Redefining Luxurious Natural Skincare – Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Hey there entrepreneurs. My name is Sushant and welcome to Treptalks. This is a show where I interview successful e commerce entrepreneurs, business executives, and thought leaders and ask them questions about their business story and dive deep into some of the strategies and tactics that they have used to start and grow their businesses.

And today I’m really excited to welcome Ambrose Price to the show. Ambrose is the founder of Sknmuse. Sknmuse is a premium skincare brand for the soul’s vessel. And today I’m going to ask Ambrose a few questions about his entrepreneurial journey. And some of the strategies and tactics that he has used to start and grow his business.

Now, before we dive into this interview, if you enjoy this content, please make sure to hit the like and subscribe button. And for more interviews like this, please visit Treptalks. com. And with that Ambrose, welcome. And thank you so much again for joining me today at Treptalks. Really, really appreciate it.

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: Thank you. I appreciate that introduction. Man. Oh, man. It gives me a lot of energy. I will say though, just a slight correction. I am the co founder, excuse me. So there’s another very important person as in a price now, uh, who, who is also there and really founded this business.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Awesome. Well, so, so that’s a good starting point.

Maybe you can share a little bit about, you know, how did this business come about and how did you kind of get involved with the business?

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: Okay, so, well, the business started out, um, with my wife back in mid to early 2019. Um, she was traveling a lot for business and work and when she, you know, was going through airports and such, um, a lot of her, homemade remedies.

She was making these remedies at home, you know, to care for her body and her skin while they were getting taken away at TSA. And it was becoming really frustrating for her to be able to find these type of, uh, materials and these ingredients really to, um, you know, at a, at your typical store. And she was wondering why she was going to all these luxury, you know, stores and department stores.

And not really able to find those products. And so what she decided to do was, you know, start a company that was really making those products. She’s from Nigeria. So, you know, a lot of these ingredients are native to where she comes from. So after she had started the company, I was on pretty early as the creative director.

So I was helping with the packaging and the overall look and voice of the company. Um, and. Over the years as they progressed, I moved into different roles. So again, starting at creative direction and then moving into operations moving into production. And then just last year, I took over as the acting CEO of this company.

And that’s how I kind of ended up at this point in my journey.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: No, that sounds great. Um, I mean, you mentioned that. You’re using a specific kind of ingredients or specific kinds of ingredients in this, uh, can you talk a little bit about your product line and like what’s different about it? Is it the ingredients that make it different?

And, um, yeah. And what’s kind of the value property? Like, what’s different about your products?

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: Understood. Yes. So, so our product is, isn’t a natural product. I think that that’s number one. It’s a, it’s made in small batch by artisans and we’re including ingredients like shea, shea butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil, avocado oil, rosehip, argan, those types of things.

All these ingredients are really powerhouses packed with vitamins, which are all really. Good to keep your skin healthy and supple and keep the elasticity. And as we grow older, you know, we all want to continue looking, you know, in a certain way and keeping our health as the number one. And so this product, you know, as simple as the ingredients are, will really help you do that.

So what we’re really pushing is for people to use this product. you know, to give themselves some a moment of rest and ease in their day. So we figure, you know, after you get out the shower, you probably have 15 minutes to 30 minutes where you can really be applying these things, um, these products to your body to really spend some time with yourself and take care of yourself.

We all deserve a little bit of rest.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Yeah, for sure. And I see on your website, like you have different products. You have a body butter, you have body oil and fragrances, nail care, uh, silk scarves. Um, how many products do you have right now? And like, is there a hero product that’s your kind of like the, the most best selling product?

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: Yeah, so we have roughly 15 products right now. We have a lot of scents in our body butter. The body butter was really our number one for, for a good minute. Um, people really enjoyed the scents that we came out with. We were developing, you know, they were a bit different than the typical body butter scents, I would say.

So, We were incorporating peppermint, you know, and using peppermint essential oil in our product and, you know, reaping those benefits as well. We came up with our best seller of the body butters, which is Egyptian honey. It’s a scent that has oud in it, it’s woody, it’s sweet, it’s powdery. So people really love that scent.

Again, after the shower, using 15 to 30 minutes, spending that time with each other and with themselves. Uh, but I will say our number one product, the hero product is going to be our body oil. So that is also of the same scent. People love that body, that body oil. And it’s been our leading seller for the past three years, I’d say so much so that we did come up with a few new scents of the body butter.

And so what we decided to do was try out one of those in our body oil mixture as well. So that one was, it was a limited edition situation from last year. Um, our clients have really enjoyed it outside of those, the two major ones, body butters and body oils. We do have some nail care. So you saw that with the cuticle oil, it got ranked top 10 by Elle magazine.

