WHAT: Purple Lab Cosmetics

WHEN: 2007

WHERE: New York, NY

HOW: It all started with a cocktail party. “I ate so much that after twenty minutes, I felt full and uncomfortable, like my pants were suddenly one size too small. I told my husband I had to go home and he was a little disappointed…I jokingly said, “Well, if my lip gloss would plump my lips and not my hips, I wouldn’t be in this mess.” And with that, the idea for Purple Lab Cosmetics was born. “The light bulb in my head blinded me,” says Robinovitz. “What if there was a lip-gloss with plumper and appetite suppressant?” she thought.

After that fateful cocktail party, Robnovitz picked up the phone and called a friend who worked at a major makeup brand to see if she could make the product. “My husband grabbed my phone and said, “YOU make this product. This is the start of your brand!”

Two weeks later, Robinovitz trademarked “Huge Lips Skinny Hips,” a lip gloss that plumps your lips and curbs your appetite, seting the wheels in motion for developing her brand. “I had no idea what I was doing but after asking around, I found a lab, who recommended a manufacturer for components. I joined a beauty organization so I could create a network of insiders who could guide me,” says Robinovitz.

To get the product off the ground, Robinovitz and her husband invested their life savings into the new brand. “In the beginning, the investment didn’t seem large. What started as $5,000 turned into $50,000. And it hurt when I crossed the threshold of $250,000.” At one point, Robinovitz even considered selling her engagement ring. Thankfully, today, Purple Lab is funded by outside sources—and Robinovitz still has her engagement ring. “We now have investors and partners, which was vital and really the only way for us to take Purple Lab to the levels we envision,” says Robinovitz.

When Robinovitz started her brand she was working as a consultant, creating strategic communication plans for fashion and beauty brands. Eventually, burning the candle at both ends took its toll. “I almost didn’t have a choice. When I started the business, I had no idea it would take the amount of time and energy it took. And by the time I realized, I was so “in” – financially and emotionally – that there was no turning back,” she describes.

Within the next year, Purple Lab hopes to launch seven new products and cross the multi-million dollar revenue threshold. Robinovitz plans to base her next seven products (everything from mascara to hair product) on something she likes to call “double duty beauty.” “Everything will be about double duty beauty – chic, innovation, fun wrapped around science forward technology and cutting edge ingredients,” she describes. A former fashion, beauty and lifestyle journalist, Robinovitz promises that her products will be top of the line. “I have very discerning taste after being in the media, writing about beauty, and trying every single product there is to try for over a decade,” says Robinovitz.

HER ADVICE: According to Robinovitz, facing your fears head on is key to succeeding as an entrepreneur. “Do it. Lose all fear. Take a risk. Think of yourself as the baby chick learning to fly and just jump out of the tree,” she suggests. “Trust your vision and instincts,” she adds.

Want to win your own tube of “Huge Lips Skinny Hips?” Click here and write “Purple Lab” in the message box.

-Toree, Iowa

Working from home definitely has its perks. “You don’t waste time commuting. You can be home for your family when you need to. You can usually set your own schedule. You don’t have to pay for a work wardrobe,” are just a few of them, says Allison O’Kelly, CEO of MomCorps.com. While working from home can make things easier, searching for a position is anything but simple.

To sidestep work from home scams, start your search with sites that feature only vetted work from home opportunities.  Two of my favorites are Women for Hire and Mom Corps. Although both are geared towards women, the sites provide free listings of legitimate work from home jobs for both sexes.  Another place to check for work from home jobs is directly with companies.  For example, JetBlue has agents that work from home.

Once you think you’ve found a real work from home opportunity, do a little poking around. Start by asking if you can speak with current or former employees. “The client should be able to connect you with others that have worked with the organization so you can learn about their experiences,” says O’Kelly. If the job-listing provider can’t comply, consider it a warning sign.

There are other red flags you should be on the lookout for too.  If the employer promises you can make a lot of money with little or no experience, its more than likely a hoax. Avoid companies that ask you to pay for training, pay for supplies or wait a month before you get your paycheck too.  “Unless you are buying a business, you should not need to pay money to work from home. You should not be required to pay for an expensive training class or materials to work from home,” advises O’Kelly.

If the listing you’ve found passes these tests, you should still vet it with the Better Business Bureau to be 100% sure that it’s an authentic work from home opportunity.  You can do so by clicking here.

WHAT: Corso’s Cookies

WHERE: Syracuse, NY

WHEN: 2001

HOW: “I always loved to bake since my first easy bake oven and I also loved art. Once I combined them both into decorated cookies I knew I had found my niche,” says Corso. When Corso had trouble finding a unique gift to send to a friend who had a baby, she decided to take matters into her own hands. The result? A million dollar business. “I decided to send her some cookies decorated like flowers in a basket. She loved them so I started making them for thank you gifts…they created quite a buzz around town. Every time I sent cookies out the recipient would want me to make more to send to someone for them. It seemed to be a snowball effect,” says Corso.

