything down and just practiced, threw it out, didn't like it, practiced again.
01:30If I loved it, I kept it.
01:37I have a system that I love called TextNow.
01:41It helps keep me organized.
01:43It helps keep my day running smoothly while I'm in the lab or if I'm in a meeting.
01:48It helps establish professional boundaries because it gives me a business line so I don't have to give up my
01:56personal number.
01:57I can use this business line, I can also create group chats for the marketing team and for my retailers.
02:08This is where it all started.
02:11I am going to show you guys one of my products that is tried and true.
02:17This is Skinification 101.
02:19Of course, you're going to take the tried and true, everybody has shea butter, right?
02:25No right or wrong way to do it.
02:27It is just all about the ingredients.
02:31I'm going to take our coconut oil here.
02:35And remember guys, I softened the coconut oil and shea butter.
02:40You can just pop it into your microwave, soften it a little bit.
02:43Yojoba, everybody knows about Yojoba.
02:47It's lightweight, but it does the job.
02:50Sweet almond oil in everything.
02:52You can use it as is or you can kind of, of course, mix with it.
02:59Play with the oils if you want to.
03:01Vitamin B.
03:03Full of antioxidants.
03:05You can use it as is.
03:07You can put it in a product.
03:08Like it's so many benefits to vitamin E and you just take your ingredients, put it in a mixer.
03:17You can use a handheld blender if you want to.
03:20I started in my kitchen.
03:21I knew nothing about how do I get a laboratory?
03:24How do I get a manufacturer?
03:26I knew nothing about that, which is why for the first year, my retail store, I handmade everything.
03:32But when the brand started growing and I couldn't keep up with the orders, I had to get out there
03:39and find a manufacturer who believed in the same things that I believed in.
03:45You don't have to mix with the type of ingredients that you're mixing with.
03:49You can use a synthetic for that.
03:52It'll be cheaper.
03:52You can save 10 cents.
03:54All of that.
03:55I told them no.
03:56Like they were not the perfect partner for me.
03:59And so I had to really, it took me a long time to find someone who saw my vision, believed
04:07in my vision and wanted to invest in me.
04:10Let's go to the living room.
04:13I'm so connected with my consumers.
04:16I'm so connected with my formulations and Camille Rose and how I watched it go from my kitchen to this
04:26big company.
04:27I think all of that speaks for itself.
04:30And you can't do that with looking to your right, looking to your left, worried about what's here, worried about
04:36what's there.
04:37You have to rely on your own self and just trust the entire process.
04:43My favorite products right now are our stylers.
04:47We have our mousses, our gels, our harder holding gels from the guava to the batana.
04:53Oh wait, I'm getting the text.
04:56It's my assistant.
04:59See, when I tell you text now, it literally saves my day.
05:07It's the, definitely the smarter option, not just the cheaper one.
05:13I always tell young entrepreneurs that you can have so many ideas, but if you don't do the work, do
05:23what's needed to grow your business.
05:25If you believe in yourself halfway, it's definitely not going to work.
05:30Overall, a good work ethic and not being lazy and don't procrastinate.
05:36You cannot be a procrastinator.
05:39You know, that's a part of the secret sauce.
05:41That's the formula.
05:42So.
05:45I am Janelle Stephens and that was Founders State of Mind.
05:49I am Janelle Stephens and that was Founders State of Mind.
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