Uncomplicated Skin Care for Men: Reinventing Men’s Skin Care and Changing The Way Regular Guys Think About Their Skin by Founder & CEO Kelley Thornton on Episode #0423

Kelley Thornton [00:00:00]:

Hi, this is Kelly Thornton with TJ Hanley at tiege.com, and you’re listening to EA Interviews.

Mario Fachini [00:00:09]:

EA Interviews episode 423 inspiration, transformation, success stories, and the imperfect action round. Seven days a week. Join Mario Ficcini for today’s Expert Authority Effect Interview. Have you ever thought about selling consumer packaged goods? Maybe you had an idea for a product, you wanted to sell it. Maybe you’re doing it locally, but have you ever done it on a big scale, like with Unilever Mars and big companies like that? I am excited to have Kelly Thornton on today’s episode, and we’re going to be talking about not just how he did this at the highest level for some of the biggest brands around, how he stepped away from it all to start his own company, Tiege Hanley. I’m going to bring him up right after we thank our sponsor.
Sponsor – EAPublishingMethodBook.com [00:00:53]

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Mario Fachini [00:01:17]

Here he is, ladies and gentlemen, Kelly Thornton. Kelly, how are you feeling today?

Kelley Thornton [00:01:22]:

I feel great. I look, look and feel amazing and trying to help as many men with my skincare company as possible. Feel the same.

Mario Fachini [00:01:32]:

I was going to say, does your skincare have something to do with it? But that’s like a double loaded question, because it is your business, but I know you’re using it, too.

Kelley Thornton [00:01:43]:

Love it. It’s a great product. We make it simple for guys to get involved in skincare no matter where they are on their skincare journey.

Mario Fachini [00:01:51]:

Why do you think, oh, my gosh, I got so many questions for it. Let’s just start with the controversial one. How’s that sound?

Kelley Thornton [00:02:00]:

Bring it.

Mario Fachini [00:02:01]:

Why should men care about their skin? And why don’t more men care about skincare?

Kelley Thornton [00:02:08]:

Well, I think actually more and more men do care about skincare. Mario. I think at the end of the day, people want to feel good about themselves. They want to look their best, and they want to feel good about themselves. And taking care of yourself is an important thing. So self-care in general is really important. I think it’s important not just for men, but for women, but for men. And guys are realizing that they can do a few things every day, add a few steps into their daily morning and evening routine, and it will actually improve how they look. And they look better.

Mario Fachini [00:02:42]:

They usually feel better keeping it uncomplicated.

Kelley Thornton [00:02:46]:

Exactly.

Mario Fachini [00:02:47]:

Do you think it’s more normal for men to use skincare now than ten or 20 years ago?

Kelley Thornton [00:02:54]:

Yeah, 100%. I mean, I think more men are open to it, definitely. The under 40 crowd is very open to taking care of their skin. And I think there’s a pretty significant shift in guys over 40 that are thinking about it and that realize the benefits of it.

Mario Fachini [00:03:16]:

So what’s the best age to start implementing it?

Kelley Thornton [00:03:20]:

Well, it’s interesting. A lot of guys start their skincare routine early. Actually they start it a lot of guys that have issues with their skin, whether they have too much oil production in their skin cerebrum or whether or not they have acne, they’ll start their skincare pretty early on. They may not realize that using something other than bar soap or hand soap to wash their face is important, but they’ll get into a habit of taking care of their face, keeping their hands off of their face and using a great facial wash. So I think it’s important to get started early on and if you just develop some healthy skincare habits early, the very first just starting to wash your face regularly with a really great product when you get up and before you go to bed. So you can never be too early. An 18 year old guy is the perfect time of his life to start some good habits.

Mario Fachini [00:04:18]:

Now, you made a comment about above 40 and below 40. Where do you think the paradigm shift occurred there and how would you treat someone that’s say 45 55 versus 18 to 28?

Kelley Thornton [00:04:31]:

Yeah, I mean the older guys paradigm shift, it’s interesting because I think there’s still a lot of the over 40 guys that have made up their minds that they’ve given up, right. They may not ever consider using anything other than bar soap to wash their face, but the guys that do, they really start thinking about that’s rough. I just got to say it happens all the time. It’s amazing how much it happens. And I think the guys that are over 40 that are thinking about it, they are thinking about can they try to slow down Mother Nature a little bit? That’s pretty much how I got involved in it. I was really looking in the mirror thinking, you’re not getting any younger. And maybe some of these products actually do work. Mean some of my early days I would actually go into department stores like Nordstrom and the old Marshall Fields here in downtown Chicago and I was going to see what was going on in the men’s area. And I’d walk up to the counter and there’d be a woman behind there and she’d be like, I’ve got some really good stuff and I’m only going to have it for a week and it’s going to sell out. And it’s like a Lab series, which is a L’Oreal product, like BB tent and it’s unbelievable. I can’t keep it in stock. I have no idea what that was, but I’m like thinking maybe I should be trying that too.