Working as a real estate agent, Corso used part of her commissions to fund the start-up. “I would go to the store, buy a pound of sugar and ten pounds of flour pretty much every other day. Then I’d wait to get paid on one bouquet to go out and do it again,” said Corso. The fledgling cookie business received its biggest boost from its first large order. “One thing that really helped was an order for 5,000 heart shaped cookies from the American Heart Association. We didn’t have any equipment for this. We had to do all the rolling by hand. I called every relative I had, every friend I had to help. With that order, the money we made helped us get things really started,” says Corso. A new and improved website also helped Corso’s Cookies gain exposure. “Once we got a really good website up, other companies started coming to us wanting to sell the bouquets on their site,” says Corso. Today, Corso’s Cookies are sold on over 100 websites, including ProFlowers and Amazon.

As orders kept getting larger and more frequent, Corso decided to leave the real estate business behind and pursue her true passion. “Within 6 months of starting cookie bouquets, the cookies just dominated. The tipping point for leaving real estate was my getting three hours of sleep a night,” explained Corso. But Corso wasn’t the only one burning the midnight oil—her husband Peter Hess also worked overtime to get the business off the ground. “My husband worked a full-time job to support us and worked with me in the evenings and weekends to prevent us from having to hire an accountant, janitor or salesperson. He kept on top of business matters and I made sure the product was made and orders were fulfilled,” says Corso. Over the course of the first three years in business, the couple went from engaged, to married to full-time business partners. “It was a huge challenge to the relationship but we both came out stronger and so did our business,” says Corso.

After three years of hard work, Corso’s Cookies began to turn a profit. In 2008, their revenues topped two million dollars and they expect things to only get better. “2010 should be our best year ever based on the sales we are starting to see come in for next year,” says Corso. For Corso’s though, it isn’t just all about making a profit—giving back is important too. Recently, the company teamed up with Vera Bradley’s Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer to sell their “Hope Garden Cookie Bouquet,” with a 20% of the proceeds from each bouquet going to help the foundation.

HER ADVICE: For Corso, slow and steady is the key to building a successful business “Don’t get in over your head or think you have to have everything right away. Grow slow,” says Corso. “Buy equipment used, and don’t worry about the competition. You have stay focused and have a plan of your own, don’t let their decisions influence what you are doing,” she adds.

Are you an entrepreneur with a story to share? Click here to tell us how you turned your bright idea into a money maker.

WHERE: Saddle Brook, NJ

WHEN: 2008

HOW: “Much of how we got here feels like serendipity,” says Scherl.  Both former successful marketing and strategy consultants, Scherl and Jaensch focused on women’s issues for most of their careers. “We focused on women-driven businesses – birth control, health and beauty, fertility– servicing leading companies including Johnson & Johnson, Wyeth and Church & Dwight,” says Scherl.  

Knowing about their passion for women’s issues, a venture capitalist friend showed them a business plan for Zestra.  “He said, ‘This opportunity, this category is for you’,” says Scherl. In April 2008, the pair met with the company’s higher-ups hoping that they could potentially manage the company.  They was under the impression that Scherl and Jaensch were coming to the table with funding to back the troubled brand.  “We parted ways believing that our interests were not aligned,” says Scherl.

Although the meeting didn’t turn out the way they hoped, Scherl and Janesch’s walked away with their curiosity piqued.  “As we looked at the category, which we now define as sexual satisfaction, it looked like the “perfect storm” from a marketing perspective,” says Scherl. The pair noticed how many women were looking for increased sexual satisfaction that didn’t have access to very many solutions. “Women weren’t talking to their health care professionals about sexual satisfaction, even though studies showed that 43% of women were sexually dissatisfied.  Most doctors were reluctant to bring it up with their patients,” says Scherl.  

With the facts in front of them and clinical, healthcare and marketplace evidence that showed Zesta worked, Scherl and Jaensch decided to take action. “Mary and I saw and seized an opportunity to “start a conversation” with women about something very important to them,” says Scherl.
 
Three months later, Scherl and Jaensch launched Semprae Laboratories.  After about a year later, the company that formerly owned Zestra declared bankruptcy.  Semprae made an offer and they were awarded the company’s assets several months later for $2.5 million dollars.  After acquiring the assets, Scherl and Jaensch put an additional $3 million towards making over the product and re-launching.  They also decided to leave their consulting jobs too to put 100% into making Semprae and Zestra a success. “After spending 8 months researching and developing the brand’s new story, Zestra “launched” with new packaging, flavor, positioning, messaging, business model and organizational support in April 2009,” says Scherl.
 
