1. Be Transparent: Today, people can do online research to find information far beyond what is being offered on an E-Commerce website. Veronica stresses that it’s important for companies to be transparent with customers about their products and services to establish trust and grow business.
2. Be Your Own Customer: Veronica advises entrepreneurs to ‘be your own customer.’ This means offering products, services, and prices at the same standard level that you would expect if shopping from your own company.
3. Focus on What You Do Best: Beauty and skin care is an industry of trends. Eschewing industry ‘buzz and gimmicky packaging, Veronica chose to focus on developing a small line of affordable products that deliver effective results. And after 14 years, Timeless Skin Care continues to be a dependable and growing brand.
4. Do The Work: Veronica is upfront about how hard it is to get an independent E-Commerce company off the ground – a willingness to do the work even through the most challenging periods is required of any successful entrepreneur.
5. ‘Word of Mouth’ Drives Profit: The success of a beauty and skin care brand relies on product reviews and feedback. Veronica credits ‘word of mouth’ support for her company’s business growth and expanding customer base.
Veronica Pedersen launched Timeless Skin Care in 2009 with only $400 while she was still living with her parents. Learn how she went from selling products on eBay to heading a leading E-Commerce skin care company by being transparent, upholding brand principals, and earning customer trust that after 14 years, is being passed on to the next generation.
Meet Veronica Pedersen, CEO of Timeless Skin Care!
Timeless Skin Care is dedicated to creating advanced skin care solutions with exceptional quality and value. Each product is carefully designed and crafted to promote vibrant, healthy skin. With high concentrations of clinically studied, active ingredients, Timeless Skin Care serums and specialty products boost skin health, reverse the signs of aging, and protect from future damage. The company’s clean, simple formulas can be used alone or incorporated into any skin care routine for added benefits.
In 2008, Veronica was working as a nurse and her partner, Alex, had just received his graduate degree in mathematics. It was a challenging time for the young couple – Alex couldn’t find a job and they were facing financial difficulty. In what Veronica describes as a “necessity as is the mother of invention” moment, they pivoted to a plan that aligned their shared life-long passion for skin care – Alex originally majored in pre-med to become a dermatologist while Veronica’s mother was an esthetician with over 30 years’ experience.
Growing up around the beauty industry, Veronica knew firsthand that it was an ever changing landscape with new products and treatments introduced to the market each year. The message from high-end luxury brands was the more ingredients, the better. Her company was going to be different. “We had a concept of something that was extremely simple and easy to use with uncomplicated, powerhouse ingredients like hyaluronic acid, which is our basis,” she explains.
Blending science and beauty, Timeless Skin Care launched in 2009. “We meshed the two worlds together and created something from nothing,” Veronica remembers while specifying “Literally. I think we had a combined $400 when we first started.”
While Timeless Skin Care launched with a website, the business gained initial traction on eBay. Veronica elaborates, “eBay was a space where you could really sell at the time. Then we went to Amazon (before Amazon Fulfillment) where we reached top 10 in all of beauty, which was wild to see.” Interest from Alibaba and Taobao among others followed. “It was a really interesting growth process for us,” Veronica adds.
Company Structure at Timeless Skin Care
The internal team at Timeless Skin Care is composed of around 40 US based members spread “across all aspects” of the company including customer service, executive advertising, marketing, and networking. The manufacturing team is based in Houston, where all products are made, with other members working remotely. “We have a few individuals working offshore, who we partner with for information and ideas regarding logistics,” Veronica notes. “To be able to sell in 80 different countries, you need that power offshore.”
Asked to describe her company’s approach to customer experience, Veronica responds without hesitation, “be your own customer.” At Timeless Skin Care, this means having a website that is easy to navigate and buy from, providing a product that is easy to use, and effectively delivering on promised results. “All of these things are important when you are trying to sell anything, regardless of whether it’s a tangible or intangible product,” Veronica adds.
The beauty and skincare market has changed drastically since 2009 with the emergence of social media and ‘influencers.’ The company has evolved, establishing a social media presence and keying in on SEO strategies. “We didn’t have anything in the beginning. All traction that we received was based on reviews and customer experience,” Veronica reveals. “Word of mouth” continues to be a factor in the brand’s growth along with a reputation for offering an effective product at a low price point.
