Business Owner Stories

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Tahera Christy and Amour Propre

Editors

I am very pleased to introduce Tahera Christy, founder and owner of Amour Propre. Like so many of us, she founded her business during the pandemic and has been building it up into a successful health and beauty products entrepreneurship utilizing natural, organic, and aromatherapeutic principles. Below she graciously shares some of her secrets.

Briefly describe your business:

People love handmade organic wellness and clean beauty products that cater to sensitive skin. It's hard to find affordable clean beauty that actually solves difficult skin problems. Therefore, Amour Propre® was created to support our customers with luxury clean beauty at an affordable price.

Amour Propre® is a wellness and beauty brand centered on self-love, enhanced by science, inspired by nature and fueled by positive energy.

Amour Propre® (which means "self-love in French) is in business to encourage our customers to practice self-love by experiencing the joy of utilizing natural, organic and aromatheraputic wellness and clean beauty products.

Our small batch curated solutions are luxurious clean beauty at an affordable price.

We sell soaps, lotions, facial products, room sprays, bath and body toiletries, deodorant, grooming products for men and feminine hygiene products as well. We also sell candles an energy clearing solutions.

Where the idea came from:

I created Amour Propre® because people should have luxury clean beauty products that solve everyday skin problems.

I found that natural, organic, and clean beauty products were not readily marketed to people of color. Most often these products were overpriced and unappealing to my community. I didn't find that there was a lot of education in the marketing of the products that would encourage people of color to purchase products that can actually heal every day skin issues. I created a beauty line that addressed common skin problems and fun appealing ways that also give the luxurious experience that was often only marketed to White women.

I have a background in corporate sales which help me with my marketing and sales techniques for a business period No official experience was required, however, an excellent chef and no how to follow a recipe. My formulas are like recipes in that I use many whole food ingredients and figured out a way to incorporate the sustainability ingredients that I was required for natural preservative and shelf life. I am an avid reader and love to learn about new things so I spent many weeks and months learning my craft so that I could execute the tasks of creating products that people would love.

Describe your typical work day:

Currently, I am a one woman operation with plans of hiring employees by 2024. We have grown exponentially and I am no longer able to handle all of the tasks of the day by myself, but being the provider of someone's income has not proven to be a stage that I'm at just yet. I work from home and I'm looking to get out of my home as soon as possible so that I am able to make my products in a ghost kitchen and Market them more effectively than I am today.

How social media plays a role:

Social media is the lifeline to my business. I love social media and utilize it every day to get my message out to the world. I'm on every single platform imaginable and interact with them all daily. I like doing pop-ups and inviting people on the in-person to connect with me online which furthers my reach for new customers. My customers tend to be very loyal and supportive of me especially once they meet me and see the vision that I have for my business.

I produce my content wholeheartedly and holistically. When I feel like making a more branded piece of content, I use canva. I would like to Outsource my efforts at some point and I do have an automated program that posts for me however I do enjoy posting it 4:00 and 5:00 in the morning because I'm up at that time and have the best opportunity to think of clever sayings that cool more eyes on my product.

Your thoughts on working with computers:

I mostly use my phone for content. When I'm fulfilling orders I am required to use my computer because I need to print. I keep track of my finances through QuickBooks I store all of my videos on my phone and I do a lot of marketing and research when I do my pop-ups. I have Dropbox and Google storage for all of my larger files I have backups of backups so that's never a problem for me!

Your thoughts regarding websites:

I have two websites! My first website is my main website that I promote as I just recently switched over from GoDaddy to Shopify. I like the look and feel of my GoDaddy site but Shopify offers me more statistics so that I'm able to make Better Business decisions and it also connects with other third-party platforms like Amazon and walmart.com.

What about email & online marketing?

I use MailChimp for my online email marketing. I do recommend a text service as well. I currently use Square for that.

Balancing work and personal time:

I'm great about working hard and playing hard. I balance having four children, an amazing husband and a thriving business by taking a lot of vacations when I'm able. I'm adamant about having a massage at least once per month and hanging out with my friends at least once per week. I may work 14 to 16 hours a day, but it's work that I love and when I'm away I'm absolutely away from work. I learn new skills everyday and participate in cohorts and Facebook groups for business owners.

Regarding the environment, social issues, and being a partner to the community:

I enjoy participating in giving back to my community, and environment by using sustainable products, using natural and organic and well-sourced ingredients, and donating my time talent and resources to the underprivileged. I also have a nonprofit where we going to halfway houses, rehab centers, and homeless shelters and I give away products and motivate the people there to change their lives.

Outlook for the Future:

My husband reminds me that I'm successful all the time. I tell him I would just like to see it in my bank account! I am in the process of scaling my business so that I am focused on my top 10 products. This is a really hard task because my customers are very loyal and love all of my products! I have over 200 so as you could imagine me being the maker and a one person show, it makes a lot of work for me to do.

I hate having to say no but I know as a business owner I have to make the hard decisions. Success for me at this point is making those hard decisions so that I am profitable so that I have the ability to do more for more people in the future. Small sacrifices now lead to big or successes later. Luckily I'm not afraid to fail it, and I've done that many times, but success is inevitable for me.

Final thoughts:

My Pearls of Wisdom are to just do it. I find that women in particular who get into business feel like all their ducks have to be perfectly aligned in a row for them to move forward. I started my business, failed a lot, but learned a lot in the process. I didn't do anything that was so heinous that it ruined my family or myself but I learned from every single situation and I'm a better business person because of it.

I encourage all business owners who are looking to start a new business or have a great idea to surround themselves with like-minded people and leave the naysayers alone. I also encourage people to sell to people they don't know and don't look for support from friends or family because that's usually the last place you're going to get it. 

Where to find Tahera and Amour Propre online:

Tahera is very active on almost every platform, so no matter what your online home is, you can find her there.