Where have I been? What’s been going on? Why haven’t I posted since February? Where’s the latest newsletter? Any upcoming sales we need to know about? What are your plans for the rest of the spring?
Those are the questions that have been bouncing around in my own head. You know, the kind of questions I figured somebody might be asking about me, about Nandi’s Naturals. Thing is, Nandi’s Naturals and I, by virtue of being the head brewmeister of Nandi’s Naturals, have been a busy little beaver.
While it may appear I’ve been quiet on some fronts, it’s only because I’ve been tearing it up—in a good way!—on others. We’re only two and a half months into 2016, and I’ve managed to bring two new products to the lineup: liquid black soap and handfiltered shea butter.
Liquid Black Soap and Handfiltered Shea Butter on Deck
The liquid black soap has been in shelf rotation about a month or so. I’m in the process of upping the output, since it sells so well. While I only linked to the pump version of the soap, it’s also available in a foamer version. I recently posted a video for the DIYer in which I show you how to make a basic batch of liquid black soap. Catch it here on my YouTube channel. Leave your thoughts or a “thumbs up,” so I know you’ve been there. While you’re at it, subscribe to my channel, too.
Our handfiltered shea butter just hit the shelves a couple of days ago, but already I know there will be some DIYers and small-batch product makers thanking us for doing the task of filtering for them. We were sure to only slightly melt the butter and then cool it down quickly. This helps prevent graininess and maintain the awesome benefits of shea butter.
Verily, I Say Unto You
And we’re not done. We’ve got more surprises coming as the year gets underway. I’ve stated before that I’m developing something that will make a lot of men AND the women in their lives VERY happy. Very is always so extra. I try to never use it to describe the extent to how I feel about something, but this time I took the liberty to do it anyway. Why? Because it feels VERY good. Ha!
On to things that make more sense than that just did. It’s hot. This is probably a duh! moment for anyone living in the South. My point is that I have never seen my deodorants fly off the shelves the way they have, since the weather turned. I am in no way upset about this. Just know that my handpoured method has been getting a workout. If my thighs were as “cut” as my wrists, it’d be impossible to get me to wear anything other than a curvy skirt. Y’all would have to lock me away. For real.
Speaking of thighs. Along with ALL the other tasks I’ve undertaken this year, health is also occupying an important space in my world. To be healthy enough to grow Nandi’s Naturals into a company EVERYBODY knows, loves and invests in, I have to get out and move something. So, I have been. Every other day, I’m moving my recalcitrant body up and down Stone Mountain. It’s been a bit taxing—well, truthfully, a whole lot of taxing, VERY taxing even—but it’s been worth every step, including the ones where I trip and almost fall. Unless you’re simply NOT human, you’re going to more than break a sweat hiking up this mountain.
Which brings me back around to . . . my deodorants. Have I told you how much I LOVE them? Have I told you how much others LOVE them? I do and they do! I do because I can walk up a mountain in 80+-degree weather and the same deliciousness I whiffed walking up, is the same deliciousness I whiff coming down. I’m not talking about pastries here. I’m talking about the scent of my deodorant.
If I’ve never told you, I’m one of those people who prefers NO added scent in products. All the butters I make for myself are unscented. Same with my favorite soap (Sensitive Face + Body, for the curious). BUT the one thing I will wear scented is my deodorant. My current underarm wear is the Lemon-Eucalyptus + Lavender in roll-on. Man, when I tell you how sweet it smells climbing that mountain, I’m not overglorifying it. I walk down, and I still smell good. How many deodorants can you say perform that same duty? No musk? No odor? Just sweetness?
Spending Money to Make Money
Enough bragging and shameless self-promoting. Recently, I’ve been doing Facebook Ads to increase awareness around the Nandi’s Naturals brand. You can’t grow, if nobody knows. Spending a little money to make that happen is a requirement at some point. The old folks used to always say, you gotta spend money to make money. Yup. I agree.
Soooooo many people have been introduced to my products, most especially my deodorants, with these campaigns. There was a time when I felt so suckered by the whole Facebook Ads thing that I swore off of it for eternity. Now, of all the bad things I have to say about Facebook, the Ads thingie is the ONE thing I take back. Not only have they been effective in introducing Nandi’s Naturals to people who might not have ever known about the company, but these ads have introduced people to my fabulous deodorants, OFTEN WHILE I’M SLEEPING. Many of these are people who had given up on any deodorant that had natural in the description. A word of advice to anyone considering Facebook Ads: I’ve found that creating my own promotion gives me more of an ROI than boosting a post.
Okay, okay, now, that I’ve dribbled on for almost 1,000 words, I’m going to pause here. I just had so much to get off my chest. I love talking, err, typing with y’all. So, to get the conversation started, I’m going to ask, what have you been up to? What are your plans for the rest of spring? Are you wearing my deodorant right now? If so, what’s your scent? ;-)
