I don’t really have a typical day. I
have a 10month old boy so my day really is based around his needs. I have set
goals for each day of the week i.e when to blog, tweet, process orders, write
articles etc. My working day happens when he is either asleep, when he is happy
playing, when he’s with his granny/daddy or at night when he has gone to bed.
What made you start the business and how did you get started?
A few years
ago I was wondering why so many people that I knew were poorly. Over a bottle
of wine my husband and I were discussing what we’re doing now that we didn’t do
30 years ago. One of the topics was skincare. Whilst having my evening shower I
looked at my shower gel and couldn’t understand any of the ingredients. I
Googled them and found some were irritating but some were even cancer causing.
I did many months of research into ingredients. It is deemed safe for these
‘nasty’ ingredients as they are in such small quantities but a typical woman
uses about 12 products per day; shower gel, shampoo, deodorant, make-up , hand
wash etc. and what does that equate to over a life time? I realised that only 3%
of a ‘natural’ products ingredients needed to be natural, the rest could be
made up of anything. I didn’t like this and so set about making a website that
sold only products that were ‘nasty’ chemical free. I created a database of
ingredients and when I got to over 4,000 I decided to launch thepureemporia.com
What would you say has been your greatest accomplishment in the
business world to date?
We have
received 3 national business awards already which has been great but even
better than this was when a mother phoned me to tell me that her 4 year old had
stopped using steroids for his Eczema which he had been using since a baby
after he started using our products.
What has been your biggest challenge in business so far?
Combining
business with a baby and coping when sleep deprived!
What are your future plans for the business?
To grow, to
launch our own range and to sell even more internationally.
If you had to do it all over again, what would you do
differently?
I would keep
my purse strings tighter and I would seek help and advice on things like my
website. Although I think this is a massive learning curve for any new
business.
Why is it so important to inspire young women in particular to
follow their dreams?
Everyone
should be able to support themselves. The trend to want to be a wag is not
helping anyone, particularly young girls. You can’t gain self esteem and
confidence if you are only seen as someone’s other half. Girls can do it for
themselves! People need to have their own money in order to have some ‘say’ in
their lives.
What advice would you give to somebody who wants to start a
business in your industry?
For any
industry you need to do your research and learn all that you can about social
media.
What or who inspires you in business and why?
Jacqueline
Gold – she has risen in a mans world. And made something huge and popular out
of something that was seen to be seedy.
What is your favourite
inspirational quote?
“If you don’t
dream it, you won’t do it” or something like that – basically allow yourself to
dream of something great and go after it.
Contact Details
Sharon Lowe
01743 232266
www.thepureemporia.com
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