Mario Fachini [00:06:02]:

Do you think it was just good marketing or do you think it really was some super exclusive you can’t get anywhere? Because I’ve seen the ads where it’s like throw out the bar soap, use something more, join the 20th century. And I’m like, okay, fair. And then I see other ones and they bring in a rocket ship and they’re like, we got gold flakes of this. And it was massaged from cocoa beans like the Congo. And I’m like, great story, great marketing. But I looked at the ingredients, I’m like, this is nothing more than is it anything else? They’re just telling a better story.

Kelley Thornton [00:06:35]:

Yeah. In the early days, I didn’t know whether or not I was just being sold snake oil or not. But I think today, the way technology is and ingredients and delivery systems of products onto your skin, there are some game changer. Retinol is one of them. Palmitate and different vitamins, different natural ingredients have a very positive impact on your skin health. So they do make a difference in your skin. Early on, I was just kind of fake it till I make it as a consumer. When I was first looking into this category, I had no idea what I was being sold or why I should be using it. But I did start to get into a healthy routine and I noticed it made a difference. And I really want to help out as many other guys as possible. Get in the habit of having healthy skin.

Mario Fachini [00:07:41]:

I think it’s great. You are we’re talking a little bit. And I’ve used more than the whole bar soap thing alone. For me, it’s just a mess in the shower to clean. At least use something in a bottle. It’ll make less of a mess, even if you want to be basic. But whatever. Tell us about your background. Because I want to get to the part where you go, you stepped away from a very, what seems like extended and lucrative career, Unilever, Bayer, all these companies that most people wish they could work for, and you’re like, no, I’m out. So tell us how you started with that and then we’ll walk through think.

Kelley Thornton [00:08:25]:

Before I give you the story. I think what’s interesting is, and I just realized this, Mario, really over the last few years, is that I’m not your typical entrepreneur at my age. I’m in my mid-fifties. And being an entrepreneur is kind of like a young man’s game because there’s a lot of risk associated with it. It’s very challenging and very demanding. So I knew early on that I wanted to be my own boss. I wanted to be the master of my own destiny. It just took me quite a while to get there. And I started in New York working, selling merchandising and being involved in the merchandising space. And that includes primary and secondary displays in store and signage and racks and all of this stuff. And I really like that business because I worked with great brands and really understood what it takes to grow and develop and maintain a really good brand. And I was fascinated by it. I was fascinated by marketing and branding. And about 20 years into my career, I decided to start, which is really my second company. My first company was a painting company I had for four or five years and put me through college. I was very fortunate to have that experience and learn what it was like to manage other people and things of that nature and to get out of college pretty much debt free, which was a big deal for you. But I think I really started after 20 years of being merchandising to start my own business. And I started a business that went global and I had a team in Asia and a team in Europe and we were developing in store design and strategy for big corporations like the ones you mentioned, the Unilevers. And the Bears and Mars and things of that nature and really trying to understand how customers shop in different retail channels and why they buy things. And that was part of the research. Actually, I was describing to you earlier was trying to figure out what motivates guys to consider purchasing a product like Skincare and realized how very difficult that is for a large multinational CPG company to try to convey the benefits of skincare in a retail setting where for the most part, guys don’t like to shop anyway. So first you got to get them into the store. Problem number one. Problem number two, you got to try to somehow educate them on why they need to have healthy skin. And that’s just really a big challenge.

Mario Fachini [00:11:14]:

This was also the advent of ecommerce because I know you started this six years ago, but for 20 years prior to that, there was still the whole ecommerce on the rise. And the other thing that I want to point out that most people I want to make sure people realize it’s one thing to be really good at Mars. Like, I can’t even imagine working around the candy. That had to have been fun. But. You have Bayer and unilever. Those are two and a half very different businesses, and I know you have a lot more, but those are completely different. It’s not just one niche where you’re going straight down. It going, okay, we have another candy company. All we work is with candy companies or medical or whatever. It’s like you have to constantly be doing different stuff, thinking and making it work for people.