After just 9 months in business, Semprae is on track to be a seven figure business in 2009. Semprae has big plans for the future too.  “We are focused on driving significant growth to get to breakeven by the middle of next year.  We expect that the Zestra franchise is capable of driving $100MM in sales.” says Scherl.

THEIR ADVICE: According to Scherl and Jaensch, their business motto can be summed up in a line from the 1975 movie “Rollerball”: “No time-outs.  No substitutions.” “Get up every day and work as hard and as smart as you can for as long as you can.  Figure out the two or three things that drive your business and focus 100% of your time, energy and creativity on those elements,” adds Scherl.  

WHAT: Steaz: The Healthy Beverage Company. Steaz is the maker of USDA Certified Organic and Fair Trade Certified beverages, including iced teas, green teas and energy drinks. They’re the best-selling natural Energy Drink brand in the U.S.

WHEN: 2001

WHERE: Newton, Pennsylvania

HOW: Kessler and Schnell met in the 90’s while working at health food companies. The same family owned both companies and the duo worked together on the launching of over 1,000 products. “One day we said that we could create a company that really makes a difference in the world; we had a great idea-making soda healthy,” says Schnell. Their vision was to take a familiar taste and make it healthier. “We decided to change soda and make it healthy. We put green tea and organic ingredients in carbonated water,” says Schnell.

Schnell and Kessler took their idea and did what I typically tell people not to do. “We used every nickel in the bank, mortgaged our houses, took out credit cards and maxed them out…all the crazy things entrepreneurs do. We believed in the concept,” says Schnell. The gamble eventually paid off. With about a half a million dollars in seed money, Kessler and Schnell began to build their brand. They worked tirelessly to promote their brand and six months before it’s official launch they left their 9 to 5 jobs.

Today, their business is growing 70% annually and they’re on track to do nine to ten million dollars in business this year. Earlier this month Steaz hit the shelves of 1,700 Target stores nationwide. Because of a focus on marketing, Steaz is yet to turn a profit, but they expect to in 2010. “30 cents on every dollar we bring in and put it back into marketing. We’re a little ways away from breaking even. For us it’s all about marketing, marketing, marketing,” says Schnell.

But to Kessler and Schnell, it’s not just about the profits. It’s about giving back too. Steaz is built on what they call a “triple bottom line” business plan, where everything they do aims to improve people, the planet and profits. “Everything we do is based on taking care of people, the planet and using our profits to help give back,” says Schnell. As a company who uses Fair Trade ingredients, Steaz is helping to ensure that farmers on the tea estates are paid fair prices for their goods. Steaz also partners with NativeEnergy to help promote community-based projects to reduce harmful carbon emissions. And as for helping people, since the creation of the business Steaz has donated over $100,000 to charity.

THEIR ADVICE: According to Schnell, the best thing you can do when trying to build a brand and a successful business is to start small. “If you’re starting with limited funding start on a smaller scale locally, prove the concept, and then own the market. Take what you’ve learned and expand the business when you’re ready. Don’t rush,” says Schnell. According to Schnell, far too many businesses go under because they don’t have the correct infrastructure in place to support marketing and sales. “Looking back, some of the most successful companies of packaged goods have started small, built it really strong in one area and then moved along to the next key city,” says Schnell.

WHAT: Serial Entrepreneur: Citrus Studios, Luxe Link and The Waxing Co.
Yap is also a mother of two.

WHERE: Santa Monica, California and Honolulu, Hawaii

WHEN: Yap started her first business, an interactive design agency, Citrus Studios in 1996. Her second venture, Luxe Link, which makes handbag holders, launched in 2006. Her latest business, The Waxing Co., Honolulu’s only salon dedicated solely to waxing, opened just over six months ago.

HOW: When Yap started Citrus Studios, all it took was a used computer, $400 she borrowed from her parents and a passion for web design. At the time, Yap was working at a museum and doing freelance web design projects on the side. When the amount of money she made from freelancing exceeded her regular salary, Yap knew it was time devote all of her efforts into pursuing her passion. “I really should have quit six months earlier than I did. I thought, ‘I need a job. What happens if something happens?’ I was trying to be careful.” Looking back, Yap says that it’s transitioning from your 9 to 5 job into entrepreneurship that makes your business that much better. “The moment that you take the leap it forces you to align everything. When you’re working without a net you’re a little more careful. When you have a job you always have a backup.” Thirteen years after taking that leap, Citrus Studios does well over $1 million dollars in business every year.

