Stacia Guzzo, founder of SmartyPits, a manufacturer of aluminum-free deodorant, joins Talking Business Now host Kelly Scanlon to discuss her entrepreneurial journey, including the practical growth strategies that allowed the company to evolve from a kitchen sink and sales at farmers markets endeavor to having a retail presence in more than a 1,000 stores nationally.

Inspired to create an aluminum-free deodorant after her mother's breast cancer diagnosis, Guzzo began making the formula in her kitchen sink in 2014, used herself as the guinea pig to test its effectivness and started selling the hand-poured and labeled product at farmers markets. Before long, she attracted the attention of major retailers, including HEB, TJ Maxx, Marshall's and others, as she attended national gift shows. Tune in as Guzzo shares her journey from classroom teacher to deodorant manufacturer and her insights into achieving steady, sustainable business growth, including:

How to gradually scale so product orders don't overwhelm the stability of the company.
Why it's important to look ahead and make important decisions about staffing, warehousing, etc., before you actually may need those resources.
How she came up with the SmartyPits name.
Balancing "gut" decisions with data and strategic planning.
Focusing the company's product line.
Doing your due diligence as you choose a "cause marketing" partner.

RESOURCES

Episode Transcript

CONNECT WITH STACIA GUZZO

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smartypitsdeo/
Twitter: @smartypits
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/staciaguzzo/

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Deodorant Entrepreneur's No Sweat Approach to Business