Kelli Eskew of The Fizz Whiz: Five Strategies Our Company Is Using To Tackle Climate Change & Become More Sustainable
Get Involved — We can encourage children to get involved by joining clubs at school or participating in an event that supports organizations that protect our environment. By offering support and getting involved ourselves, we can positively influence our youth.
As part of my series about how companies are becoming more sustainable, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kelli Eskew.
Kelli Eskew is the owner of The Fizz Whiz, an e-commerce business that manufactures and sells hair care, skincare, and household products that are handmade fresh with natural ingredients. She founded the business in 2019, in Tampa, Florida. Kelli holds an MBA from the University of Phoenix and a BA in Business Communications from the University of Central Florida.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
The pleasure is mine. Thank you! For the past 10 years or so, I have been kind of addicted to bath bombs. In 2019, I went to a local market and I was delighted to find some bath bombs for sale there. I spoke with the lady that made them and I asked how I could get more when I ran out. She gave me her card and said I would have to call her. I tried out the bath bombs and the natural oils just felt better to me compared to my previous experiences. That sparked my interest in learning more about natural oils. I researched a ton about natural and essential oils and I decided to develop a website to sell handmade bath fizzes. I launched my website on March 1, 2020, and two weeks later my bath fizzes were being labeled as “non-essential”. With some additional time on my hands coupled with all of the knowledge that I had of product ingredients and natural oils, I made more products for the skin, hair, and household. In the spring of 2021, I began selling my handmade products at local markets in Tampa Bay.
What is the mission of your company? What problems are you aiming to solve?
Nowadays, many of us have awareness of the importance of the nutritional value of vitamins and minerals from the foods that we eat. Most Americans read nutrition labels and ingredient information on food products and that information is being made readily available. Our mission is to raise that same type of awareness to the ingredients that are being absorbed into our largest organ (the skin). We offer fresh, handmade products that have been carefully formulated with simple, natural ingredients and without harmful additives.
Can you tell our readers about the initiatives that you or your company are taking to address climate change or sustainability? Can you give an example for each?
When I started formulating The Fizz Whiz products, I had a lot of decisions to make. I chose to exclude certain ingredients which I feel just aren’t necessary and could be considered as harmful additives. For example, The Fizz Whiz products do not contain Palm Oil which is a major driver of deforestation that destroys the habitat of thousands of species. The Fizz Whiz products do not contain silicones which can have negative impacts on our water supply and wildlife due to bioaccumulation. I chose to use beeswax which is a natural byproduct and entirely sustainable.
How would you articulate how a business can become more profitable by being more sustainable and more environmentally conscious? Can you share a story or example?
About half of consumers in the U.S. today consider the sustainable practices of a business when making a purchase. Many consumers are looking for zero waste packaging. When I started my development and product launch of The Fizz Whiz Simple Laundry Detergent Fizzes, I used a plastic recyclable container. I made a transition to a recyclable stand-up pouch bag. The bags reduce waste and they cost less. Next, I’d like to transition to a biodegradable compostable stand-up pouch bag as high-quality sustainable options are becoming more readily available.
The youth led climate strikes of September 2019 showed an impressive degree of activism and initiative by young people on behalf of climate change. This was great, and there is still plenty that needs to be done. In your opinion what are 5 things parents should do to inspire the next generation to become engaged in sustainability and the environmental movement? Please give a story or an example for each.
1. Do the Research
As it stands today, there aren’t enough regulations or certifications in place to quickly determine if an organization supports the protection of the environment or not. Certifications such as Fairtrade are often a great indicator as to whether or not a business is sustainable but not every type of business may have a certification. Typically, you can tell if a business is sustainable from their mission and their level of transparency. When the mission shows a connection to nature and the environment, that is a good indicator that the business has implemented sustainable practices. If the business has proven to be transparent with ingredients and business processes, it’s likely that business is practicing sustainable habits.
2. Set the Example
Children look to their parents for guidance and often make decisions based on what they have learned from watching them. I never had to tell my children to recycle at home. They just noticed that we had two options to discard something which includes one bin for the trash and another for recycling. They chose the right option. If we lead by example with the choices that we make and teach them the importance of our environment, they’ll be likely to make the same choices.
3. Take Action
With advances in technology and innovation, there is always room for improvement. Every so often, I think we should evaluate what we’re doing at home along with what’s currently available and make changes to make an impact. Some examples include energy conserving appliances, energy efficient light bulbs, automatic light switches, etc. Involving children in these types of improved set ups at home will encourage them to do the same. They may also have some great ideas on some improvements at home or elsewhere that can be made to protect our environment.
4. Get Involved
We can encourage children to get involved by joining clubs at school or participating in an event that supports organizations that protect our environment. By offering support and getting involved ourselves, we can positively influence our youth.
5. Educate Others
I think our youth should know that not only is it okay for them to talk about the importance of our environment but it’s vital to their future. The more people become educated with the current state of our environment and what we can do to make improvements, the better off our youth (and the generations to come) will be.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
1. Be Prepared for Obstacles
When I launched my website on March 1, 2020, I soon experienced many obstacles with the pandemic. Besides my products being categorized as “non-essential” for a short period of time, I had difficulty finding the containers that I needed, I couldn’t sell my products at local markets as I’d hoped, and there were many other obstacles that were a result of the pandemic. As time went on, I noticed that sort of thing just happens with or without a pandemic and I realized the importance of having a contingency plan to prepare for unexpected circumstances.
