I was incredibly honored to be asked to tell my "How I Did It" story on
Maria Shriver's inspiring website, Architects of Change. I'm republishing the article here on Green Skincare Blog with my sincerest thanks to my amazing sister, Anna Fraser, who edited my life story down to 900 words when I couldn't seem to cut anything out! Here's the raw and honest truth on How I Did It...
I became an accidental entrepreneur at 14. Competitive swimming was my
life at that time, and what started as a confirmation service project
teaching an eight year old girl with Down Syndrome how to swim ballooned
into a real business.
Across the local community, people asked me to teach their children, so
I started a swim school in my parents’ backyard the following summer.
With the help of my father (an attorney), mother and sister (also
swimmers), we developed an entirely word-of-mouth business that grew to
over 200 families each summer.
The swim school taught me valuable lessons at a young age: how to teach
effectively, manage time, manage challenging personalities, and run a
business with family members. I made good money and was able to save, a lot. I hung up my swim
goggles after college and moved back to Boston for graduate school and
began my career in education (also the first time I wasn’t working for
myself).
I hadn’t thought much of the significance of not working for myself
until meeting my future husband, Peter, who shared with me his dream to
fix up his boat and sail to the Caribbean. Excited to join this adventure, I quickly and unequivocally said “yes!”
Dating changed from restaurants to trips to West Marine, emptying our
wallets as we learned to outfit a sailboat for cruising.
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| Our tiny ship Harmony, right before selling it in the Caribbean |
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We wired electric systems to run off of solar panels, sewed sail covers
and installed our own head (read: toilet), and countless other dirty
work to prepare for life at sea. It was challenging, but we loved it -- working for ourselves and
building our dream. Less than a year later, we quit our jobs and set
sail from Salem, MA to the Caribbean.
What first seemed like hitting pause on my career proved to be my
greatest adventure and foundation for future entrepreneurial endeavors. Our two year voyage on the tiny sailboat deepened my understanding of
our impact on the earth -- we conserved energy, water, and resources
every moment of every day. I became acutely aware of how much water we consumed, how much trash we
made, the energy needed to run our systems, and what a luxury fresh
food was.
Problem-solving was part of our every day and sailors are much like
entrepreneurs-- savvy, creative and welcoming to other like-minded
birds. Through chats at docks and boatie bars, and research whenever we got
near an internet cafe, we found solutions that were very green and DIY.
THE SEED THAT STARTED GRAPESEED CO.
Stores weren’t commonplace among the remote islands we sailed to, so I
started making skin care products from cooking oils we had aboard and
native fruits and plants. Thus began my fascination, research and formulation of natural ingredients, personal care products and ultimately,
The Grapeseed Company.
We landed in Santa Barbara after our sailing adventure, and began to
appreciate wine and the age-old process of creating it. We saw
winemakers throwing away grapeseeds after crush each fall.
I started researching benefits of red wine grapeseeds and thought, “How about
creating skin care from the wine maker’s byproduct?” We set out to turn
trash into treasure.
NEGOTIATING MY WAY
With $2,000 left from my swim school savings, I started Grapeseed
Company with just three hand-made products -- scrub, massage oil and lip
balm. It evolved from personal use and gifts to selling at local
artisan fairs.
During that time, I negotiated a deal with my employer to start working
part-time. I first went down to 80%, then 50% over three years from my
career in elementary Special Education. Juggling my day job and dream job made me a “part-time entrepreneur”
and I was getting half-assed results. I’d have a taste of success at
Grapeseed, then have to abandon it to go back to my day job.
NO ROOM FOR FAILURE
Fear of failure, financial hardship and stress kept me from going all
in with Grapeseed. And I was unhappy in my day job, feeling like there
was nowhere to grow or go.
Not unlike the last time I’d stepped out of my career and onto the
sailboat, I knew I had to leave for a new adventure...and that I was
probably a little crazy to do so.
But the stakes were even higher -- I gave up my tenured job and steady
salary just after we’d purchased our first home and the economy tanked
in 2008. There wasn’t much room for failure, which was exactly the fire I
needed to succeed.
I started working from home full time and hired our first employee in
2009. Within a year, we negotiated free sublet space from a business
that had and an extra office and kitchen, but six months later, they
needed that space back.
So in July 2010, I signed the lease on our first store in Santa
Barbara. A year later, we opened a second store and new manufacturing
facility in Carpinteria, CA and have been honored as the fastest growing
company of the year by Savor the Success, participated in celebrity
gifting with
The Artisan Group at the Oscars GBK Gift Lounge, released 16 new products,
formulated a spa line for a new Orient Express resort and launched over
40 products in Whole Foods Markets.
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| manufacturing and packing our first 6-figure wholesale order at the new warehouse |
LESSONS FOR SUCCESS
I am most proud of the amazing team we built (now seven strong!) and
that we’ve continued to self-fund growth through multiple revenue
streams.
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| The Grapeseed Co. Team (minus CFO Pete) Summer 2013 |
I’m a DIY girl, so one of the most important things I’ve learned is
that no one can do it alone; it takes a solid team to build a stellar
company.
Empower your employees to be as excellent as the brand you’ve built. If
they feel invested and empowered in your company’s growth, the sky is
the limit!
Another important lesson is to view everything as a learning
experience. Successes, failures -- it doesn’t matter; there is an
important learning opportunity and sometimes it takes someone else to
help you realize that.
Nourish and appreciate relationships that give you solid, helpful,
constructive feedback. Building a business from the ground up is
extremely hard work; be realistic about what you can handle and embrace
learning something new every day.
I’ve learned so many amazing lessons (the hard way) building Grapeseed and am excited to launch a new business this summer,
Cultivate Your Niche. This is my passion project; teaching others the lessons we’ve learned
the hard way to develop niche, artisan products and create, launch and
grow the business of your dreams!
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Kristin Fraser Cotte is the founder and CEO at The Grapeseed Company,
creating botanical beauty from wine made fresh in Santa Barbara,
California. The Grapeseed Company's niche products and unique business
model have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Health, The LA
Times, Shape, Women's Health, Edible Magazine and more. This summer
Kristin is launching Cultivate Your Niche to teach others how to create, launch and grow the business of your dreams.