And we also incorporated some silk scarves. Again, we want our, our brand to really focus around rest. So as you’re, you know, closing out your day, wrapping up your day, you might want to tie your hair up. You might want to, you know, apply some of that cuticle oil to your nails. You’re, you’re wiping the oils or the butters of your body.

And you’re really taking that time with yourself. So all of these components, Oh, now I almost forgot our golden scoop. It’s actually, uh, one of our sneaky good products. So it’s basically a, a golden, a small golden spoon. And this allows our clientele who, you know, at least our clientele are women, typically wear, you know, long nails.

And so with that, we wanted to provide them with a tool so they wouldn’t have to use those nails to, you know, dig into that body, but they could use our scoop instead so they can keep their manicures fresh.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: You know, that sounds great. I’m curious. So your wife started it in 2019. Uh, at that time, was it You know, it seems like she was using it for her own, own purpose, uh, at what point or what kind of motivated her to convert the products that she was using at home to build a business out of it, like where other people asking about it, or she kind of, you know, just, um, tried selling it to some, uh, some people.

How, how did the business come about?

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: Yeah. So I would say with her, it was. I think at first it was a little bit of frustration when it came to, you know, taking that homemade product through TSA. And then I think it really came to the point where she realized that this product was, was something that people enjoyed.

You know, it was things that things that she would share with her inner circle of friends at first. Um, and again, they were enjoying it. So at that point with the frustration of not being able to take it around with her while she was traveling and then also not being able to find it. And in some of these nicer department stores, she was wondering, you know, where is this, why isn’t it here?

And I think that that’s really what sparked the interest to, to put this type of product out on the market, you know, a really high quality premium whipped body, but it was, was really the catalyst for the beginning of this business.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Was there, did she, um, invest some of, some of her own money? Was it like bootstrapped?

Um, what kind of investment go into, uh, this business? And since then, like, in terms of scaling, like, have you put additional money, uh, Do to really scale the business.

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: Yeah, of course. Uh, at the beginning, I mean, super bootstrapped. I mean, it was started with, I believe she said it was like 300. So, I mean, this business was started from almost nothing.

And I think what. really made the business grow in an expediential way was the, uh, the partnering of her skills and her abilities with my skills and my ability. She was very strategy oriented. She could see how the puzzle was going to fit together before I could even see the pieces. And I think that that was really, and still is her, her superpower.

And so where I came in was how do we tell a story around this thing? How do we wrap it in a product that speaks to? The individuals who are looking for this, this type of product. And what I think really transpired from, you know, us coming together to work on it was when we I remember a story from the first time that we took the product to let’s let’s call it market.

We signed up for a It was almost like a, um, a craft fair almost. And it was at a, it was at a church auditorium. And I remember we had stayed up for all night, you know, we were getting the product ready. We had had the, the packaging come in. Everything was really tight in this window that we had to, you know, put this together.

I was printing out labels from a You know, a label sticker sheet that you could put in your regular printer at your house. And I was cutting them out with an exacto knife and stayed up all night. And I just remember, I couldn’t even, I didn’t have any more energy to even go to the show. So thankfully, one of our friends, one of her really good friends, Tamara, she ended up coming out and picking her up and they went.

And what really told me that this business was going to be successful, because this wasn’t my first entrepreneurial venture, was after she came back. And I mean, we had, let’s call it two crates worth of product that we had put together. She came back with less than one. So I said, Oh, wow. She said, out of all the tables that were there, our table had a line.

People were waiting to come and purchase this product. So to me, that’s when I really knew that not only her idea was it was sound, but also the, the way that we were going about presenting this, this premium product, although these. Uh, ingredients like shea butter and cocoa butter are in a lot of things.

They are luxuries. They are premium ingredients. And that’s why we felt the need to make sure that we present to them in a way that reflected what they truly are.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: And that is so interesting, right? Like if anybody’s starting a new business, it’s much easier to have a small batch of products and try to go somewhere in person, put a table and try to sell it.

I mean, because that’s, that’s really the. Gives you an indication of, you know, what you’re doing. Does this really have like a business potential for it? So I think that’s that’s a very important thing before like, you know, you spend thousands of dollars building your website and all these things I think it’s always good to kind of uh, I think we had a

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: landing page perhaps When we went to that fair, I mean it was very bare bones.

I mean we we might have had the website but just Barely. And like you said, I think this is really a good litmus test if this is a viable, you know, product for you. So we went to someplace where we knew that our clients were going to be. So I think that’s important too. Don’t just go to any old thing.

Make sure that your clients or your potential clients are going to be there. But yeah, I mean, there’s no better test to see how people are really going to react to it unless you’re there. So I agree with it.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Since then, have you invested any additional money in the business? I mean, in terms of manufacturing, are you still manufacturing at home?

