193 | Ways to Fund Your Company and Get Featured in Publications with Oyéta Kokoroko Founder of Okoko Cosmétiques
Oyéta reveals effective strategies for getting featured in top publications and magazines, sharing her secrets to gaining media attention.
LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE:
Meet our Inspiring Guest: Oyéta Kokoroko, Founder of the award-winning Okoko Cosmétiques based in Vancouver, Canada. With a background in skincare formulation and cosmetic science, she's a passionate advocate for innovation, sustainability, and results-driven skincare. Oyéta launched OKOKO years back, and she has been featured in incredible publications like Goop, ELLE, Vancouver Sun and the New York Times.
Her vision combines high-performance botanicals, precious oils, and sophisticated activities, resulting in multi-purpose, luxurious, and cruelty-free skincare. Beyond her brand, Oyéta mentors early-stage entrepreneurs to empower them in making an impact in their fields.
We just LOVE this Woman and are so inspired by her and her journey!
Connect with Oyéta
Instagram @oyeta.kokoroko @okokocosmetiques
Oyéta's Entrepreneurial Journey
Oyéta's inspiration to become an entrepreneur came from witnessing her parents' hard work and growing up with entrepreneurial family members.
She had a strong desire to make the most of the opportunities in Canada, where she immigrated at a young age.
Her journey into the beauty and skincare industry started when she began seeking solutions for her own acne.
Oyéta's hobby of making soaps and skincare products for friends and family eventually evolved into her passion and business idea.
Funding Options for Small Businesses
Grants:
Explore grants available for small businesses in your region or industry. Research government websites and programs.
Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC): Consider BDC loans, which often provide a grace period before repayment starts.
Pitching Contests:
Participate in contests or competitions where you can pitch your business idea and potentially win funds.
Venture Capital (VC):
If appropriate for your business, explore options for pitching to investors or VC firms.
Getting Featured in Publications
PR Support:
Consider working with a PR professional who has connections with editors and can pitch your brand.
Personal Outreach:
Reach out directly to editors via LinkedIn or email with a compelling pitch about your brand or product.
Networking:
Build relationships within your industry and reach out to multiple editors to increase your chances of being featured.
Find a Unique Angle:
Tailor your pitch to the publication's interests or current themes to stand out.
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transcript
[00:00:00] Danielle: Welcome to the podcast, Oyeta. I'm so excited to have you here. Thank you so much for joining us today.
[00:00:09] Oyeta: Hi, Danielle. I'm super excited to be here as well.
[00:00:12] Danielle: I would love for you to share with our listeners who you are a little bit more about you and your business.
[00:00:20] Oyeta: Yeah, sure. Hi, everyone. My name is Oyeta Kokoroko. I'm the founder and CEO of award winning Vancouver based beauty brand Okoko Kosmitique. We create amazing solution driven skincare and treatments for all skin types that help our community to solve skin concerns and see beautiful, radiant skin.
[00:00:43] Danielle: I love that. First of all, can I just ask you what made you want to start your own business, become an entrepreneur? It is quite the journey to decide to become your own business owner. So what was that like for you? Did you always [00:01:00] know you wanted to be a business owner or is that something that kind of came along on your journey?
[00:01:05] Danielle: That's
[00:01:05] Oyeta: a great question. I immigrated in Canada when I was five years old from Togo to Montreal, Quebec. And when I came here as an immigrant, initially, I witnessed my parents, they work hard to provide for my brother and I, to give us, good opportunities and a better life. And I think I was always inspired seeing that and felt a sense of Kind of responsibility in the future to make the best of the opportunity that I had to grow up in Canada and access like a good life and good opportunities and my family also comes from entrepreneurial background.
[00:01:42] Oyeta: So I think that probably. Inspired me as a kid as well that, oh, I'm around entrepreneurs and, my grandparents were entrepreneurs. So I think I was probably inspired by then without knowing that and growing up with values such as, work hard in life, try to do your best do things that [00:02:00] you love, be passionate, but most of all make the best of it.
[00:02:02] Oyeta: So I grew up with that mindset that I wanted to do things that I would enjoy working in industry that I enjoy and make the best of the opportunity to. Be a Canadian in this beautiful country. And growing up, I think I wanted, I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I remember when I was 16, I got my first job at Old Navy like in the fitness room and I was gaining experience.
