Brand Interview: Nicole Lundy, Ne`lani Beauty
Brand Interview: Nicole Lundy, Ne`lani Beauty
How long has your company been in business? Please tell us a bit about your company, its mission, goals.
Ne`lani Beauty was conceived in March 2009 at Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Our goal is to help in-demand women find their personal beauty style so that they can look gorgeous everyday without the hassle and in turn feel more confident, more powerful and fearless! Ne`lani Beauty offers a premium beauty membership, customized makeup styling services, VIP beauty programs, and tons of beauty insights on our ‘Beauty is THICKER than Makeup’ blog.
Our Mission – To Increasingly Empower Women by Providing ‘Beauty’ Products, Services, Tools, and Resources that improves their well-being and vitality.
Do you donate to charities? Why?
Yes, I love giving back! My favorite and most fulfilling commodity that I give is my ‘beauty knowledge’. Over the past few years, I’ve mainly worked with the Dress for Success Hudson County Organization giving my original workshop, Beauty 101 to their Professional Women’s Group. This year, I will be expanding my reach into other non-profit organizations, specifically those catered to teen girls.
Tell us about your brand.
We help women to ‘not’ wear the stress of life on their face.
Our specialty is inside-out beauty solutions for total transformation. This includes diet recommendations, skincare regimens, skin type analysis, beauty shopping and professional makeup application.
*Tangible Result = A step by step process that allows a mental shift to “I am worth it’ and I will do what it takes to preserve my beauty; Look and feel better about themselves; Erase years from physical appearance and feel younger; Domino effect of clients teaching their daughters and so forth on the benefits of taking care of their beauty from the inside out; Makeup application and looks clients love and are proud to wear.
*Transformation = Empowerment through our ‘Beauty’ products, services, tools and resources that improves their (women’s) well-being and vitality. Clients will have the conscience ‘know how’ to take care of their beauty from the inside out.
How did you know what typeface (font) would be right for your company’s wordmark/logo?
I knew that a clean, simple, sans serif font would work best for me for my target customers. My clients are already super busy with everything else in life and want an easy retreat for any self-improvement resources.
How did you decide on the right color palette to fit your company’s look and feel?
We combined the definition of Ne`lani (the calmness of the heavens) and our mission to create the color palette for our brand. We also wanted to have a mixture of warm and bold colors that uniquely came together for a unique, fun, glamorous, trustworthy, and passionate brand.
How did you decide which type of designer to work with?
It was all about our synergy – in my choice of a designer. I needed to work with a designer that heard AND understood what, why, and who I was creating the brand for. My amazing designer, Kathy Brungs of Lacewing Communications was everything I needed and more!
In what order did you present your company to the world? Did you start with marketing and products, or website, blog, social media?
I debuted my brand to the world with my logo. Secondly, social media. Thirdly, my website. Lastly, marketing and products/services offered.
How long after the launch of your company did you start pitching in Social Media?
I started pitching almost immediately after launch in social media. Social media marketing was all the new rage when I launched and it was and has proven to be a great promotional tool.
Did you research or study any software, take webinars, teleclasses before approaching any area of your marketing or web presence?
I studied simultaneously as I implemented. Before launching, I was on social media just for fun and personal reasons so I had a knack for how it worked. I attended a lot of webinars and teleclasses to hone in on my strategy.
Do you advertise locally in newspapers and/or nationally in magazines? Are they effective?
No.
Do you advertise online using Google, Facebook or other company sites? Are they effective?
In my first year, I advertised in two online wedding/bridal magazines. They were not effective. However, Facebook advertising works great for my business, especially for growing my list. Very effective for expanding my reach.
Which social media site do you spend the most time on and how does it help with marketing your business?
We spend the most time on Twitter. The great thing about Twitter is that you can ‘tweet with a link’ and use variations of messages all directed to the same link. We get 72% of our blog traffic from Twitter.
Do you belong to community sharing websites? Which ones and how effective are they in building your audience? What are the best features that help your business?
We just joined Triberr so I don’t have any hard-core results to share yet. However, Triberr came highly recommended so I’m expecting great results.
When you printed your products, packaging, business cards and other print marketing – did you choose an online printer or visit a local vendor?
Online – I printed everything from an online print house. I will be using a combo of both online and local going forward.
Did you know anything about different types of papers, when you wanted to print your marketing materials?
I knew the basics of paper types when I started. Now, I would classify myself as having ‘intermediate’ knowledge.
Have you ever used “green” technology in printing, using RSC certified papers or recycled paper and if not, how likely are you at trying this on a next project?
We haven’t used ‘green’ technology thus far but we are very likely to move into this direction shortly.
If you sell products, are they produced in the USA or abroad?
We will be launching the Ne`lani Skincare collection in early 2013 and the line will be manufactured in the USA.
Do you speak at events? If so, tell us about that.
Yes, I do speak AND teach. I speak at women empowerment events and groups catered to moms, divorced women, women in transition and women over 50. This fall, I will be launching my “Master Your Makeup” class at Middlesex County Community College in New Jersey. Super excited!
What is coming up in the year or two we should watch for?
A whole lot of cool projects are coming up that I am super excited about! Firstly, Ne`lani Skincare will launch at the top of the year 2013. Secondly, we launch our bCafe` premium beauty membership for time-strapped, beauty-conscious and life-focused women on 9/14/2012 (my birthday!). Thirdly, we are the official beauty sponsor for a huge holiday event for NYC moms hosted by MommyBites at the New Yorker Hotel on 11/27/2012. Lastly, we have a few huge exciting projects in the works and the details of each of them will be revealed very soon.
Is there anything you haven’t yet tackled, but will want to do soon?
Yes, I am actively working on being featured in one (or ALL) of my favorite magazines – Glamour, Allure, Cosmopolitan, Essence, More, Marie Claire. I will be framing each feature.
To learn more about Nicole Lundy and Ne`lani Beauty, visit the links below:
Website – http://www.nelanibeauty.com
Blog – http://bit.ly/O1HZxE
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/nelanibeauty
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/nelanibeauty
LinkedIn – http://www.linkedin.com/in/nelani
bCafe` – http://www.nelanibeauty.com/bcafe
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