First up, tell us a little bit about yourself and your business!
I am the owner of Resibo, a woman, a mother and a wife. I was raised by my mother with a great admiration for nature and its’ great power. The power of water, the power of plants, the great power of herbs. Nature itself has all we need and what our skin needs to be healthy and happy. So my business comes straight from the nature. Some time ago when I was a teenager I would struggle with huge skin problems (who didn’t actually!). So I kept trying to find skincare that would solve my problems. It was so hard, you know? Actually then, the cosmetic industry mostly created skincare that helped only in short-term or even caused more problems.
I am a very ambitious woman, so when I couldn’t find any effective products that would have been both safe and healthy, I decided to create it myself. Well, not without problems, but here I am in my thirties owning a very fast developing natural skincare company and helping not only myself but thousands of women around the world. You know, I am a cosmetics freak since I remember – I love this world, new products, materials and its functioning. I love nature. I poured all my energy into this brand – my dream is to be able to create products of the best quality but affordable, one that would be ultra-effective which could convince more and more people to natural products.
What’s your morning routine to set you up for an epic day of getting sh*t done?
My recipe is to wake up happy. I know, I know. It’s not so easy sometimes and we all know that. But still I try to start each day with a huge portion of good energy which actually my son Anthony and my husband Piotr help me to ‘produce’ each morning. I love family life! But also I do a lot for myself. Each day I start with a glass of water as I think of my body holistically and hydration helps to cleanse it and think clearly for a day ahead. A few times a week I go to the gym and those mornings I love the most. My PT really kicks my butt or I push myself hard. After each session my endorphins levels go crazy. Then a shower finished with a cold stream. Next, my morning skin care routine: cleansing, toning, nourishment and protection. Then brekkie and a bike ride to the office.
What does an average day look like for you?
My average day? It’s exciting! You know, even in every day routine you can find your life balance. And I love simple things – like my son Anthony calling me each morning for some cuddles, like the three of us together with my husband preparing a brekkie. Like just being a family. But I am a businesswoman too, so I work every day at my company which I run with my husband. And there’s always something to do!
I lead a Marketing and PR team as well as coordinate works of the Research and Development department, so what I do is very interesting and creative. So far I have never been bored at Resibo and I can say I definitely found my place in the world here. After work I pick up Anthony and we do things together, visit friends and family or go for a bike ride. Sometimes Piotr joins us, when he is not going for a cross fit session or not staying longer at work, as he deals with our company logistics, finances and investments and there’s always something to do. In the evening we bathe Anthony, have supper together, read him a book in bed and sometimes there is some time and energy left to watch a movie with Piotr.
When and where did you decide to start your business? How has it evolved since there?
Would you be surprised if I tell you I created my business by accident? Well, it’s the truth as well as the truth is I always wanted to run my own business. Of course, for a long time I had no idea what could it be. Well, the idea came to me itself. And here’s the story. As I mentioned before, as a teenager I had a huge skin problems, which I couldn’t get under control. Skincare experiments wouldn’t bring any effects, neither dermatologists advices or prescribed medications. About eight years ago I have heard of a method of cleansing the face with oils, which is a beauty secret in Asia. I really wanted to try it myself, hoping it could also help me, but there wasn’t any cleansing oils available on Polish market and importing from Asia was just too difficult. And at this point I decided to try and make an oil myself. So I did. And then it turned out that the cleansing oil I made worked a magic on my skin. So I decided to make some gift for my friends and family to see how it would work on their skin. Can you imagine my surprise when they came back to buy more when it ran out?!
Well that was the moment I decided to make a business out of it and it got me to where I am now.
What book do you recommend to all business owners?
Actually I read a lot of books and I choose those that bring my a new knowledge or another look on things. But actually there is one book I still have in my mind when running my own business. It is ‘The 4-hour Work Week‘ by Tim Ferris. Why? Because I believe the good, happy life recipe is to maintain balance between work and the rest of life. Don’t get me wrong. Work is very important in our lives, but it can’t be the most important and you can’t succeed by working 16 hours a day. Or maybe you can, but could you say you succeed in life too? Anyway, you may ask me now how many hours I work. Well, I haven’t reach my dreamed 4-hour per week yet and I am perfectly aware it needs time. It doesn’t mean I should quit my dreams though, does it? (laugh)
What’s your secret to productivity?
I won’t bring up anything new in here. The best business tool I know is project management. It is very helpful in running big projects in my company like for example new products launching. Also as simple tools as ‘to-do lists’ or Google Keep are very helpful. As for myself the most important thing is to keep balance. When I don’t keep the balance between work and the rest of my life I start to feel it, I am less creative and less effective. I need a few breaks a year away to charge batteries as well as a time on fresh air with my family and friends every day.
How do you stay motivated on tough days?
I get advice from my friends. On such days, I remind myself why I started all of it. I go back to the beginning. I wanted to promote natural skincare, make it recognizable and well associated amongst bigger number of people. And this is my mission and what motivates me to keep going and pushing through.
What’s something you wish you started doing earlier that has helped your business immensely?
Definitely, planning! When I started my business it was a little bit out of the blue, you know. Neither me and my husband knew anything about the skincare business. On one hand it was a blessing, because we did things, for example in PR and marketing, that made our company stand out from the crowd. On the other hand it was a kind of a curse, because we could have avoided a lot of mistakes. Well, one learns from his own mistakes, as we say. Now I know that planning, making things in advance is one of the most important things to run a successful company. The other thing is to hire experienced, engaged management.
What one piece of advice would you give to someone wanting to start a business in the health & wellness industry?
If you want to start working on your own you need to believe 100% in what you are doing. Own business is never easy but if you have your own goals and you believe in it you can conquer any difficulties and succeed. Also health and wellness industry is very demanding. You will face people who have certain expectations for your products and if you can’t meet those expectations they will never buy your product again. There is so many others to choose! So if you want to succeed you need to be honest with your customers, but also with yourself. I couldn’t create any product if I wouldn’t test its action on myself. Yes, that’s true. Every product we sell I was testing myself and asked my family, friends and employees, so that we had a wider view on how it works.
What’s your nightly routine to wind down after a busy work day?
I make myself lemon balm tea and I do stuff that will take my mind away from work – I watch a movie, preferably a comedy or I read a book.
What’s next for Resibo?
New products are in the pipeline as well as getting our brand into more international markets and making it recognizable over there. Also different lines of Resibo products. At the moment they are mainly for the face and body but we also would like to introduce some hair products as our customers love our values, philosophy and ingredients group, they would like to be all set with Resibo products. I would love to keep the search for a new exciting and mega effective raw ingredients from around the world and finding it results.