The Dishh

Jeunesse Global has risen from obscurity to become one of the top-selling health and beauty brands in the country today. The company was founded in 2009 by industry pioneers Randy Ray and Wendy Lewis as a means to pass their idle time in retirement. Little did the veteran entrepreneurs know that they would soon be sitting atop a global health and beauty empire that would be putting up a strong fight against some of the most established names in the business.

Ray and Lewis had both spent their entire lives in the field of direct-selling, founding some of the top companies in the industry. As they neared their 70s, the innately industrious couple decided to take a crack at retirement. They wanted to spend more time with each other and with their growing number of grandchildren. However, neither Ray nor Lewis had anticipated exactly how much of a change it would be to go from the fast-paced and exciting world of running their own business to one of having little or nothing to do.

It quickly became apparent that Ray and Lewis needed something more than days of sitting around and watching television to keep them satisfied. They were born to be entrepreneurs. So, the couple founded a small startup out of their garage that they named Jeunesse. Before long, Jeunesse started taking to the skies.

With Ray’s innate ability to sell both the business plan and the company’s products and Lewis’ decades of experience developing cutting-edge products across many different industries, the couple was able to quickly start growing Jeunesse Global at an exponential pace. By the end of the company’s first year, it had already done more than $1 million in sales. By its fifth year, Jeunesse Global was doing business in dozens of countries, with its products being sold by thousands of independent Jeunesse Global business owners and millions of customers worldwide.

And all of this success has been the product of the company’s dynamite compensation plan and its ability to field some of the best products that the global health and beauty industry has ever seen. Ray and Lewis were able to quickly spot underserved market niches for which they developed cutting-edge, highly effective products.

One example of this has been the company’s micro-crème and anti-aging formula, Instantly Ageless. Instantly Ageless is a deep-cleansing micro-crème that eliminates close to 100 percent of the grime and dirt that gets into the skin’s pores. This prevents the formation of blemishes due to irritation and infection. Instantly Ageless can keep users’ complexions clean and blemish-free, giving a healthy and youthful glow to the skin with just a single application each day.

But the real secret behind Instantly Ageless is the fact that it contains Jeunesse Global’s secret anti-aging formula, APT-200. APT-200 was developed on behalf of Jeunesse Global by some of the leading organic chemists and anti-aging product developers in the world. The molecule has been shown to reduce the incidence of wrinkles while also preventing new ones from forming. Instantly Ageless is also able to restore skin elasticity that has been naturally lost to the aging process. All told, Instantly Ageless is able to wipe years off of a user’s apparent age, helping people to look and feel their best in just a couple of minutes per day.

What do you think of consigned items for sale? You might think of electronics or specific brands of clothing being sold at a thrift store. Does luxury goods come to mind? It probably does not.

A new startup called The RealReal is changing the way people view consignment and luxury goods. This company is not only changing how people see consignment and luxury items but how people shop for them as well. This novel idea is now allowing people to snap up luxury brands such as Luis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel and many more at a fraction of their original prices.

People who want luxury but don’t want to pay the high costs of a new item now have an entire marketplace of consigned luxury goods to choose from. The RealReal has almost anything and everything you can think of. You can buy pants and leather goods for men. For women, there are dresses, swimsuits, handbags, purses, jewelry, boots, sandals, shirts and much more to purchase.

Most shoppers at RealReal are women, though men do make up a significant market segment as well. The founder of the luxury consignment market says that while men purchase less of the goods, they return their items much less frequently. In the end, she says it evens out. The success of this concept no doubt points to the fact that there is a strong demand for used luxury goods at bargain prices when compared to their original selling prices.

Strong sales have led to investors pouring in hundreds of millions of dollars into the venture. The luxury consignment store recently raised an additional 50 million dollars in funding. This was an investment by Great Hill Partners.

It is interesting that many of the people that sell their used luxury brand clothing or accessories are also buyers. Founder Julie Wainwright says that this helps keep a steady flow of inventory for the company. Many of the buyers are also repeat buyers. This is why her company has been able to not only survive but thrive in this niche luxury market.

