Daisy Jing is a YouTube vlogger and a mompreneur who founded and bootstrapped a now multi-million beauty product line named Banish. She has knowledge and experience in business and marketing. Her business is ranked #152nd fastest growing company in INC500. She was also included in Forbes 30 under 30 in manufacturing. Just recently, she had an opportunity to share her passion for authenticity at a TEDxTalk.
She realized that many current skincare ingredients, such as fragrances or fillers, break out her skin so she created her own skincare products in her kitchen. She documented her struggle on her YouTube channel, which now garners over 70M views. Eventually, her followers saw great results on her skin and encouraged her to launch her own business. Now she and her diverse team focus on inspiring confidence in others. Together with the Banish Warriors and Soldiers, Daisy joins the acne community in their skin journey.
What is Banishall about?
We created a product line that gets to the root of problems, not just to cover them up temporarily. Banish uses fresh natural ingredients, sourced from the West Coast of the United States. Our agenda is to focus on the internal rather than external healing.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your business?
You know that insecurity you’ve always had? Well, mine has always been my skin. Since the 3rd grade, when I developed my first pimple, I’ve had terrible acne. I didn’t know why. I tried product… after product… after product. Salicylic Acid. Benzoyl Peroxide. Sulfur. Tea Tree Oil. Differin. Bunch of oral antibiotics that ended with ‘mycin”. Anything that had to do with acne, I tried it.
Dermatologists became my best friend. I had numerous appointments with them, but my acne was stubborn and persistent. My classmates would say to me: “How about for prom you put a paper bag over your face? And cut holes only for your eyes and mouth?”
I graduated college and had finally saved four thousand dollars to get my skin lasered. I badly wanted the acne scars to go away. Just before getting the procedure done, I met a plastic surgeon who told me about using this cosmetic tool in conjunction with a Vitamin C serum. He recommended this routine much more than undergoing the procedure. The system is non-invasive and natural, and creates far better results than anything he has seen before.
I didn’t think much about it, but a few months later, my viewers on YouTube were complimenting me about the noticeable difference on my skin. So, I asked if they wanted me to send them some and within a few days everything was sold out and as the saying goes, “The rest is history.”
How has the pandemic affected you or your new business?
I have colleagues all over the world and I must say that all of them can attest what difference this pandemic made in terms of making the environment cleaner. Air is cleaner to the point that huge buildings and tall mountains can now be seen from afar. The water of the rivers, oceans, and seas are now clearer and trash in the streets is now lesser.
Communities started to connect with each other to find help and support with one another. Before this crisis happened, everyone lived on their own and ignored each other but now that everyone seems vulnerable and blind about what’s happening outside and needs support from their nearest neighbor, everyone loses their pride to seek help and also help other people.
What was the biggest problem you encountered starting up and how did you overcome it?
One of the first most difficult things was I had about $50,000 worth of inventory that was completely destroyed because I didn’t have the right paperwork. I didn’t know what I was doing. I thought I was going to fail, that I was so naive for thinking I could start something on my own. But the biggest thing that kept me going was to focus on the next step, taking that one foot in front of the other, and to be focused on my vision instead of worrying about what would happen in the future.
What were the top mistakes you made starting your business and what did you learn from it?
No health, no wealth. Avoid getting sick at all costs. Keep your health a priority. Eat fruits and vegetables, take your vitamin C, and get enough sleep! Everyone thinks that you’re an entrepreneur and you must be very busy — like working 20 hours a day. That’s not sustainable, not even possible! There’s no way anyone can do that and still be in good shape. Prioritize your health because, without good health, you won’t be able to create wealth, can’t enjoy that wealth, and you’ll just see yourself crying for what is “left.”
Credit cards help my business have something to use and pay for it in a 30 or 60-day term. It also allows me to have 3x more points and use it to redeem tickets and other items for personal/business use. For me, a credit card shouldn’t be used for borrowing money. It is used for convenience and a better way to spend money with bonus points to use and longer payment terms. I also transfer my rewards to travel partners and use them to book flights or upgrades. It is cheaper to book flights, especially during last-minute flights, using points than cash.
What is one thing that you do daily to grow as an entrepreneur?
I have daily meetings and tons of interviews/calls from people I need to attend to. I also do random IG lives and stories.
How do you manage running a business while traveling?
I’m a fan of travel. For some people, it may be stressful; but for me, new experiences, sights, foods, cultures, give me energy. I’ve traveled so much that I already have a system and routine. I have two sets of electronic chargers, makeups, toiletries, etc. I just leave them in my suitcase and don’t unpack them. I have a list of staples I need when I travel. Usually, I bring athletic clothing because it’s comfortable and practical. Then when it’s time to go, I can get everything ready in under 10 minutes. If I’m recharging while travelling, I try to limit the number of decisions and planning I have to do. Therefore I take one of those hop-on, hop-off buses and sit the entire ride so I can see the city from afar. Then I’ll take a free walking tour to get some exercise and hear about the city from a local. Afterward, I’ll sit in a cafe, grab a cup of coffee and some lunch, and then head back to my hotel room to work and recharge.