Kelley Thornton [00:12:03]:

Yeah, I mean, the need state of the customer in those categories are completely different. And then the need state of those customers in those separate categories in different channels are very different. So the need state of someone shopping in a Walmart or Superstore versus a convenience store versus drugstore, very different. It’s trying to understand that, but actually it’s very translatable to the director consumer business because consumers are we’re trying to connect with consumers across digital platforms, and their thinking is very different. When they’re on YouTube watching a YouTube informational video versus a short versus being on a Facebook or another platform like that. So trying to understand how consumers are consuming content on different channels is very similar to trying to understand how they’re thinking in different shopping physical bricks and mortar shopping channels.

Mario Fachini [00:13:00]:

That’s a good point. That’s a very good point. Because I would say when you’re in the store, you could argue you have their attention. I mean, more so than when you said when they’re browsing around on YouTube, what are they thinking? And I’m thinking they’re probably on six other screens thinking four other things simultaneously. Oh, you have 7 seconds if you have three nowadays, I’d be I mean.

Kelley Thornton [00:13:26]:

At least when they’re in the store, you know, they have an intent to know. I don’t say, hey Mario, I’ll pick you up on Sunday after the game and we’re just going to go cruise know it doesn’t happen that way. So at least when consumers are in the store, they have a high intent.

Mario Fachini [00:13:43]:

To purchase and it’s right in front of them. You just grab it.

Kelley Thornton [00:13:46]:

Exactly.

Mario Fachini [00:13:47]:

Low barrier to, hey, I’ll give it a shot at least.

Kelley Thornton [00:13:50]:

Yeah. Which is one of the reasons why US DTC companies talk a lot about the impact of Amazon on their business and how they should lean in or a little or a lot to Amazon as a channel. We look at that as a channel, just like any other social channel and how important that channel is and what percentage of your business should be on Amazon versus other channels and what is the intent of the consumer there. But when you have a massive volume of search being done on Amazon, it’s just really important that you’re participating in that channel. And it takes a long time to develop a presence on Amazon because it’s all about the mean. We’re very fortunate where we’re at right now and my background with understanding how the need state of shoppers and what motivates them to buy and just been a really great way for me to leverage that knowledge and grow this business.

Mario Fachini [00:14:51]:

So you took all that knowledge and expertise and you said, I want to do something different. Why did you want to do something different?

Kelley Thornton [00:14:59]:

Yeah. There’s a bunch of reasons for it, I think. What is your purpose in life? Kind of question. And I think I was very interested in proving to myself that I could provide a sustainable income for my family but not have to be my own boss. And I think there’s something very alluring to that. And I think that journey started for me a long time ago and it’s been extremely difficult. It’s a constant reinvention. And like I said, this is my third business. I really got into it because I wanted to share my knowledge with other guys about why they should take care of their skin. And we haven’t talked about skin cancer. But that’s a very important aspect to what we try to do. We try to help guys understand why it’s important to put some SPF on their face or on their body and prevent skin cancer, which is the number one cancer for men. And it’s the most preventable, and thankfully, it’s one of the most curable if found early. So those are all the reasons why I got in this business. There was the self fulfillment of trying to provide for my family and do it myself, kind of kill what I eat, what I kill, and then the opportunity to help guys look their best was really alluring to me.

Mario Fachini [00:16:26]:

Let’s talk more about the sunscreen, because we haven’t talked about that, but I know it’s very true. And you should always be the chapsticks, the lip balms, all that stuff. Unless it has an SPF, I think it’s a waste of time. Like I was saying, with the bar soap, it’s like you’re barely solving one problem, but creating nine others. I don’t like that. But I did not know it was the most common type of cancer. I know it’s preventable, but why do you think that is?

Kelley Thornton [00:16:57]:

Well, unfortunately, guys don’t think about taking care of themselves as much. When you think about self care in general, there are all these little nuances to it, like, we’ve got to care about what we eat, and we need to make sure that we get to the doctors regularly without the prodding from our significant other. And just thinking about before I hit this golf ball on T One, I should probably put a little sunscreen on my neck and on my ears, underneath my hat’s, on my head. That’s cool, but I’m going to get cancer around the neck, the ears and on the nose is extremely common, and men just don’t really think about taking care of themselves. So it’s just really important. And I think more and more men as they see how prevalent cancer is, and that’s the reason why it’s almost, like, twice as likely that a man would get skin cancer than a woman. It’s just because we’re gorilla style, right? I mean, we’re out there and not thinking about the fact that we should put a little sunscreen on. So it’s just really important. And over here at T Shanley, we’re helping a lot of guys think about this, and we’re writing a lot of logs and a lot of content that help guys figure out how to implement it into their routines.

