Elizalbeth (Liz) Santiago Of ‘CeleBritAy New York’ On 5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Scale Your Business
An Interview With Ken Babcock
Hire people with the experience you need and the ability to expand with your business. If they don’t have the required skills, do not hire them. Early on in my career, I would employ with my heart over choosing the best candidate to do the job. Worse, I didn’t have the heart to fire them. Eventually, I fired them, but it was hard for me to bounce back, and I had to close my store.
Startups usually start with a small cohort of close colleagues. But what happens when you add a bunch of new people into this close cohort? How do you maintain the company culture? In addition, what is needed to successfully scale a business to increase market share or to increase offerings? How can a small startup grow successfully to a midsize and then large company? To address these questions, we are talking to successful business leaders who can share stories and insights from their experiences about the “5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Scale Your Business”. As a part of this series, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Elizalbeth (Liz) Santiago.
Liz Santiago is the CEO & Head Skincare Chemist of CeleBritAy New York, an award-winning skincare and wellness company specializing in organic, sustainable products. For over twenty years, her passion has been helping people achieve the radiant skin and overall well-being they want and deserve. Whether coaching an individual client or mentoring a burgeoning holistic business, individuals and companies rave about Liz’s tireless passion for inspiring others to live in complete alignment with their whole, healthy, happy lifestyle.
Thank you for joining us in this interview series. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’?
Before becoming a full-time entrepreneur in 2004, I was in college pursuing a science degree in chemistry and biology and was planning to continue my education towards a doctoral degree. I was stressed out, so I dabbled in soapmaking for fun.
I started sharing my soap creations with others for data. They would ask me if my soap had medicine, because they instantaneously felt relief from their skin ailments like dry skin, psoriasis, eczema, etc. People would thank me repeatedly because nothing they tried for their skin ailments worked until they tried my soaps. Something I created from love and honesty was helping them live a happier life with less pain and stress, and that’s when I knew I was on to something. I began researching commercial soap bar ingredients and any competitors manufacturing organic and non-toxic soaps and their soap making processes. I was horrified to learn how toxic they were and discovered a need for organic, sustainable, and non-toxic skincare.
In 2003, I became a full-fledged entrepreneur and CeleBritAy New York, Inc. was born. I developed organic and eco-friendly skincare formulas with sustainable healing botanicals and superfoods. Our multipurpose products were strong enough for people suffering from problematic skin issues, but gentle enough for people who were just looking for a non-toxic solution for their skincare goals.
In 2004, I opened my first flagship store.
Five years later, because of CeleBritAy, I was recognized by Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Chair for being a Latino entrepreneur and innovator promoting a greener economy and green jobs. This supported a forum to demonstrate Latino talent, innovation, and leadership in the new green economy.
And we’re not stopping there! In 2024, we plan to expand and launch ESFormulations, where I combine my passion and expertise as a skincare chemist and certified health and wellness business coach to support indie entrepreneurs looking to establish sustainable and socially-conscious cosmetic and skincare brands from concept to launch. We will also offer life/work balance support.
You’ve had a remarkable career journey. Can you highlight a key decision in your career that helped you get to where you are today?
Many key decisions in my career have helped me get to where I am today, but I think the main one would be investing in and nourishing my intellectual wellness. This has helped me find my authentic self and embrace it unapologetically. I also became more confident and able to make better decisions for my business and for myself, while reducing my anxiety and depression, which shot up during the pandemic.
Intellectual Wellness (IW) has been such an essential part of my overall well-being, but unfortunately, it is something we do not invest in enough. People may think IW is only about academic knowledge but it is not. We are constantly evolving, and our minds, bodies, and spirits must be ready for it.
IW is about stimulating curiosity, motivation, and mental well-being. It’s about developing a better relationship with yourself and the people that matter to you. It’s about bringing more joy and laughter into your life, having the courage to get out of your comfort zone, and trying new things because you understand that in the end, it will only make you a better person both personally and as a leader. We don’t realize that once we stop learning or challenging ourselves, our minds, bodies, and spirits can become unwell and unbalanced.
