Find out how Nikki Hunter from Green Vanity is making it work for her clients during COVID_19

We love talking about what’s happening in our community. It’s inspiring to watch businesses support their clients and their community in unique ways during this COVID_19 crisis. We want to spread the good word! This month, we’re sharing some of an interview we did with the owner of Green Vanity, the always-inspiring Nikki Hunter! Green Vanity offers a multitude of ethical, vegan and cruelty-free skincare products, make up, one-on-one consultations about skin health and wellness, and so much more. Nikki is doing amazing things for her clients during this difficult time. Read below to find out more about her business, how things have changed and how she’s meeting these new challenges to stay engaged with her clients through Green Vanity.

Fast Facts:

• The physical storefront of Green Vanity is closed, but the shop is ‘open online’ taking orders and most importantly, taking virtual appointments to discuss your product needs (and so much more).

• Green Vanity has impeccable sanitary practices! Here’s a quick breakdown of how Green Vanity packs your online order to keep you safe:

• Staff pack your ordered products with fresh gloves and either UV Sterilization or specialized disinfectant depending on the product type.

• If ordered to an area outside of the Kelowna delivery zone, your sealed order is packaged and put into a quarantined area until ready for pick-up by mail.

•  If ordered within the Kelowna delivery zone, delivery is made in a closed, sanitized tote and only opened when at the delivery destination (with a fresh set of gloves) and left at your doorstep.

• Even though Green Vanity’s ‘signature in-store consultations’ aren’t available right now, you can take advantage of their awesome online consultation services (everything from skin consultations to an ‘I need some love’ option)!

Get to know Nikki and Green Vanity:

Green Vanity has been open since October 2015, and is a proud leader in the Clean Beauty movement, with a wide range of products that are sustainability-focused, vegan and cruelty free. Beyond the products sold, is a movement of motivation and inspiration, led by owner Nikki Hunter, all about healthy practices in skincare, product buying and self love. She sees the quest for happy, healthy skin as going beyond the ‘skin-deep’ level. Nikki, known as the ‘skin wizard’ by her clients, believes that gaining a deeper understanding of why you do what you do can save you emotional toil, time and money. Even if it means Green Vanity loses a sale, Nikki sees a healthy client buying the right products as the biggest win.

Her holistic approach to matching the right products with each client and engaged, caring interaction is one that is proven to work. With over 2,000 followers on Facebook, over 3,000 on Instagram, and actively visited podcasts and blogs, Green Vanity is thriving! Check out our conversation with Nikki, below.

Interview with Nikki Hunter:

How has business changed for you?

“Believe it or not, I had prepared for my worst fears, already. My ‘plan through my fears’ need had me prepare for what I would do if something like a world disaster or pandemic hit. So, by asking myself the questions of ‘what would that look like?’ and ‘what could I do to respond to that?’ I inadvertently created a pandemic plan for Green Vanity long before I actually needed one.

This is why I already had not one but two UV Sterilizers for Green Vanity. I knew being prepared for these things would ease my own anxiety of ‘what if’. Since we have a rigorous and extensive sanitation method in place, and can ship across North America or do door drop delivery in Kelowna, we are still actively in business! 

We’ve also shifted our usual ‘in the chair’ consultations to virtual consultations, online. This is totally doable, as I can look at someone and divine crucial information from what I see in the virtual consultation. This, along with their answers to questions I ask about their skin, their stress levels,  their routines, etc, means I can keep being the ‘skin yoda’ to the Green Vanity community. It’s tough because our store is an amazing place that brings people together in our community, and I miss that. I miss the physical connection of having clients in my chair, but we are making the most of the situation and I’m so glad to still be connecting with regular and new clients, online.” 

Is Green Vanity still offering everything as usual?

“As I said, Green Vanity is still fully operational online. While we’re proud to sell awesome products, the biggest thing for us is meeting with our clients, online. There’s just so much turmoil going on; people are losing jobs, feeling stressed out and upset. Their skin is showing that stress and no product is going to magically fix that. There is no 911-ing your skin in a stressful situation, and it’s very normal for basic routines to be left by the wayside. So while clients may come to Green Vanity thinking they need new products, what they actually need is to keep up their routines, or to form new, healthy routines that will need time to settle.

There is huge peace and grounding to be found in routine, especially in difficult and uncertain times like these. I go live on social media with a face-washing routine every night to keep myself and my clients accountable. Your skin sees the benefit, but your mind and soul sees it, too. I am so glad to have the opportunity to connect with my clients, online. Green Vanity isn’t fear-based marketing or opportunism, we’re about sustainability, accountability and kindness. We market on community and connection, not just on products or the bottom dollar.”

What is a message you want sent out about Green Vanity going forward?

“To sum it up, I guess I would say that we’re all doing our best, and we need to show each other and ourselves, grace. Some days are hyper-productive and I’m feeling on fire with new ideas and goals for Green Vanity, and some days I need to stay in bed and rest. And I know from my clients that it’s the same for them. I’m so glad I can do my part to help answer questions and ease burdens for any of my customers, because they do the same for me. Green Vanity is all about them, it’s my clients’ business, not mine. I’m here to serve them and I look forward to it, every day.

And finally, I’d like to say that Green Vanity is serving up personal accountability like it always has. We’re here to help you dig in, be invested and find a long term, routine-based skin solution that works for you. Come join us and get going on a routine that will help you during times of stress and times of peace.”

Follow Nikki and Green Vanity to get connected with a happy, healthy skincare and beauty tribe:

• Green Vanity Website: www.thegreenvanity.ca (check out the awesome blogs with tips, guidance and honest recommendations)

• Green Vanity On Facebook: The Green Vanity (@thegreenvanityboutique)

• Join Nikki’s wonderful face-washing and skincare group with live videos, here

• Green Vanity On Instagram: the.green.vanity (@the.green.vanity)

• Podcast: The Nikki & Raina Show (on Spotify or Itunes, link on website and on social media)

Businesses are needing to adapt every day because of COVID_19. We are seeing just how important it is to shift into an online model to still engage with and meet the needs of your clients. If you ever need to talk out options or ideas, we at Lifeblood are here to grab a virtual coffee with you! Reach out anytime, www.lifebloodmarketing.ca.
Have a community story or a company you’re loving that you want to share with us? Email Carmen at Carmen@lifebloodmarketing.ca or message us on Facebook or Instagram at Lifeblood Marketing. We love hearing from you!