Mario Fachini [00:18:24]:

That’s good. Yeah. I think it’s just that awareness, and until you have something happen to someone close to you or yourself, it’s one of those stat things, oh, it’s everyone else, but not me. And then it happens, and then it’s okay. This just got really real. I’ve noticed more people wearing even the clothing, like sunscreen hat has always been an easy thing. The sunscreen is kind of like, yeah, you need help, but the clothing, I’ve noticed is also more people doing it. Golfers, boaters sailors.

Kelley Thornton [00:19:01]:

Yeah, well, that’s what you described is how we got into it. My business partner Rob, who was also college roommate, friend from earlier high school, and his father died. And I remember very specifically when he was 56 years old of melanoma, and it was completely preventable. That’s the super sad part of it is it’s very preventable. So we just really try to talk all the time to guys about healthy skin, healthy skincare routines and protecting themselves from the skin, from the sun. As a matter of fact, this weekend I was in New York at a family event, and it happened to be a beautiful day on Saturday in Manhattan, and we were out on a veranda overlooking the Long Island Sound, and it was 73, 74 degrees. I was very fortunate. Our daytime moisturizer has an SPF of 20 on it, in it. And I had wear my daily moisturizer. My wife and my daughter came back with, like, red faces from being out there. We didn’t expect the sun to be so hot. And it’s like, had I not had that, I’m sure I’d be very red today. And so it’s those little things. And you don’t realize, even us guys like yourself and myself that live in Chicago and Detroit, how powerful the sun is even in the winter. And just going from your car UVA UVB rays going from your car to your office on a cloudy day, you do feel the rays of the sun. So it’s just really important. I mean, we’re worried about the environment. As society. We should be worried about the impact of a strong sun on our skin.

Mario Fachini [00:21:03]:

Yeah, and that’s a good point. You bring up with the clouds, especially in the winter, because in the summer, it’s, like, obvious. Like I was saying, it’s not rocket science. It’s 92 degrees out. It’s sunny. You should be doing something. The days that are the worst are when it’s cloudy or like, I like boating when you’re on the boat and you get this cool breeze, your body’s not overheated, so you’re like, oh, it’s fine. And then you come back and you’re completely looking like my tire or a lobster. And it’s like, what happened here? It’s 68, 71 degrees. It’s cloudy. There’s hardly any sun. It’s only been an hour and a half. It’s like toast.

Kelley Thornton [00:21:43]:

Yeah. We’ve leaned into zinc oxide, our products. And by the way, I’d be great for any of your listeners to check out tiege.com, but my suggestion is use a moisturizer that has an SPF in it’s not hard at all. Just a little bit in the morning around your face, just underneath of your chin and around your ears will go a long way in keeping melanoma off your nose and lips. So I strongly recommend that. And we use zinc oxide in our lip balm and our sun stick, and they’re great products. And they’re products that you can keep in your car or in your golf bag on your boat, and you can apply it really easily. So, again, whether it’s our product or someone else’s, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of that.

Mario Fachini [00:22:37]:

Yeah, that ten to 20 people think they need a 65 or 96, but if you put it on one time for 2 hours and you’re out for eight, it’s not even going to work the whole time. But I think I agree 100%. Those little bits, like I said in the lip balms, the 15s or whatever, it’s like that will keep your lips not only from being chapped, but windburn and all kind and just burnt. There was one time I ran out, and it was just within a matter of days in Florida, and it was just like, I’m miserable. I usually have, like, four or five on me ever since high school.

Kelley Thornton [00:23:12]:

Yeah, it’s crazy. There’s such a misnomer about the impact of the incremental impact of SPF to preventing sun damage. Once you get above SPF 30, the incrementality of how much UVA UVB rays that the incremental SPF rating prevents is, like, two or three points. Once you’re above 30, you’re like, 95 or 96. I wish I knew these numbers right off the top of my head, but you’re, like, 96% covered, so you go from 30 to, say, 40 or 45, and you only incrementally gain, like, one percentage point. It only goes from, like, 95% coverage to 96% effective of blocking. Okay. And going to, like, 65 takes you to, like, 97% blocking the UVA UPV. So it’s like once you’re in that 30 range, you’re pretty good. I wouldn’t suggest going to the beach with 30 and laying out all day, but the incrementality of the benefit kind of outweighs the real burden of going there.

