Nechami Tenenbaum: How Word of Mouth Marketing Has Grown her Business
Welcome to the Course Creator Series, where you can learn directly from experienced course creators on how you can monetize and grow your online business.
I’m your host, Dr. Destini Copp and I help entrepreneurs reduce their reliance on 1:1 services or agency type work and scale their digital product revenue. Today, I had the pleasure of interviewing Nechami Tenenbaum.
Nechami Tenenbaum is the Founder & CEO of Karmelacosmetics.com, a high-performance, long lasting, silk-matte lipstick brand, flattering for all skin tones, and dedicated to supporting women's healing and empowerment.
Her other passion is Marketing & Image Consulting, and beauty advisor, for both friends and followers alike! Her podcast “We Are Women,” is a show where women speak their truth and celebrate their victories. Nechami has been featured on Fox, NBC, The Ed Kalegi Show, and more.
Please tell us about your business.
I started my cosmetics brand a little over three years ago and pivoted into Marketing and Image Consulting once the pandemic hit. For close to a decade, I had been helping my friends and family members with business and marketing advice, based on my experience and MBA in Marketing.
I officially started marketing myself and working with clients once the pandemic hit. I started getting requests from female entrepreneurs who saw how I built my business from ground zero and wanted some guidance in learning how to up-level their own business and marketing.
I work primarily with women and help guide them in actualizing their ideal self-image and assisting them in using their personality types to discover the most aligned marketing and business strategies that will invite success.
I work from a holistic marketing and business approach. Business and marketing is an all-encompassing experience, where our internal beliefs and experiences are reflected in our business.
Therefore, I work with my clients to actualize their external image, business, marketing, etc., with their internal beliefs, comfort levels, and what resonates with them.
Start at the beginning of your journey. What were things like for you? How did you feel? What was keeping you up at night?
At the beginning of my journey, as I began working with clients, I started noticing how often my clients had misconceptions about what they had to do, based on what they had read, seen, or heard from others they had worked with past.
I wanted to spread the word and educate people on how aligning and resonating with your strategies and enjoying the process is crucial for success.
What are the top three mistakes you made in your entrepreneurial journey, and what would you do differently?
Listening to “professionals” who claimed to know the one way which leads to success. I would have tuned in to what resonated with me instead of trying to implement strategies that didn’t align with me just because so-called “professionals” claimed that those specific actions were the right things to do. At this point, I am careful to follow strategies that resonate with me and not to do something just because I’m told.
Not taking enough breaks! As entrepreneurs, our work is truly never done. There’s always something to do, an email to send, strategies to implement, etc. I would have given myself more time off. It’s essential to be aware of yourself, your needs, and give yourself a break, whether it’s a day or afternoon or even an hour (!) off when needed.
Waiting for the huge milestones to celebrate instead of celebrating the small wins. Now I celebrate each milestone and small step in my business because each small step leads me closer to my goal.
Please tell us about your marketing? What has worked for you? What hasn’t worked for you?
Word of mouth has been the best marketing for me. When clients experience results with me, they tell their friends and family members, which has opened up new opportunities for me and my courses.
Social media marketing has also generated clients for my courses. Instagram is a great way to allow potential clients to get a glimpse of the value I can offer them.
What hasn’t worked for me is trying different random marketing strategies which don’t resonate with me, just because I was told to do it.
As I mentioned earlier, it’s crucial to resonate with the marketing strategies that you chose, or else there’s nothing keeping you motivated to implement them.
What is your top traffic source, and why do you think it’s working for you?
Instagram is my top traffic source. I believe that it’s working for me because people are always looking to learn and to gain more inspiration on Instagram. It’s also an excellent way for me to showcase my expertise and a simple way for people to learn a bit about me and my personality to see if they would like to work with me.
As I mentioned earlier, word of mouth has been a great source of traffic for me. There’s something about hearing other people’s experiences and getting a recommendation from a trustworthy friend that motivates us to want to purchase the product or service.
Many new small business owners jump right into creating complicated marketing strategies or traffic sources, but it’s important not to discredit old-fashioned marketing techniques.
What are some of the best ways you’ve found students for your online course(s)?
As I mentioned earlier, most of my clients have come to me via word of mouth or Instagram.
I’ve gained traction via Facebook groups as well. The great thing about Facebook groups is that they are often targeted to specific niches, so if you’re looking to target a particular niche that hangs out in Facebook groups, this might be a great way to find your ideal clients.
What is your entrepreneurial life like today? What pain points have vanished?
