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Episode 20

A CONVERSATION WITH 
DIME BEAUTY

Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube

A NEW FORMULA | BUILDING DIME BEAUTY FROM THE GROUND UP

I recently had a conversation with the founders of Dime Beauty: Baylee Relf, Ryan Relf, and Mitch Casey, on my podcast. They shared their incredible story about how they bootstrappped their business from the ground up, and took it from zero to hero with hundreds of failures, lost capital, late nights and long hours, and just pure determination. Today they run a massively successful makeup and skincare brand that serves hundreds of thousands of people.

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One thing I wanted to highlight from this inspiring story, was how well these entrepreneurs adapted to each level of the game of business. In the early days the game was all about manufacturing—where could they find great ingredients, get shipping, etc. But then as things progressed it turned into a game about marketing. How could they get millions of people aware about this company? And then later on the game changed into branding. They made major changes to the look and feel of their brand that lead to a ton of growth and opportunity.

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In entrepreneurship, the game changes as you progress, and each level brings it’s own types of success and hardship, which is why you need to have a skillful balance between adaptability and steadfastness as a founder. You need to be able to play each new game as it comes along, without losing the grit that got you their in the first place. And these 3 founders and incredible examples of this balance.

“What makes the game of business unique is that the rules constantly change.”

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BIGGEST TAKEAWAY FROM THIS EPISODE:

“Focus on the money, and the customers will disappear. Focus on the customer, and the money will come in droves.”

This is a commonality I’ve seen throughout the hundreds of successful entrepreneurs and founders I’ve interacted with. Starting a company brings a alot of highs and lows, and often if money is your only goal, it’s not enough to help you stick it out through the lows.

 

Dime Beauty was no exception to this principle. They told me that on one of the darkest days of the company, they were all about ready to throw in the towel and move on. The only thing that kept them going? Their belief that their product really helped people.

 

That focus on serving their customer base gave them the strength to continue, and eventually make it into retailers such as Ulta Beauty. If they had only been focused on making quick cash, they wouldn’t have made it.

 

I want to invite you to answer these 3 questions:

  1. What are other companies you know of that prioritize quality and service to customers?

  2. What actions show their commitment to great service?

  3. How can you apply these practices at your workplace?

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