Joni Rogers-Kante, SeneGence® Founder and CEO, and creator of LipSense, joined Independent Women’s Forum’s Patrice Onwuka for an exclusive chat entitled: “Making Sense of It All: Getting Through COVID-19 and Tapping Your Inner Entrepreneur.”
During this live event, Patrice Onwuka, a senior policy analyst at IWF, spoke with Joni about her career and her business tips for becoming a successful entrepreneur. Listen to this event audio to learn tips from someone who has been in your shoes, and who has built a large enterprise that’s given countless women a platform to create their own businesses, be their own bosses, and change the course of their lives. IWF has turned this live event into a pop-up podcast to provide resources like this to help women impacted by coronavirus pave their own path forward.
Transcript
Beverly Hallberg:
Hey, everyone. It’s Beverly Hallberg. Welcome to a special pop-up episode of She Thinks, your favorite podcast from the Independent Women’s Forum where we talk with women and sometimes men about the policy issues that impact you and the people you care about most. Enjoy.
Patrice:
Hi, everyone. I’m Patrice Onwuka, senior policy analyst at Independent Women’s Forum. Welcome to the Independent Women’s Forum’s special chat, making sense of it all, getting through COVID-19, and tapping your inner entrepreneur. We are thrilled to have you joining us today, looks like many of you for the first time. Hopefully you guys are staying healthy, you’re staying safe wherever you are right now. But, we launched this series of online event to offer women and men that are listening a place to interact, to learn, and to stay connected. Recently, we held our first virtual IWFReads Book Club meetup featuring US ambassador Nikki Haley who talked about her new book, With All Due Respect: Defending America with Grit and Grace.
Last week, we also hosted a virtual briefing on the coronavirus crisis to hear about the safety and security measures being implemented by policy leaders to really keep us safe and to reopen society. These are the kinds of events that the Independent Women’s Forum usually holds in the Washington, DC area, and sometimes in different cities. But as you know, we can’t be together physically. However, we want to bring you digital events, like today, so that we can bring influential people right to you.
Now, looking at this guest list today, I see we’ve got a lot of new names. So let me take 30 seconds just to introduce the Independent Women’s Forum. We are a leading national women’s organization, and we’re dedicated to advancing policies that aren’t just well intended but actually enhance people’s freedom, choices, and well-being. We’re in the room, so to speak, helping to influence some of the policy proposals that are out there, regulatory reforms, and legal challenges of our time. We have a dedicated staff of some of the smartest, sharpest policy, communications, and legal minds in the country.
We also make it a point to champion women from across the country. Women, we want to celebrate their accomplishments and highlight the work that women do to enhance the lives of others. So our special guest today is none other than Joni Rogers-Kante. She is one of these women, and I really look forward to today’s discussion with her and with all of you for the next hour.
Now, if you want to get more involved with the Independent Women’s Forum, please visit our website at IWF.org. You’ll get the latest news, updates, and events that we have going on. And of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t say, follow us on social media, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for all of these events and more. We would love to have you as a friend and hopefully become a supporter.
Okay, everyone. Now, just a couple of housekeeping items for today’s chat. Number one, we want your questions. We’re going to have a Q&A with Joni towards the end of today’s discussion. And if you’d like to submit your question to her, please go to the questions tab where you can submit your questions. If you’re saying, “Okay, Patrice, I don’t see a questions tab,” that’s okay. At the top-right corner of your screen, you should see a caret or an arrow sign. Click on that to expand, and you should see all the different tabs.
Number two, we’re going to have some fun polls that are going to be on right now. There should be a poll tab where you can weigh in on the question of the moment. So we hope that you can also participate and be part of the interactive experience.
Number three. Okay, many of us are working from home. Technology sometimes has hiccups. So if there are any technical difficulties, please bear with us. But, we’re hoping in purple that we will have a smooth experience today with you. But, do be patient if in case something happens.
And finally, most exciting of all, we have door prizes. So at the end of today’s event, we will announce four, count that, four randomly selected winners to receive either a signed copy or Joni’s excellent book, Million Dollar Lips, or a SeneGence product basket full of goodies. Now, if you want to participate, you don’t have to do anything but be here throughout the entire session and chat and stay on to the end to see if you’re going to one of the lucky winners.
Now, with that, let me tell you a little bit about Joni. Joni Rogers-Kante is the founder, CEO, and chairwoman of SeneGence. As the driving force behind the company, she is responsible for guiding the overall vision, product development, marketing, and developing training programs. Joni takes a hands-on approach, coaching distributors directly, speaking at seminars and conferences, as well as hosting trips.