Building a Knowledgeable and Dynamic Customer Service Team
Customer service has grown from Veronica solely handling emails to a dynamic team with trained members and an esthetician who is “always on staff to be able to answer questions.” Response time happens within 12 hours, and while a chat is available, Veronica believes customers should be the option to call them directly. “That experience is so much more important now – you call a place, and it takes 20 prompts to get to a live person. It’s so frustrating and I don’t want to be that company,” she says.
Because Timeless Skin Care does its own manufacturing, the company’s growth journey can be measured in the amount of space needed to make product. Since launching in a 3,000 sq ft warehouse in Southern California, the business now operates out of a nearly 80,000 sq ft manufacturing/work facility in Houston, TX. Veronica elaborates, “We oversee everything – we have our own machines, labels, boxes, fulfillment stations – everything is done in-house. Having that oversight is important to us.” She goes on to stress the importance of maintaining transparency with customers noting that being an in-house company is part of Timeless Skin Care’s story.
How Reinvesting Profits Secure a Financially Independent Company’s Future Growth
Veronica gives an honest account of the first 5 years as a startup company with no financial investment – starting at 4 am and ending at 10 pm (the earliest), days consisted of sanitizing, hand-filling products, packaging and shipping orders, answering emails, and providing customer support. “It was about reinvesting consistently,” she says. “We had to figure it out ourselves, and every time we got a chunk of money, we would just save to buy our next machine.” As employees bought cars and houses, Veronica continued to live with her parents. “Eventually things change, but in the beginning, it was pretty difficult,” she finishes.
When Brand Principal Drives Innovation
“Our research and development department were focused, fundamentally, on getting the most effective and efficient product out there at a price point that was inexpensive for us to create and inexpensive for us to sell,” Veronica says about the company’s founding principal. While brands are peddling serums and lotions in elaborate, luxurious packaging, Timeless Skin Care focuses on what’s inside the bottle. “Sometimes, the actual ingredients inside lack the actual experience customers are looking for,” Veronica explains. In turn, simple, colorful labels helped to establish brand identity while making products more shoppable – “when someone says, ‘orange bottle,’ we know exactly what they are talking about.”
How Resisting Skin Care Trends Drives Growth
Upkeeping a solid brand ethos has been a key factor boosting both revenue and growth at Timeless Skin Care. Watching competitors follow the trend of expanding product lines to address every condition and concern, Veronica decided to focus on what Timeless Skin Care has always been providing – effective and affordable items with exceptional customer service. “We didn’t want to be that company that has 40 different products on our websites,” she explains. “It was important for us to stick to what we know and do best and that is our serums, oils, facial sprays, and eye creams.”
Effective, Affordable Products Stimulate Customer Retention
Beauty and skin care is a fickle industry – the allure of trying the new, must-have product is undeniable. Veronica says that while a customer may be tempted by a serum from another brand, many return to Timeless Skin Care because they are guaranteed an effective product at an affordable price point. She draws an analogy, “It’s like your grandma’s cookie recipe – it stays the same through generations. We’ve been doing this for 14 years, and our recipe is the same. We now have a scope of people who have used the product and can tell their children about it. So, it’s beneficial for us now to be able to tell that story.”
Preparing for Peak Season
To prepare for peak season, Timeless Skin Care sends out an email outlining FAQs for customers, so they know what to expect during the upcoming busy weeks. In general customers have questions about their order – When will it be shipped? How long is it going to take? Has it arrived? Communication is crucial – tracking programs provide notification updates on order status. Making products in small batch quantities is also a factor during peak business periods. “We are not producing thousands of products and then letting them sit on a shelf until someone buys it. What we are doing is still very much produced every single day,” Veronica highlights. “And that can be challenging, but it’s also what makes us unique.”