Mario Fachini [00:24:34]:

I was also going to say the chalkiness. You put some 65 to 95 on, you might as well whip up some flour and water. It’s not the thinnest stuff in the world.

Kelley Thornton [00:24:43]:

No. You look like you were just rolled around in flour and water, and I.

Mario Fachini [00:24:47]:

Don’T know of any that you’re going to get more than three 4 hours effectively, especially around water.

Kelley Thornton [00:24:53]:

Correct. Yeah. So, anyway, that’s all really important part of a guy thinking about taking care of himself, but it really does start with a good cleanser and a good moisturizer.

Mario Fachini [00:25:03]:

Well, I’m glad you incorporated it into yours. And it sounds like you have a mission behind all of it as well. It’s not just selling it. You really do want to help men on a personal level.

Kelley Thornton [00:25:16]:

Absolutely. I mean, we talk about it every single day here. Tiege Hanley it’s all about helping as many guys as we can look and feel amazing. When you look good, you feel. And we all know mario now, given the last couple of years of COVID and what everybody’s been through and how they feel, it’s really important to mentally feel good about yourself and getting up in the morning and starting your day off right, brushing your teeth and using a moisturizer, washing your face. And if you’re an older guy like me thinking about anti aging and using products that help fight back Mother Nature, these products have a significant impact on how, you know, we even joke. Like, when we’re on the road traveling as a company, we’ll check into a hotel right before we go to a dinner or meeting. And we’ll come downstairs and we’ll meet back up and we’ll look at each other and be like, you just washed your face, didn’t you? You just went upstairs and cleaned up. And it’s amazing how good it makes you feel. Like, you just feel like a million bucks after you’ve washed your face and you feel clean and put a moisturizer on. So, yeah, I mean, it’s it’s not it’s part of our mission because it does work and it’s effective more just trying to help as many men as we can.

Mario Fachini [00:26:46]:

Yeah, it gives you that fresh feeling of, like, you could be five, six at night. You might be 6 hours into your day or 12 hours into your day. And usually the nighttime stuff, it’s like, I’m tired, I’m worn down. And it’s like, no, this is second wind.

Kelley Thornton [00:27:03]:

Well, the hardest time to remember to wash your face and to put a moisturizer on is at night. We’re all exhausted at the end of the day, especially if you’re like me and it’s the end of the week and you had a couple of glasses of wine, the last thing you want to do is thinking about washing your face and put a moisturizer on. But nighttime is absolutely the best time, and it was the hardest to integrate into my routine, like at night, washing my face and putting a moisturizer on. But that is when your body is really rejuvenating and when you’re at rest and your skin can really have a chance to absorb nourishment of a great nighttime moisturizer. And as guys, we don’t like anything heavy on our face. Our nighttime moisturizer isn’t heavy, but it’s a lot heavier than our daytime moisturizer. In terms of feel, it takes a while to kind of get used to that for most men, but it’s an excellent time to have your skin rejuvenate.

Mario Fachini [00:28:09]:

And then you feel better the next day waking up, and after a few days of using it, it’s like you expect that level. It’s not, oh, this is a treat, this is the norm, and it’s just much better. And I like what you did with the bottles, and thank you for sending me the trial pack, but the AM and PM, like, you really did make it uncomplicated.

Kelley Thornton [00:28:30]:

Thank you.

Mario Fachini [00:28:31]:

Am. PM, use this, use that. I’m like, I literally was looking for more instructions and different things going. This is pretty simple. Yeah, I’m used to dealing with super complex stuff and the show and book publishing and all this and 98 moving parts or 137. I’m like, I feel like I’m missing something, but there wasn’t. It’s pretty straightforward.

Kelley Thornton [00:28:52]:

Yeah. Every box we ship, we include some very simple instructions. Use this size, do it in this order. Wash your face, pat dry. Use a moisturizer scrub.

Mario Fachini [00:29:08]:

Nickel size, no more than twice a week, correct?

Kelley Thornton [00:29:10]:

Yeah.

Mario Fachini [00:29:11]:

Excellent. I have one question for you. Well, there’s two. Yellow or black?

Kelley Thornton [00:29:22]:

Yellow.

Mario Fachini [00:29:24]:

Okay. I already know the question, so I’m not going to pretend it landed on some random one, because I’ve been waiting to ask you this. I don’t know if it’s a secret or not, but I was alluding to the nickel size twice a week. The scrub.

Kelley Thornton [00:29:36]:

Yes.