Joni started working for the Sav-On corporation at the age of 16. By the time she was 23, she was the assistant manager of the top store in the chain. She learned from the high-level management corporate structure was not for her. Armed with a vision and her business education, she pursued her dream of becoming an entrepreneur.
Joni was introduced to direct selling cosmetics company and recognized the incredible opportunity this industry offers women. Her 13 yearlong direct selling career produced jewelry, cars, awards, trips, lots of recognition, but more importantly, a burning desire to create a plan for establishing her own company. In 1999, SeneGence opened its doors.
Joni’s also the founder of the nonprofit organization the Make Sense Foundation, which assists women and children in crisis through regular fundraising efforts of SeneGence distributors and donations of sales from those products.
Joni has been recognized with a host of industry business awards. It is our special treat to welcome Joni Kante today. Welcome, Joni.
Joni:
Thank you, Patrice. A pleasure to be here with you and see you again. And before we start, let me just please say thank you to you for all the good works you do on behalf of women everywhere.
Patrice:
Ah, thank you, Joni. We appreciate you spending your afternoon, at least the next 40 minutes, with us. So thank you. Now, let’s get into today’s topic, getting through COVID and tapping your inner entrepreneur. Joni, I think it’s so relevant right now. We have millions of workers who are working from home like we are, but you have 35 million people who are either unemployed or furloughed. And I’m sure a lot of them are thinking to themselves, “Okay, I want to start my own business. I want to be independent.” Or maybe they have a side business that they want to become their full-time enterprise.
What’s interesting, I did some research, an economic downturn is actually a really good time for people to start their business. I think one of the most amazing stories coming out of the recent recession is just how female-owned small businesses escalated. There was a tremendous growth. Let me share just one stat with you and all of our viewers today. From 2007 to 2018, this is during the great recession and afterwards, the number of women-owned businesses surged 58%. Now, that’s just compared to only 12% of all businesses. Today we’ve got 13 million women-owned businesses nationwide. That is amazing. And when we look back at the past, there were only about 5% of women-owned businesses, but today they make up 42%. So I’m thinking of all of your distributors. I’m thinking of your company. These are women who are owning their future, owning their own piece of the pie, so to speak.
Now, we know this economic downturn is a little bit different than the past because our economy is pretty much at a standstill because of measures we’re taking to stop the spread of coronavirus. But that’s why we need to hear from a leader like you, Joni, who has navigated, is navigating, your business through this crisis. So let’s start here. What are you hearing on the ground? What are you hearing from your sellers about this crisis and how it’s affecting their business?
Joni:
Well, our business might be a little unique in that we’re a recession-proof industry, cosmetics, liquor, and tobacco. I wasn’t interested in opening a tobacco or liquor company, so I chose cosmetics. That was primarily because I wanted to make sure as I built a company I was spending my time devoted to business growth that could make it through difficult economic downturns because that I cannot control. I can control, of course, the product line that I represent.
Our distributors, our existing distributors, are doing just fine because of the fact that we are recession-proof and we fit the lipstick index, which is a financial phenomenon that kind of explains when during downturns in the economy, individuals tend to limit their big ticket luxury items purchases, but both men and women will … A woman will order a $25 tube of lipstick instead of buying $150 dress. And a man will buy a luxury shave cream for 20 or $30 instead of a $150 shirt. So we’re good. We’re fine.
But what weighed very heavily on our heart in the beginning of February as we began to hear what the steps were that we were going to have to go through and what the probable outcome of that would be, my husband and I were very concerned about the tens of millions of people who would be left without a way to produce income. So from the very beginning, my core distributors, my leader distributor who have been with me for several years and who have been preparing in multiple ways in supporting women who desire to build a home-based business, we jumped into action. Not only did we change, of course, our product line, which we’ll talk about, but our priority in the Salesforce, of which, of course, there are lots in our 17 countries, our leaders in every country are very set on helping as many women, and men for that matter, but as many women as we possibly can establish a home-based business, whether it be in our company or not.
Lots of people were set home to try to figure out how to work for home. We’ve been doing this for 21 years so we were well ahead of the curve. And completely prepared to contact at least our customers, people that we know, and say and offer to them, “I think right now would be a really good time while you’re at home to establish a backup plan, plan B, because we don’t know what’s going to happen in the economy, and I want to make sure that you have a means in which to provide for your family.” And in fact, we are in the throes of doing that of which we have now helped tens of thousands of new business owners establish a home-based business-
Patrice:
Wow.
Joni:
… since mid March.
Patrice:
That’s good.
Joni:
I’m sorry. Since mid February, actually.
Patrice:
That’s amazing. You’re a great example of how in the midst of crisis entrepreneurs are stepping forward and you’re helping to create those opportunities. I think that’s part of how you’ve been transforming your business. Are there other things that you are doing form a production side or from a product side to help address some of the needs during this COVID crisis?