2. Pay Attention to Failure
When you’re being innovative and trying new things, failure is inevitable. I failed a ton to get where I am today. It can get very frustrating and even discouraging. But looking back, when I think about how that failure got me where I needed to be, I realize that I could have spared myself some of those costly mistakes if I had paid closer attention to the failure. When we fail, we can react in different ways. One way is to give up (which I refused to do). Even if we don’t give up so easily, typically we do not want to analyze our failure much. We often review it a bit for some lessons learned but if we get to a point of accepting the failure as a positive occurrence (knowing that it will improve us), I think we can gain a lot more. If we go even further by paying attention to the failure, that will lead us to even greater success. For example, I develop a product, it’s all finished, and it doesn’t sell. If I’m paying close attention to the fact that it is not selling and analyzing it (rather than either discontinuing the product or just leaving it as is hoping things will change some day), I can start to make improvements, gain knowledge, and possibly apply that same knowledge to other products that I develop.
3. You Can’t Please Everyone
I think when you start a business or start to work for a business and give it your all, that is kind of the automatic goal (to please everyone). But you just can’t. It’s tough to admit and accept but when I realized that everyone is different and those differences are what make a need for different products, that made it easier to accept. People know their own personal likes and dislikes. One person’s trash is another person’s treasure. If we focus on our niche and what makes us great, and just have that understanding that not everyone will appreciate what we do and that is okay, hopefully we can rest easier.
4. Listen
When we have a vision and we’re convinced it will be great, we can sometimes get set in our ways. If a person makes a suggestion or comment — listen. I have realized that if a person is taking the time to comment (positive or negative), it’s important. Looking back, there were many times that I shrugged off a comment and later thought, “I should have listened”. I finally noticed something in common which is that the person making the comment cares enough about what is happening to offer some thought and I should consider it.
5. Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
As a business owner, you wear many hats. When I started my business, I was in a bit of shock at first when I realized that I had to complete all different kinds of tasks that were not always ones that I felt comfortable doing. I love creating and making hair care, skincare, and household products but as the owner of the company, I also have to do accounting and graphic design and operations management and marketing, etc. Obtaining an MBA did help me prepare for all of that but actually doing it all made it that much more real and I had to just be uncomfortable at times and do it all to move forward with my business.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
When my business started picking up and doing well, it got even busier and I felt overwhelmed and thought I couldn’t handle it. I remember having a conversation with my mother (who owned a hair salon for about 30 years) and she said, “You’ve just gotta do it” and I thought “She’s right”. I was amazed at the way I went from feeling like there was no way I could handle it to just owning that responsibility of doing what had to be done. I think when we prepare ourselves and know this is what has to happen, it somehow makes it easier and it just happens. As I got busier, I noticed myself often saying things like “I have a million and two things to do” or “I don’t get to be tired” and that’s just the reality at times. When I think back to what I remember of my mom when I was growing up, that is exactly what she did. She just pressed on and did what she had to do. She set a great example for me. And my dad built a studio for me to make all of my products so I’m pretty grateful for him too.
You are a person of great influence and doing some great things for the world! If you could inspire a movement that would bring the greatest amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
There are way too many people in the world without food, without running water, and without shelter. In the U.S. alone, about half a million people are homeless. About 25% of those people have mental illness and often do not feel comfortable in homeless shelters. This could be solved by providing food, water, and shelter. In some instances, that type of solution may be temporary for various reasons. I think it’s also important to focus on their recovery needs such as building up their self-esteem, helping them find a sense of purpose, and helping them build healthy relationships. People are often cruel to individuals that are homeless. And typically, it’s based on the way that they look (if they haven’t had a shower or a haircut in a while). That destroys their self-esteem and can make it even more difficult for them to get out of their situation. I would like to have a team to just meet people where they are and show up with mobile showers, a barber, and bathrooms to talk with them and help them feel more confident so they can gain hope and get connected to the resources that are available to them.
Do you have a favorite life lesson quote? Can you tell us how that was relevant to you in your own life?
Oprah Winfrey once said, “Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” That resonates so much with me especially from the experiences that I’ve had with my business. I think we can get discouraged easily when we’re trying so hard to accomplish something and it’s just not working. We often avoid trying new things to stay in our comfort zone and avoid failure but that could cause us to miss out on something great. When I started making skincare products, I tried so many times and got frustrated. But I kept getting the feeling that it had to be better. That feeling of it needing to be better was right. But for that to happen, I had to keep trying. Had I allowed that “failure” to sink in (to the point of accepting it), I might have gotten so discouraged that I would have just given up. Each time I failed, I acknowledged it as a need for improvement and thought, “It has to be better” which meant that I would press forward. I see failure as a stairway going upwards with each step being an opportunity to work harder and try again, eventually rising to the top.
What is the best way for people to follow you on social media?
Follow us on Instagram @theefizzwhiz and Facebook TheFizzWhiz
This was so inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Kelli Eskew of The Fizz Whiz: Five Strategies Our Company Is Using To Tackle Climate Change &… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.