Today we’d like to introduce you to Shannon Rhodes.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
A couple of years ago, I woke up in the middle of the night to a commanding voice, which told me to find pen and paper and write. The voice instructed me to create Pure Rhodes in order to sell body cleansing soaps along with a prayer. This would allow people to cleanse not just their bodies but their souls. It’s the most important part of our business–offering products that remind us to communicate regularly with God.
After receiving this vision for Pure Rhodes, I realized that I needed help to make it a reality. I teamed up with my daughter, Alexandria, who had been crafting homemade concoctions in the kitchen since she was a toddler. She had been learning to make soap for a while, and she jumped at the chance to join me and lead product development. She worked tirelessly to find the right formulas, scents, and equipment to produce everything we needed.
Together, along with the support of several dedicated family members, we officially founded our company and launched our online website.
Has it been a smooth road?
The key struggle has been differentiating ourselves while operating in an oversaturated market. Yet still, I firmly stand behind all of my products, though. I like to think that we are the Lexus of the soap industry. Lexus is a car manufacturer that makes relatively plain cars. They won’t grab your attention, they are not too flashy. But the cars are nice and you know they are quality. Everyone knows that when you purchase a Lexus, it’s going to perform.
Another struggle is that, since our core product at the moment is bar soap, it’s difficult to get new customers to change habits in order to regularly make purchases with us. Many are used to buying soap at a supermarket or drug store—these are usually mass-produced body washes and cleansers that look and smell exotic (due to advanced manufacturing). Many have bought the same cleansers for years and are not inclined to change that. Others simply don’t invest in scrutinizing what they use to cleanse their bodies and hands. So we often need to educate potential customers about the value of classic, handmade soaps. We’ve started hosting “sip and learns”, which are little parties where we can persuade potential customers to consider more natural beauty products.
The last challenge I want to mention is a personal one. I was terrified to start a new company at nearly 50 years old. I was not familiar with the latest technology and I had an extremely small budget. Since I needed to be scrappy, I was forced to learn about online marketing, legal concepts, business management practices, etc. all by myself. Through faith and prayer, I overcame and got Pure Rhodes off the ground, and I’m still growing and learning. In particular, I used social media to find like-minded women, who like me, were current business owners. In turn, my social circle has expanded by accessing these global networks of the Internet. Through social media platforms and other networking opportunities, I’ve met people I would have never met otherwise. These people are continual sources of inspiration and encouragement, which allowed me to persevere through my self-doubt.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Pure Rhodes story. Tell us more about the business.
As previously mentioned, we specialize in making soap for now. We have five staple soaps: Hope, Love, Peace, Purity, and Grace. Among those, we have other limited edition items; we like making soaps with various designs, ingredients, and fragrances, so we’ll always have something new. At some point, we would like to offer other beauty products to complement our soaps, since the ritual of cleansing is often much more involved than the use of a bar of soap!
I’m most proud of the fact that I’m educating women about the existence of safer products. With so many beauty products available—ones full of harmful chemicals that cause irreparable harm to our bodies—I realized that we could also make a difference by consistently designing products that are handmade, safe, and considerate of all women.
Further, since my company’s mission is rooted in my Christian beliefs, I’m also teaching people that God loves, no matter who you are, what color you are, what sex you are, what your background is, no matter the skeletons in your closet. As Christians, we should be inclusive of everyone and show good works by simply loving our neighbors (and our enemies). I want to be an example of someone who does not exclude in the name of religion, to teach others to stop judging and start understanding. My hope is that others will see Christians in a better light.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Our homemade soaps are simple and functional. This makes me think that there will always be a market for our soaps. Even better, manufacturers and wholesalers are providing companies like ours with more options for organic, natural, and sustainable ingredients; in many cases, these ingredients have the same cost as conventional ingredients. We try to use the best ingredients whenever possible, so I look forward to seeing my selection grow.
Also, we are hopeful that in the coming years, we can get creative about how to sell our beauty products to new customers online. How do you sell smells through the internet? How do you provide potential customers with the opportunity to feel the difference in lather? Places like Sephora and Lush have been super successful because they provide potential customers with all the samples and all the opportunities to try out things in store. I’d like to do that…with my online store. So hopefully we’ll have some creative ideas soon. Finding a beauty product that you like is such a personal experience…so I want to help guide.
Because we have established a platform whereby we talk (specifically to other women) about the value of using better beauty products and where we try to rebrand Christianity as a source of compassion, I’m very interested in developing a ministry. I’ve lived so much life and have so many experiences to share that I’m confident I can help others who are in need of guidance. As a mother and a wife, as a first-generation college student, as a person from a broken home, as someone who has known both hardship and abundance, I am confident that I have a good story inside me to tell. My hope is that I inspire and encourage others to go after what they want—just like I’ve done with Pure Rhodes.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.purerhodes.com/
- Email: shannon_rhodes@purerhodes.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/purerhodes/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/PureRhodes/about/
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