Joni:
Yes. Our company deals mostly with long-lasting, anti-aging color and skincare. Before the pandemic, we were not in the business of providing to our Salesforce and the end consumer hand sanitizing or washes of any kind. But as we began to realize many of the areas where there would be shortages, I have a fantastic team who it’s run by Philippe Guerreau, the president of our company, who oversees all the international operations. He was able to within our three countries, Canada, Australia, and the United States mostly, to put together a cooperation led by us of third-part vendors who all came together and took a look at what our raw material situation was, what our components were, what our printing capabilities, legal aspects, and very quickly began to formulate and design a hand sanitizer that we had from beginning to end within two weeks. We made that, the hand sanitizer, a priority to get into the hands of each of our distributors. So we began to learn, of course, that our distributors and our customers could no longer access hand sanitizers. So with every order, we send, even today, we send a hand sanitizer to our distributors. We were working on now another phase of it. This is what it looks like, girls. So those of you who are distributors, this is phase two. That will be made available to our distributors at cost to purchase and get to their end consumers who are also having a difficult time getting a hold of hand sanitizers.
Additionally, gosh, we’ve given hundreds of thousands now to police departments, the highway patrol, hospitals, funeral homes, nursing homes, women’s organization that consist of women and children in need, food banks, the military.
You name it. We are just looking for ways to be a part of the solution as fast as we can possibly get there because we know it’s good for our country. We want to help the people who don’t have the means establish a means. And the bigger chunk we can take out of that financially and, of course, as part of the solution to fight the germs, the better off it is for our country. So that’s our mission. That’s what we’re focused on. That’s what we’re going to continue to work on.
We’re about to embark on a huge project within three countries, mainly Australia, Canada, and the US, to get $100 million worth of helpful products into the marketplace to help our first line responders and hospitals combat the problems that they’re having with rashes and-
Patrice:
Oh, interesting.
Joni:
… any kind of problems that the masks are now causing people who have to constantly wear the mask. We can see that they’re in pain. And of course, who better to come up with solutions to help combat that than us?
Patrice:
That’s amazing. I mean, I think that’s a great example of how you’re retooling your business to meet the immediate needs of your local community, of the front line workers. And I think it’s kind of a national call that’s been made. We’ve seen lots of different workers respond and companies respond in that way. As we start to look at reopening society, do you think some of these items are going to remain on your product list? And also, do you anticipate shifting back some of your production into some of your traditional offerings?
Joni:
We will always maintain and carry our core product line. We have the capabilities because we are self-manufacturers and we also use third-party manufacturers on an as-needed basis. So there’s no limit to our capabilities. We’re not concerned with that. Obviously we keep up with that as a daily operational process. However, there is a need for many beneficial and products that work for both adults and children that we are developing right now and that we will certainly introduce into our product line as we move forward because this is not going to go away. It’s going to establish new habits, and we want to make sure these new habits are good for your skin, they’re not drying out your skin. They’re beneficial. You can actually see what the results are and if people are using them correctly or not, mainly children, to help protect them as we move forward. So we’re going to make it fun, of course, and something that everyone should use.
Patrice:
Terrific. Well, I think shifting has been part of your career from the start, and I think it’s a nice segue into talking about you and your personal journey. Tell us, where did you begin and how did you get into the direct marketing world, the cosmetics world? Just tell us about your career.
Joni:
Okay. Well, you’re right. I started as a teenager working alongside my father, my stepfather, Jerry Hight, who was the senior executive vice president of merchandising for CVS. It was a period of time when they took, I think, about 30 stores and expanded to over 300.
I had the privilege of working with my father side by side building these stores during my breaks in school. And I was introduced to likes of people like, oh, the president of Colgate-Palmolive, or Stewart Johnson, or Twinlabs, and all those big brand companies that have products in drug stores and that was the means in which they, of course, sold their products. So we’d start early in the morning, 6:00 in the morning, and work till midnight day, after day, after day. What better education could you get? I was just so blessed in that opportunity having just come from Oklahoma on a farm and then to be in that home to have that type of exposure at such a young age.
Well, that exposure also gave me an insight into what it took from these individuals who were at the heights of their career, what it took for them year, and after year, after year, after year to get there. And I have figured out at that age, my young age, I’d make the same decision today, in fact, even faster, that there was no way that I was going to work 16 and 18 hours a day for 10, 15 years to be at the top of my game because I wanted to be a wife and a mother. I already knew that. So I resigned, setting off to start my own company. But, frankly, I didn’t have a lot of money. I was still in school, so I joined a girlfriend’s company that she was representing, Mary Kay Cosmetics. And I fell in love with Mary Kay’s concept and had the privilege of attending many trainings with her, being trained by her.