Incorporating Intellectual Wellness varies for everyone, but some of the things that bring me joy are reading (magazines, blogs, books, and audio) and writing more, finally trying archery, making family memories, spending more time with my mom, and increasing my movements by exploring my neighborhood. My new IW is photography and, soon, fencing. I highly recommend it!
What’s the most impactful initiative you’ve led that you’re particularly proud of?
I would have to say becoming an independent instructor and coach for Rising Tide Capital (RTC). This non-profit organization provides high-quality business education and consulting to low-and moderate-income entrepreneurs in New Jersey.
A year after opening my flagship store, I met RTC Co-founders Alfa Demmellash and Alex Forrester. They became my business coaches. I couldn’t have kept my store open without their support.
I wanted to give back so in 2016 I became an RTC independent coach and instructor for their 12-week Community Business Academy. I know firsthand how lonely running a business can feel, so to be part of an organization that provides continuous business support to startup entrepreneurs is rewarding. The incredible gratitude you feel when a student hugs and thanks you for supporting them during their entrepreneurship journey cannot be measured.
Sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a mistake you’ve made and the lesson you took away from it?
One mistake I made was not having a business plan for CeleBritAy and thinking that my passion alone would bring me success. I learned the hard way that it is not enough to have a passion for what you do in business if you want financial success. You must have a solid foundation and vision of where you want your company to be in a specific time frame and what you will need to get there. I also learned that an exit strategy is essential. Our passion alone is not what helps us succeed. In my opinion, our passion for what we love doing is there to stop us from throwing in the towel too quickly. It needs to be supported by things like implementing a solid business plan; investing in personal, business, and leadership development; networking; building a reliable support team; and incorporating wellness into your business routine, along with happiness, laughter, and all that good jazz.
How has mentorship played a role in your career, whether receiving mentorship or offering it to others?
I’ve been blessed to have had several mentors in my life. They shaped the way I think and go about success and the discipline it takes to run a business.
As a mentor, I get to pay it forward by supporting burgeoning entrepreneurs’ growth and development as professionals. Seeing their success has brought me incredible joy. In some ways, being a mentor balances my life. I can take a break from work and use my knowledge to support others. Personally, mentoring has helped me identify my strengths and weaknesses, empowering me to step into my talents and own them. It has helped sharpen my leadership and speaking skills. And it definitely has helped me see that I LOVE igniting entrepreneurs’ success with all that I have learned and continue to learn.
Developing your leadership style takes time and practice. Who do you model your leadership style after? What are some key character traits you try to emulate?
I model a lot of my leadership style after my dad. He always made it a point to be timely, keep his promises, and take pride in the work he did.
A trait that I emulate would be holding myself accountable and taking full responsibility for the team’s performance, whether the outcome is good or bad. We are all humans, and we make mistakes, but it’s essential to lead by example, recognize my own areas of improvement, and be open with my team about them.
Let’s talk about scaling a business from a small startup to a midsize and then large company. Based on your experience, can you share with our readers the “5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Scale Your Business”? Please give a story or example for each.
1- Be ready and prepared for growth.
When I moved my home-based organic skincare company to a commercial space in 2005, I was unprepared to scale my business. I didn’t have a growth strategy for how I would achieve it. Once I realized this, it became challenging for me to grow because of the lack of cash flow. Also, make sure you have the equipment, documents, and tools needed for success.
2 — Protect your business values.
Your business values are an integral part of your success, so make sure they don’t suffer during the expansion. Putting up your business values on a board is one way you can make sure your new team members can see and embody them.
3 — Make sure to have enough people leading the growth with you.
The last thing you want to happen is not to be able to meet the demands because you do not have enough people or a team in place to help you scale successfully. Running my store alone for 4 ½ years with no one to help me scale it up was impossible. Also, it is essential to create the right culture and an environment where people want to be and excel. Even though this was during my startup stage, the rules are the same for midsize and large companies looking to scale up.
