Keep it Simple: Interview with Lisa Crary, Founder and CEO of Sanitas Skincare
I recently went one on one with Lisa Crary, founder and CEO of Sanitas Skincare.
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Lisa: Hi, Adam, thank you for having me! My journey to where I am today was actually a bit circuitous and not my original life plan. I have a background in accounting and finance and actually began my career working on financial modeling for large institutional money managers. It was a small, boutique firm and I learned a ton about entrepreneurship from my mentor there. After a few years, I left to start my own accounting/business consulting firm, which is how I came to acquire RMNL Brands and Sanitas Skincare. I had a passion for helping small to mid-sized businesses that were struggling, and Sanitas (as it existed at the time) was one of my customers and fell squarely in that camp. The company was very small and barely able to stay afloat. I was offered a large equity stake in exchange for payment of my services. Initially, I declined for numerous reasons, not the least of which were one, the company was laden with debt and failing and two, I knew absolutely nothing about skincare!
After some urging, I decided to try the product for a couple of weeks and, frankly, I was blown away. I fell in love with the product and the idea of helping people with their skin. So, I sold my practice and immersed myself in everything skin! I began learning everything I could about the physiology of the skin, product chemistry and manufacturing. Honestly, I could almost write a book on the challenges, failures and setbacks we’ve had, but I’ll narrow it to a few! We started out with massive challenges right away, as the company was in real trouble financially. But we were fortunate to have an amazing product that people love and a team that was committed to its success. My gut told me that we had something really special and that with a lot of hard work, we could turn it into something amazing. Because we were already formulating and manufacturing our own products, I realized I had a real advantage in the industry because I could control not only the cost, and therefore the quality, of our products, but also our inventory supply chain. Not relying on third parties for formulations and manufacturing was a huge benefit. I made the decision early on not to take on investors (I’m now the sole owner) and I did this for one reason: I didn’t want to have to answer to some pre-determined profit margin expected by investors. Instead, I wanted to be able to create the best products possible and to only answer to my employees and our customers. But because of this, one of the first challenges I had to deal with was cash flow. I had to figure out how to retire the debt owed all while keeping the business operating.
My experience in finance and accounting served me well when dealing with the financial challenges of the company. Re-establishing relationships with our raw materials and container suppliers and, more importantly, our customers was of paramount importance. Our vendors were furious because they hadn’t been paid and convincing them to continue to do business with us was no easy task. But after months of keeping my word, paying on time and slowly (but consistently) retiring the debt owed to them, we were able to regain their confidence and respect. Same for our customers, who were frustrated and upset because we were back-ordered on virtually every product in the line. Again, I think we regained their trust by staying true to our word and maintaining the integrity of the products, but honestly, to this day I’m amazed and so appreciative that they hung in there with us and continued to purchase. One of the major setbacks we had was with a packaging change that didn’t go as planned. When we embarked on our packaging change, we wanted to ensure full transparency of our ingredients because we’re proud of them! So, we made the choice to adopt INCI language, which wasn’t required at the time, although it is now. INCI language essentially means that every constituent is listed on the product ingredient deck. Since we weren’t required to list our ingredients this way, our ingredient decks in the past appeared much shorter. Well, we have a very smart and savvy customer base and that turned out to be a disaster. Our customers thought we had changed our formulas, when in fact we hadn’t. We failed because we didn’t communicate with and educate our customers about this in advance. It was a huge learning experience and since that day, we try very hard never to make that mistake again. We’ve learned that you can’t go wrong by being upfront and direct with your customers – it’s the only way to earn trust and loyalty. Currently, like everyone else, we are faced with supply chain issues and the cost of goods rapidly increasing. But, we have a high level of confidence that this will resolve over the coming year or so, as Covid hopefully begins to moderate.
Adam: What advice do you have for others on how to come up with great ideas?
Lisa: It may sound cliché, but find something you really believe in and are passionate about. I couldn’t do what I do if I didn’t love it and believe in the integrity and results of our products.
Adam: How did you know your business idea was worth pursuing? What advice do you have on how to best test a business idea?
Lisa: Once I tried the product and did a deeper dive, I knew right away because of the intense, loyal following the products already had. I tried one of our products for just one week and truly saw change in my skin. Even when everyone around me, including my advisors, thought I was crazy for taking it on, I was convinced that we would succeed. When testing a business idea, my advice is to first, find out if there is a need for the idea; second, determine if someone’s already doing it; and third, if it is already being done, determine if you can do it better.