She was an amazing humanitarian, a very no-nonsense kind of gal. Get it done, honey. There’s no excuses. She was lovely. Had big hair, too. She really set the path and showed the way where that you can build a true business with love and kindness. And you can build the business using flexible hours so that you could keep your priorities if your priority was to stay home and be with your family and be at home with your husband and just do the home thing and work smart and work to the top of your game, game so to speak, so you can become your own CEO.
So, I did that for a while. And as I was doing it, fully engaged, I realized that there were some big tweaks that I’d like to make for me just because I could. I said, “Well, gee, I’d really rather go this way instead of that way. And I’d rather represent this product line instead of this one.” So at a point where I ultimately was a single mother, decided I had nothing to lose, so I wrote a business plan, it took about five years, for my perfect company. And my perfect company is today SeneGence.
Patrice:
Wow.
Joni:
That in a nutshell is what happened.
Patrice:
Wow. That’s amazing. I hear you even had a pink Cadillac. Is that correct?
Joni:
That is correct.
Patrice:
Well, it sounds like you took a lot away from your years while you were working for Mary Kay. And you hit on a key aspect of the workforce that we at Independent Women’s Forum love to highlight, which is flexibility. And for women, very often who are caretakers for their children or maybe an aging parent, they’re looking for greater flexibility and the working opportunities in the workforce.
Patrice:
Now, thinking about SeneGence, how did you come up with the concept for the company? Because it’s very different from Mary Kay, particularly around the products that you produce.
Joni:
Well, as I was holding my young son, Allan, in my arms when he was just a baby, what do babies do? You’re about to find out again, Patrice.
Patrice:
Yeah. I am.
Joni:
With your second child. Congratulations.
Patrice:
Thank you.
Joni:
They play with your face, right?
Patrice:
Yes.
Joni:
And then if you’re wearing cosmetics, your cosmetics are everywhere so you have to constantly primp. And how much time during the day do we waste primping? So I thought, “Gosh, why can’t someone create a product line that actually stays on?” And if it’s going to stay on, it better make your skin more beautiful. So we were the first company to introduce our patented long-lasting color technology and anti-aging skincare. Our color is skincare, so it all blends together. So you have this on your face 24 hours a say whether it be just the skincare or the skincare with the color-
Patrice:
Wow.
Joni:
… that you see now on my face so it all stays on, which, by the way, makes it perfect for masks if you think about it.
Patrice:
Yes. Right.
Joni:
We have lots of nurses who join our company. So the flexibility issue had to be, of course, a main component of that in a way where that a woman could truly build a career based upon what their desires were, to step in and represent a product line and make great money just selling the product, whatever great money means to every single individual. I mean, we have very part-timers, and we have full-time career girls who do tons. And that alone should suffice, just representing a product that really works so that our flexible women who have full-time jobs can make additional income on the weekends or maybe at night through social media resources just to take the kids on vacation or to pay the electrical bill, for the underpaid, actually, employed the underpaid employed, to those people, of course, who want to work a 10 hours a week and become the CEO of their own organizations with organizations from all of our 17 countries.
People within every one of those countries running multimillion dollars in a business operations. So it had to be flexible based upon what the desire of every single woman was. And I think about right now how many millions are at home. And Patrice, I woke up this morning thinking about what a privilege it is for me, a true honor and a blessing, for me to be able to watch from the front row how people step into an idea with an excitement and also a hesitation because they don’t know if it will succeed or if they can do it, if they have what it takes to do it, and to actually watch that transformation happen because they were willing to take the first step.
Then, that first step leads to the next and the next one, and you just watch people blossom into the individual that God made them to be because they’re building their confidence. They’re building personal skillsets. And that affects every area of their life. It affects the way that they treat their children, the way they kiss their husband, the interaction that they have with friends, the contributions they make to society. It’s just so very important.
Patrice:
Well, and it’s funny, Joni. We were on a panel, a congressional panel, here in Washington last fall together talking about how women make those choices around fulfillment, around what’s important to them, whether that’s family, and what it does for their self-esteem, but why we don’t all fit into the same one-size-fits-all box when it comes to what we want and how that has impacts on things like wages women make and whether the wage gap exists. I mean, we got into a good explanation of why women make choices in the labor force because of those different priorities, things that are important for them. And for women who want to be entrepreneurs, I mean, it’s fantastic.
Now, I think this is a great segue. You talked about being at the front seat of seeing people come forward as entrepreneurs and taking that first step. What are some of the ways that you would recommend people build their businesses from home right now? What are one or two things they can do?
