Rosie Herman

Rosie’s recipe for success literally started right out of her own kitchen.

It was December 1998 and Rosie was $75,000 in debt from fertility treatments, had maxed out 5 credits cards and was struggling with extremely dry hands, an affliction she affectionately called ‘lizard skin’. The fertility treatments paid off and after the birth of her twin daughters, the former manicurist turned stay at home mom decided to take matters into her own hands. With the girls, Jordan and Emily, asleep Rosie began to experiment with ingredients she bought from the grocery store -essential oils, sea salt and a few other organic products that wouldn’t affect her breastfeeding the twins. Finally satisfied with a product she approved of, she asked her younger sister to help out with a loan so she could make more. Originally called “Mommy’s Magic” Rosie gave it to a dozen friends as Christmas gifts and the requests started pouring in.

Her older sister who worked at a salon asked for 10 jars which she sold for $25 each and in no time there was a waiting list of clients wanting the product. Her sisters, neighbour and baby sitter all pulled together to help with packaging and whatever else needed to be done. To supplement the family income, Rosie gave manicures at night and her husband sold carpet and flooring during the day and watched the girls in the evening so Rosie could work. Ironically, Rosie met her husband at the salon when he came in one day for a manicure. Demand increased and the product was more widely available in professional beauty salons. Demand soon outstripped supply. Her husband quit his job to help run the new business and sell to more salons while Rosie attempted to get a bank loan but was turned down again and again. A stay-at-home mom turned entrepreneur was not a credible profession. Not willing to take no for an answer, Rosie traded her wonder product with friends for diapers, she’d clip coupons and fill out credit applications with the hope of financing her newfound business. In the meantime she borrowed her sister’s credit card to purchase supplies that were shipped to a friend’s auto parts store. A bank finally approved her for a $5000 loan and she ‘took her show on the road’ and sold One Minute Miracle at local fairs and craft shows.

As demand increased, production moved from the kitchen to the garage and ultimately a 20,000 square-foot warehouse space with manufacturing equipment became necessary. Eight years later, Rosie had sold over $20 million of One Minute Manicure products is sold throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

The Hermans remain humble about their success and Rosie will tell anyone today, all she ever intended to do was to get out of debt and take her girls to Chick-Fil-A once a week as a treat. Rosie still checks every batch made – to her it’s a recipe not a formula.

Necessity truly is the mother of invention!

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