Jody Cohen, Founder of Cosmoholics Cosmetics

Remember the girl in 7th grade who got caught wearing red lipstick to school? OK, we all remember that girl, but what about the girl whose mother encouraged her to wear red lipstick? That girl, if you were lucky enough to know her then, was Jody Cohen, the now 27 year-old lip gloss maven and Founder of Cosmoholic Cosmetics.

Growing up, Jody learned everything there was to know about cosmetics from her mother, a working make-up artist. After working as a make-up artist herself, and then a style consultant for the Today Show, Jody moved on to retail. Using her combined skill sets, Jody then embarked on a new venture in hopes of solving a nagging cosmetics problem: how to get pigment and shine from one lip product.

The result?  Cosmoholics lip gloss, a non-sticky, pigment-filled lip product that offers the best qualities of both lipstick (pigment), and lip gloss (shine). As an added bonus, she even threw in a lip repairing element. Now 16 months after it’s official launch, Cosmoholics lip gloss can be found in dozens of retail stores, online, and on lips nationwide.

In fact, it’s probably even found it’s way to the 7th grade.

1.  With a background in beauty and fashion, was it challenging learning to be a successful salesperson?  Where did you pick up the business side of retail?

I was born a sales woman! It’s not a skill that one can really acquire.. you either love it and are good at it or you’re not. I’ve worked many sales jobs in cosmetics and fashion in the past and have a true passion for it. My father is an entrepreneur and I learned a great deal from him and as the Retail Recruiter for Scoop NYC stores.

2.  What is it like competing with the cosmetics “giants” who have unlimited access to research and development?

It’s a challenge, but one that I embrace and use as motivation to build the Cosmoholic brand. I strive to create innovative products that aren’t currently on the market and truly believe that Liquid Lipstick is unique.

3.  How have you used your status as a smaller company to work for you as far as marketing and PR?

As far as marketing, up to this point, I have been focusing on boutiques and specialty stores, not department stores. Women always make excuses to buy more lip gloss and Liquid Lipstick are great easy add ons. As far as PR, A few great celebrities become fans early on and that always helps. Beyond that, I have a great product and a great PR agency so that part has been easy.

4. The branding aspect of Cosmoholic immediately caught my eye . What type of response or feeling from the consumer were you hoping to achieve?

I wanted the customer to be immediately drawn to Liquid Lipstick. The bright yellow packaging is fun with a girly vintage feel and women often buy for themselves and as gifts.

5. How important have your connections in the beauty industry (as well as media) been to your successful launch, and what would your advice be to someone without these contacts?

To be honest, I don’t have that many contacts. My past experience has given me credibility and that has helped me more than any contact has. I advise anyone who’s starting a business to be passionate about their product and have no fear!! BE FEARLESS.. and if you’re not, fake it! Persistence is key.

6. Has being a single entrepreneur helped you or hurt you in business and why?

Regardless of your status, starting a company is extremely time consuming and challenging. Being single, I’ve been able to dedicate a lot more time and have a flexible travel schedule which is a huge contributor to my success.  It’s a 24-7, 7 days a week job!

7. Describe the ideal person who would complement both your life and your business.

The ideal person, among many things, would be independent, self sufficient, understanding and supportive of me and my business.

8. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Cosmoholic Cosmetics strives to create beauty products that are innovative, convenient and problem solving all while keeping the everyday woman’s wants and needs in mind. In 10 years,  I hope that Cosmoholic Cosmetics will have additional products and will hold a major spot in the industry.

Jody’s Bio:

Jody started her career in beauty as a makeup artist in New York City, where she worked in TV (as a style consultant for the “Today Show”), in live events, and in magazines.  She knows retail well, too, having worked at Scoop NYC, a high-end, multi-location clothing store, where she fell in love with retail and the business behind the beauty industry.

Jody figured if she could marry her passions- makeup and retail- surely she could marry lipstick and lip gloss.  The idea got addictive, and after working with a team of chemists to create this unique new product, Jody is proud to present the result of her obsession… Cosmoholic Cosmetics, a new line of “liquid lipstick” that goes on like lip gloss but has the real, deep, beautiful pigment of a lipstick.

Want to connect with Jody? Follow her on Facebook or contact Amanda Meyer of Bella Public Relations, Inc. at 212.868.8183.

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month (October), Mother Ink is now offering a brand-new pink ribbon temporary tattoo! Two sizes are available and ten percent of all proceeds will be donated to fund Cancer research.

If your business is doing something “pink” for October in honor of Cancer research, please leave a comment and let everyone know!

Kim Overton, Creator of the Spibelt

Why is Kim Overton dancing?

Not just because her company, Overton Enterprises, has sold tens of thousands of her patent-pending SpiBelt personal carriers since their launch in 2007.  Not because she’s been featured on CNN, CNBC, The Today Show, and been asked to show off her impossibly-toned legs in the pages of Cosmopolitan.