A first generation American, Veronica grew up in a working-class family with roots in Guatemala. Giving Target as an example, she says hopping in department stores was a rare luxury. Asked about goals for her company, she excitedly responds, “I’m happy to be able to say that by early February, we are going to be in 1,731 Target stores. It’s emotional for me, because this is a lifelong dream.” She goes on to reveal that Timeless Skin Care has rolled out in select stores. A friend just phoned her to say that she just bought a bottle of 20% Vitamin C + E Ferulic Acid serum at the retail giant. “I really wanted to solidify having products for purchase for individuals like her who want the tangible right there,” Veronica adds, noting that variables like shipping and waiting for delivery are factors of shopping online. “Now there is an opportunity for us to be in stores and I am just so happy to be in that space with Target.”
Currently sold to 80 countries, the company plans to expand its international outreach through E-Commerce and in-store presence. While scaling worldwide distribution, Veronica, a big fan of Disney, also wants to further brand storytelling at Timeless Skin Care. “I love the idea of marketing our products from the perspective of different languages with customers sharing their experiences,” she discloses. “It’s amazing to have that demographic and widespread option.”
Veronica's key advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is “to be your own customer.” Understand people’s financial responsibilities – gas, rent, food, mortgage and how this influences their decisions as consumers. “This is people’s money. And it’s important for us as entrepreneurs to remember that.” Staying on the topic of money, she’s honest about the financial ups and downs that come with starting a business. Thus, being passionate about the product and brand mission is crucial. “If it’s a good product, the money will come,” she encourages. “But what’s important is having a foundation and something ethical and moral about your business.”
What excites you about E-Commerce? The space that it’s changing. For example, IA is changing rapidly, and I don’t know what it is going to look like with adaptations like on-touch purchasing. I think that we need to be aware of that as E-Commerce providers. But I’m excited to see customer experience move forward and what’s going to be more beneficial for the customers such as self/easy checkout and quicker responses, and how we can provide that.
Can’t-live-without-tool? In daily life, my faith in God. My faith develops my own character every day, which is why I want to only provide something that I would use myself. I want my customer to have a great experience and that comes from fundamentally believing in myself and believing in my higher power, which is God. It’s not really a tool, but a belief system, whatever people believe in, and having it be about doing good in this world.
Key hiring trait? Tenacity and willing to work. There’s a generation of individuals now that don’t necessarily want to. I came from a generation that did whatever it took to get something done – I cleaned my desk, took out my trash, restocked my items. I am very efficient and multi-tasked. If you want to be employed, it often means rolling with the punches because at the end of the day, we’re all still learning regardless of if you are the manager, CEO, or owner of a company. Everyone makes mistakes and I like to hire people that understand this and keep going. We are all humans and not perfect – I’m not looking for the perfect employee, just someone who is willing to roll with us.
Recent book or podcast? I’m a big fan of the Diary of a CEO podcast because of the different perspectives it gives about being an entrepreneur. As a CEO of a company, I’m human – I go to bed, I wake up and have dogs, people, families, and diets to take care of. So, it’s beautiful to see other entrepreneurs coming from a very vulnerable space. Learning about grass-roots efforts is important. When everything is clickable in E-Commerce, sweat equity is a big deal. I was reading an article that the new millionaires coming up are plumbers and electricians – that makes sense because we still need individuals with that type of trade. Yet, they are using E-Commerce modalities in their business for booking and following up on products and services. Now an electrician can present you with different lightbulb options. And I’m a big fan of a lot of leaders like Tony Robbins and Patrick Bet-David.
#1 challenge as a leader? Finding the strength to do it every day – being the person who is called to put out the fire, who is sought after to lead, encourage, and answer the tough questions. It’s difficult to find the inspiration when you are the inspiration. I think the most difficult part of being a leader is knowing that you have to be that person every day. That’s why I think that it’s important for leaders to take time for self-reflection, take time to find something faith-based where you can find guidance in other ways. At the same time, listen to your podcasts, read books, and go out in the world as a leader and not be the leader. Do laundry in a laundromat, walk in a store, sit in a coffee shop and listen to other conversations so you can see what’s wrong with customer service and implement improvements and to be better in your space. And hopefully, our space influences others and therefore, starts a trend. It’s hard to be a leader, but it comes full circle. I’m thankful to be in this space. I’m thankful for the process and learning opportunities that come with it.
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