- Janet Lewis

EPISODE 18 – MELANIE CRUICKSHANK – ON LIVING YOUR BRAND, CONNECTING WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUR SUPPORT SYSTEM AND NETWORK

Today we are talking with Melanie Cruickshank, CEO and Founder of Da Lish Cosmetics.

Da Lish Cosmetics is all about creating clean luxurious beauty products that are produced with locally sourced, natural, and organic ingredients. They are a pioneer in the clean beauty movement and Da Lish is determined to make a positive impact in the world of beauty.

Melanie went from working in advertising and marketing to starting her own cosmetics company. In 2006, she launched Da Lish cosmetics as a side hustle and in three short years made it her full time gig. Melanie started making products in her kitchen and selling them at small local events. Today Da Lish has its own manufacturing facility in Canada, has numerous retailers that stock their products and their own ecommerce store where they ship their products to customers all over the world.

So, what inspired Melanie to start a cosmetics business? From a very young age she discovered her love for lipstick and then later when she was a teenager that was struggling with acne, she found that foundation changed her life and helped increase her confidence. Melanie’s personal mission is to help other people feel their absolute best. She lives and breathes her brand. This business is about her beliefs, her lifestyle and finding other people that also want to have an impact and create change in this space.

Melanie is a fun and engaging guest that is willing to share her success as well as her struggles. She is vulnerable, honest, and also very entertaining. I love her fresh perspective and how she creates parallels of running a business to other life challenges like dating for example. She is super passionate about what she does and genuinely wants to help people feel their absolute best. Melanie has some great stories to share based on her life experiences. I am sure you will find more than one or two things to take away from this podcast.

In this episode, Melanie and I discuss the following:

Adventures of growing up on a farm and living in nature but wanting to be a glamorous big city girl
Discovering, falling in love and becoming obsessed with make up at a young age
Struggles of being a dyslexic, tall, big girl that lacked confidence and what helped increase her confidence as a young girl
Becoming a fanatic about exercise, losing weight, counting calories, and becoming anorexic with the desire to just fit in
Stigmatism of having a disability like dyslexia, how other people treat you and how that makes you feel about yourself
Getting your dream job at an early age and the importance of recognizing where you thrive
Moving into advertising and sales for the Toronto Star, and Now Magazine and enjoying all the perks
Turning a passion for make up into the creation of Dalish and all the work that went into developing, selling and marketing a brand in the beauty industry
Recognizing the importance and correlation of the ingredients of the food you eat and the products you put on your body
The shock of moving from a corporate account and big budget to spending your own money to start and grow a business
Time, passion, and effort that you put into your own business, how it changes the quality of your life and gives you opportunities that you wouldn’t normally have access to
Importance of having a good support system and taking the time to figure out how to do things that help drive you forward
How to find and connect with your customers by meeting with them and listening to what they have to say
Challenges of developing your brand story, understanding, and connecting with your customer and how the “clean beauty” story has evolved
Doing what it takes to make it work in the beginning and embracing pivotal moments when they occur
Using your network to form collaborations that work for everyone and how that helped Da Lish secure a contract with Mattel to work on a special event for Barbie
Losing your number one supporter, dealing with grief and not being able to share success with them
Surviving a pandemic, pivoting to create new revenue streams and the importance of connecting with other small business owners
Big and small mistakes you can make as a new business owner
How running a business is just like dating
Why you should be kind to yourself, and be you your own best friend