Joni:
Well, to be honest, to build one right now, because I think it’s absolutely imminent that these millions of underemployed and millions of individuals who are now filing for financial support put a means in place immediately where that they can begin to earn income. So right now, I would take a look at finding a product line that you are passionate about, one that you would be proud to represent and utilize the tools that they have already built.
I mean, it takes a ton of time, as you know, Patrice, to build a business. It’s taken us 20 years and hundreds of millions of dollars to develop all the systems and processes that are required. So I would take a look at a ready-made business, meaning a franchise. Franchises can cost up to about a million dollars. I really highly recommend direct sales because the companies, the core businesses have already provided those tools. And right now, well, within our company it’s free to sign up and represent our product line. And I’m sure other direct selling companies have provided that. Then, and only immediately, you can represent that product and begin to earn at least sales income from representing that product line.
If you want to take a little more time establishing a business from your home, then I would immediately put together a website and figure out what product it is you’re passionate about. Then, join as many groups as you can on to your social media platforms and begin to talk about it. You’re not going to move forward. Nothing happens until the sale begins. So as long as you have it, you have a means to create it. Get the website, start talking about it, and see what happens. If it’s a good product and the product can stand on its own in the marketplace, you’re going to be a success.
Patrice:
Those are two good pieces of advice. And as someone who’s on Instagram very regularly, Joni, I’m always getting ads about eyelashes, lipstick, makeup. And I know they’re coming from people who are just are passionate about what they believe in and are willing to put their reputation on the line for that. This is an interesting question. How much of entrepreneurship is learned through just experience in running a business versus what you learn in school, like actually going to college and getting an MBA, or is just innate, that instinct that you have? Is there a balance that you have to have as an entrepreneur or can you just have it all or do you need to be … Should you be going to school? Should you be trying to invest in taking classes? Tell us.
Joni:
Well, Patrice, I’m glad you asked that question because it’s complicated. I have to say that I’m pretty sure I am the only person on staff that in SeneGence that does not have a college degree because we hired degreed people who many have masters. Of course we have some doctors. Wow. I mean, very well-educated people. But, I find it interesting that I’m the one who doesn’t have the college education. In fact, when I was going to college, I discussed leaving college with my stepfather because at that time I was studying business and the colleges were teaching from old textbooks about carrying inventory in a way that was no longer relevant. CVS was one of the first chain stores to go to centralized warehousing, and they weren’t teaching that in classes.
I said, “Dad, I’m wasting my time and my money. This is not what I want to get a degree in. Or I might get the degree, but I’m not going to learn anything. I’m learning something better here.” He said, “If you quit, you have to make it on your own,” and meaning that I had to go out and make my own way and educate myself. We agreed, yes, I would do that. And at that point, that’s when I resigned and entered into the world of direct sales.
Now, I think I was meant to go into direct sales in the whole scheme of things because it felt … It just resonated with my character so it was a perfect fit. When you look back along back 40 years of career, then you can see how one door opened, and you walked through that, and it went to the other which eventually evolved into the life that you now live. And I was just blessed at many points in the way.
So that being said, I’ve also done the prudent thing, which is that I have hired mentors that I have paid for to help guide me through certain levels of development and professional achievement. I have had good friends who have given me great advice for free. And I’ve also sought … I’ve read hundreds of books, if not thousands. And I think the most helpful one truly is the old book, Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich. It outlines the 13 characteristics you must acquire, you must develop within yourself to become successful.
I avoided reading it for years because of the title, Think and Grow Rich, and growing rich was not my journey. Making a contribution to the world was my journey. But, Mary Kay Ash personally told me to read it. I went to the bookstore that night. I read it. It changed my life. I used it as a text for years until I learned and knew that I possessed those 13 characteristics. And that means you can now be successful at whatever you choose to be successful, whether it be a great wife, a great mom, a great friend, great business woman. That book tells you physically and mentally how to do it.
Patrice:
Wow. Think and Grow Rich you said. Can you repeat the name of the book for everyone who’s listening?
Joni:
Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich.
Patrice:
That’s a good tip. I’m going to pick up that book. I think that sounds very transformational.
Joni:
You’ll love it.
Patrice:
Okay, okay. I’m going to look for it here. I’m just going through my questions, and there’s some interesting ones. We’ll get to the audience questions. Thank you so much for those who’ve been submitting them. I’m getting them. We’re going to do some Q&A in about 10 minutes or so, but I want to dig in a little bit more with Joni here. Talk to us a little bit about direct selling. Do you think that females, that women have a special unique advantage in direct sales and in entrepreneurship? Because very often, we see that sometimes business leaders are painted as male and women have to fit a certain mold to be successful. We know that’s not the case, but do you see that women have some unique qualities, contributions, things that they can bring to the table that would help them to propel to be successful in the business world, whatever their entrepreneurial enterprise looks like?
