Behind the scenes.

One of the most gratifying aspects of launching 110 Skincare™ and of this blog running concurrent to this event is that you get to "watch it, live!" as it unfolds.

This is a little bit of drama, because every business in the history of, uh, business, has had a different path to success. The only thing that is assured on that path to that success is: "it wasn't a straight line over smooth and level terrain."

A lot of* other companies are adamant about shielding their consumers from anything that's not sunshine and lollipops.

But we have been where you are.

So we think our relationship with our consumers should be not just one of "we sell/you buy" but something additional to that, a new dynamic that embraces your feedback, opinions, suggestions and comments in a new, usable and relevant way.

To do that we have to let you guys in, at least a little. You have to be free to take some peeks behind the curtain. Why? In a career that reaches many combined decades in business and skincare, etc., we know that the right word at the right time could have made a monumental positive influence on an outcome; too often corporate hubris stands as an unfortunate firewall.

The road to business nirvana is littered with the debris of companies and individuals who didn't listen, didn't pay attention and at the core of it, forgot what it was like to be the one on the other side of the counter. In many cases, you see that scenario play out. The chef who forgets what it was like to be a line cook, the general who can't recall ever being a lieutenant, the Sr. V.P. who has no memory of ever being an intern.

Any entity built by people with very limited memory is an entity built by people with very limited futures.

This sort of communication is the cardiovascular system of a company, and it is vital to keeping the thinking fresh, relevant, and meaningful. In an ideal world, a company is thinking what its customers are thinking. That is for what we strive. Too many companies are seen to impose their version of "better" on its consumers. (Do you really need examples?)

Much how we have set out to permanently transform the skincare industry, we also believe we can, at the same time, remake how a company and the people who purchase its products can be made materially better in a new, cooperative dynamic. The great, GREAT team we have assembled here love what you love, and love it the way you love it, and think of it the way you think of it.

So, in the coming weeks, look for our mission statement. This is not something cobbled together by some A-List B-School wiz kids, or what our PR people are telling us to put out, but what we are declaring to you are the values we hold to be important and the things we consider crucial in how we interact with our public, our suppliers, etc.

We're thrilled you're coming along from Day One.

Buckle up.



* OK, "practically all"