Key Points
- As part of her strategy during the pandemic, Docot expanded her skin care line and opted to make hand sanitisers from all-natural ingredients to meet the demands of the community.
- She started a self-care subscription service to cater to the ritualistic needs of her female clientele.
- Upon running across an online platform called “Class Bento,” she enlisted perfume making classes in her studio. Commissions are being taken by the digital service only when clients sign-up.
'May PERAan' is SBS Filipino's podcast series which features practical, creative and effective ways to earn money.
It all started out as a side hustle for Louella Docot when she decided to try her hand at making all-natural products for her mum.
She says, “In my primary employment, I read clinical papers and this where I came across the benefits of natural ingredients. At the time, my mum had a health condition which made me think of ways to use the scientific facts that I learn from work and how can I make products out of these ingredients to help her.”
Capital started at $500 to fund participation costs in weekend markets
With a capital of $500, she launched her chia seed - infused lip balms in 2014.
The brand was called Kiss Ready Lips, which were sampled to her family, colleagues and friends. It was sold in weekend markets.
Docot says, “I had to pay for insurance for the market stalls and that’s where the funds went – participation expenses.”
Through the years, she expanded to separate brands such as “Kiss Ready Skin” and “Kiss Ready Mama & Baby” to cater to her growing clientele.
Still using all-natural ingredients, she produced and developed bath soak, face oil, eye creams, natural deodorant and even fragrances.
“The nice thing is, when your business is really driven by your personal desire to help people, then you do it on your own and even go as far as researching and investigating if the product is effective,” according to Docot.
Handcrafted means putting a lot of love and care in making the product
Docot shares that artisanal goods are of high-quality and pricing comes at a premium.
“When you say handcrafted, it means you are as closest as possible to the maker. We have our reasons why we make things. It’s very intent-driven, we make from the heart.
"Personally, I think about the ingredients I use in my products. I put a lot of love, care and thought especially while I’m developing the product.
When it comes to packaging, given that I’m concerned about the environment, I think about my values. This means, I would ensure I use materials that are environment friendly and sustainable and it reflects my values. It hard to put a price on the effort and love but I try to make the price as practical as possible."
Pandemic pivot
Opening a physical store in 2022, Docot credits the strategies she rolled out to make her business resilient. These include:
· Flexibility in developing products that the market is clamoring for. This is the case when supermarkets had a substantial shortage of hand sanitisers. Docot contacted her suppliers and told her customers that she can deliver botanical hand sanitisers.
· Because of numerous lockdowns, Docot started a self-care subscription service to cater to the work-at-home female clientele who were craving ritualistic skin care. Every week, she delivered products to her clients to meet their demands.
· Piggybacking on other business while expanding her own. After the pandemic, her retail store doubled as a studio where she teaches clients to make their own botanical fragrances. Docot shares, “Luckily, I came across this online platform called Class Bento. I went to their website and enlisted the class and they would only put a commission if someone books in your class. So there’s no overhead or additional fees that you have to put out.”
Let go of self-doubt
For those who are starting out in any form of business, Docot says, you have to let go of self – doubt and be fearless in using social media because it can greatly help your business.
For the uninitiated, she says, “There are many services in Australia that can help you overcome those fears. Our local libraries, there are free programs that can help people learn about social media. There are also technical schools which offer free lessons on how to use digital platforms. Take that first step and I’m sure it will be an adventurous and fun-filled journey.”
