Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in skincare but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Paula Keif, founder of Green Koala, located in Pembroke, MA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Founded in 2010, Green Koala specializes in developing body care and home fragrance products using high-quality, safe, natural, and organic ingredients using eco-friendly manufacturing processes. Green Koala evolved out of a passion for helping others make informed choices about the products they use every day. After twelve years, Green Koala produces over a dozen different products in our Pembroke, MA facility and is a recognizable eco-luxury brand. We owe much of this success to our loyal customers. They share our passion for embracing a greener, more organic way of life and continue to re-purchase our products and share them with their friends and family.
Tell us about yourself
After examining the ingredients listed on many of the products in my home, I realized how many contained toxic chemicals and fillers. I grew passionate about using safe products and wanted to help others make more informed choices about the products we use every day. My commitment to sharing information about safe, non-toxic products blossomed into Green Koala.
I am also deeply committed to the footprint we leave on our environment. We live by the three Rs – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle with both our business and personal life. From the biodegradable coconut wax used in our candles to packaging made from recycled material, we work hard to ensure our processes, practices, and end products are eco-friendly. To this day, I continue to review and scrutinize the ingredients we are using in our products. I research their origins and properties as well as listen to customer feedback to tweak our recipes.
We have a loyal customer base that I feel personally connected to and have developed friendships with many of them. Not only do we share a love for Green Koala products, but we have meaningful conversations about our families and life experiences. These relationships and knowing that we are making a difference in people’s lives are what motivates me every day.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Green Koala originated from an idea and a blank piece of paper. Through passion and determination, it has evolved into an established and recognizable eco-luxury brand. Reflecting back, it amazes me to think of how far Green Koala has come. From making products in our kitchen using non-commercial appliances to our current industrial location where we mass produce to accommodate our growth. Most importantly, this accomplishment has allowed us the opportunity to give back and support our community through our Local Food Pantry Soap Program and environmental non-profits such as One Tree Planted.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
The future is never promised or predicted, as we have seen with COVID. The hardest thing as a business owner is to be able to survive during challenging times and thrive when opportunities present themselves. The ability to pivot and make flexible business decisions has been the most difficult for me in the recent past.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Being an entrepreneur and owning your own business is extremely difficult. You wear many hats. Each day presents itself with new challenges. The key is finding your passion, following your intuition or gut, and ignoring the nay-sayers. Always view the glass as half full and learn from every experience – good or bad.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Define your owning meaning of success. It may surprise you that your initial definition may change. Your true purpose in this journey is something you never expected.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://greenkoala.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreenKoala4u
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/green.koala/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/greenkoala4u
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lovegreenkoala/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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