Joni:
I believe that both men and women can learn the skills that they need to apply towards the industry that they have chosen and the group of people that they have to become a part of to succeed within that industry through teamwork and cooperation. But, it comes down to what do you want to do. Where do you want to put your skillsets and your energy? How do you want to spend your day? What kind of contribution do you want to make?
So, as it applies to women, I think that leadership by a woman … And I can’t exclude men because I think it’s possible for men, too. But, I believe that women tend to lead more with their heart. Or maybe I just think that because I know that you cannot lead unless built on truth. If every decision you make is not built on truth, then the decision and the effect of it will not last. So why even bother? Don’t bother. Just build on truth. And I think it’s easier for us to get in touch with our feminine heart and our feelings and understand and really analyze what is beneficial for this person. Is it as equally as beneficial to the other? Because you never make a deal that is not a 50-50 deal. Both have to be equally of benefit from any decision made. I think that that is critical as opposed to going after …
I said just a few minutes ago becoming rich was not my journey. I think that when many people start a business, that is their primary goal. They make decisions based upon what brings about the greatest amount of money and profit. We do not make decisions that way. We make decisions based upon what is good for the company and what is good for our distributor. And each of those have to be beneficial equally, not one over the other. So when women have an understanding of that’s how that culture works, then it’s easier to build a unit that moves in unison forward together because they know that what’s beneficial over here is also beneficial over here, and together merge together benefiting equally, then they will become greater than its sum. It’s like one plus one equals five. So because decisions at our company are not made in a way where we make the greatest income, the greatest profit, I think ultimately it leads to that, or it has proven to lead to that, for everyone who’s actually doing the work.
Patrice:
In the nonprofit world, it sounds a lot like mission creed where sometimes organizations they chase the next funding source, they chase the next donor, project, which may or may not really suit their mission, may not be what they’re really intent created to do. But it feels like, well, I can earn that here, so let me try and pursue that. Sounds like what you’re saying is pursue your mission, what you’re created to be, and the profit follows because people see an invested individual who they trust and companies, and organizations, and brands that they trust. These are nuggets, Joni, nuggets of wisdom that you’re not going to hear at a business school. So I’m guessing it is in your inspiring book, Million Dollar Lips. Tell us more about your book and what inspired you to write it.
Joni:
Well, we were growing at such a rate where I didn’t have chance to get my arms around our distributors. So I thought the best thing I could do was to tell them who I was, and who this company is, and where we want to go in a book and how to prepare for success. It really is how to prepare for success, how to look at it, how to organize your home, how to organize your mind and your heart, how to talk to your family and why we’re here, what we’re going to. So, Million Dollar Lips has all of that included in it.
Our mission of our company, it’s kind of like, okay, we’re a cosmetic company, but our mission is to allow women to choose to live life in love and abundance using products that really work through a career path that really works. So we don’t even really mention the detail of the product. It’s a whole process. It’s about our lifestyle and the contribution that we’re making to society within that lifestyle. And the tool that we’re using are products that really work.
When you have products that really work, as probably most products, brands that have been able to be built within 20 years, not 40 years, but within 20 years, when you have a product like that, then it’s a byproduct of what happens. The product is the byproduct. What really happens is the creation of the lifestyle and the impact that you have on your immediate family and society within your community because of this byproduct, this product that you represent generating, of course, all the financial benefits of that that you are then pumping into the community, which now leads me back into that vicious cycle of we’re really about helping America, Canada, Australia get back on its feet, get through this recession, and let’s begin to focus on prosperity for all instead of the anxiety and stress that’s related to the unemployment situation and the underemployed.
Patrice:
Well, it’s a big part of that. And businesses like yours are doing your part in trying to retool, trying to provide services, trying to keep your employees employed, offering opportunities. But, government plays another angle as well in terms of how society functions, as well as how the economy and society gets to reopen. And I’d love to talk just for a minute. I’m going to put on my policy wonk hat and just ask you about what are the policies, maybe one policy, that you think is helpful to encouraging entrepreneurship and one policy you’ve seen, whether maybe current, that can be harmful to entrepreneurship, harmful to people being able to start businesses.
Joni:
Well, let me just say that the fact that we are Americans, and I know Canada, Australia, our other countries offer us the opportunity of freedom so that we can choose to build a business of our own right now. And I’m only saying right now. So I would have to say in general that’s a benefit of the countries that we live in. However, that is being attacked, and it’s being attacked by policies like AB5 in California who recently passed a law, for example, as it applies to truck drivers. Companies may no longer employ independent contractors who are truck drivers. They have to be an employee, which means that those companies get to control taxes. And where do taxes go? Taxes go to the government. What are we constantly trying to balance? The control of the government, and the money that’s fed to the government, and those factions who believe in that, and non control the right of the independent business owner, the private sector feeding those taxes that would be over here into the community to grow the economy and support other people.