Have you kind of built a Um, a facility, or are you outsourcing manufacturing? Um, and, uh, was there any additional investment that you had to do in order to

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: do that? So, yes, there were additional investments. Our largest, I mean, I will say that, uh, is such a great, uh, grant writer. So she was able to, you know, when a number of grants pretty early on.

Um, and we also got included into a 16 Z’s. Talent times opportunity program, which allowed us to go through something of a short residency, um, where they were teaching us everything from top to bottom from supply chain to marketing to, you know, investment to fundraising. So, that was a, that was a nice under K investment in the company.

And again, grants, personal investments, but nothing, nothing huge. Let’s say, um, we aren’t venture backed or anything at that. Like that at this moment. Um, but again, we’re able to keep things moving along and progressing. And could you remind me the second part of that question?

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: The manufacturing part. Are you, are you, um, where are you creating the product now?

Is it like still, um, more of a homemade facility or are you, um, do you have like a supplier manufacturer who’s

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: supplying it? So currently we are, well, when we started, obviously we were In the kitchen. So, you know, a lot of good memories, you know, developing and working on this product from our kitchen. But we have since then moved into a manufacturing plant.

So we have one out here in Chatsworth, California. So we produce and manufacture right out of that facility. We still own the entire supply chain for this product. Um, and we source materials from all over the world. So Some some of our product comes from West Africa directly, like the shea butter and the cocoa butter, but we also get things from Ghana and Dubai.

So these are these are just different places that we source materials from. But as far as manufacturing goes, yeah, we really keep everything. At least we’ve been doing our best to keep everything in house. Eventually, you know, you’ll get to a size where, you know, either your facilities might have to get bigger or you might have to find somebody that can that can produce it at the rate that you need it.

But at least for now. Yeah, we still are very hands on to make sure because, like I said at the beginning, this is a, it’s an artisanal product. It’s not something that’s made in massive batches. Everything is small batched, very controlled, very monitored to make sure that we’re giving and presenting the highest quality product that we possibly can.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: This is such an interesting market, right? Like it’s a female beauty or skincare because there’s so many products out there, so many brands. I mean, the product line, some products are really expensive. Others are, you know, there’s different kind of value proposition, anything from, you know, natural skin care to, you know, uh, getting rid of wrinkles and, you know, aging and all these things.

What have you, I mean, of course there’s a big market for it, um, and you know, your customer has to buy into the value proposition. Um, what have you learned about this market? Um, and what, what do women care about in their skincare?

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: Um, that’s a great question. Um, well, for me, this market is very, very new. So I went to fashion school, art school, um, in university.

So I was very inept in sewing, leather manufacturing. That was my lane, and I also just have been a lifetime artist. So both of these things kind of went hand in hand. So when I met her and she discussed how she would, was thinking about potentially starting a beauty business, I, you know, I was kind of outta my league there, so I really leaned on her.

She had a lot of experience, a lot of working experience in the beauty industry. So that made things very easy. But what I can say. From a person who’s taking a little time to, to get up into this, uh, to get up to date, let’s say in this industry, it’s a, it’s an interesting one. I think it’s a lot of fun, but I also think on the same, on the flip side of that coin that there are, you know, a lot of misconceptions about products that are being put out.

I think that sometimes. Especially larger businesses, you know, they got to find a way to to make profit and we send these products. And again, they’re not using the best materials. They’re putting potentially hazardous materials there. I saw a I saw an infographic the other day that said basically 60 to 70 percent of all skin care that is targeting black or African American women.

Have at least one hazardous material. And to me, that’s alarming. This is something that you’re putting on your skin, in your hair. These are, these are products that you’re using to take care of your body, not to destroy it. So that is a, that has always been at the, that has always been the main thing with our product is, is really keeping, keeping this as close to and next, right next to natural that we can possibly keep it.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: I mean, it seems like in, in the business, you are more on the marketing side of. You said your wife is more of a strategy. You’re more on the storytelling and marketing.

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: Yeah, that’s my lane.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: How, how have you, uh, what has the growth trajectory been like? What has worked in terms of, um, getting the word out there, new customer acquisition, you know, telling your story to the customer?

Um, how, yeah, how, how have you grown the business?

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: Yeah, so I would say that we were, I mean, I’d say blessed. I, within the first six months of after we launched the business in 2020, officially, we were selected, um, from a bunch of companies to be included on Beyonce’s website, official website, um, under her black parade, black parades.

That was a. Basically, um, the opportunity for us to be presented on, you know, the superstar of superstars website. And when I tell you, we got massive traffic that came directly from that just right out the gate. So that was something that we were really blessed with at the beginning. Is this during

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: the, is this during the COVID time?

