Greener Beauty was founded by Vic Wood in 2018 with the vision of creating a truly ethical beauty business. Read on to hear from Vic about why she uses Capital on Tap as well as the joys and challenges of scaling a small business with purpose.
Tell us a bit about Greener Beauty
We’re an online retailer who specialises in sourcing different brands of the best vegan, cruelty free, ethical, and natural products. We sell makeup, skincare, body care - anything and everything beauty related! But the core of my business is its ethics, I pride myself on having a truly ethical business. Greener Beauty was born out of my personal frustration at not being able to find these ethical products in one place, so I decided to create it!
How do you operate an ethical business?
When we’re finding brands to work with, we’re usually either contacted by them or we reach out to them ourselves. However, we test every single thing we sell in-house first! We’re sent the products or samples of them, which we then personally test against our own criteria. This consists of things like:
- Is it enjoyable to use?
- Does it smell nice?
- Does it do what it says on the tin?
- Is it good value for money?
- And more!
Whether it’s a more expensive brand or a cheaper alternative, they all go through the same process. We of course also confirm that they are cruelty free, review the ingredients and then decide whether they’ve passed. I would estimate only 40% of brands actually get through our testing requirements because we place so much emphasis on the trust our customers give us.
Why Capital on Tap?
At the time I was just comparing different cards and I needed the flexibility of being able to access company cards. For example, one of my employees took our orders to the post office every day so it made life easier for them to have their own card to do that with. A lot of other more traditional banks made it harder for businesses to have multiple cards, so that was the biggest draw for me. The rewards are also great and everything is easy to use.
How has Capital on Tap helped you?
I mean cash flow is definitely a challenge, and it’s always very challenging for a new business to get funding, especially when you have to prove that what you’re doing works! For a product-based business as you buy product and sell it, you then need to start restocking the product, but you also need the money in the bank to do so. It’s a balancing act for product-based businesses, so it’s massively helped that I always have my Capital on Tap card to rely on.
What do you think is the most significant challenge facing small businesses today?
There are so many things going on at the moment. But as a product-based beauty business, our biggest challenge is being price competitive. We’re up against some of the bigger beauty competitors who are able to buy in bulk and access discounts for doing so. However, because of our business model, we’ve built a strong client base who want to shop ethically and trust us to help them do so.
What's your top tip as a small business owner?
One of my favourite quotes that I have on the wall in my office is, “The slowest trees to grow bear the best fruit.” It's true of businesses too, very few businesses are overnight successes. Although some are, the majority are hard work - you can’t just plant some seeds and expect to harvest the next day. There are always bumps in the road, an important one for me is that we’ve revamped our website several times before getting it to the place it is now. So I would advise a small business just starting up like my own to put more funding into getting your website right first round.
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The Capital on Tap Business Credit Card is an all-in-one small business credit card and spend management platform. Access funding to take your business further, manage cards for your employees, and earn cashback, travel, and gift card rewards - all built with the small business owner in mind.
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