[00:02:27] Oyeta: And I remember telling my dad one day I'll be an entrepreneur, I didn't really know what it meant, but I just said that. And it was like, oh, really? Yeah, I know that's what I will do, when I grow up. Eventually I think life brought me to the world of the beauty and skincare. It started with acne concerns when I was younger.
[00:02:47] Oyeta: My teenagers that I was trying to solve and eventually I started using a lot of different products to see what would work. That was my mission to find a way to solve my acne. So I became interested [00:03:00] in trying all kinds of different products to see what work, what doesn't work.
[00:03:05] Oyeta: And. One day I, there was a store near where I live in Montreal that was selling ingredients like shea butter, olive oil, jojoba oil, argan oil, ingredients from Africa, but also other places in the world, Europe, Latin America. So I would go there to buy shea butter to moisturize my skin, and they would offer.
[00:03:24] Oyeta: workshop teaching you how to make soaps. So I think as I was already looking for solution for my acne and that store was next to my place and I would go there to get my shea butter and I saw they were offering workshop. They were teaching people how to make soaps. I became interested. One day I decided just to enroll and learn how to make soaps.
[00:03:43] Oyeta: And from there, I think it just Pique my interest, , I think I just, sometimes you do things and you realize that you enjoy it. I realized that I enjoy crafting things. I would go there whenever I had a little bit of time to get ingredients, sign up to all their workshop, learn how to [00:04:00] make soaps, but also lip balms and things like that.
[00:04:03] Oyeta: And I would offer it to the people or to my relative and friends. And like for their birthday or Christmas and they would enjoy it or oh, wow, this is so pretty. I love your soaps. So it started like that, like just a, like a hobby in my spare time going to that shop and learning how to make soaps and sharing with the people around me.
[00:04:21] Oyeta: And they were the feedback was great. They were like, oh, wow, it's really nice. And I kept doing that, whenever I had time and that passion stayed with me and I started dreaming of. Something called a coco and it's the combination of my first and last name and it means being strong especially on a spiritual level.
[00:04:40] Oyeta: And I think it makes sense to me because as an immigrant growing up I faced challenges as when you're in a new country new climate, new people, new language, I didn't speak French or English in the beginning. So I had to learn everything. So in the beginning, I was like, Oh, wow, that's a lot for my brain to take.
[00:04:56] Oyeta: So I think it, it resonate for. For me when you go [00:05:00] through challenges, sometimes you have to be strong and in mindset as well. But coming back to this sharing all those creations with the people around me and getting their amazing feedback. And they would encourage me to, they were like, Did you think about creating your own brand?
[00:05:15] Oyeta: And I was like, I don't know what that is. I don't know. I've never had a business at all. So in the beginning I was a little scared because I didn't know where to start, how to do this. But I was committed to finding what works for my acne and continue to create my soaps. And eventually, as I kept digging I became self taught, so I started just, learning recipes and making them in my kitchen and learning about ingredients and digging until I decided just to enroll into professional skincare formulation and learn how to make it more professionally so that I understand what I'm doing, what I'm using, how to combine these ingredients together to really use them.
[00:05:53] Oyeta: Thank you. Beautiful products. And I also studied cosmetic science. And after that, [00:06:00] I gained more confidence rethinking about that idea of having a branch. And I decided just to try I don't know what took me to give it a try just like that. But yeah, I decided to try with no experience just because of the passion was very strong.
[00:06:16] Oyeta: The passion for helping others with beautiful products that work that are made with natural sustainable ingredients that are gentle on the skin. But also I was very creative person. I had a lot of ideas and I wanted to share all those ideas with people and help them. But at the same time, Do something that I would be proud of which is like I mentioned do something I'm passionate about and feeling that I was contributing somehow to society and making the best of the opportunity to be here.
[00:06:46] Oyeta: And a few years later, Okoko was born. In the beginning I started drawing the imagining the logo the name, asking people to help me come up with a nice logo. So it took a little bit of time. I did a contest in [00:07:00] Montreal to get graphic designers there to produce like a What high could look like the, the branding.