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: Yeah, I remember

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: at that time, like there was there was something that something happened that were, you know, there was a big promotion of black brands and things like this.

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: Yeah. So they had to do it with the unfortunate passing of George Floyd. And so that is what sparked. You know that movement at the beginning, and especially all the support that we were getting as a black owned and female owned business.

That’s really what kicked it off in 2020. So again, once we got included on that website that really took our business into from something that was very small, you know, very, very small to something that almost overnight kind of propelled us into a new A new plateau. But from then and there on, you know, we again have just been really blessed.

We’ve been working very hard, um, to tell the story and it’s been recognized by a few different large publications like People magazine. We were lucky enough to be on Good Morning America. We had a small segment there. Um, again, our, our other founder, as in a she has been phenomenal when it comes to, um, applying to.

Not just grants, but also programs. Uh, for instance, she was in a large, uh, it was almost a pitch competition called Barnburner from Sweater, V. C. So we got to go out to Colorado. Um, specifically, and you know, she got some some great camera time up there, too. So I think it’s just really been a combination of a lot of things.

But one important fact that I do want to say is, uh, we have a teammate that came on, um, I’d say in 2021, I believe. And he really helped take our business into a place where it was getting more nationally recognized. So his name is Chaz Pringle with Chaz Pringle Consulting. He was really able to put our product in front of the right folks, the people that would be interested, the people that wanted to hear a story.

And from that, you know, again, we were able to even birth relationships with companies like American Express. So it was, it was really a little bit of a little bit of blessing, a little bit of luck and a little bit of, you know, divine timing that got us to a place where we could say, at least in our L. A.

area, you know, we’re. Well, no,

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: it seems like a lot of these efforts or successes came from like partnerships, um, from different brands or celebrities and so forth. Um, have you, are you also doing any kind of like, um, SEO marketing on your website? Um, are you doing paid advertising? Are you doing content marketing?

Are you doing any sort of like, um, digital marketing efforts do to get new customers?

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: Yeah. So when it comes to our marketing, uh, we do lean pretty heavily on to partnerships. Um, we feel that for us, you know, a word of mouth is a lot stronger of a statement than something that you might see, you know, as you’re scrolling.

So we’ve been relying a lot on those connections that we’ve made and we have had. Um, we’ve also thrown some ads up elsewhere. Traditionally, and what I say for the most part, we’ve really been relying on using systems that are already in play to get the word out. And then when we can, we like to do pop ups.

So we like to be in person at least two or three times a quarter. So. You can find, you can find us or see us, you know, here locally, you know, we can, we can be popping up at the store that you might frequent. I know we’ve had a partnership with Nordstrom here at the Grove for the last two years. So that’s been great during Black Business Month.

We’ve been able to partner with them. We’ve been able to show up in their space. And again, you know, after the first year, we came back for the second year. People said, Oh my gosh, I remember you guys from last year. You know, this is. Just our ability to share the brand and to really, um, you know, almost be infectious to the people that try us out and that want to look into the story.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Very interesting. Um, are you selling through any of these marketplaces like Amazon or any of the other marketplaces? Or is it completely your website and then all the in person pop up things that you’re doing?

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: Yeah, so primarily it’s our website, but we do also sell on Macy’s. com. We sell on 13moon. com and we are looking into to Amazon as something that we’re potentially going to be getting into later this year.

So that is something that’s. We’ve been tossing around to, to entertain because we know, I mean, it’s, it’s a huge marketplace. So one, you want to make sure you’re prepared to go on to amazon. com. You know, you don’t want to be under prepared and all of a sudden you’re, you’re swamped or you’re not being able to fill orders properly.

So I want to make sure that we take the right steps. So we have success. But, um, yeah, we’re, we’re looking to get into some new marketplaces as well. Okay. Especially with time.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Um, no, I think, I think that makes a lot of sense. Uh, I mean, Amazon, I think they, they definitely take away a big chunk of your margins.

But yeah, I mean, they have, they have the traffic there. They’re very big. Um, what is your, uh, shipping fulfillment strategy? Are you shipping on your own? Uh, are you, are you working with like a third party logistics provider?

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: So, so we’re still shipping on our own. So out of the production manufacturing warehouse, we also have our shipping.

So shipping. So whether it’s wholesale orders or personal orders, they’re all coming out of the same roof. So that’s nice. It keeps everything, you know, In one place. We don’t have to worry about transporting from one to the other. But again, eventually, you know, you’re going to get to a point where, you know, 3 p.

m. might be an option. You know, you’re just wanting and needing some help, you know, managing all those orders that are coming in and orders, you know, and the unfortunate returns that are coming in, you know, you’re going to need some help with that kind of thing. So for now, we’re still under one roof, but.

