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Uggh....the dreaded bad hair day!!! Let's face it: no matter what hair type you have, (curly, fine, frizzy, thick, oily you name it) we have all fought with our manes. Rachel Blistein, of Original Moxie, has finally won that 30 year long battle with her own "challenging" hair. (Check out her "hair story" here.) Rachel became dedicated to producing a real product, for real people, that contains pure, natural ingredients customized into herbal infusions and containing essential oil fragrances. She admits, in the begining there were many fails, but with much devotion Blistein developed a few miraculous products that became the birth of Original Moxie. She shares more highlights, details, and struggles of her journey in this weeks #SmallBizSpotlight.
What inspired you to get started?
My own selfish needs for something I could not find in the marketplace: effective, natural hair products that would help me manage my thick, curly hair. In my mid-thirties, when I stopped chemically relaxing my hair, I struggled to find products that delivered the moisture, definition, and frizz control that I needed. I was spending a small fortune on expensive conditioners and styling products and still getting less than awesome results. Around the same time, I became aware of the toxic chemicals, like phthalates and parabens, which are found in most commercial hair care products. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of the natural products that I sampled was not any better (and was often worse) than the synthetic alternatives. While I initially focused on developing a line of products that would meet my own needs, I quickly branched out to create products for friends and family with very different hair types from my own.
What was your background? Was it in what you are doing now?
Believe it or not, I actually started out as a Landscape Architect! I was designing mostly for residential clients in Michigan and had lots of free time on my hands during the long winter season. In the beginning, the hair care was just a way to fill time during my down time. However, once I got my first large wholesale client, everything changed in a hurry. I spent two years trying to manage both my landscape design and hair care businesses and then, after a particularly trying tax season, vowed 'Never Again!'. From that day forward, Original Moxie became my full-time focus.
What challenge have you had to face that led to a big growth for your company?
Re-branding, re-designing our packaging & building our website, which happened at the same time. It was both the most difficult thing I've done and also the most formative for our company. We worked with a great graphic design team who understood where I wanted to go with the company and translated that into a unified, professional look. Our peacock logo helped to crystalize the brand identity and inspired me during many a difficult moment during our start up phase. The polished look of the packaging and website were well worth the blood, sweat, and tears that went into the process.
What do you have going on in your business right now that you're excited about?
Our Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale, which is our biggest promotion of the year! Since working with Tin Shingle, we've been inspired to be much more proactive with our outreach and marketing for the holiday season. So far, it's been a really positive and empowering experience and we're hopeful that our efforts will be rewarded by one of our most successful holiday shopping seasons ever!
Where would you love to see your business in 5 years?
My dream would be to have national brand recognition and broad domestic and international distribution in high end salons and boutiques. I'd also love to expand our reach in the non-curly hair market while continuing to be innovators in providing diagnostic natural hair care solutions for all hair types! Most importantly, I want to remain passionate about what I do and to have fun doing it!