[00:07:07] Oyeta: And when I was happy with it, just decided to create the rest of the line which was initially focused more on helping people with acne and then launched the branch and started from there. So I can assure that you'll, I learned a lot. Yeah.
[00:07:21] Danielle: No kidding. That's so cool. And yeah, thank you for sharing that story and just all the different, moments of, Oh, maybe this is something I'm interested in to, Oh yeah, I'm actually really passionate about this to then, going to launch a brand.
[00:07:35] Danielle: And I think a lot of people can probably relate to that if they've launched their own business is it starts with this spark of, interest or inspiration that then leads to more education and, testing and figuring out, okay, what do I want this brand or this business to look like? So thank you for sharing that.
[00:07:54] Danielle: I would love to hear what, when you talk about building a brand and [00:08:00] building a business, There's a lot that goes into that, right? There's not only, like you said, building the actual look and feel of the brand, but also the products or the services that you're offering, you need to do research and education around that.
[00:08:14] Danielle: But then there's. The actual putting it out there, which takes a lot of time and also finances, right? And so I would love to hear your perspective on getting funding for your brand. I know there's something to be said about bootstrapping and, doing it all yourself, which is definitely an option and an option that a lot of entrepreneurs have done, but would love to ask you your perspective on.
[00:08:39] Danielle: If there's business owners out there that want to get funding for their business, what are some opportunities that are available?
[00:08:46] Oyeta: Yeah, I will be happy to share. So there's a few options depending on what stage you're in, are you just starting or, have you been in business for a year or two that can have an impact.
[00:08:58] Oyeta: Some of the options to consider [00:09:00] when you're looking for funding are grants. Depending where you're living in Canada. Most provinces have grants that are available for small business and entrepreneurs. I would quickly mention there's a CEDAW program available for small businesses where you get a 15, 000 grant towards your marketing efforts.
[00:09:19] Oyeta: And this amount, I think you have to use it with the consultant marketing consultant who create a plan marketing plan for your business to help you generate revenue and achieve your company objectives. And once you have used the grant, you can apply with the BDC. To receive a loan for your business and generally they would give you the first six months, you won't need to the repayment of the loan would start generally after six months.
[00:09:47] Oyeta: I think the BDC is a great option for a lot of entrepreneurs and small business. And by the way, BDC is. Business Development Bank of Canada. You can look it up on their page. They mentioned all the different loans available [00:10:00] grants as well. And what's great with that is their interest rates is It's better than most banks, but also they would give you a little bit of time in the beginning before starting to repay so you can use that funding, to generate revenue, hopefully, so grants, look at grants in your city.
[00:10:19] Oyeta: On the government website there's always grants are out there. If you're from. I would say First Nations. I think there's also grants available for that, or a woman in business. I've seen grants for women in business as well, or women of color. So try to look up grants that could apply to your specific situation.
[00:10:40] Oyeta: They're out there. We just need to research them. And when you do, we can help you with a few. Also on LinkedIn, I see often organizations. Some of them are non profits. Some of them are for profits. Throwing contests where you can win money by pitching your business idea. So if you're just starting and you think you have a great business idea, [00:11:00] it's going to help people, you're passionate about it, try and go pitch.
[00:11:03] Oyeta: You don't, you have nothing to lose. I think it's an opportunity to learn, get experience, learn to pitch, learn to speak. Think about your brand, your business, what you're passionate about, and also you always have a great chance of maybe winning a grant that could be, 10k, 20k, 50k, 100k, so sometime it can be substantial amount.
[00:11:24] Oyeta: Try to take a look, and I would highly encourage you to. To start pitching, even in the beginning, because you will gain experience and it's a great way to promote your brand, your business, what you do, network and practice talking in front of people about what you do. Look at clients on government website, online on social media, try to apply to different contests.
[00:11:43] Oyeta: And also look at BDC the bank the business development bank of Canada to see if there's a way that you could receive funding from them. They're very, committed to helping small businesses. So generally, they need you maybe to have a little bit of a financial plan, business [00:12:00] plan, a little bit of an idea about how you're going to use the funding for what's your vision with this.
[00:12:06] Oyeta: And if you're doing, I think, positive things. Generally, I think it should go well. We've worked with BDC. And I highly recommend it because they're there to support small businesses like us. Another option I would like to mention, of course, there's bootstrapping as well. Yeah. It all depends on your vision where you want to bring your company.
