products, Herbaer Labs .
To learn more about his adventure of how he managed to succeed and fulfill his dream, we provide you with the podcast so that you can listen to it at any time or while you are on the go:
And if you want to start your own adventure, we can recommend this free entrepreneurship ebook .
But we also summarize the conversation with Rebeca in this transcript:
What is Herbae Labs:
A brand that was created to sell food supplements made from natural ingredients with the aim of improving health. Our products are for sale in a Market Place.
We also have a vocation to educate on how we should eat, what we eat... We think it is very important that we learn to eat well in order to enjoy a healthy life, that is why we create content on nutrition, sports, economy..., ecology, nature.
How the idea came about:
First, I have to tell you the story of each founder: we are 3 people who worked for 3 years in a nutrition and health startup focused on new technologies. This company closed (the life of startups is a bit complicated), and I, with my colleagues Laeticia (IT) and Dominique (business), thought about launching something on our own (we are crazy about nutrition and everything related to physical and psychological well-being).
My part is communication and marketing. I found that the nutritional supplements market lacked a younger content, the image was very medical and aseptic. So the idea arose, to propose products that we would have liked to find on the market , attractive in image and philosophy and that are effective and coherent in the times we live in.
The working method:
It is a digital and connected company in every sense. We do not have an office or official premises because we have just started and it is an unnecessary cost.
We live in an era where you can work remotely. Everyone works individually, we meet once a week and follow an agenda with what we have done that week and set goals for the next. Even if we don't see each other, we are constantly communicating via text message through the computer.
How to balance personal and professional life while working from home:
When you launch your own project, it will require a lot of your attention. The good thing is that you are the one who allocates your time. You have to be very organized and responsible.
Working from home every day, the isolation, the lack of social contact, for me personally, this is one of the facets that I miss the most (taking a break and being able to chat). What I do is go out, work outside, draw a line between professional and personal. Nowadays, there are many coworking spaces for entrepreneurs where you meet a lot of people of all kinds, you can also go to coffee shops or meet up with other people who work from home.
In order to achieve a balance, you have to be very clear that it is not a bed of roses; you have to always get up at the same time and not spend all day in your pajamas.
What are the next objectives:
Our first goal is to expand the business and reach as many people as possible. Investing in marketing to be present on the screens and phones of those interested in this type of product is our priority.
The second thing is to expand the range of products. At the moment we have 17. Our goal is for each person to find what best suits their needs. We also want to expand with natural cosmetics, superfoods…
And third, since we are a fairly international team, we want to expand and reach the rest of the world thanks to the possibilities that the Internet gives us.
Rebeca Herrera, entrepreneur at Herbae Labs
What are the most in-demand products:
The best-selling ones, and the ones we started with, are the detox and weight loss packs, which are very popular, but our star product is Hair and Nails, to take care of the health of our nails and hair.
Tips for starting a business:
First, the person has to do a very sincere internal examination. It is a path in which you have to make many sacrifices and we never have a guarantee that it will work.
Second, do a good market study. The most important thing is not the idea, but knowing how to sell your idea. You have to know if the idea is viable, profitable, look at the competition (how they position themselves, what prices they have, what they do that works, what they do that doesn't work), and don't be afraid to follow the market leaders. It's not about copying, it's about getting inspiration.
Third, look for information, as I have to do, even if you have no idea how to create a company, you will have information from the Chamber of Commerce, from attending trade shows, conferences, webinars, talking to other people who have already started this adventure...
Fourth, the most important thing is to make an assessment of what skills we lack, and train ourselves to be as autonomous as possible. I personally have always had a taste for graphic creation and I have taken advantage of the opportunity to do some training on it.
Tips for setting up a company outside of Spain:
I would also give you a few tips:
Going to work abroad is not just about working abroad, it is about living abroad, changing your daily routine, being far from your family, your culture, your language, your city… Opening your own company is a fascinating adventure, but it is also hard.
If you want to move to a place where another language is spoken, you have to bring a minimum. It may not be required at your job, but in my case (communication) language is the basis.
Information is the key. To leave with everything in order, you need to know the working conditions in that country, whether it would be easy for you to find a place to live, whether the conditions in your area are favourable…, and think about the possibility that things may not turn out as you expect and that if you return to Spain there is a Plan B.
If you are very clear about all this and you are thinking about going abroad, you list of usa cell phone numbers have to go for it. I encourage everyone to do it, temporarily or indefinitely, it is a very enriching experience and it gives you many positive points.
I have the feeling that a lot has changed in 5-7 years. We are in the middle of the digital era in which new jobs, ways of working, selling products, careers are being created…
Many people look at this with fear, as if people were going to lose their jobs because of new technologies and the automation of tasks.
Things just change and you have to adapt, I think it's a good time.
Another big change is that before there was a tendency towards specialization, today on the contrary, multitasking profiles are sought, you have to multiply your skills.
Is there a perfect career path?