Talk to yourself in a positive manner. Everybody is their own worst critic. If you can tweak the inner voice in your head to say positive things to yourself, it goes a lot further than constant negative thinking. Learn and move on.
Ricky Boudrow is the founder of Space Skincare, a charcoal-based skincare company. Born and raised in a suburb outside of Boston, he graduated from New Hampton Prep School in 2010. He attended the Paul School of Business & Economics at the University of New Hampshire until 2014. Ricky achieved a Bachelor of Science with a focus in Entrepreneur Venture Creation.
Before starting a company, Ricky worked professionally for five years in the ecommerce marketing technology space. He currently works in sales & talks to business owners everyday, helping who he can, when he can.
An avid player his whole life, Ricky enjoys hockey, science & a good movie.
Where did the idea for your company come from?
Initially, I started Space Skincare so I could relate to the people I was talking to in my current sales role. I work in the ecommerce marketing automation space (analytics/CRM/email), so it was definitely beneficial to understand the day to day ecommerce activities of a business owner.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
I work from home so it’s important to be regimented. My calendar is blocked off with calls/activities/things to do and I always strive to accomplish each one within that given timeframe. At the end of the day, its equally important to focus on your friends/family so making sure those relationships are healthy keeps me motivated for the next day.
How do you bring ideas to life?
Well, if I catch myself saying ‘I should do that’, I typically think long and hard about how I can. It’s always been that way for me. I always feared being the ‘coulda, shoulda, woulda’ guy.
What’s one trend that excites you?
The big swing towards customer retention. It’s just a lot less expensive to retain a customer than it is to acquire one. Squeezing the most out of the current database is going to be more and more important. Mainly because the cost per acquisition is slowly climbing along with an increase in competition.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
Discipline. If you work from home or allow yourself to slack off, you can wind up with bad habits. Holding yourself accountable is one way to combat ‘slacking off’.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Keep going man!
Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.
This is the best day ever.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Talk to yourself in a positive manner. Everybody is their own worst critic. If you can tweak the inner voice in your head to say positive things to yourself, it goes a lot further than constant negative thinking. Learn and move on.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?
Focusing on how to get the most out of each buyer. As I start to collect more and more data points, cohorts are going to be an important aspect for my business. When you learn to read cohorts, you’ll start to see patterns and ways you can make that data come to life. It gives insight into when users may be likely to buy again, so now I would know when to follow up. At the end of the day, I focus on my current customers & how to get the most of out them before I focus on acquiring new ones.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
I failed to execute on expectations. I thought that’d I’d be a lot further along at this point. This stuff is hard, it really is. I underestimated on that and paid the price. I forced myself to become a bit more realistic in my approach and I’m a happier man because of it.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Well, I’m a big fan of coffee. So, I’d love to apply the food truck craze and convert that to a coffee truck. Maybe it has all the best coffees in {your city name here}. Who doesn’t love coffee?
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
I recently upgraded my internet to support 250 mbps. Now, everything is running a bit faster!
What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
Google Calendar. It sounds basic but its imperative. It allows me to structure my day and allocate time effectively.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
Rich Dad Poor Dad – Robert T. Kiyosaki
It changed the way I think about money. It allowed me to think about how I can achieve my goals by a simple tweak in my logic. I think it did a lot of good for me from a financial standpoint.
What is your favorite quote?
In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
-MLK
Key learnings:
- Stay organized, stay resilient.
- Learn & move on
- Treat yourself with kindness & conquer that inner dialogue.
Connect:
Instagram : @SpaceSkincare
Facebook : @VisitOurGalaxy
www.spaceskincare.com
Steve (Stefan) Junge hails from Germany and helps with the day-to-day publishing of interviews on IdeaMensch. While he and Mario don’t share a favorite soccer club, their enthusiasm to help entrepreneurs is a shared passion.