[00:12:26] Oyeta: I would also like to mention VCs. So working with investors, there's different type of investors, angel investors and so on. If that makes sense for your company and you're looking to scale and you are okay with, having other partners who might have owned some shares in your company, you might be interested in pitching to investors to acquire funding.
[00:12:51] Oyeta: But that's. something that you have to be prepared for and ready for because you need to understand that means that when you have partners, they also [00:13:00] you're working with them. Some people may not want that. They want to just be the only person making decisions. Investors, they have expectations as well.
[00:13:08] Oyeta: Yeah. Company, they want to see a return on their investments. So you have to be okay with that idea and have a business plan, know where you're going with your business. And what are you willing to offer them in return for their investment? How much investment do you need and how are you going to use it?
[00:13:26] Oyeta: And what they should, when they should expect maybe to recoup their investment or some kind of arrangement. And met about the. If you're wanting to pitch to investor, I would like to also recommend a software to check out. It's called recurve. It's a brand new software built for entrepreneurs and small businesses.
[00:13:47] Oyeta: I'm just checking quickly to see if I can provide you with the websites. Yeah, you can put it in the show notes. Yeah, I think it's going to be recurve uh.com or something like that. [00:14:00] Currently it's. Yeah, currently it's called theperforma. co, so you can look up theperforma. co, and very soon when you go on that website, it's going to be called Recurve, because they're changing their name, and what they say it's your pathway to profitability, what they do is they help people.
[00:14:18] Oyeta: Small business by helping you to create a financial forecast model that you can show to investors to get funded. It also helps you to know the numbers about your business. What are your expenses? What are your sales? What are your forecasts in the coming year? And to make it simple, Recurve helps you to be investor ready.
[00:14:38] Oyeta: So that when you pitch, you are professional, you are ready, all the questions the investor will have for you, you can show them that you are prepared to answer those questions, you know where you're going, and it's also software that helps you have an understanding about your business, where are you, where are your expenses going, what are your sales, so that you can make decisions as it's to ensure the [00:15:00] profitability of your company, so if you're someone who's thinking that In the future, I want to pitch to VCs and I want to be ready.
[00:15:07] Oyeta: I want to impress them. I want to make a positive impression. Then make sure to take a look at Recurve on theperforma. gov. That's
[00:15:16] Danielle: so good. Thank you for that resource. That's super helpful. I love that. Amazing. Okay. I would love to ask you again. You've been able to build such a recognizable brand not only in the city, but also elsewhere.
[00:15:29] Danielle: And you've gotten a lot of press opportunities and opportunities in the media. I would love to know first of all, How? Because I know a lot of small businesses are like, okay, I want to find ways to get opportunities to showcase my brand, whether it be in articles or different media outlets or things like that.
[00:15:52] Danielle: So you have been First of all, I would love for you to share where you've been able to be featured, some publications that you've been able to be featured [00:16:00] in, and then how did you get those opportunities and what would be your advice for small businesses if they're looking to do the same thing? That's a great
[00:16:09] Oyeta: question.
[00:16:10] Oyeta: Yeah, we've been in a lot of press. I don't remember all of them, but quickly on the top of my mind, I would say we've been in Elle magazine, which I love Elle is a great publication to be in. They love talking about beauty brands and Canadian small business. So Elle Canada, we've been in, globe and Mail as well, which is more of an entrepreneur business focused publication. Vancouver Magazine, which is based here in our city, Vancouver Sun Forbes, New York Times, LA Times, Beauty Independent. And I know there's more. Goop. Of course, Goop. I can't forget that one. Yeah. One of my favorites.
[00:16:53] Oyeta: Yeah, we've been, as you mentioned, in a lot of publications. Some of them were because of we attracted them because of [00:17:00] our products. Sometimes it was like the editor, they saw our beautiful, when you see our line, it's very vibrant in colors, blue, red, orange, green. It's very colorful and I like it because it's a little bit like color therapy as well and sensorial.
[00:17:14] Oyeta: So some editors, beauty editors, they were interested to try something new. They, maybe sometimes the products captured their attention and they thought it would be great to feature in an article that the timing was good for them. Maybe they're talking about summer pics and that vibrant orange balm.
