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I wrote a 9-part series about building a consumer brand from scratch and running it for over five years. This was my first full-time entrepreneurial venture (I had two side hustles before this.) Here’s what building The Radiant Rhino actually taught me: 1. Selling is the most important skill in business. If you can’t sell, it’s not a business. It’s a hobby. And a rather expensive one. 2. It’s not about having all the resources. It’s about being resourceful. Money, time, conne

I’ve sold online (Amazon and my own website), to smaller retailers, pitched national giants like Walmart and Whole Foods, and eventually sold outside of North America in Taiwan. That last part surprised a lot of people. Customer acquisition costs in North America were climbing faster than my caffeine intake, while demand overseas was quietly exploding. Taiwan turned out to be a very real opportunity. It was not, however, easy. The purchase order was large. And no one in North

One of the biggest lessons I learned while doing trade shows for The Radiant Rhino is this: You cannot just stand in your booth and hope sales magically happen. You actually have to lure people in. Politely. Repeatedly. With enthusiasm you did not know you had. This photo is from one of the trade shows I did in New York City (NY NOW®). For several days straight, I said, “Would you like to smell our shower steamers?” to well over 1,000 people walking past my booth. By the time

The Radiant Rhino was featured in major publications like The Today Show, Yahoo!, Byrdie, and InStyle, among others. Yes, I checked. More than once. A few things I learned about PR: 1. Many small businesses should not pay for a publicist. In most cases, you can reach out directly to reporters via email or social media. They need good stories and products just as much as you need coverage. 2. PR adds instant credibility to your brand, but it does not guarantee instant sales. I

One of the biggest mistakes I made as an early entrepreneur was hiring for skills alone. Skills tell you if someone can do the job. Personality tells you how painful it will be to work with them while they do it. It’s like hiring a technically brilliant chef who yells at the staff, ignores recipes, and throws pans. Congratulations: You didn't hire talent; you hired a reality TV show, and now the entire kitchen is in therapy. Five-star skills. One-star personality. We love ski

I spoke to 100+ suppliers around the world. Why? Because this was a new product, no one could make it at scale, at the quality I wanted, and without something going wrong. Some of the things that went wrong: - Products breaking during shipping - Weak scents - And just when I finally found a supplier who could do it at scale… they got sued Streamlining manufacturing took almost a year and a half. Here are a few things I learned about choosing manufacturers: - Never place a lar

Some tips for your first photoshoot: 1.) If you’re bootstrapped, find ways to get high-quality photos without spending a fortune. At this stage, you don’t yet know if the business will gain traction, but in online businesses, photos matter a lot. They’re often the only thing customers see before deciding to buy. It’s a classic catch-22. I worked with a student and an upcoming photographer who did great work at a reasonable cost. You might also have a talented friend, neighbo

Packaging matters whether you sell online or offline, especially in consumer brands. It’s one of the biggest drivers of perceived product value. Translation: same product, better box, suddenly it’s “premium.” You can design it yourself using Canva or similar tools, or hire a freelancer or someone in your network who “knows design.” If you’re doing it yourself, learning how to create packaging mock-ups is essential. Also, fun fact: most of the product images you see online are

For the logo, I wanted a cute rhino with a sparkle and fonts that felt warm and inviting for a primarily female audience. For the brand colors, I wanted something calming. I started on Pinterest, then watched the sunset that evening (Ottawa sunsets are genuinely beautiful, by the way) and landed on this palette. I also learned, for the first time, that some fonts are paid. Apparently, people can create fonts and own them. Who knew. So, I had to choose free ones. Next up: pack

I do not talk enough about what building my first company, The Radiant Rhino, actually taught me. It did not start with a pitch deck. It started with a very specific problem and me wildly underestimating how many decisions one product could create. I loved shower steamers as a quick way to unwind after long days. I also hated almost everything on the market. Weak scents. Poor quality. Mystery stains on my shower floor. Relaxation, but make it stressful. So, I decided to fix i