In the future, you know, we’ll see how that goes. It might not be an option anymore.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: I mean returns is a good question, right? Like e commerce there’s always returns. Yeah How do you deal with it? Do you offer? free returns like what’s your policy and Do you try to learn from, like, is it mostly people, I mean, with e commerce, you know, people want to try things out, right?

Like, before the, um, Can you talk a little bit about your returns and what, like, what’s usually happening? Are you learning anything from it?

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: Sure. I mean, What I will say is that we started off with a really good product. Now, that doesn’t mean that 100 percent of the people are going to like it, enjoy it, love it, etc.

But I will say that the product is already a really nice product. So, what we do on our website and through our, you know, socials, whether it’s Pinterest or Instagram or TikTok, whatever. We try to let people know what they’re getting into before they buy. So we, we try to get texture. We try to get and describe since as best we can, um, you know, in order to try to avoid any confusion when it comes to, you know, what they will be getting when it erupts.

But, you know, there’s always going to be somebody that just doesn’t like the product. And, you know, we, we do accept returns, but I will say that we very, Seldom we have a lot of returns because people dislike the product. We get more issues when it comes to shipping, honestly. Sometimes, you know, things we want to be sustainable and we aim to be sustainable as possible.

So all of our products are in glass. So as glass goes, you know, sometimes they break. Sometimes, you know, when they get jostled in the shipping, sometimes things break. So we have to do, I’d say we do. More replacements than returns because our returns are just so low. So we’re thankful for that. And then we’re, we’re.

We’re thinking that at least, you know, our customers already kind of knows what they’re getting into when they come to our site. And, you know, we do look forward to potentially doing some more discovery type packs or sets in the future. So people who have no experience with it can can sample more, more or less, you know, all of our products before they commit to something a little bit larger.

Because I wouldn’t say we’re the most expensive thing on the market when it comes to this type of product, but I wouldn’t say we’re the least expensive either. So, it’s, it’s a, you know, a small investment for your health and your overall skin health. But, um, yeah, we look forward to potentially doing some discovery so we don’t run into those type of returns with new clients and new customers.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: For sure. I mean, that makes me think, um, What is your competitive landscape like? Do you, because I know that there’s, there’s, there are other beauty brands or even smaller beauty brands that kind of focus on this, uh, shea butter and, you know, natural products, uh, space. Um, Is it really about telling your story more effectively and, you know, having people gravitate towards your products, um, versus others, or is your product fundamentally different from, you know, what other brands are creating?

Is it really just about storytelling, you know, how effectively you’re telling your story so that people resonate with it and buy your products?

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: Yeah, honestly, I think it’s a little bit of both. I think that yes, you of course need a good story for anything you’re trying to sell. You, you know, you can put something on the internet and it’ll just sit there for years.

So being able to tell a story that People can relate to is very important. But I would also say that the product is fundamentally different from, you know, other products that are, you know, in this market. So not just the presentation, but in what’s inside the jar is, is something that’s different. And again, taking a very strong stance towards Towards being natural and being organic is something that a lot of businesses have difficulty competing with so again, artisanal small batch, you know, these things take a little bit more time.

We feel that that that time is well spent being able to come up with a product like this.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Uh, in terms of your team, of course, you know, your two co founders, you mentioned, uh, consultant who’s helping you with, with some partnerships and things like this. Um, Is there anyone else in your team or is this like this is really your team right now?

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: Um, that’s the main team right now. We do also have another teammate. She lives in new york. Her name is carly So car helps us out with social media Email correspondence as well as, um, you know, some email marketing. So things that she can obviously do remote since the rest of the team is here in LA. Um, but yeah, we’ve had other people, um, whether they’re consulting or, you know, they could potentially be on the production side of things.

So we do have a few people that come in and out, but when I talk about like the core team, that’s, you know, driving the business right now, it’s the three of us, myself, as you know, in Chatsburg.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: So to me it seems like, um, sorry, I completely skipped what I was going to ask. Um, no, no worries about it. So, so, so let me ask you, um, another question here.

Uh, what is your future vision of the business? Um, are you working to add more products in your product line? Are you, um, just thinking about going out in the market and having, you know, acquiring more customers, how do you think about your business evolving in, let’s say in the next. Five years.

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: So right now, um, I’d say we’re in the in a growth phase.

So what we’re what I’m aiming to do currently is to really take some time and really nail down what we do already. So if we have something that’s selling and we have customers visiting the site, I think that’s already the secret sauce. So if you’ve already got traffic, I think you solved a big part of the business is.

