by Marlese Wallis, founder of MIES body products
My company, MIES body products, manufactures natural bath and body products made from plant based ingredients, which are not tested on animals or bad for the environment. My heart has been devastated by this hard blow on all of us due to COVID-19. As you, I think of my family who depend on me; I think of my employees who depend on me for their families; and it is just plainly stressful! Although I feel I am not ready to write an article, I feel it is also important for others like me to see that there are others like you in business, taking this massive blow.
So again...
It’s hard to start building something new when the ruins surround you.
Our businesses are lying in ruins, or are they really? All the pieces are still there, we can pick them up, but we cannot build then in the same way as before, because now everything has changed. The Bible says we should renew our minds... think new, think out of the box, be still and listen.
Of all 14 different products we have at MIES body products, we only have one that is seen as an ‘Essential’ product which we are allowed to sell (that is our Hand & Body wash), but to date I still have not sold one because I am not found in convenient stores in malls. MIES is sold in niche beautiful shops and boutiques, farm stalls and health shops, all individually owned and all closed now. Clients who are with me in the same boat!
Let's get real... we are all going to suffer tremendously, but if you are reading this, you have to know that you are part of the Lionesses of Africa who are the most creative women I have ever seen. You have most probably started your business in the first place due to feeling strained at your office job, or being in financial stress, or you just looked for a way out. You can give birth to some new ideas, or tap into other's brilliant ideas like I did this past week.
I know that after this lockdown, when shops can open up again, my wholesale customers won't have the cashflow to buy a lot of products like in the past. So we installed Pay Just Now on our online shop for our retail and wholesale clients. Pay Just Now gives the client the opportunity to pay in 3 installments, while you, the vendor/business, gets the full amount immediately! This will take off a lot of stress for both you and your clients. We have also focused more on our Instagram and Facebook pages, making them more beautiful than before, really focusing on the captions and not always talking about what is wrong, but what is right. We have made an effort to like and love and share our other entrepreneur friends' businesses to show support and they have also returned the favor.
This is just the beginning and I know as we go on with this lockdown and the aftermath, we will come up with more ideas, lock in with other entrepreneurs, and become stable again. With all the ruins around you, make some decisions. Clean up, move out, pack away, throw out, cut off the fat, and rebuild. Be still and know that this is so much bigger than us. We must renew our thoughts and our minds and start getting comfortable outside the box.
I leave you with these two quotes:
"What the caterpillar calls the end, the butterfly calls the beginning" (yes you should read that again and let it sink in! Something even more beautiful can come and be birthed out of this)
"Not everything is wrong all of the time... even a clock that’s stopped ticking is right twice a day” (see the bright side when everything seems dark, be positive!)
Let's start seeing things differently... and as Dory says... "just keep swimming!"
My top entrepreneur advice at this time is:
go to www.payjustnow.co.za and let your customers pay orders #zerointerest with installments
collaborate with other brands for more exposure
give attention to your social media, keep it positive
sometimes you need a breakdown to get to the breakthrough
Bless all of you and your businesses!
Marlese
Marlese Wallis is the founder of Mies Body Products. The company hand-crafts natural bath and body products, which includes a range of luxurious bath oils, sugar body scrub, coffee body scrub, bubble bath, bath & body oils, candles and kimono night gowns, just to mention a few. Our ingredients are brown sugar, olive oil, essential oils, flowers, beeswax, coconut oil, and shea butter. We give work to women in the community and have skilled all of them in new areas.
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