Many people are hopping onto RealReal’s bandwagon either as buyers or sellers. For sellers, it is an easy way to make money off luxury items they may no longer need or want. For the buyer, the lure of buying a luxury item at a relatively low price is an irresistible lure. After all, it is not like you see luxury items for sale at inexpensive prices at every used clothing store, pawnshop or Goodwill.

RealReal is mostly an online or e-commerce operation. Most of the sales are made online. Their website has a massive amount of items available for purchase that can change daily.

A pop-up store in Manhattan for a few weeks did so well that Julie Wainwright said that she decided to open up a brick and mortar store in SoHo. That store offers a wide selection of used luxury items for sale. It is profitable and attracts thousands of shoppers who enjoy perusing the great variety of clothing and accessories available at the store. Wainwright said that men also accounted for about a third of the buyers at the SoHo brick and mortar store. Women dominate the online sales.

The success of the RealReal consignment store can be traced to its bargain prices and guarantee of authenticity. Experts authenticate every item. People who want to sell their brand name item must bring it to one of many RealReal offices where an expert looks at it. If it passes the test, then it will be listed for sale or displayed at its brick and mortar store. Authenticity, a clever online platform, and great prices are the secret to RealReal’s success in the secondhand luxury goods market.

How do take your event marketing to the next level by generating the necessary hype? Let’s start with the details as the first step in how to make an event successful.

Delegate the Details

This one should go right alongside your written event plan. When deciding the details of your small business event, also choose who will be accountable for each. It’s easy, as small business managers, to give yourself a lot of responsibility. But you’re going to be busy looking after your business, so don’t burden yourself with way too many event details.

Delegating is often as not as easy or as simple as hiring someone to help – an event planner, a caterer, someone who has knowledge and experience about these events. If that’s not in the budget, you can still assign details from your plan to employees or volunteers. Holding an event to boost business doesn’t have to bring your business to a halt – divide the details, delegate them and keep everyone in the loop with regular communication.

Venue

This is more than likely going to be one of the major costs of your overall budget and there are many things to think about when picking a venue. Is a purpose built venue compulsory or could deliberation be given to a neutral space, such as a warehouse or outdoor marquee, which could be done up?  Or perhaps an unusual, outdoor venue would be better? Some of the key problems to think about include cost and service delivery; what are the hidden costs such as, stewarding, traffic marshals, first aid provision, furniture, electrical supply and most importantly the catering? There are frequent venue sourcing agencies that can help you find the perfect venue and negotiate the best rates.

Hire someone famous

It is important that you look in to getting someone who is recognisable to all to speak at your event in order to make people want to come to your event. If your event is about business, you may want to talk to Karen Brady agent, or sports events you might think about getting a sports personality to talk. Celebrities will make your event seem high-class and important and will definitely make more people want to come to your event.

Get Social

Social media has become top dog when it comes to event promotion. With over a billion accounts on Facebook and more and more people entering the social media space everyday it would be unwise to ignore it. Automated social media campaigns are great for planned content. You need to keep in contact with your followers, answering questions and staying on top of comments. You can even post videos of the event and guest speakers.

While using social media platforms, don’t miss out on Twitter. It is a tremendously powerful tool, which will let you add a widget. This will show everyone that people are talking about your event. You then can have a prior idea about the number of people that your event is likely to attract. Social media can be a fantastic tool when it comes to marketing. And it holds true for your event as well. When you are looking for more people to come to the event, you should use social media in the best possible manner to get maximum returns.

Develop a budget

This will provide you with a financial blueprint for the event. The budget should be specific, and include revenue opportunities (sponsorship, ticket sales, donations, etc.) as well as expenses such as printing, permits, insurance, speakers, food, supplies and security. Maintain good records, keeping track of all income and expenses. Also, expect the unexpected, extra expenses will come up — so plan ahead.