At the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey, I felt that I had to present myself a certain way (especially on social media), stay super professional, and act the way people expected me to act. As I evolved along with my business, I noticed that the more I presented myself as the raw version of myself, with complete authenticity, the more success I generated.
Authenticity and aligning with everything you do in your business is one of the main tools I utilize with my clients/students. I have them dive into their strengths and personality types and work off their strengths to highlight themselves as their most authentic, best selves. We then build a personal brand with a strong foundation built on complete marketing authenticity that resonates with my clients.
Have you pivoted in your business?
Absolutely. At the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey, I worked primarily on my beauty line, which is focused on giving back to women's healing and empowerment. Now I empower women and help them see success in their businesses through my Marketing and Image Consulting.
What are your best tips for growing your online course business organically?
First of all, never underestimate the power of word of mouth in advertising. Ask your friends and family to spread the word about what you’re doing and the value you offer your clients.
Second, I can’t stress enough the importance of keeping your current clients happy. One of the best pieces of advice that a mentor once told me is the importance of overdelivering. Whatever you promise, overdeliver on your promise.
Exceed your client's expectations, surprise them with the amount of value they receive. When you give them more than they expect, they’ll be so thrilled with your services that they’ll return to you when they are looking to grow and will most definitely share your business with their friends and family.
Last, don’t be afraid to show your personality, who you truly are, in your marketing, on your social media platforms, and when you work with your clients. Your ideal clients will love you for who you are and be drawn to you when they see you as your authentic, amazing self!
If you had $1,000 to spend on marketing next month, what would you spend it on?
Since Instagram is one of my favorite marketing tools, I would spend it on boosting Instagram posts to reach new clients.
How do you stay focused and productive in your business? What advice do you have for new entrepreneurs?
I stay focused and productive on my business by making it a point to focus on my goals, my “why,” and the greater impact I hope to achieve with my business. I also create short-term goals and long-term goals because these short-term goals create momentum in my business, help remind me of my accomplishments, and encourage me to reach new goals.
My advice for new entrepreneurs would be to create short-term, attainable goals, and as you accomplish each one, celebrate it! You deserve it!
It’s also super important to have a solid “why” for your business, discover what motivates you, the changes you wish to see in the world and your personal life, and the impact your business will have on you, your family, and the world at large.
What do you see as the next steps for your online course business?
I offer group courses; however, at this point, I primarily work one on one with clients. I love the individualized programs and personalized attention that I can offer when I work one on one with my clients. My next steps are to continue to create courses that provide business owners the unique guidance to help them achieve their business dreams.
What is your favorite quote or business book?
“You Are a Badass at Making Money” by Jen Sincero is my favorite business book because of the mindset aspect. It has made such a difference in how I view money, attracting abundance, and my financial decisions.
When we work from a forward-looking and abundance mentality, we can attract people and opportunities into our lives that we could never have dreamed of.
What are the top three tools you use in your online course business that you can’t live without and why?
Making lists is number one. I create lists, not only for things that I want to accomplish during the day but also as my business grows, and I add additional resources and components to my programs.
Zoom is great for hosting meetings, especially if your clients are from a different country. If you’re someone who works one on one with clients, you can use Zoom at no cost (via the basic plan) and speak for as long as you’d like without the complications of a long-distance phone call.
I utilize Photoshop as a means to keep my content on brand. Canva is also an excellent tool for beginners who are not familiar with Photoshop. Photoshop was a learning curve for me, but I’ve gotten used to it at this point, and it’s working well for me. My fonts and brand colors are stored in the program, and I love the background filters I’m able to add to my pictures to spice things up.
What advice do you have for other online course creators or entrepreneurs out there?
As cliché as this may sound, the best way to succeed in business is to focus on being the best version of yourself. Don’t try to copy the strategies that other entrepreneurs are doing because you heard that it is the way to do it. What works for them may not work for you, and what works for you might not work for them.
I’m passionate about working with my clients from a holistic standpoint, where we incorporate strategies utilizing their personality types and what resonates with them. I’ve seen so many entrepreneurs, including my clients, begin to see success once they dialed into the strategies and tools that aligned with them.
Follow your own individual path, work with your personality type, what resonates with you, and you’ll be on the road to success.
How can people find you to learn more?
Head over to my website: https://www.nechami.com/ and read more about me and my Marketing & Image Consulting passion, or check out our brand website: https://karmelacosmetics.com/
I would love to connect via social as well! Instagram: @Nechamit or @Karmelacosmetics, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karmelacosmetics or https://www.facebook.com/nechami.tenenbaum/
Thanks for sharing your experience with us!