[00:17:31] Oyeta: They're like, this would be great for summer. So sometime it was just that they saw it and they were like, oh, wow, that would be great for my article. Some of them, we also work with PR as well, who helped us by pitching our brand to her network of editors who would then get back to her and show interest in writing article or having an interview with me.
[00:17:54] Oyeta: about the brand and what we do. So that helped us a lot, especially in the beginning. You [00:18:00] need to have that kind of traction because I'm sure, one of the main challenge when we start is to get noticed, to be visible, especially when no one knows you. It's like, how do you stand out?
[00:18:09] Oyeta: Sometimes you need a little bit of help. So working with a PR person can be good, especially if you're starting because generally they already have a list of contacts and a little network that knows them. They have cultivated and built relationships with the editors and They will simply make an introduction and present you who you are, what you do, and then let you continue the conversation with the editor.
[00:18:33] Oyeta: So I think it would be a good strategy for any entrepreneur, small business who's in the early stage and need a little bit of that traction to get a look. To get noticed a bit more in your industry. So consider working with a PR person. There's Noeline that I recommend. She's amazing. She's based here in Vancouver and she's been doing that for several years.
[00:18:54] Oyeta: She's specialized in working with entrepreneurs and small business in different fields because [00:19:00] beauty, but also In the food industry. And, things like that. So she liked working with small business. She's really amazing at that. I would also highly encourage you. Let's say, depending on your budget, you might also consider contacting editors.
[00:19:15] Oyeta: Editors directly to see if they will be interested to write about your brand or your product or your service. One thing that I've done that you could try as well that don't cost you anything is to go on LinkedIn, type the name of a publication that you like. Let's say for example PopSugar or Forbes.
[00:19:34] Oyeta: Or New York Times, and it will give you the list of the people who write for New York Times. Such a good
[00:19:40] Danielle: hack. Yes.
[00:19:41] Oyeta: That's so good. And then you just have a message, be fun. Tell them what you're looking for. Just say, I see that you're working for New York Times. This is who I am.
[00:19:52] Oyeta: I just started my brand. And this is what I do. I was wondering, there'll be an opportunity to collab and see what they reply. I think a lot of them truly [00:20:00] want to help. Entrepreneurs in small business, especially if there is an interest in what you do, and also depending if you're took the time to write something compelling and interesting for them.
[00:20:10] Oyeta: And from there you cultivate a little bit like a relationship and I think it can work, but don't do it just for one person I would highly encourage you. To send a few emails to different editors because sometimes they may not have a spot for you right now, but maybe next season they have an opening and they need new brands.
[00:20:28] Oyeta: So stay in touch with them, follow up next time. Maybe they'll have time or an opportunity to talk about your brand and try to contact a free. different editors with different magazines so that you open the possibilities for yourself. So I think that's a good tip for starting and you don't have contacts yet.
[00:20:47] Oyeta: Just go on LinkedIn and type the name of the press and you'll find people. Yeah. So
[00:20:52] Danielle: good. So good. I love that. And just like networking in general. You've been so great at networking yourself within, the city and [00:21:00] then also just expanding to different places and obviously. Doing that and building community, building connections, building relationships, like you said, is so important when it comes to building your brand.
[00:21:11] Danielle: So I highly encourage anyone. And I love that tip of going on LinkedIn, typing in the name of the publication you might want to be featured in. And then, yeah, I think like being creative, what you said, of not just, Sending them maybe like a blanket statement or anything like that, but really trying to figure out, okay, what would be an interesting reason why they would want to feature your brand, right?
[00:21:34] Danielle: And is there something specific about your brand that differentiates you or even something that they might already be writing or interested in and then they could include you into that. So there's lots of different opportunities for that. So thank you for sharing. So good. Yeah, I am so excited.
[00:21:51] Danielle: First of all love chatting with you, love connecting with you and your brand. I would love to know, cause you've been able to accomplish a lot in your [00:22:00] business and you've had a lot of big wins when it comes to, where you've been featured and all of those different things. I would love to ask what you're most proud of your entrepreneurial journey so far.