Problem. So, um, right now I’m working on conversion. So we want to make sure that, you know, if we’re emailing you and for if you’re visiting our website that you’re able to find something, you know, find something easily and, you know, convert at the end of your, of your journey. So I’d say that that for us is, is a big.

Point of emphasis for 2025. But I mean, new products are I love new products. I think products are great. So it gives me an opportunity to be creative with the packaging and to tell the story around something new to be able to work on the development of something new. These are things that I really enjoy personally.

So whenever we get the opportunity to make new product, I’m You know, I’m the first one. What I would say, though, is currently we, we do, we have one new product that is in the works, uh, potentially to launch in a few months. So we’re keeping the lid on that one yet. We haven’t quite, um, got all the details about it nailed down yet, but that is something that we’re looking to do.

Um, but again, product development takes, takes money. So, you know, being smart with. You know, your spend is also something that we have to keep in mind where we’re a small company and we are even smaller team. So I think what we learned back in 2023, which was a particularly difficult year for us. I started 2023.

I think I said, 2023. It was a particularly difficult year for us. And I think what we learned there was, you know, are what we, we have to keep the main thing, the main thing. Um, focus on the product, focus on the clientele, focus on building that relationship with them and, you know, also cutting off any, any extra fat that you have.

So whether you need to shrink, uh, we, we moved to a smaller facility in, uh, what was it? Early 2024. So after that rough year, we decided, hey, listen, like once the lease is up on this particular warehouse, we got to find something smaller. So we were able to find something smaller, which, which helped. Some of our overhead and you know, we really just focused on what we were doing and what we already did well.

So that would be my main driver. But whenever we get the opportunities sometime in the future, you know, we, I think for the future of, of the brand, what I’d really like to see is, well, let me backtrack for a second. When I originally was working on the branding, I thought of this as something bigger, you know, bigger than just.

body butters or oils or things that you put on the skin. I was thinking of, you know, something more in like the spa lane or something in hospitality, lifestyle even. So I think that this brand has the capability to, to be much more than it is now when in this current state, you know, as a, as a beauty brand.

And I think it has a lot of. Potential to move into other spaces. So this is just the beginning is what I say. I think that this thing to be and can be a lot larger and more pronounced than it is. So more to come, I guess. And we’ll see where we are in the future. We’ll talk again in a couple of years and we’ll revisit.

But yeah, that’s that is our that’s our goal and our wish is that this will become something a lot more grandiose. Awesome.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: I remember the question I was going to ask before, um, this, uh, this industry, uh, I mean, if, if a customer likes your product, I mean, it’s, it’s very likely they’re going to come back and purchase it again, right?

Um, you see a lot of, um, uh, repurchases people coming back and do you engage people? Like you mentioned, email marketing, like your existing customer base. I think, you know, that’s, that’s kind of a gold mine, right? You can send them the email, remind them to. Repurchase and things like this. Do you see a lot of people buying your products again and again?

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: Oh, absolutely. I mean, we have a fairly high retention rate. I mean, our customers come back and buy again and again and again. Um, so much in fact that we decided We saw a trend where customers would come very regularly to purchase that same product, you know, once a month or once every other month. And so that became so prevalent with many customers that we decided it would make sense to put in a subscription program.

So you can subscribe to any of our products now and people do so they don’t have to worry about their product. They’re always going to have it. They enjoy it. They love it. So it’ll be there whenever they run out and they’re ready for more. So that was something that. I thought was really clever that the team, you know, decided to do early on.

And so what we’re doing now is we realized that beauty clientele really like to put things together. They like sets. So they like this product or this product, and maybe that product and that product, and they want to buy them all at the same time. And so we just recently launched our new website. So that’s probably what you saw earlier.

But, um, what we decided to do was put a build a bundle or a custom. On the option on the website, so clients could come on there. They can build whatever special bundle. It is that they like, and they get a nice little discount that comes with. The purchase. So it’s a win win for us. They get to customize something that works for them.

And then additionally, they get to win because they get, you know, some, some dollars off, they get to save a little bit. And, um, I’d also like to mention on the new website that we will be, you know, to again, build. Trust and build camaraderie between ourselves and our clients. Um, we’re going to be introducing a loyalty program that’s going to be dropping early next week.

So we’re really excited about that. Again, just rewarding those people that continue to come back again and again and again. So it’ll work by a point system, you know. Each dollar or 2 will equal points and then therefore they can use those points to come back and either earn free products or put that Those point dollars and towards something else.

So, uh, our clients are very near and dear to us and we want to make sure we’re treating them like family. So that’s why we have always wanted to make sure that we are listening to them. We often shoot out. Either quizzes or questionnaires, whether it’s direct to email or whether it’s over our social, but our socials, but we want to make sure that we have a constant communication with them and we want to know and we want to hear from them as to what they like, what they don’t like, you know, what they’re looking for.

