Advice Line with Susan Griffin-Black of EO Products
Today’s callers: Ruchi from Chicago looks for advice on which channels to focus distribution for her probiotic skincare line. Then Peter in San Francisco considers strategies to champion his line of organic South African wines. And Dominic from Barbados asks about expanding his specialty coffee brand into international markets like the United States.
Plus, Susan discusses how people and relationships can make or break your business.
Thank you to the founders of Yobee, Culture Wine, and Wyndhams Bajan Coffee Roasters for being a part of our show.
If you’d like to be featured on a future Advice Line episode—where Guy and former show guests take questions from early-stage founders—leave us a one-minute message that tells us about your business and a specific question you’d like answered. Send a voice memo to hibt@id.wondery.com or call 1-800-433-1298.
And be sure to listen to EO Products founding story as told by Susan Griffin-Black and Brad Black in 2019.
This episode was produced by Casey Herman with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineer was Robert Rodriguez.
You can follow HIBT on X & Instagram and sign up for Guy’s free newsletter at guyraz.com or on Substack.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
How I Built Resilience: Live with Susan Griffin-Black
Each week, Guy will be hosting brief online conversations with founders and members of the How I Built This community about how they're navigating these uncertain times. This past Friday, Guy spoke with Susan Griffin-Black, founder of EO Products. Susan's company has made a full pivot by only producing hand sanitizer and hand soap from their facilities in San Rafael, California. As she continues to run her business, Susan told Guy about protecting her employees while trying to make enough hand sanitizer for her community and frontline workers.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black
In the early 1990s, Susan Griffin-Black was working for Esprit in San Francisco. On a business trip to London, she walked into a Covent Garden apothecary shop, picked up a bottle of lavender oil and took a whiff. The aroma — "like being in a beautiful garden" — literally changed her life. That was the inspiration to develop her own line of essential oil products. For 15 years, she and her husband and co-founder Brad Black barely scraped by, but the business eventually thrived. And though their marriage ultimately ended, their partnership continues. PLUS for our postscript "How You Built That," Lia Heifetz of Barnacle Foods describes how she and her partners turned Alaskan bull kelp into pickles and salsa.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.