Concert Pianist/CEO & Founder of OM Aroma & Co., OM Aroma & Co.
www.omaroma.com

Listen to widely-acclaimed concert pianist Angela Jia Kim perform her latest album, ‘Mozart: Scenes from Childhood,’ at www.angelajiakim.com and let her launching story give you gift ideas that are perfect for Mother’s Day…

Despite the demands of her classical music career, Angela launched OM Aroma & Co. a luxury organic cosmetic and spa product company that’s bringing products to market like Crème Eclat body moisturizer with chardonnay grape seed extract, citrus blossom essential oil and organic shea butter.

(A Mother’s Day exclusive for Ladies Who Launch readers… you can indulge yourself or someone you love in OM Aroma gifts and get a 25 percent discount by entering promo code LWL513 at checkout, now through 5/13.)

Here’s the story behind how Angela, who’s also a Ladies Who Launch Incubator member, leads a new cosmetics company AND handles 25-city concert tours…

Her Teenage Orchestra Debut

Angela: “I started playing piano when I was three or four years old. My mom was my first piano teacher. When your mom is your first piano teacher, it becomes such a natural thing to do. All my life, I just started performing and giving recitals - I debuted with the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra in my teens.

“Now I’m going on concert tours of 30-40 concerts per year and I have a busy concert schedule. I take the summers off to rest, concentrate on OM and work on new repertoire. Starting in September, I have recording sessions and I’m in concerts all over the U.S. - it makes for a very exciting lifestyle when I’m always on the road and running a company, managing my staff at the same time.”

Embarrassing Moment Leads to Launch

“(Launching OM Aroma & Co.) happened quite by accident. I was on tour and I’ve always had very sensitive skin and had run out of lotion. I ran out right before my concert and bought a lotion that’s supposed to be natural - it’s a famous brand, and I broke out into a rash five minutes before I was supposed to go out on stage. I signed autographs afterward and one lady said, ‘You look awful - you’re as red as your dress!’

“I looked at the ingredient list (in the lotion) and was shocked at how many chemicals there were. I went back to New York after my tour and launched two years of research where I studied ingredients in skin care products. I found in many products, the first ingredient is water and there is often a toxic preservative in the top ten ingredients out of 55. All the great botanical ingredients that they advertise are at the bottom of the list.”

From Her Bathroom to Luxurious Inns and Spas

“When I attempted to find luxury skin and body care products that were not loaded with preservatives and chemicals, I realized that there was a gap in the marketplace. I decided I was going to make my own skin care products for myself that were free of parabens, formaldehyde, mineral oil, synthetic dyes, and fragrances. I would give my lotions and creams as gifts.

“One step led to the next… people wanted to order them, so I thought, ‘I better get a Web site going.’ That was about two years ago - once I realized that we had great potential as a business, I hired a formulator to refine our formulas and sent (them) off to labs to be tested. We really launched to the public earlier this year.

“Now we’re partnering with upscale spas, luxurious inns and B&Bs. We’re penetrating the market in an unusual way. We don’t want to mass produce because that goes against our philosophy of providing fresh products.”

Choosing Ingredients for Skin Benefits, Not Shelf Life

“What most cosmetic companies do - they produce masses of products using chemicals as fillers and a large percentage of synthetic preservatives to maintain a shelf life for several years. We choose every single ingredient for its skin benefits. We use Manuka Honey from New Zealand, chardonnay grape seed extract from Europe, organic shea butter from Africa… we test and bring in the very best ingredients from all over the world.

“We’re coming up with an aphrodisiac lotion and an anti-aging facial crème… in the formula we’re going to have white truffle extract. There are such good things for your skin, why put chemicals on your skin?”

Marketing by Throwing Spa Cocktail Parties

“I feel like our most powerful tool (for marketing our product line) is to get it into the hands of people who want to make healthier choices for beauty. What we’ve been doing in Manhattan is having spa cocktail parties. We bring in massage therapists. We have an aesthetician who gives mini-spa treatments. We offer a spa afternoon with cocktails, wine, food and networking opportunities for women. By giving free treatments, (women) want to go home with (our) products.”

Keeping Control, Using Credit Cards

“I was approached by an investor at one point who was very interested (in providing capital for the company)… he was very interested in the line, but I’m not ready to give up control of the company yet.

“I started with some start-up money, but right now we’re funding growth with zero-percent credit cards. That’s worked great because we have been able to pay it off with sales, and it’s the best way to go if you don’t have a lot of start-up money.”

Greatest Challenge

“A lot of people would think that being the CEO of a luxury spa product company and being a concert pianist at the same time would be the biggest challenge… 15 hour days are not uncommon for me… but it’s also a blessing because I feel so passionately about both (endeavors) that they feed off each other.”

Don’t Let the Workload Deter You

“Running a business is going to be a lot of work, but you can’t look at it that way. You have to break it down, break it down, and then slowly but surely, the success will come.”

More Words of Advice

“Live life passionately, let the inspiration drive you and break everything down into baby steps. If you read inspiring books, listen to inspiring music, and learn from people you admire, that inspires you to move forward.”

Whose Multiple Talents Does She Admire?

“I admire Martha Stewart because she broke through so many barriers and it’s admirable what she has accomplished… because she’s also a woman who wears many hats. If she can do it, we can all do it. I don’t see why it has to stop with her.”

Recommended Reading

” ‘The Wealthy Spirit’ by Chellie Campbell. It’s an excellent book about building wealth on all levels of your life, having a wealthy spirit and how that can expand your world so much. It’s practical as well… you can wait for your ship to come in, but if you don’t send any out, it’s going to be a long wait.

“The other book I would recommend is ‘Ask and It Is Given’
‘ It has a powerful perspective on manifesting our lives through our desires.”

How She Stays Creative and Inspired

“What I just did in Europe is I became a student again - I attended this music festival in Prussia Cove, England run by a world-famous cellist and got coachings from him. It was an incredible experience. I feel so inspired to go to the piano and put into practice everything I learned. Maybe (staying creative and inspired is) all about being a student of life, learning from others’ triumphs and mistakes.”

Wow’ed by Ladies Who Launch Incubator Workshop

“Especially in New York, there’s a certain type of lady who decides to launch. Good energy begets good energy. When you’re around that, things start flowing in your life. For me, that’s what happened. I came out (of the incubator) with a lot of inspiration. It’s important to get out there and be inspired by other women who are excelling.”