So it’s, it’s Paramount to make sure for a small business like ours that we are listening constantly.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Um, in every entrepreneur journey, there’s always mistakes made, lessons learned, failures. Uh, has there been any like big, uh, instances where, you know, it was a big learning experience for you, a failure, uh, what did you learn from it?

Uh, and what can other entrepreneurs learn from your mistakes?

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: Yeah, so I’ll say one that comes to mind immediately because I actually have one of the products here. So What we did, um, this is a few years back, we launched a product called the Body Balm. So it was a, it was a short kind of like stick that came in a tube that twisted up.

And people were enjoying it, you know, something that people could take on the go with them. And people loved it. So, you know, as the packaging guy, as the creative guy, um, when I saw how well that was going, I thought, you know, hey, we should improve the packaging. So. We went out and I looked all over the place and I finally found a manufacturer that could do what I was asking for, which was basically to make that clear tube into an amber brown, which is one of our main colors.

It’s like a reddish brown. So, of course, the company was able to do it. Got the stuff in. It looks beautiful. We love it. And it starts selling quickly. At that time we had a lot of wholesalers and they all really enjoyed that product. And so we started running out quick, quick, quick. All of a sudden we ran out within a couple of months of when we had made our first initial order.

We went back to the manufacturer and said, Hey, listen, we need some more. These are going crazy. And so they said, Oh, no problem. But that minimum that you had is no longer our minimum. Now our minimum is. Here. And so I wouldn’t say it was a complete failure, but it was definitely a learning. We just couldn’t afford that minimum at that time.

And that just comes with the territory. Yeah. So, you know, we were ordering in the hundreds and they were saying that they needed their minimums are now in the thousands.

And

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: so that made it difficult to restock that product, that product. And, you know, again, as a bootstrapped company, as a company that, you know, we.

Rely on not only our sales, but even sometimes some additional investments to come in to help keep that business moving. Um, that was a difficult situation. It was kind of realizing that we can no longer put out the, Oh, this is the product government. Um, but it was. Basically saying that, you know, Hey, we had to remove it from the website.

We currently don’t make it at this time. And, um, you know, if

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: it was selling, the product was selling like, I mean, uh, it was a risk, but is, uh, is the, is the risk that the product will go bad? Like if you, if it’s sitting for too long.

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: No, honestly, um, the one beautiful thing about that in most of our products is that the shelf life for them is phenomenal.

So these things can go for, you know, they can sit for a year or so. Um, it was really a, it was a money issue, a funding issue, you know, really able to support that kind of upfront cost because some factories that you work with, they, they need that money And unfortunately for us, we weren’t able to Make that kind of spend at that time.

And I wasn’t willing to take a product that I felt was subpar and then upgrade it just to doubt. So it was, um, it was definitely learning. No, it didn’t kill us, but it definitely was kind of like a. A little pain in my side that I felt, um, not having that, not being able to see that product succeed.

However, there are plans to bring it back, um, bigger and better than ever. But now knowing what we know, um, you got to make sure that you find somebody that you can work with on a consistent basis, um, whether they’re here or abroad. You have to find somebody, companies that can really help support you in your journey, where you’re at now and where you want to go.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: No, yeah, that’s, that’s a, um, that’s a very interesting point. I think the bigger lesson there is, I think, more about cash flow. I think a lot of other entrepreneurs have mentioned, you know, cash is king. And sometimes when you’re scaling and, you know, there’s not enough cash to support like the, the, the, the, the new stock or something, I think that can, that becomes an impediment.

Now I’m going to move on to our rapid fire segment. In this segment, I’m going to ask you a few quick questions and you have to answer them maybe in a word or a sentence or so. Okay, cool. Um, the first one is, uh, a book recommendation for entrepreneurs and why?

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: One of my favorite books of all time Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell.

Um, it’s all about communication and how. Even if you’re speaking the same language, you might not be speaking the same language. So I feel that every entrepreneur, communication is key when it comes to doing this type of, of work. So I feel that that book is, is a great recommendation for any entrepreneur.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Awesome. An innovative product or idea in the current e commerce, retail, or tech landscape that you feel excited about?

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: I don’t have a particular favorite, but any of these AI picture to video conversion apps or even word to video conversion app really exciting, especially as a small company with a small budget when you can find technology that’s able to help you achieve something that you that you have up here.

But you just want to get it out there. But unfortunately, you might not have, again, like we said, the cash flow to do so. These type of apps kind of make things like that a little bit more accessible to the brands that you want to create in that fashion.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: For sure. Do you have any specific app in mind or just do you like any?