Mario Fachini [00:29:38]:

You have menthol in it, don’t you?

Kelley Thornton [00:29:40]:

We have something called a mentholactate in It, which is a really interesting product, and it has a lot of qualities to it that people don’t realize, but it does invigorate your skin. It opens up the pores, and it also brings a lot of kind of blood flow to your skin, which really replenishes your skin.

Mario Fachini [00:30:02]:

Okay.

Kelley Thornton [00:30:03]:

It’s a great product. We recommend using it twice a week.

Mario Fachini [00:30:09]:

Not two days in a row, though.

Kelley Thornton [00:30:10]:

No. And we have people almost all the time, almost like every day, talking about their scrub days and how they look forward to their scrub days. We’ll get emails saying, today was my scrub day, and I feel great. Just want to drop you a note and let you know. So that’s a great product. It’s actually tied for we just finished a Net Promoter Source Study on our products, and they all scored incredibly high. We do that every year, go out and talk to thousands of our customers and ask them what they’d like to see improved in their product. And our scrub is our Scrub and Serum. All of our products score extremely high, but our scrub and Serum, which is an antiaging product, score outrageously high.

Mario Fachini [00:31:08]:

Yeah. And the anti-aging is important, too, because you said earlier the over 40 crowd, so I’ll just go with that. I think the over 40 crowd thinks, now I need to start using it. But the reality is use it as soon as you can, because it’s going to prevent that aging even sooner. So if you think you need it by 40 or 45, you probably do, but you don’t want to look 40 or 45 if you start using it. 15 2025.

Kelley Thornton [00:31:36]:

Right, exactly. I think every person is different in how much sun they’ve had exposure to sun, and how the type of lifestyle that they live. Someone that’s outside every day, working every day, their skin is going to be exposed to elements, are going to be harsher conditions. But I think once you’re around that mid 30 range, you should really start thinking about thinking about an antiaging routine. And like I was describing earlier, just the. Changes in chemistry and the changes in active products over the last five years has been so significant. And the delivery systems, which sounds very strange, like a strange concept, but the way that your skin absorbs natural ingredients and organic ingredients over a longer period of time, it’s kind of like an extended release vitamin, so to speak.

Mario Fachini [00:32:42]:

Like collagen, for example. You can have collagen shoes, or you can have a serum you put on.

Kelley Thornton [00:32:48]:

There you go. Well said. So I think collagen is something that our collagen I can’t say it’s time release, but it does absorb into your skin over time. So those things, you know, if you’re an over 35 guy, I think you should start thinking about making sure you’re using the nighttime moisturizer. You should probably start thinking about using an eye cream. Whether or not you need a serum or not, it depends on why would.

Mario Fachini [00:33:21]:

You do it halfway?

Kelley Thornton [00:33:22]:

Yeah, I guess. I don’t know. We’re coming out. We’ve been focusing, as you mentioned earlier, on non face care skincare products over the last couple of years and our product development pipeline but we’re really focused our product development pipeline for the next three years is all about. Advanced antiaging and advanced skincare products, which I mentioned to you earlier in this call that our Face Mask is a product that’s our number one selling what we call non core product. And when I say core, our systems are a wash, a nighttime and daytime moisturizer, and a scrub.

Mario Fachini [00:34:06]:

Yeah, the stuff you’re using multiple times a day.

Kelley Thornton [00:34:08]:

Yeah. And that face mask, and it’s amazing how effective the face mask is. And if you use it a couple of times a month, three or four times a month, how much it improves your skin elasticity, controlling oil, keeping those pores clean, keeping the pores clean, and preventing any bacteria build up that can create any acne flare ups. It’s amazing. And that product, we sell thousands of them as people put those in their routine every month. It’s amazing.

Mario Fachini [00:34:38]:

Well, I appreciate you for sharing the details. I didn’t know if I could get it out of you, but I tried the scrub as well, and I was like, there’s menthol something in here. And it was nice, it was effective. And I was like, I got to ask them. But I use the wheel of whatever to I’ve got people to reveal their next products, their next food. They’re coming out the next episode, the next book. I got an email one time, and their team emailed me before the episode was over, and they’re like, we didn’t even know what was coming out. How’d you get that out of them? It was the next product for the following quarter.

Kelley Thornton [00:35:12]:

Yeah, I’ll tell you, we just launched, actually, September 15, Below the Belt Powder. We couldn’t think of a good name, so we just call it Balls. Balls. And it is so incredibly effective, but it does also contain a little bit of menthol lactate, which is a phenomenal product. And I think that product, before I.

