Founder Stories: Jonathan Plotzker-Kelly On Building Heliotrope SF
In today’s Founder Story, we feature Jonathan Plotzker-Kelly, owner of Heliotrope SF!
Read on for lessons he has learned from launching and marketing his business.
1. Please introduce your business and share your role.
My name is Jonathan Plotzker-Kelly, and everyone calls me JP. I’m the owner of Heliotrope SF, a natural skincare company based in the Bay Area. Being a small business, I do it all – product development, inventory management, website operations, marketing, and taking out the recycling. I feel strongly that taking care of your skin is important for everyone – men, women, old, young, etc. – and not only is it good for us, it makes us feel good, too.
2. What’s your backstory, what kind of challenges did you face, and how did you come up with your business idea?
I started out in retail in NYC after graduating college, and worked for all the big retail companies in the Bay Area for 25 years or so. After leaving my last position, I found myself considering my options – and during that time, I was searching for a fragrance-free shower gel (I have contact dermatitis and can’t use products that contain artificial perfumes).
I contacted some former business colleagues from my days at Bare Escentuals (now bareMinerals) & that personal search turned into a new business. Within six months, we had all new branding, a new website, and about a dozen formulas – and opened our first location in SF.
3. How did you prepare for, and go about your launch?
In the beginning, we really only had word-of-mouth and local (free) PR opportunities. Having been in Retail for many years, I knew a lot of folks – and part of having relationships is the desire to help & support each other. So some friends with shops picked up the line right at the beginning, and friends & neighbors came to events that we held at the shop, and we jumped on the bandwagon with donating to local charities & replying to every press request – and reaching out to all the SF local writers, bloggers, calendar creators, etc. (this was before the rise of the social media influencer)!
4. Since launching, what types of marketing campaigns and designs have worked best to attract and retain customers?
A few years into this, we realized we needed some freshness. So we reached out to graphic designers & redid our entire packaging program. We also started designing some online ads & placing them on social media sites (and Google). We didn’t want to be known for discounts & sale events, so we focused on the high quality of our products & that we were a small LOCAL business.
5. What have been the most influential brands for your business? Whose branding and marketing do you aspire to and why?
In the beginning, I took a lot of what I’d learned years before @ Bare Escentuals, with some ideas thrown in from other big skincare brands (Body Shop, Kiehl’s, et al). From a design standpoint, Aesop came along & really changed the focus – very clean packaging, beautiful design & architecture. But as for marketing, we really kept the focus on clean ingredients, local production, and doing things “small batch” so there weren’t a lot of models for that.
One thing that kept us apart from the competition was that the majority of our products were fragrance-free, and we stocked quite a few pure essential oils that customers could use to customize their purchase – you want Lavender Lotion? Great, give me two minutes & I’ll create it for you. That interaction was a big deal and made people feel good (both physically & emotionally).
6. What are your favorite marketing platforms/tools?
For good or ill, social media is really where everyone lives their lives today – including shopping, comparing products, and following the leads of friends (and influencers). We’ve had success not just with paid ads on sites like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc – but also reaching out to those influencers & offering free samples for them to try (and – hopefully – post about).
7. Who or what inspires and motivates you?
Our clients really do. The positive reinforcement I get from hearing users rave about their favorite products is really energizing. And believe it or not, my 11-year-old twins – they may be too young to worry about moisturizing, but they love Heliotrope and have become our breakout social media stars – showing up in reels all the time.
8. What are some lessons you’ve learned along the way that you would share with entrepreneurs hoping to launch or who have just launched?
Be patient. Things can take time. Don’t take every setback too hard – they’re just temporary! If you believe in your product (or your service), then show it – your self-confidence will go a long way to convincing others to jump on board.
Be willing to take risks – this can mean using your personal credit or reaching out to old colleagues you haven’t spoken to in a while, or making cold calls to strangers.
9. What do you believe are the qualities of a good entrepreneur? And what makes a team successful?
I learned from my sweet dad Melvyn that it’s all about the relationships. He was a bank officer back in NYC & all his clients loved him, invited him to family events, took him to lunch. Be kind to the people you meet, build partnerships – even if nothing comes of it, there’s no downside to having all these allies & supporters.
Some of the biggest, most important developments I’ve made at Heliotrope came to fruition purely from forming personal relationships with former business associates – when opportunities arise, they’ll think of you first!
10. Let us know where we can go to learn more!
- Website
- Heliotrope CBD Website
- Instagram:
- Pinterest:
- YouTube