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: I don’t have one in particular. I know that there are some plugins for Canva, and there are some apps that you can use just by them. I think it’s like Lexi, Lexi art or something like that. I don’t have one in particular that I love, but I’ve used a few and been testing a few and I think that the tech is really just Amazing.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Hopefully it’s going to continue. I mean, we’re just in the beginning of AI, right? I think a business or productivity tool or software that you would recommend or a productivity tip.

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: Yeah. So for me, it’s gonna be Asana and Canva. I think that together, you know, if you’re one, you got to stay organized when it comes to this type of work, you might be wearing a lot of hats like I do.

And so when you do that, you have to have a place where you can organize your thoughts and your tasks. So Asana, number one, and it also makes it really easy for our whole team to communicate. So whether it’s Asana, Monday, you know, any of these apps, you know. Highly recommend something like that. And then also Canva.

I think that, uh, as a person who went to school and learned with Illustrator, Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Lightroom, the ability to take a few of those apps make them a lot easier to use. Now, maybe not as precise. So I will say this, there are drawbacks. However, being able to marry a couple of those apps, being able to easily drag and drop Images, video, create animations, create videos.

I think it’s just, I mean, bar none is one of my favorite apps that I’m using currently. So most users I’d say for whether it’s for email marketing, whether it’s Instagram or reels, or I mean, it’s, it’s, it’s a strong, strong app. So those two would be my favorites.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Another startup or business. It could be e commerce, retail, technology that you think is currently doing great things.

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: Um, a tech app I would say would be Spill. It’s a social media app. I’d say it’s kind of a marriage between Instagram and threads. So kind of in the, in the middle of those two, got a great community on there, really enjoy using that. And then I’d say for retailer, um, there’s a oat milk brand called Ghost Town Oats.

They’re based here out of L. A. as well. Started by baristas, you know, these are people who are really passionate about what they do, and I think that their branding. is really top notch. So those two I’d say are currently, uh, brands that I think everybody should check out.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Awesome. A peer entrepreneur or business person whom you look up to or someone who inspires you.

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: Um, this is also a two part answer. I say, uh, one would be my dad. I mean, my pops is really been an inspiration to me forever. Um, just extremely hardworking, extremely intelligent and creative. So this guy, he, I mean, he’s a triple threat and he’s just, uh, it’s all around a good person, I think. And that’s what I would aspire to be.

And then, um, in addition to him, um, Lewis Hamilton, I love Yeah. So Lewis Hamilton, you know, his story alone is just something really to aspire to be, you know, that he knew from a very young age that he could be great. And he worked in strut, you know, strided towards that goal from, from birth. And so, you know, he’s, he’s a big inspiration in my life as well.

Something of a hero, I’d say.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Awesome. Are you a car person? I mean, I hear, I see you’re wearing the Lexus hat also. .

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: Yeah. You know, I like cars all, I mean, I’ve always been a car person. I think, uh, just design wise, you know, as a, as a creative design wise, cars are just such a cool thing. Like a, a masterpiece on wheels basically that can take you from, it’s not just functional, it’s also, it can be something beautiful.

So yeah, cars are kind of them too. And motorcycles. Love, I got a Harley Davidson, so.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Oh, wow. I

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: like, I like to move around.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Nice. Final question, best business advice that you have ever received or you would give to other entrepreneurs?

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: So I would say, um, I’ve, I’ve heard this from a few people, but one of my, one of my good buddies, Patrick Bowden, um, said it to me maybe about a year or two ago.

And he said, you can do whatever you want. And I think for me, that was just at that point when he said it, you know, sometimes I feel that we kind of put restraints on ourselves. Oh, I can’t do that. Oh, maybe I won’t be good at that. And I think that, At that moment when you said it to me, it really resonated with me, you know, I said, you know what, you’re right, like You I can do anything.

And so I think that that really sparked some inspiration in me to whether it was venture into art, which I’ve always been an artist, but it kind of stepped away for a couple of years. So whether it was inspiring to venture back into it or, you know, any other ventures that I have now thinking about them as open possibilities, not restrictions anyway.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Awesome. Well, Ambrose, thank you so much again. Those were all the questions that I had. Thank you so much for sharing your story, for sharing, uh, some of your shout

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: outs. That’s what we are. Boom. So check out our product. It’s beautiful. You’re going to love it.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: And your website, where can they go to check it out?

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: You can find us at SKNMUSE, that’s S K N as in Nancy, M U S E dot com, Sknmuse dot com. And that’s all of our socials as well, at SKNMUSE.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Awesome. Well, you guys are doing a great work and I wish you all the success in your business going forward as well. And thank you so much again for joining me today at Treptalks, really, really appreciate your time.

Ambrose Price of SKNMUSE: Thank you. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.