There are some instances where during my travels, I will just stay in a hotel room the entire day to relax and recharge. I’ll take a nice bath, watch some TV, order room service, and then focus on my work. It’s nice to stay in your hotel room for an entire day while traveling because there is nowhere you need to be, no errands to run. Hotel rooms are convenient because there is everything there! No need to grab coffee or get distracted by the city. I find I get most energized and recharged when I am alone in a hotel room, away from all the distractions.
What was your first business idea and what did you do with it?
After school, I worked in management consulting so technically, I didn’t jump to entrepreneurship. It all happened by accident. There was never really a moment when I decided to start a skincare business, I never read entrepreneurial books or made a business plan. It kind of just happened because I wanted to solve the problem for my own skin and I couldn’t find the solution out there. I already built a dedicated following on YouTube, so it was fairly natural to start selling my own products.
I always say that if I haven’t had acne, my bad skin, if I didn’t suffer with my appearance, then I would have never started Banish. It’s a blessing in disguise. I’ve always suffered with my skin, even to this day. I became obsessed in researching every single ingredient and reading clinical trials and studies about ingredients and certain products. I have over 700 videos on YouTube with over 70 million views about skincare, so I know quite a bit about the beauty industry and skincare in general.
My very first step was to look for help from plastic surgeons, dermatologists, and also read through a lot of clinical studies. We worked with chemists in labs and manufacturers for beauty and skincare.
What are you learning now? Why is that important?
I would say my biggest challenges are the hiring procedure and managing people afterward. Learning how to work with people is challenging for me since people have different personality types and there are so many ways of how they can be managed better – it is a learning curve for me. Managing people is the hardest. I think in the beginning it’s all about getting things done and being productive but the next step in scaling the business is learning how to manage and lead people to the right direction. At first, I was in the ‘get things done’ mode but I’m trying to transition into a more strategic way of operating – to hire amazing people and be more strategic in managing them.
What is the one thing you wish you knew before starting your business?
I thought my job would be something creative. I could do more stuff I wanted to – visionary and the exploring aspects but now I end up managing people and solving issues that come up every day. That is totally out of my expectation! Not as glamorous as I expect it to be, and personally, it affects a woman CEO differently.
What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?
We had a hard time reaching influencers before – it’s either they get too many requests and don’t see our emails or their managers filter our requests. Last year, we put more efforts in reaching micro-influencers with a big following, good content, and great marketing skills. This year, we are focusing on real stories of our customers. We noticed that this kind of tactic actually works! Whether big or small – as long as we are authentic, we have a big impact!
What’s your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?
A successful CEO should be a risk-taker, not a perfectionist! He should be stubborn and determined but still able to work on something that may actually not go anywhere that makes sense. A successful CEO doesn’t follow the crowd and do things his way. He can see a vision of things 10 to 20 yrs from now. He knows the trend and can innovate.
You shouldn’t aspire to be a CEO when you need to be told what to do and you need approval of things. If you want things to be organized and always want a daily routine or specific directions, don’t dream to be a CEO. If you are a perfectionist, you can’t be a CEO because business is messy.
What’s a productivity tip you swear by?
It’s vital to have a daily routine and block your specific tasks on a specific schedule. When you have a time schedule for each task, make sure you don’t cheat to sneak some social media or nap or snack time but use it as a way to focus more on your task that time. Once the task is done, celebrate it by spending the rest of your specific time on other things that you want to do too.
What is your favorite quote?
It’s not the way you look that matters; it’s the way you feel.
What is your definition of success?
I always want to do something that would help others and make them feel more confident about themselves. I want to go out and change the world. Success is when I’m able to be the best version of myself, and in turn, use my gifts to help other people. As long as I find what I’m talented at and use that talent to impact others lives positively, I know I still do my main goal & always have my feet on the ground
How do you personally overcome fear?
In making decisions, whether it’s big or small, it is important to know what you can and can’t control. We tend to think about everything (including the fear of the unknown) instead of focusing on the things that matter now. Enjoy and live life one day at a time and you’ll be less obsessed on small things and focus on finishing what can be done today
- Tiktok
- Google Drive
How is running a company different than what you thought it would be?
There’s no right or wrong way to do anything in business. There’s a lot of factors involved. What works for one person/company, won’t work in a different situation. There’s absolutely no rule book or reason why things work out and some things don’t. That helped me because sometimes certain recommendations weren’t right for our company and instead of taking people’s advice I realized that only I can make decisions at that time.
How can readers get in touch with you?
I’m on Instagram @daiserz89, learn more about acne and join our community on Youtube, The Acne Channel and finally, you can tweet us at Banish
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