Mario Fachini [00:35:40]:

Beat out your poor mask, now it.

Kelley Thornton [00:35:42]:

Might beat out our clay mask because it’s just like that product that no one realized that they can improve the situation down below until they start using a product like our Below the Bell powder. But there’s some great products out there, and we’re going to have a brand new retinol product next year, which is going to be a real winner for us.

Mario Fachini [00:36:10]:

Well, I’m glad you have a mission behind it and you are helping so many people. And we have to thank our sponsor. But I also want to give you one last congrats about the you just started in 2016 and shipped 1.5 million units so far already.

Kelley Thornton [00:36:28]:

Yeah, very proud of that. From across the hall here, from across from our business office, we ship and do our own warehouse distribution and fulfillment. And all those people are full time employees of the company.

Mario Fachini [00:36:48]:

Good for you.

Kelley Thornton [00:36:48]:

And they’ve been with us since basically the first month.

Mario Fachini [00:36:54]:

That’s not a small undertaking. No, just selling the product alone is one thing, but distributing it and making.

Kelley Thornton [00:37:00]:

It, it’s just so great. And when I think about the work that our team has done, we have very minimal, rock bottom minimal, and 50% of our boxes. There’s four products in there. The other 50% go out with six plus products, plus some collateral card telling people how to use the product. And so we’ve touched probably well over what would that be? Probably 10 million pieces of product have actually physically been packed and put in boxes to send a million and a half boxes out. I’m just so grateful for our team and we’re helping people stay employed and doing it right here in Chicago. All made in the US. Our product is all made in the US. So it’s a great feeling. It’s a phenomenal. So.

Mario Fachini [00:37:57]:

Well, you’re on the right track and helping the right people.

Kelley Thornton [00:38:01]:

Yeah. Thank you.

Mario Fachini [00:38:02]:

Here’s to 2 million boxes. But we’re going to thank our sponsor and come back for the Imperfect Action Round.

Sponsor – EAPublishingMethodBook.com [00:38:08]

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Lori [00:38:30]:

Having an idea and a possibility to actually getting my book published.

Mario Fachini [00:38:37]:

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Mario Fachini [00:38:41]:

Or Mary Alice,

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Mario Fachini [00:38:58]:

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Rocio [00:38:59]:

There’s no way in the world I would have been able to do this with somebody else again. I’ve attempted it in the past. It didn’t serve me. As a matter of fact, I ended up more frustrated than anything. So this has been a very seamless process.

Mario Fachini: [00:39:12]:

Adele,

Adele [00:39:13]:

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Mario Fachini [00:39:16]

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Mario Fachini [00:39:29]:

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Mario Fachini [00:39:42]

And we are back with the imperfect action round. Are you ready to take imperfect action?

Kelley Thornton [00:39:48]:

Absolutely. I’m very imperfect, so that’ll be easy for me.

Mario Fachini [00:39:52]:

Same here. I got a couple of quick questions, 62nd or less answers. First one is, what is the fastest path to the cash?

Kelley Thornton [00:40:02]:

The fastest path to the cash? Creating a product that a lot of people want. That’s the fastest path. Make sure your product is awesome. People want that.

Mario Fachini [00:40:15]:

Excellent. Number two, what is the biggest problem you see your prospects making and the fastest way for them to fix it?

Kelley Thornton [00:40:22]:

Fastest prospects are making? Well, they’re not using our product. I mean, I think the biggest challenge for our prospects is that they need to get rid of the bar soap and start using T Shanling 100%. That’ll solve that problem immediately.

Mario Fachini [00:40:41]:

Wicked. Number three what’s the best way to maximize customer lifetime value?

Kelley Thornton [00:40:50]:

That’s a great question. Half of our marketing efforts around making sure that our customers are successful with our product. So there it is. We have a whole customer success team that includes traditionally, customer service, and we’re a pain in the ass free company. And what that means is, if there’s anything that you don’t like about your experience with us, we refund you your money. I probably shouldn’t say that, but to all your listeners, but that’s how we are. And I think in today’s environment, competing with Amazon, if you want to have a good customer success team, it’ll raise the lifetime value.

Mario Fachini [00:41:33]:

Excellent. What books would you recommend expert authority for world that have helped you?