So AB5 is very dangerous and, in my estimation, eliminates our ability to choose to run our own business. And if we all have to work for an employer who controls our taxes, then, honestly, I just look at that as mass slavery of government. I mean, that’s the first time I’ve ever really said. But if you don’t have a choice and you have to go to work for X amount of hours and you only earn this much because you have to send the rest of it to the government, then what else is it? So I think we have to be very, very careful on taking a look at who we’re casting our vote for and are they pro business or are they all about big government. You need to do your homework.
Patrice:
Well, for in terms of resources, at the Independent Women’s Forum, we’ve been tracking AB5, this issue in California very closely. We are going to be posting some links to some of the information we put out there. And by the way, we don’t just write thick, long papers. We actually put things together, blog posts, graphics, videos that are really good explainers on some of these issues. But AB5, what’s really concerning as we see it also is it would erode flexible opportunities. It would erode the ability for someone who wants to be independent.
You could be a truck driver. You can also be a speech therapist. You’re seeing people in the music industry being affected by this. And by music industry, I’m not just talking about Rihannas and your Justin Biebers. I’m talking about the people who make their music, the people who … The background singers. So many industries are being affected by this law. And even more concerning, Joni, is that now we have seen AB5 taken to the federal level and introduced into a federal legislation. So we have our hands full.
Us, lots of other organizations around the country trying to highlight how this destroys opportunities for individuals who don’t want to be a payroll employee, who want to be their own business, who want to determine their own schedule, as we talked about flexibility. Maybe it’s the mom who wants to work from 2:00 AM to 5:00 AM writing for a bunch of different newspapers and then in the middle of the day she’s caregiving for her children, taking care of an aging parent. So it erodes those choices that we have as women in the workplace to craft the kind of career that we want to make.
So, thank you for highlighting that. We’ve got lots of resources on that. But, I see our time is fast approaching, and I want to leave time for questions and answers. So I’m going to pull some of these questions that we’ve been getting, Joni. People love you, by the way.
Joni:
Thank you.
Patrice:
They say that you’re fabulous. Here’s one from Meghan L. What’s the best piece of advice you were ever given?
Joni:
Burn my bridges. My stepfather, during that conversation about whether to move forward to go to college, and get a degree, and to stay with his company or not, he said if I’m going to make it on my own, if I’m not going to go to college, if I need to go out there and learn about building a business, then I need to burn my bridges. So I left college and wrote a letter of recognition at the same time so that as I was moving out there learning about what all my options were, because I burnt the bridges, which apparently they do in war.
Patrice:
Ah.
Joni:
The troops will go over a bridge and you burn the bridge so you not retreat. I could not retreat, so I had to find ways to succeed. And I’m so glad I did.
Patrice:
Wow. That is such a new take on that term of burning your bridge, but it makes sense. You’re all in. I love to watch Shark Tank. It’s one of the shows that my husband, and my stepson. and I, we watch very regularly. And those entrepreneurs who are all in, those are the ones who tend to get the investment because the enthusiasm. You see it how passionate they are. Thank you for that answer, Joni. All right. We’ve got one from Michelle B. What helped you most in achieving success in your career?
Joni:
I would have to say my stubbornness in my vision. From a young age, I knew that what I would do was affect lives around the world. I didn’t know what that would look like. And I knew that when I was offered an opportunity, I was to go in and learn all about it, whether it be difficult, or fun, or easy. Didn’t matter. I was supposed to learn all about it. Because once my learning was done, another door would be open that then I was to step through. So my stubbornness to never put that theory by the wayside literally is what has led us to today.
Patrice:
Excellent. We’ve got something else here. Oh, this is a fun one. Which LipSense color best represents your personality?
Joni:
Well, it depends upon whether or not I’m … I wear color for my husband. He loves pink champagne.
But I love violet, which is a darker shade of pink with an undertone of a plum, pinky plum. It’s very pretty.
Patrice:
Excellent. Inquiring minds wanted to know. Just a reminder, folks, we are about to announce the winners of Joni’s book, as well as some fabulous gift baskets featuring some SeneGence products. So just hang on. We’re going to get there in just one moment. I want to take maybe one or two more questions from our audience. And I’m going to take on from Diane K. Just asked, “When writing a business plan, what is the process?”
Joni:
Well, because I literally was broke, I went to a library, and I checked out how to write a business plan book. I read it, and I followed the instructors. Little did I know it would take me five years to learn about the details that I had to learn so I can write it into that business plan. That’s what I did. I followed the instructions.
