What’s better than a boss mom business? How about a boss family-run business! Kimberly-Chloe Wilson, founder and CEO of The Butter Bar Skincare, started her skincare company in 2014 as a side-hustle and it quickly transformed into an in-demand business.
The skincare company that prides itself on being “good enough to eat” creates raw, natural products that not only produce amazing results but are safe to use as well. Wilson chatted with 21Ninety to give us the deets on her fast rise in the skincare world:
21NINETY: Before we get into what’s going on now, let’s start from the beginning. How did The Butter Bar Skincare come to be and what’s the meaning behind the name?
KIMBERLY-CHLOE WILSON: I decided to call it "The Butter Bar" because at first I was making custom whipped body butters to-order and letting people choose how and what I mixed into it. So thinking of it as a mixing bar, I called it "The Butter Bar." I added "Skincare" later because we had moved into the full-fledged skincare environment.
21N: Did you always know you wanted to create a skincare brand?
WILSON: I always knew that I wanted to work for myself, and I wanted whatever I did to be fun and imaginative. It had to be something I created, or I wouldn’t be happy with it.
21N: Before discovering this is what you wanted to do, where did you see yourself going career-wise?
WILSON: I wanted to be a singer-songwriter all my life until age 25. That’s when life got real and I started thinking of how I could really affect the world, and make it better for those people who look like me, and not just run after fame and self-indulgences. I was a mom of two and pregnant with another child. It made me really reflect.
21N: Creating products, no matter what they are, is no easy task. How did you gain the knowledge you needed to start creating your products?
WILSON: I’m constantly researching my industry. I study holistic healing and formulary books, and anything I can get access to when it comes to skincare or cosmetic chemistry. I am literally OBSESSED with what I do, so I don’t mind constantly reading up on the same subject. You can never know too much about your industry, and you can never have too much skill. I also recently started studying formally in cosmetic formulation through a school. Like I said, I’m always learning.
21N: So you are a mom and a wife and a boss. How do you manage all the roles you play in your everyday life?
WILSON: My husband came on full-time with the business nine months after I started because we grow so fast I couldn’t keep up. My kids watched it grow right there in our apartment living room. Then it grew in our house, and eventually it outgrew that and we had to move into our current facility. We try to keep TBB (The Butter Bar Skincare) and home separate, but it is literally a family business. When I need to be the CEO, I take my feelings out of things between my husband (who is co-owner and COO) and I so we can make the best decision for TBB. When it’s time to be wife, I always let him take the lead (which I enjoy, since in the business I’m always in charge of most decision making). And as mom, I’m just mom. I am completely at peace when I’m with my kids.
21N: Do your kids ever partake in your business tasks?
WILSON: Absolutely. Always have. They always wanted to help pack, pour, or set up shelves. They would try to stay up with us to ship orders, but we’d make them go to bed the days we’d be up to the early morning trying to get things out. My 10 and 11 year old(s) get paid $50 a week to help label products after they are done with their school work. They used to do it voluntarily but my husband said all workers on his production team get paid.
21N: What advice would you give to other women looking to leave their jobs and start their own businesses? Was it scary for you when you left your job?
WILSON: Just do it! Now, I say that being the same woman who quit her job two weeks before New Years in 2014, with no savings, four kids (two under the age of two) and a husband who was working through a temp agency because of layoffs. I had no clients, barely two orders coming in a week, and was already living paycheck to paycheck. It was a risk, it was scary and it paid off. If you know you are the type of person to GET SH*T DONE, do it. If you know you are the type that procrastinates, doesn’t finish anything or is indecisive, then go ahead and stay at your job boo-boo. This entrepreneur life is for the bold DOERS only.
21N: Through all the things you have experienced with your business so far, highs and lows, what is one valuable lesson you have learned that not only impacts your decisions as a business woman but as a woman in general?
WILSON: Always trust your gut. Period. Your intuition will never fail you. My intuition has helped me avoid major pitfalls, as well as steered me into major wins.
PHOTO: Kimberly-Chloe Wilson
21N: What’s next for The Butter Bar Skincare?
WILSON: More stores! Definitely, our customers want them in their region. We are adding aesthetic services to our stores, having just hired an aesthetician. (We) will continue to do that with future store openings. Maybe retail also, if we found the right retailer. Skincare retreats, beauty parties, pop-ups in major cities and maybe even a podcast. I have so much information and skincare knowledge I want to share with women, the list can go on. I’m always putting something else down on my goal list.
21N: What’s next for Kimberly?
WILSON: I’m hoping vacation. I need one. I’m working on building my personal brand as well. I’m very introverted, so it will come with time. I’d love to have a few more babies as well. I’m only 31. My husband and I will be married for 10 years in 2019, so we plan to have a renewal ceremony with the wedding we never had, and also take that honeymoon we never got either.
PHOTO: Kimberly-Chloe Wilson
21N: Anything else you would like our readers to know?
WILSON: Your skin is the largest organ in your body, and it absorbs up to 60 percent of what you put on it. Invest in real skincare, for your REAL skin cells. If you can’t figure out what an ingredient is in your skin or personal care, you don’t need to slather it on. The Butter Bar Skincare products are made with ingredients (we) can ACTUALLY pronounce, so definitely check us out at www.MyButterBar.com or come in to our store at 10142 Jones Rd. Houston, TX 77065 (even if just to have a quick skin chat with me).
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