4 — Hire people that you do not need to manage.
Hire people with the experience you need and the ability to expand with your business. If they don’t have the required skills, do not hire them. Early on in my career, I would employ with my heart over choosing the best candidate to do the job. Worse, I didn’t have the heart to fire them. Eventually, I fired them, but it was hard for me to bounce back, and I had to close my store.
5 — Make sure your team knows you appreciate them.
As you grow, empower your team with self-development and the tools they will need to thrive. Have meetings with them to give and encourage feedback. When I first hired my employees, I didn’t have discussions with them. This affected the business culture and environment I wanted for my business. Today, I make sure to have weekly meetings with my team and partners to encourage feedback and make sure everyone feels included, appreciated, and aligned towards our goals.
Can you share a few of the mistakes that companies make when they try to scale a business? What would you suggest to address those errors?
A few mistakes that companies make when they try to scale a business would be:
- Owners do not adapt their leadership skills to the new changes and challenges along the way.
Invest in your leadership skills and trust your team for guidance and support. As your company grows, your leadership skills should be flexible and evolve over time to adapt to change. Make sure your mindset is aligned for constructive thinking rather than panicking when challenges inevitably arise.
- Owners do not delegate.
During the first stages of the business, owners get accustomed to doing everything by themselves. But as you start to scale your business, you will soon realize that it’s impossible to perform all the tasks you once did. I recommend hiring people who have the qualifications to scale up with your company. Decide how to ensure everyone stays accountable to you and let them do their magic.
- The team is not prepared or not on the same page.
All team members need to know what’s expected of them in order to grow a business properly. Set proper expectations and consider your team’s capacity to execute them. Ensure you have procedures in place to help them be more efficient and productive so that you can track their progress.
- Companies do not do enough research before launching a new product or service.
Launching a new product or service takes time. Many companies think that their products or services are the next best thing and do not do the research to prove it. This is a fast approach toward failure and financial debt.
Scaling includes bringing new people into the organization. How can a company preserve its company culture and ethos when new people are brought in?
Our culture is embedded in every aspect of our business, from hiring new employees, to training and supervising, all the way to team building and employee appreciation. Make sure your team knows and embodies your company values. They should be visible in their work ethics and results.
In my work, I focus on helping companies to simplify the process of creating documentation of their workflow, so I am particularly passionate about this question. Many times, a key aspect of scaling your business is scaling your team’s knowledge and internal procedures. What tools or techniques have helped your teams be successful at scaling internally?
We honor our life/work balance. We don’t work during the weekends unless we have an event, and we encourage fun time and intellectual wellness. We have weekly team meetings to discuss what is working and what is not. We also foster a supportive environment and encourage our team to ask for help when needed.
What software or tools do you recommend to help onboard new hires?
Currently, we use a suite of Google products and Trello to onboard new team members, track and manage projects, and communicate internally, but there are a ton of solutions out there for every stage of your business. The best way to find the right one is to try them out. Many offer a free trial!
Because of your role, you are a person of significant influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most people, what would that be? You never know what your ideas can trigger.
I’m passionate about supporting and empowering people with skin ailments to feel good in their own skin. So, I think it would be a movement to bring awareness to the high percentage of depression and suicidal ideation caused by constant bullying and the social stigma of skin ailments like acne, eczema, and psoriasis.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can find us at www.celebritay.com and on social media at facebook.com/celebritay and instagram.com/celebritay
This was truly meaningful! Thank you so much for your time and for sharing your expertise!
About the interviewer. Ken Babcock is the CEO and Co-Founder of Tango. Prior to his mission of celebrating how work is executed, Ken spent over 4 years at Uber riding the rollercoaster of a generational company. After gaining hands-on experience with entrepreneurship at Atomic VC, Ken went on to HBS. It was at HBS that Ken met his Co-Founders, Dan Giovacchini and Brian Shultz and they founded Tango.
Elizalbeth (Liz) Santiago Of ‘CeleBritAy New York’ On 5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.