Luxe Link, Yap’s second business and a joint venture with her former NYU roommates, was launched just four years ago. While on a trip to Italy, Yap was inspired to create a product to help women keep their purses off restaurant floors. “I was in a small Italian restaurant. I had my purse on the table, and couldn’t put my bag on the back of the chair.” At the restaurant, diners were given hooks that latched onto tables for women to hang their purses from. “I thought why is this not in the United States?” says Yap. From there, Yap worked to redesign the hook and “make it more fun.” The result was Luxe Link, a product that links your purse to your table keeping it safely elevated. The business took more money to start than her first venture, but has been profitable nonetheless. “We started this business with $100,000. There were lot of patent costs, I had to travel to China to find a manufacturer…there were a lot more startup costs,” says Yap. Making the initial investment back has been no problem for Luxe Link. Just last year, profits for the startup were around $600,000.

Yap’s latest project, The Waxing Co., a salon dedicated exclusively to waxing, opened last March. Yap started the shop with her sister, and it’s the first of its kind in their hometown of Honolulu. Start-up costs ran $150,000, but the duo was able to turn a profit in their first year. The business has become so popular they’re forced to turn people away on a daily basis and their credit card processing limit of $100,000 for the year was exceeded during their first several months. “It was unexpected that we were going to grow this quickly,” says Yap.

HER ADVICE: For Yap, having several businesses brings many opportunities to learn. Here are some of Yap’s favorite tips:

Be good to those your work with: “It’s good to have a good rapport with people you work with…having people want to work with you is key. They get roped in and get excited with you,” says Yap. Just recently a good relationship with Yap’s Citrus Studios landlord netted her a $1,000 a month decrease in rent. “I pay on time, I bake him cookies. I think he likes helping entrepreneurs,” she says.

You’ve got to be ready to work. “People think that by having their own business they can take time off. It’s a 24-hour, 150 thousand percent job,” says Yap. And if you think that becoming an entrepreneur eliminates having a boss, think again, says Yap. “All your clients become your bosses. I have 20,000 bosses. I have to please everyone and please my employees,” she says.

Learn from others. According to Yap, when you have your own business learning is the key to constant growth. Just recently, Yap hired a CFO for Citrus Studios to supplement her lack of financial knowledge. “I have no experience with finance. I surround myself with people who complement what I can do,” she says.

Who: Marcy Cohen and Lori Rockoff

What: Pea Soup Accessories for Kids; a manufacturer of handcrafted children’s hair clips, bows and more. You might have seen their designs on the offspring such celebs as Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Garner.

When and Where: Ten years ago in Chicago, IL

How: In 1999 Marcy Cohen was working as a teacher. Her sister, Lori Rockoff was doing social work. For fun Marcy started making hair clips for her daughter and from there, Pea Soup was born. “I found myself going in my restaurants and people would stop me and say where did you get this bow…we didn’t start with a plan. We were buying materials, going to craft stores. Our first customer was a children’s hair cutting salon. We brought our items in and they placed an order.” That first order may have only $150 but the satisfaction they got from this taste of success was enough to spur them on. “We were so excited. It’s still exciting,” said Cohen.

From there, the orders only got larger. “When we first started we were the ones making the clips. We were in LA a year and a half into it when we got our first big order. It was about $1,200.” After a weekend spent on the floor of Lori’s apartment assembling the clips, Cohen and Rockoff decided it was time to enlist some help. “That’s when we started hiring people to work with us,” said Cohen. Today Pea Soup Accessories employs a total of eight people.

After two years Pea Soup began to turn a profit. “We were really lucky. We learned as we went. When we first started we were going to the craft stores for supplies. We moved from buying retail to buying from wholesalers, and doing our own designs. We were able to really grow.” Today their accessories are available in boutiques, hair salons and online. And as for their day jobs, when the orders started to pour in, Cohen and Rockoff left them behind to focus their attention solely on Pea Soup. “When we first started we were working when the kids were napping, or when Lori got off work. It just got to the point where we couldn’t sustain the business that way. It was growing too fast.”

Their advice: “I would say first start with a business plan. We did not,” says Cohen who adds that the lack of plan prevented their business from taking off as quickly as it could have. “We didn’t budget for new samples and costs. We just bought what we liked. Which is part of what you want to do, but it helps to watch where you’re allocating your money.”

According to the sisters, uniqueness is also key. What sets Pea Soup apart from the rest? “A piece of Velcro inside each clip that helps it to stay in the child’s hair. We were definitely among the first to do that and it’s been a huge selling point,” says Cohen.

One final note: We sometimes hear that friends — and relatives — or money don’t mix. How does this duo make it work? “Make a list of all the job requirements to seek the most qualified person. Look at each partner’s strengths and allocate potential tasks to each partner to see if the two people will complement each other,” advises Rockoff. In their business, the sisters work on designs together. Rockoff handles the marketing. Cohen manages orders and keeps the books for the business in check.

Want to win a Pea Soup outfit for your little one? Click here, and write “Pea Soup” in the message box.