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Inspiring Tales of Startups, Growth & Overcoming Hardships sEriNa aNd coMPaNy:
Solving Problems One Idea at a Time by KElly HEitz
LIZ SOLARES n Founder and designer, Serina and Company AromaTherapy Jewelry, Orange, California( With her daughter, Serina at their first ever ISPA Conference & Expo.)
Call it advice. Call it a mantra. Whatever you call it, the Shark Tank host’ s words should be on the minds of every entrepreneur( and those with entrepreneurial spirit) in the spa industry. Solving the problems of our customers is the only way any of us gets any business. If you think of what you do as problem-solving above all else, your creativity and passion will take your business to the next level.
For Liz Solares, founder and designer of Serina and Company AromaTherapy Jewelry, all it took was a family emergency to jumpstart her enterprising mind.
The Story While at the spa, Solares picked up a bottle of lavender essential oil because the aroma gave her a sense of calming and relaxation. The following week her sister began to experience anxiety due to life changes.
“ I drove to her house and gave her the lavender essential oil I had purchased to help ease her anxiety,” remembers Solares.“ A few days later, she had an anxiety episode, and I noticed that she was anxiously looking through her bag for the
essential oil bottle. She needed immediate relief, but couldn’ t find the bottle. I thought,‘ There must be a simpler solution to this.’”
The following day, Solares’ wheels were already turning. As she was driving home, she asked her mother to place a few drops of lavender essential oil onto the bracelet her daughter, Serina, had made for her. While driving and experiencing the aroma on the bracelet, that’ s
solares’ designs have taken off in a very short time thanks to her relationships with spas. when it hit her: AromaTherapy Jewelry could be instantly accessible to you wherever you are, at your convenience.
“ If my daughter hadn’ t made me that bracelet, the idea never would have never struck,” Solares recalls.“ Just a few hours later I started making jewelry prototypes out of various materials. Fastforward a few years and now, I design my own pieces to have them manufactured so everyone else can benefit from the easy access to essential oils.”
From there, Solares’ entrepreneurial instincts kicked in. She began to test the market to see how people would respond to the concept of aroma therapy jewelry. Essentially, she needed to know if the problem was big enough to need solving. At first, she sold handmade pieces on Etsy and Facebook, which drew a loyal following of customers who thought the idea was brilliant.
She then began donating her aroma therapy jewelry to the Ronald McDonald House in Orange County, California.“ At the Ronald McDonald House, I met Amy,” recalls Solares.“ Amy had been extremely nauseous from her chemotherapy treatments, so I gave her a necklace with peppermint essential oil to help and sure enough it did! I was certain this would be an asset to a larger
62 PULSE ■ March / April 2018