We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Vanessa Faddoul. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Vanessa below.

Vanessa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

The idea came about during the pandemic and as we were looking to the future. The idea of starting a business was always intriguing and the opportunity we had by being at home for so long gave us the courage to take an idea and run with it. It started with a practical problem. I practice yoga daily and have had problems finding products that are good for my hair and also fit into the yoga philosophy. That began the process, first thinking about what the products should be, what we anted from the products and then how to being the process. The next step was a name, something that told the story and had a meaning to why we started the brand. That is how ahimsa came to be; it is the yoga philosophy of no harm. From there we knew what we wanted and what to name it, then we branched into 2 paths. One to find a lab to develop the products and second, to develop the branding (artwork, packaging, story). It was difficult to find a lab to work with and then it takes months to develop the right products. The marketing was also challenging. We took several months to find someone to help take your thoughts and ideas and bring them to life. Both processes took months and once we got the right formulas and the right story and art, we were able to finally launch online.

Vanessa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I did not start out as an entrepreneur. I was an attorney and left practice to raise my family. I was fueled by my passion for yoga, embarking on a journey to address the hair damage caused by my daily practice. Recognizing the need for effective yet gentle hair care solutions, my husband and I started Ahimsa from scratch, determined to create products that align with my values of non-violence and holistic wellness.

I am so proud of the brand we built. Mvision was to offer natural, non-toxic hair care options that cater specifically to the needs of yoga enthusiasts and those with active lifestyles, providing protection and nourishment for hair before and after yoga sessions.

That distinction is something that I had not seen on the market and we hope consumers love the products and story of the brand.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I had a vision when I first started working on formulas. It was to be as natural as possible. Using only specific ingredients and having something super simple. What you learn quickly is how difficult it is to create a beauty product that is effective but meets those requirements, When the formulas first started to be made, I realized that we needed to add ingredients to get a better result. We did not compromise our values and stayed all natural, vegan and cruelty free, but the dream of a handful of ingredients being effective and shelf stable were not what possible while still being something that people would want to use.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

We began selling our brand and products exclusively on our website. The traffic is difficult to get and sales were slow. Getting traction and authority has been difficult, but we used social media, some digital advertising and wrote some blog entries to get traffic. Later, we started selling on Amazon. It is also a difficult place to gain traction for a new product and company. The great thing is that people on Amazon are ready to purchase, so it has been more effective to use advertising to get people to discover and purchase, I would work diligently to get the right descriptions and images in place and then work on getting reviews to help build trust on Amazon.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ahimsahaircare.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahimsahaircare/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ahimsahaircare
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/ahimsahaircare/