Why it is quite lonely to start a business!
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Every week we’ll sit around the kitchen table of a different impact entrepreneur to discover their secrets, to see how they live and, not unimportantly, to score a free meal. ;-)
This week: Frances founder of the 100% natural perfume label Abel
When Frances and her husband Dave moved from New Zealand to the Netherlands, she finds a job in no time. However, when she sits next to the canals during lunchtime one day, Frances told Dave: ‘I don’t care what you say; I am quitting my job. I have to do this.’ Her husband on the other side, a more risk-averse person, knows he cannot stop her. And so Abel was born.
The perfume label is unruly because Frances is a woman who is not afraid to make her own decisions. Abel is the only one who dares to share the list of ingredients on the label. Why? Frances: ‘I really hate lack of information.’ Most perfume makers only put ‘fragrance’ on the label since the compound of ingredients doesn’t have to be revealed. Possible result: a ban on lavender, since 0,02% of the population is allergic to this herb. Frances: ‘So instead of listing lavender on the label, the industry will ban the whole use of it.’
Frances is an outsider, somebody who doesn’t obey the prevailing rules. This can make her feel a bit lonely. ‘It is a stigma: perfume is an art and it is not a proper art if you are only working with naturals. The industry thinks organic is boring.’ Because Frances is only using natural ingredients, the pallet of usable fragrances is limited. Difficult, maybe, but not a problem for her: ‘We get the chance to work with some of these amazing ingredients instead of having to work with the cheapest, shittiest synthetics.’
In order to develop her perfume, Frances had the advantage to think freely. ‘Instead of asking ourselves: whom do we have in our network? We asked ourselves: who is a perfumer that fits our mindset?’ Isaac Sinclair, master perfumer, is on the top of that list. But connecting turns out to be more challenging than expected. Frances refuses to give up: ‘I stalked Isaac until I got to talk to him.’ He gets excited about the brand. Since Isaac is living in Sao Paolo, they don’t meet very often. But as soon as he is in Paris, Frances pays him a visit.
Abel starts with the lowest possible investment, which contributes to the feeling of loneliness. ‘For example our designer worked outside business hours only’ Luckily, Abel grows quickly and these days, Frances has surrounded herself with a whole team. She has weekly meetings with her husband Dave and the fulltimers Elise & Charlotte, who help with all the practical details of Abel. Dave: ‘She needed to feel she is part of a team.’ Frances nods, adding: ‘I need a little bit of feedback, otherwise I get crazy.’
Last year was an important period for Abel. Frances, who still works from home, openly asked herself: ‘Would working out of our living room for the coming five years make me happy?’ The answer turned out to be negative. Dave and Frances decided to sell their house in New Zealand. With part of this money they’ve worked really hard on improving the quality, and making a full range so there’s something in there for everyone. We kind of realized that if we don’t make some changes, we will stay super small.’
Twentie Four follows entrepreneurs that make an impact. We share the stories of these innovative entrepreneurs who earn their money by solving a world problem. We all have twenty-four hours in one day. How do you spend your Twentie Four?