[00:22:12] Danielle: Wow,
[00:22:13] Oyeta: that's a great question. I think there's a lot of things that I'm proud of. It's hard to give just like one thing, but I would say it's the empowerment. The way we've been able to empower the people around you is one of the things that I'm the most proud of. When I say empower, empowering people, it can be in different ways.
[00:22:36] Oyeta: It could be empowering our customers by offering them products that help them with their skin, with their acne like me. And finding solutions like one of our customers, she told us that she finally was able to solve her acne after 10 years and that made a difference for her because she could, just have her skin without makeup and feel good about it.
[00:22:58] Oyeta: Know what I mean? [00:23:00] Sometimes it can seem like not much, but for other people, it's truly something when it's been a while. So I think I'm really proud to see that it's helping people, whether it's by being able to feel confident and beautiful in your skin, or just having a moment of relaxation for yourself as a busy mom.
[00:23:17] Oyeta: And you need a little self care moment and you're like, Oh, these creations allow me just to care for myself the way I deserve. Empowering other people by the journey we've had and the things that we've accomplished, it has helped other people who had ideas and they also wanted to be in business and they were like, I'm not sure if I can do it.
[00:23:39] Oyeta: I don't know. And just by seeing my story and Okoko and what we did and I also want to mention as a black woman in the luxury sector, that was A challenge in the beginning, because I didn't have a lot of people I could look up to who did the same thing in the beauty industry. So I felt okay, it was a time to break barriers a little bit and pave the way for [00:24:00] others.
[00:24:00] Oyeta: And by doing that, we realized that women from all backgrounds, all over the world that I They didn't, haven't met, they would come and message me, Oh, wow, your journey inspired me. And I literally decided to start my business too. And I was like, wow, I think it's rewarding. So the reward is the problem is financially, it could just be helping people to believe in themselves and finding the will and the confidence to start their project.
[00:24:26] Oyeta: And they're like, I feel I can do this, for me, it's a big reward. Yeah.
[00:24:30] Danielle: So amazing. So amazing. Thank you for sharing that. That is so inspiring. And, I think it's a good reminder of business owners just to really think about what is the impact that we can make? Because I think as business owners, it's our job to help solve our ideal clients problems, right?
[00:24:46] Danielle: And you're doing that in multiple different ways. So thank you for that. Where can people connect with you? Where can people find you online? If they're interested in trying your products, please tell us all the places.
[00:24:58] Oyeta: Yeah they can find [00:25:00] us on our website, okokosmetique. com. You can shop our line.
[00:25:04] Oyeta: We ship here in Vancouver and also internationally. If you're located in, in, in other places or in the rest of Canada, we ship, of course. You can also find us on social media, okokosmetique. com. We're pretty much on. Every platform. And I also have my personal page or yet a cuckoo local work dot com, where I offer a little bit of mentoring for early stage businesses, especially in the beauty industry who wants to elevate, want to build an impactful brand and just want to learn how I did it.
[00:25:36] Oyeta: So I share my insights, my strategies to help them, achieve success and build a vision that they're proud of by minimizing a little bit. The mistakes we can make and, saving you a little bit of time. It's guiding you a little bit like someone who's walked a step a little bit before you and just showing you a little bit how to get there as well.
[00:25:56] Oyeta: I was inspired by my journey to give back by doing that. Yeah, you can find us [00:26:00] at okokokosmetic. com or oyerakokoroko. com. And we're also on social media.
[00:26:05] Danielle: So good. So good. Thank you so much for sharing. And we are so excited to have you in person on the 25th of August. Oyete is going to be one of our speakers for our Power of Purpose conference.
[00:26:18] Danielle: So if you are in the Vancouver area you can meet Ojeda in person. Yeah, we would love for you to join us. So if you're interested in joining us for the event definitely do that.
[00:26:27] Danielle: We'll have the link in the show notes for that too. And we're going to have all of your links in the show notes as well, Ojeda, so that people can check out everything you have to offer and connect with you personally. I love following you. I love following your journey. It's been such it's been so cool.
[00:26:42] Danielle: We, we met each other, we got to meet each other in person not long ago, and now we get to chat again in person so I cannot wait. So thank you for joining
[00:26:52] Oyeta: us. Thank you so much. I really enjoyed it.