Spa Business Success Story

Debbie Frierson, owner of TheScentJunkie.com- graciously agreed to meet for an interview just for our readers at Craft-Selling-Parties.com. Debbie shares how she took her hobby of creating homemade spa products from a fun activity to a profitable business. At the end of the interview, you'll just have to check out her homemade bath and body products, including body butters, beauty bars, and bath salts!

Let’s meet the owner and creator of TheScentJunkie.com.

1) Hi Debbie, thanks for joining us today. Please take a moment to briefly introduce yourself and tell us about your business

I'm Debbie Frierson, the founder of The Scent Junkie. Together with my 10-year-old son Trey create custom blended Bath Body & Home Products.

2) A spa products business looks like a great deal of fun. Did you intend to start a business or did it evolve from a hobby?

It's tons of fun! It did evolve from a hobby! It all started in our garage! I've always been crafty, so when my son was born and I decided to be a stay at home mom, it became a way to make a bit of extra income to make up for us loosing half of our family income!

3) Just looking through your website, I was so impressed by the all unique fragrances you offer (I only wish we had "smell-o-vision" in our computers). With so many varieties, do you create all your own recipes?

Thanks, our website is a labor of love! Many sleepless nights went into getting it together. Everything on our site are custom blends. The fragrances are a mix of original, designer & traditional scents.

4) You have talked about involving your kids in the family business. What do you think they will remember most about being a part of the experience?

Since Trey's my one and only, I asked him to tell me what he'll remember most. He told me that he'll all the fun we have making our products! Not to mention he's my best salesman! He hands out the samples and business cards like a pro! :)

5) Most crafters try to sell their handicrafts in a variety of ways before finding what works best for them. What ways have you tried to sell your products, and what were the most or least effective?

When we first started out, we had a Craft Booth. It worked well during peak times of the year but you have to have a lot of inventory to fill it. We learned quickly to rent a booth during peak times only, that paid off. The last year we had our Christmas Booth we completely sold out of everything! That was a great feeling! Home parties work great! I still do these from time to time, but that's me. I love to have lots of company! You do have to get original and make sure your "Thank You Goodie Bags" always have great samples in them! Fairs and festivals are hit and miss. We've done pretty well with the ones that we attend yearly. I think the least effective thing I did when I first started out was making my prices way to low. I know that sounds weird but people think that the products weren't any good. Now I know better!

6) What advice would you give to someone starting a spa products business?

Start off small, with just a few products and fragrances. Slowly grow your business. It's not a sprint race, it's an endurance race!

When you create products always try everything out on yourself before you ever sell it to anyone. You can't talk about your product if you don't know about it. :) Do your homework! Learn as much as you can about items that you would like to make and be creative with them. That's the key! To make them YOUR PRODUCTS and not just something you copied from a book. Always, have samples and business cards on you at all times! Everyone you meet could be a customer! The best advice I can give is to have fun! If you love what you’re doing, your business will prosper!

7) You also wholesale your own products. How difficult is wholesaling to get into, and what words of wisdom could you share about the process?

That's a tough question...This goes back to pricing your products. You have to make a profit, that's the bottom line, so when you set a price for your product make the retail price high enough so when a company wants to buy wholesale (which is usually 35% to 50% off your retail price) I don't require a company to purchase a certain quantity, but the companies that I work with usually buy in cases. It's easy for everyone involved. I didn't sell my items wholesale for a long time. It's not a requirement. It's totally up to you.

8) What do you think is the secret to your success?
Happy customers! Just one happy customer can bring you lots of new customers! Word of mouth is huge in this type of business!

9) Debbie, thanks again for sharing your time with us. For the last question, please tell us about the most satisfying part of your business. Is it the actual creation of your products, benefits of working from home, the recognition you receive, or is it something else?

Actually, all of those reasons plus the satisfaction of knowing that I've made my dream of owning my own business come true! I hope this will help others that want to start their own business. Thanks for giving me this opportunity, I've really enjoyed it!

Be sure to check out TheScentJunkie.com to pamper yourself with fragrant bath and body spa products.

Start Your Own Spa Products Business

If you are interested in starting your own spa products business for fun or profit, be sure to check out the Handcrafter’s Companion for a step-by-step reference guide and handcrafted recipes.

Where would you like to go next?

...See more inspiring craft business success stories?

...See our spa home parties tips as a method to sell craft and spa products?

...Check out our craft book reviews for the best resources for your craft business?

Spa Business Success Story Page