No, the real reason Kim is dancing is because every day at 6pm, she turns off her computer and turns on her life. A true believer in work/life balance, Kim makes time to enjoy family and friends by delegating what she can and leaving the rest for tomorrow.

And, if tomorrow is a typical day for Kim, it will probably include a little dancing.

1. Carriers for personal items have been available for years.  Explain why SPIbelt is an improvement on products already on the market.

This belt is a comfortable and discreet way to carry small personal items without bulkiness or risking looking like you’re wearing a fanny bag.

2. You are one of few entrepreneurs who sets a specific work schedule and sticks to it. Was it difficult to strike that balance in the first stages of your start-up?

For sure. When you first start your business, it’s easy to work until the sun goes down, and begin again before the sun goes up. It’s almost always necessary to work a ton when you’re starting your business. But as time goes on and you’re able to delegate, it’s important for your physical and psychological health to draw the line in the sand for when to turn work off. When I lived in NYC, the rhythm of the city seems to operate on 9-10 hour work days, so it was natural to work late and go have dinner with your friends after work at 8 or 9pm. Now that I’m back home, I shut down as 6pm, regardless.

3. How has being a young, attractive female contributed to (or detracted from) your success so far?  Have you ever not been taken seriously in a business relationship?

Most of my sales are done through reps, so gender doesn’t usually have a role in our interaction with clients. The times that I do notice a shift in a people’s tone or body language is at trade shows, when someone interested in doing business asks me to speak with the owner. When I smile and say “I’m the owner”, I have noticed a raise in their eyebrows (only with men, women are elated), almost to say, “hmm, interesting, I didn’t realize the owner could be you”.

4. What was it that drew you to personal training after 9/11?

As with most entrepreneurs, I am not a good employee, and I do not enjoy office politics and I always felt way too creative to be in a cubicle. So when I was laid off after 9/11, I embraced the new beginning and tried something totally different from what I had been doing, but something that gave me freedom and was rewarding on a personal level. I resisted training, but when I gave it a try and met so many wonderful people, I fell in love with it.

5. From CNN to the Today Show, you have received an incredible amount of media exposure. What are your secrets to gaining attention, and how much did major media contribute to your initial growth?

My first passion was dancing and singing, and being on stage. Reaching out to the media, to me, was a part of who I am. I had a product, I wanted them to feature it, I researched how to get their attention. Mix that with a bit of a prayer and go.

6. Do you feel being single has been important in allowing you freedom to focus on your business?

I hesitate to say that being single is how I’ve reached our current status, only because I don’t want to come across to say that being married or a parent or involved will hinder anyone’s pursuit to success, but I will say that if I did have kids at this time, I doubt I’d have as much time, money and energy to focus on the launch of my company as I have.

7. Describe the ideal person who would complement both your life and your business.

The ideal person would be a man who is fiercely successful in his field of choice, and as equally passionate about living a healthy and balanced family life (at the same time, this person is okay with hearing my random business ideas at any given time – my inspiration knows no off-hours!). Having lived around the world, and running my third business, I greatly appreciate being able to chat with someone who knows and can appreciate the challenges that come with running a business while maintaining a healthy family life.

8. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Adventure and educational traveling with my family in a foreign country, checking email every now and then to see how my companies (I plan to have a few) are doing back home.

Kim’s Bio:

Kim Overton founded SPIbelt in 2007. She previously co-founded a tech company in NYC providing back end development for database driven websites. She worked as a personal trainer and nutrition consultant for 5 years in NYC and Austin, Texas before founding SPIbelt.

Want to connect with Kim? Follow her on Twitter and Facebook!

Robert Tuchman, author of Young Guns and Founder of TSE Entertainment, deserves a big high-five for his accomplishments as an entrepreneur, for starting his business while he was still young and single, and for his enthusiasm surrounding everything business, sports and capitalism.  If only he would have used his own business knowledge to hire a professional writer to guide him along, the insights and experience he has to share in his book would be better appreciated.

That being said, the underlying material in Young Guns is helpful, motivational, easy to read and asks all the right questions.  “Why not me?”, the title of Chapter One asks a great one, in fact. A question that warrants a continual answering as your business progresses (at some point there may be a reason it shouldn’t be you).  Going beyond that, the author explains what (besides a good idea and youthful enthusiasm) is essential to starting and maintaining a successful business using real world examples.

I generally love reading inspirational stories from entrepreneurs who have experienced it all, especially at a young age, and honestly think this book would be a great beach read for someone young, just starting out, or in need of general direction (who also doesn’t care if the writing isn’t exactly prize-winning). If you don’t mind excessive exclamation points and an overall “cheerleader” feel covering up what is essentially useful (albeit basic) information, then Young Guns could be just the thing.

Maybe I’m just too old and less of a cheerleader than I used to be.