Kelley Thornton [00:41:40]:

Yeah, there’s a lot. I just finished How to Think Like a Rocket Scientist, and I like that book a lot. I like the concept of failure and how important failure is to success. And the book talks a lot about really trying to analyze where things go wrong and the ways to kind of prevent that and the ways to think about, even when you have success, how you can think about success in ways that make they can help you be more successful. I’m reading a book right now on culture. Love that book as well. And it talks about great not only companies, but teams and coaches and how creating great culture within organizations really is a game changer between and what’s that one called? I believe it’s just called Culture and I wish I knew the I just started it. I’m in chapter three right now, and I actually love the it’s like I described, and right now they’re talking about the San Antonio Spurs coach pavlov. No, Pavlov.

Mario Fachini [00:43:00]:

Is the COVID black or like colorful black with gold? The culture code. Daniel Coyle.

Kelley Thornton [00:43:05]:

Yeah, that’s it. Thank you very much. Culture Code.

Mario Fachini [00:43:07]:

Welcome.

Kelley Thornton [00:43:08]:

And you got a Snap team there that can really help you. Yeah. Culture code. Thank you. And I’ve really enjoyed that book a lot. So that’s what I’m on right now.

Mario Fachini [00:43:18]:

Well, I appreciate the recommendations. Being a publisher, I always love hearing about other books as well as the ones we publish, but I actually thought you were going to say Seth Godin for a second when you said Culture because I know he has a couple on it as well. Where would you like people to learn.

Kelley Thornton [00:43:35]:

Know Teige.com? I like people listening to your podcast and learning know why we exist. I think that’s phenomenal and I’m grateful for you giving me the opportunity to share my story.

Mario Fachini [00:43:47]:

I love what you’re doing and I thought you’d be a great fit add value. And I think more people need to hear about this because, like we were talking about I don’t know the percentages now, but I know stereotypically women are the ones who want to go to the spas and get the facials and skincare and all this stuff. And men are like, I think if you encourage them enough, they’ll see the benefits. But I really do hope more people go, you know what? I’m glad someone in my family has this and it’s hereditary or this. And because of using your product, there’s less people. It didn’t hit me.

Kelley Thornton [00:44:22]:

That’s great.

Mario Fachini [00:44:23]:

I think it’s wonderful what you’re doing.

Kelley Thornton [00:44:25]:

Well, thank you. The thing that reassures me every day and helps me come to work is what our guys, what guys that use our product and they go to teige.com and buy our product, what they say to us is my wife, my mother, my sister, my girlfriend said, what are you doing? That’s different?

Mario Fachini [00:44:47]:

They can tell the difference.

Kelley Thornton [00:44:48]:

Tell the difference. And we hear that almost every day. Matter of fact, we just asked guys to send us yesterday pictures before and after pictures of their use, and we got 110 people send us an email today, which is that’s a lot, right? I mean, it’s a lot of people when you ask yesterday from yesterday today showing before and after pictures. And they took the effort of taking a picture before they started using our product and 30 days after it took a picture. So those are the things that make me feel so proud of what we’re doing here. We have a wall of quotes in our kitchen area, and there’s a man that describes kind of a sad story, but describes how he has had testicular cancer. He’s fine now, but he really struggled for quite a while fighting testicular cancer. And he said the only time he felt natural, he felt things were right in his life, was the few moments in the morning that he took care of his skin and the few moments before he went to bed that he felt like and that part of his routine felt like was the time during the day he had most control.

Mario Fachini [00:46:06]:

Still felt good.

Kelley Thornton [00:46:07]:

He still felt good about himself. And that one quote has stuck with me for a couple of years. It’s just the power of what it is when you feel good about yourself.

Mario Fachini [00:46:17]:

Wow. Well, thank you for sharing everything you have. I wish you the best. And here’s to that 2 million boxes and beyond, and I look forward to staying in contact and seeing your progress. You’re only six years into it, so I know it’s going to keep going.

Kelley Thornton [00:46:33]:

Thanks, Mario, I appreciate that.

Mario Fachini [00:46:35]:

All right. Expert, authority, world. We have another great episode here today. I’ll see you on the next one. Have a great day and God bless.

Sponsor – EAPublishingMethodBook.com [00:46:44]:

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Thanks for listening to today’s episode. I would love to know what you enjoyed most from it. If you haven’t done so already, I invite you to connect with me on my new LinkedIn. You can go to it directly@eainerviews.com. LinkedIn. Once again, that’s Eainerviews.com LinkedIn. Lastly, check out the full Eainerviews.com site for complete show notes, the full interview, video experience, links to the resources we mentioned, and more. Have a blessed day and I’ll see you on the next one.