Patrice:
You know, Joni, you’ve mentioned this before, which is you invest in yourself quite a bit, especially when you were building your business. You read the books. You took the … Well, maybe not classes, but you read books and you learned about different types of aspects of business that you didn’t know before. So it sounds like there’s an element of personal development and personal investment in your development that you recommend for entrepreneurs. Is that fair to say?
Joni:
Absolutely. I not only read how-to books, but I read biographies and spent a lot of time researching the industries that I thought would apply to research and development, manufacturing, accounting, all those kind of things, so it does take … It takes time and effort. And that’s why I say to people who are out of a job right now the best thing to do to make immediate income is to grab a hold of a business that’s already established because you eliminate the time.
Patrice:
Which is a great segue into kind of SeneGence and some of those businesses that are already preexisting. They have the name recognition. You have a ready-made product and a way to get distribution to get that product to your customers. So it sounds like it’s really that relationship building with customers that then allows you to sell to them. All right. I’m going to wrap up with one more question. This is from Michelle V. How did you come up with the name SeneGence?
Joni:
Sene is from senescence, the process of aging. And gence is from intelligence. Intelligent aging or aging intelligently. We really haven’t used it as a tagline, but we probably will one day.
Patrice:
That’s really interesting. I hope that that answers your question. I think it answers a lot of our questions. I mean, I always wonder how business people come up with the names for their products, so okay. Well, I am going to, with no further ado, announce the winners of today’s giveaways. We’ve got four winners, by the way, Joni. Two of them are going to get your autographed book, Million Dollar Lips, and two of them are going to come away with some really nice swag baskets, as the young people say. The first winner is Robin Aman. She’s going to get one of your biggest. And the second winner of your book is Tammy McCoy.
Joni:
Yay!
Patrice:
All right. Then, the winners of the gift baskets. Number one, Brittany Stillwagon. So Brittany, we hope you’re on.
Excellent. And Tara Bell.
Joni:
Yay, Tara!
Patrice:
Joni, this was so much fun. I probably could’ve kept talking with you. I even forgot that there … I don’t know how many people watching us and listening to us now. It felt like a really personal one-on-one conversation. But, you have so much business insight to share. So if you didn’t win one of Joni’s book, we’re still hoping that you go and get a copy and learn from this lady about how she’s … all the things she’s learned over her career and building this business. And Joni, thank you for being a leader in the cosmetics space, as a woman entrepreneur, and also from the policy standpoint being able to really bridge the gap between policy and business and giving us insights into what’s important and what we need to keep our eyes on. So thank you for giving us an hour of your time today.
Joni:
Well, thank you, Patrice. And you know, I think what you’re doing is so very important. My husband and I are in Washington, DC working on those same issues, at least once a month before this situation happened, and we will continue our work in that effort, as will you I know, until we can no longer. Because it’s so important. It’s important not only to us as individuals, it’s important to our countries and particularly the way that our government works. So I thank you for your unending dedication to this effort. And it was my great pleasure and honor to be with you today. Thank you.
Patrice:
Thank you, Joni. And that those things go to the entire staff at the Independent Women’s Forum. So everybody, thank you for joining us today. We are going to make sure that this video is fully available for those who’d like to watch again, share with family and friends. Definitely will be available.
Also, couple of teasers. Don’t miss our next virtual event. Be sure to sign up for our updates. We are going to have our next virtual event like this on May 29th. It is our #IWFReadsbookclub, and we’re going to be reading Finding the Bright Side by Fox News host Shannon Bream. This event is going to be hosted by one of my colleagues at Independent Women’s Forum. She’s also a senior policy analyst, Kelsey Bolar.
And I’ve got a very special announcement. This is very related to just the workforce. Next week, Independent Women’s Forum is going to be launching Chasing Work. You ask, what is Chasing Work? Well, it’s a national storytelling campaign talking about how overregulation of our employment world can really eliminate working opportunities for people. What we’ve done is we’ve fanned out across the country and talked to men and women who have been held back from work from opportunities because of occupational licenses and other types of employment regulations, everyone from social workers to medical professionals.
This is going to be a storytelling campaign, as I said. We’ll have videos. We’ll have written profiles. We’ll have an opportunity for you to dive into someone else’s life to understand an issue. And you know what? You may be surprised. It may be an issue that your family member has dealt with, that you yourself has dealt with. And so you can share those videos, share those profiles, and even submit your own stories.
Finally, please visit IWF.org. Sign up again to receive our latest news and updates, as well as events. And be sure follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook. We’ve got a lot of smart policy, and legal, and communications women who are out here telling the story of America and how we can continue to unleash opportunity and freedom for Americans every single day. So everyone, thank you again for spending your lunchtime hour with us, and we hope to see you soon.