SEASON TWO | EPISDODE 2
​Grace Irvin-Dillard  (Touched by Grace Body Care) & Zachary Graulich (Growler Distribution Co.)

​Episode Themes: Product Developments, Product Management, Audience Development, Value Creation
Grace Irvin-Dillard
Touched by grace
Kent State University
Zachary Graulich
Growler distribution
John Carroll University
Winning in the crowded product market isn't easy, but Grace and Zachary rose to the challenge. After all, if you dream it, you can do it! Both of these college student entrepreneurs launched a growing venture -- a body care brand and an Amazon re-sale business -- in and around their respective campuses.

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Grace Irvin-Dillard, Touched by Grace Body Care
​What's one product that anyone could use? Soap! Grace wanted to launch a business with universal appeal, so she set her sights on sudsy bar soaps. Since then, Touched by Grace has grown to formulate and sell a variety of plant- and science-based personal care products for face and body: cleansers, serums, toners -- anything you need from head to toe. 

While double majoring in Entrepreneurship and Pan African Studies, Grace kept her eyes on the prize and took classes to not only help her start Touched by Grace but also registered for courses to help her manage the brand as it grows. Where does she get inspo for new products? She asks her customers and pays close attention to trends in the beauty space.
 
Grace's Tips
  • Learn from your customers -- their feedback is valuable. 
  • Grow your customer base through engaging social content - especially Reels on Instagram.​
  • Create content for one social media platform; re-purpose it for others.
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​Zachary Graulich, Growler Distribution
You never know where the idea to start a business will strike. For Zach, it was at a graduation party talking with friends. That's where he first learned about re-selling on Amazon -- purchasing stock from elsewhere and offering it to customers via product pages. While the COVID-19 pandemic affected supply chains around the world, for businesses like Zach's, it created opportunities to connect customers to the products they were so desperately searching for. 

But how does he know what will sell? Zach takes deep dives into the numbers and analytics on product sales. For example, if he notices a certain item seems to sell well in March, he'll stock up on it during another time of year to release it for sale during the following March. 
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Zachary's Tips
  • Be all about the numbers! Access and view data to help make decisions on what to sell.​
  • Provide good customer service -- it helps you stand out.​
  • Learn from obstacles. See mistakes as opportunities to pivot and not pause. 
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