Nikki Peters
We sat down with Women to Women Network member Nikki Peters of Monat Haircare, and here's what she had to say…
Who are your clients/customers?
My products are for the entire family. I tend to network and connect with women, which helps me to reach spouses, children, pets, and more. While our products may start in women's hands, they expand out to the entire family.
How do you help your clients/customers?
There are two sides to what I do, and I feel like I have two different hats that I wear depending on what side I'm on. If I'm working with the product side, I'm passionate about our anti-aging line. Our main goal is to help regrow hair. Women come across many reasons why they may have lost hair, like postpartum hormones, thyroid disorders, chemo, and more. Men tend to lose hair as they age, so our products are great for them, too. Being able to help my customers regrow hair after a medical condition, like COVID hair loss, for example, has been rewarding for me.
The other side is running my business. Our company started seven years ago in the haircare realm, where we have styling products, shampoo, conditioner, and treatments. Two years ago, we expanded out to skincare. Last year, we expanded to wellness. It's great to have grown to focus on whole-body health. We have a vast selection of protein powder, collagen greens, probiotics, and immune support in addition to our kid and pet lines. We help from the inside out.
What brought you to this line of work?
It was very much accidental. I had a girlfriend who offered me a sample, and I said, "Sure, I'll try it." I fell in love with the product. I have an autoimmune disorder, so I had hair loss and thinning, and I could never grow my hair long. I started using the product as a customer, and I'm very frugal, so I signed up to be a market partner to get a more significant discount. At that time, I had zero desire to do the business, but my hair was changing, and people were noticing and asking questions about it. I had a link that I could share, so I did. All of a sudden, I started making money. I've never done direct sales before, so I was surprised to see what could happen with so little effort.
I used to have my own postpartum doula business and worked in reproductive medicine. I ran a moms group at a local hospital, so my plate was full. Shampoo was not on my radar. With the pandemic, I lost my job after seven years. I could no longer be in people's houses as a postpartum doula or work at the hospital. I had all this time on my hands, and it was not a time where you could go and find another job as you would typically do if you were to get laid off.
I had this side hustle, and you know what? I'm an intelligent businesswoman. Suddenly I had a business that could be completely run online. I taught myself and decided to go all in. That year, I exploded, made it to the top 1% of my company, and earned a Cadillac. Two years later, this is what I do full time. I mentor a very big team, and I could never even imagine going back to work for anybody else.
What brings you joy?
The business side of what I do is my focus. I am very blessed to be a type A personality. I'm very organized. I didn't go to school for marketing or business, but I've been able to pick up on it quickly, and I found that I am good at developing websites and helping people with their time management skills and systems. I've realized I can share these natural gifts and talents with my team. Being able to help people think about their time in a different way is rewarding for me. I've helped my teammates to get out of situations where they weren't happy and quit their grueling day jobs. Together, we work smarter, not harder.
What defines you and your business?
I'm the kind of person that finds new solutions to problems. I was never a traditional doula and don't run my shampoo business the traditional MLM way either. I've talked with many business owners about how they run their teams or find their customers, and I am always trying to think outside the box. One unique thing that our team does is called "borrow baskets." Most people that have a product will do samples, but I like to get full-size products in people's hands. I feel like nothing life-changing happens after one wash, so we give full-size products to people very trustingly for about two weeks to give them time to get a good sense of it for free. No strings attached. All I hope for is feedback, so I can be sure I'm giving the perfect recommendation. I figure if they like it but can't afford it, they may spread the word to someone who can.
Another way I do things differently is that I enjoy networking, and I'd much rather attend an event than be a vendor at one. I train my team to go to networking events wearing their shampoo shirts and carrying their shampoo water bottles to talk to other business owners. By getting someone's business card, you can ask them for coffee and get a "borrow basket" in their hands. Now you're paying $10 to attend an event instead of $150 to have a booth while making higher-quality connections.
What's the most important thing you want people to know about you and your business?
You don't just get a product with me. I'm very educated about our line, but I'm also here to do a lot of education around scalp health and general skin care wellness. Most people don't realize that their scalp changes with the seasons, so your routine will need to change throughout the year. If you come to me with an oily scalp, we'll work together to keep it balanced.
You can bounce ideas off of me, troubleshoot, and brainstorm without buying an entire bottle. I'm happy to send samples to find the perfect fit. I'm kind of like your beauty bestie. I've personally spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on products that I loved for a month, and then my hair didn't respond to it, so they just sat in the cupboard. You don't have to deal with that anymore when you work with me. I'm never going to sell you something that you're not going to love, and if you end up changing your mind, I'm going to find a way to replace it with something you do. I'll go above and beyond for you.
Monat Haircare + Business Assistance