Adam: What are your best sales and marketing tips?
Lisa: It’s imperative to create a genuine connection and develop a conversation with your customer, so be authentic and truthful when communicating. We have a very informed public and people recognize when they’re being “marketed to” instead of being educated on the benefits of the product. We never, ever try to sell someone something they don’t need or that won’t benefit their skin. Building trust with our customers is one of our number one priorities.
Adam: What are your best skincare tips?
Lisa: First and foremost, keep it simple. A three-step routine (morning and night) is all you need to create healthy skin. Ensuring consistency is important, so develop a routine that is right for you. Vitamins C and A, and Alpha Hydroxy Acids are your skin’s best friends! Because I have my own R+D lab and manufacturing company, I have access to every ingredient known to man and have tried virtually all of them. Although there are a lot of other
ingredients that also really work (like Peptides, for example) I can honestly say that these tried and true ingredients are the real game-changers for skin. Learn to read an ingredient deck and look for products that have high concentrations of these ingredients. Exfoliation is important but don’t overdo it. Two to three times per week is enough to generate great results without over-drying your skin. Peel pads are a fast and efficient way to get a great exfoliation.
Less is more. Select products that serve more than one purpose, so for example a moisturizer or serum that hydrates and brightens. Better for the environment and your budget! Use a sunblock every single day. Period. Good skincare products can help with a lot of damage but there’s no substitute for prevention. Work with a really good esthetician. Your skincare routine should consist of 80% home care and 20% professional treatments that you can’t get at home, like chemical peels. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, maintain a healthy diet. You can use the best skincare products known to man, but if you aren’t eating properly and staying hydrated, they can only go so far. Although we believe in anything in moderation, incorporate
lots of leafy greens and omega 3s and avoid high glycemic index carbs. I begin every morning with a green juice – it helps stimulate lymphatic drainage and thus also helps increase circulation - and I try to drink at least 64 ounces of water every day.
Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader?
Lisa: I believe effective leaders hire people that have skill sets they don’t possess. They surround themselves with strength and empower their leaders to make decisions. They listen and don’t pretend to have all the answers. They aren’t afraid to show vulnerability and are courageous about making difficult choices. I hear the phrase “good leaders aren’t afraid to fail” a lot, but I’m not sure I subscribe to that: I think, on some level, we all have some degree of fear of failure. Instead, I think good leaders know they likely will fail at some point and prepare themselves to deal with the consequences. No one can predict the future, so perhaps the most defining quality of a good leader is one who makes decisions based on strength with the full knowledge that it’s with the best information at hand. Understanding that there is no crystal ball, I try to be kind to myself if the decision I made wasn’t the best.
Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Lisa: I like the idea of learning from other leaders. One of the things I’ve done is to join WPO (Women’s President’s Organization). I learn so much from my fellow female CEOs and it’s truly something I look forward to every month.
Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading and managing teams?
Lisa: When building a team, take your time when hiring even if the role you need to fill is pressing. We’ve found that selecting the right person for the position saves time and money in the long run, even if waiting is a bit painful. I think we would all agree that hiring isn’t an exact science and even the most seasoned of leaders make mistakes. If you learn early on you’ve made a hiring mistake, don’t wait to correct it. Moving that person into a different role or moving them along is best for both the employee and the company. Because we have a very collaborative culture, we like to hire people with complementary skill sets. We try to make sure our culture is a fit because we know ours isn’t for everyone and turnover is costly. Too often (and I’ve experienced this myself at times) entrepreneurs are reluctant to delegate or give up power and that is almost always a mistake. Empower your team to make decisions and stay out of the weeds when possible. I think it’s important to show some vulnerability. No leader is perfect and when managing a team, it’s a great way to motivate others and let them know it’s safe to take some calculated risks, which means sometimes mistakes will be made.
Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders?
Lisa:
1. Listen to your gut and never make decisions based on fear.
2. You can’t change what you did yesterday. If you make a mistake, learn from it but move on.
3. Take ample amounts of time away from the business so that you have time for critical thinking. When you’re constantly mired in the day-to-day, it’s easy to lose the ability to think ahead and strategically plan.
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Lisa: Be humble. Humility in life is a powerful thing. It’s likely your success is the result of the confluence of a little bit of luck, a lot of hard work and the commitment of the amazing people that help you every day – it couldn’t be done without them!
Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.
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