Recently, I spoke to my friend Savanah Poulsen about how she’s been able to grow a mega-successful business in a very saturated market: fashion and beauty.
Savanah actually teaches makeup and hair and fashion…
Now, how many people do you know that attempt to try that and don’t make it? How many people quit because they think it’s a crowded market.
We see beauty influencers left and right. I can’t tell you how many targeted ads I get for products on a daily basis. And I’m sure you get them too. It also seems that so many of these businesses crack under pressure and struggle to remain visible. It is not because they don’t have great things to offer but just by how crowded a space it is.
I wanted to bring Savanah Poulsen on today’s podcast because I’ve watched her over the last few years explode by selling a product that feels impossible to sell in such a noisy world.
Savanah and I have been friends for 5 or 6 years now, and she actually was an author on the HDS blog that I co-own before she really dug into her own brand.
Today, she’s sharing with you what took her from asking if she should even start her own thing to how she’s getting millions of video views and growing her business to over 10,000 paying customers.
Plus how she can serve that many customers 1-1 and the technology she used to organize it all and get those orders coming in.
How Savanah Poulsen Broke Into A Saturated Market
I think one of the things I love most about Savanah’s story is just how familiar it feels. Like so many of us, she did not run out of the gate full-steam ahead.
Instead, she mulled. She daydreamed, and she totally second-guessed herself. In fact, there were two years between the time she started making videos until she actually just did the thing.
So how did she do it?
Savanah Poulsen has always had an eye for all things beauty related. She’s a cosmetologist and even wrote for the blog I co-own, HowDoesShe. After building up some experience in the digital space, she decided to branch out and do her own thing. Everything was completely self-taught, so we’re talking late nights spent trying to figure out how to edit videos while trying not to wake her little family.
Now we all know there’s tons of content online and even more in the beauty world, so I had to ask her how she’s managed to stand out from the crowd.
She says it’s all about focusing on the connection. Connecting with people and solving their problems in a way that makes sense to them. Savanah Poulsen likes to keep it simple. She just broke down the things that came naturally to her and decided to focus on it.
She offers the same advice to anyone looking to start a business. Hone in and pay attention to your natural gifts because that is exactly what someone else may not be skilled in and can be looking to you for help.
It doesn’t have to be a revolutionary concept. It can be something that seems so simple to you but could make a world of difference for others. What you teach people doesn’t have to be mind-blowing. And when it comes to finding value in fashion and beauty, it is so important to remember that when we feel better about ourselves, we show up better in our lives.
The key here is to lean into the things that YOU love to do.
Savanah Poulsen's Service-Oriented Approach
Savanah Poulsen’s tutorials are on double duty. Not only is she helping women efficiently apply their beauty products, but she is also using that visibility to sell products. And the great part is that none of it feels like an infomercial.
That’s because she believes in her product. She’s seen it transform her own routine as well as thousands of other people's. The products she sells makes people fall in love with their own face. That is so incredibly powerful, and I love how she keeps that mission at the forefront of her mind. In everything she does, she is always so aware of the people she’s serving.
It’s the same reason she hasn’t outsourced her color-matching work. There are so many components to a business that have to be handed away as an entrepreneur grows. And this one-on-one attention could be on that list too. But Savanah feels so strongly about maintaining that relationship and connection with her customer that she refuses to give that part of her business up.
That experience is an opportunity for her to impact the lives of those she serves directly. They get to experience her on a personal level, and I just love that she prioritizes that. Her advice to other entrepreneurs is to set up automation where you can but to leave room for that intimate experience. Your customers want to get to know you, and it just adds so much joy to your business when you’re able to hold tight to that human connection.
This is the magic when it comes to selling in a saturated market. The secret will always be YOU because you are the only you around. That’s how you stand out. Keep focused on what you need to do to stay service-oriented, and do your best to share yourself with the people who want to get to know you!
Top Takeaways
- Teach the transformation.
- Don’t rewatch your videos.
- Invest in the experience with your customers.
- Truths serve your life…
- Make goals that focus on growth and realize you’ll outgrow them because growth is progressive.
- Post it, don’t be selfish (and stop with the damaging thoughts.)
- Be excited for the next time you get to do it again.
- What you teach doesn't need to be mind-blowing. Start by verbalizing every move ya make in a tutorial.
- Solving people's problems by breaking them down.
- Pay attention to the natural things that you are good at.
