Q&A: A natural solution to eczema

This week we chat to Geeta Powani, founder of natural eczema skincare
range My Mia's Skin Relief. The company is named in honour of Geeta's daughter,
the power behind Geeta giving up a successful corporate career to start
her own business.

GP: This is a venture unlike any other for me. It was born from the
absolute need to help my daughter, Mia, together with her severe and chronic eczema. Mia
have been in hospitalised twice, had Twelve months of UV light therapy, daily bleach
baths, regular antibiotics and up to 10 tubes of steroid ointment every month. But
still there was no end to her eczema symptoms.

I pressed pause on my corporate career, took a totally holistic
approach to manage Mia's health. From the inside out. This included moving to
organic and natural skincare products. These changes means Mia did
not require any medication on her eczema for three-and-a-half years. These
skincare goods are the skincare Mia still uses and are being sold in my
ecommerce business, My Mia's Skin Relief.

GP: Honestly, the largest challenge was getting out of my own way. This
was more than just a business; this was my daughter's life. I was sharing our
saddest and most vulnerable journey with the world.

So, the launch started very slowly, taking a measure at a time. However
as more and more customer testimonials started coming in, we could see that our
journey had not only given rise to these amazing natural skin care products for
eczema, but people's lives were improving. It has been so uplifting, and helped
me become very clear about our business mission: That every person deserves to
shine bright, and not hide away because of eczema.

GP: I really like business. In fact, it shaped my subjects at school, my business
degree and completing a postgraduate qualification like a Chartered Accountant. My
corporate experience has provided me with an excellent foundation for running
my online online business, it has:

• Helped me to never take things at face value and try to look at the root
  cause of an issue.
• Given me a very clear understanding of the financial numbers when
  operating a business: Balance Sheet, Profit & Loss, funding my company,
  managing cashflow, inventory.
• Provided the discipline to use a use a data driven approach to running
  my business – looking at return on ad spend, product margins, repeat orders
  etc.

So, whilst I am guided by my heart with the way i connect with customers, I
prefer to make decisions based on numbers and data.

GP: Yes, both my
brother and sister are Pharmacists. They have been helpful in my product
development to date, but more than that I see that together – together – we can
continue add some amazing services to our range.

GP: On the positive side, COVID lockdown was a time
to slow down and produce myself up to speed with new marketing techniques,
ecommerce training and read plenty of business books.

Negatively, our domestic and international orders
were delayed. Deliveries from Sydney to Melbourne had to have over 30 days. I
found this so upsetting, when i knew these beautiful customers were awaiting
their parcels – and I felt helpless within this process.

GP: You've got this! You're stronger, wiser, braver than you realize. Don't
doubt yourself, ever! Hold a clear vision of where you want to go. Continue to
show up every single day taking action towards your goal. And merely take one step, and
then your next step. Before you know it, you will be inspiring others all around
you by just being the amazing you that you're.