Meet Stephanie Alexander | Small Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Stephanie Alexander and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stephanie, what do you attribute your success to?
The most important factor in our success is our work ethic. We are always seeking to improve ourselves, our brand, our products, our knowledge of the different ingredients and how they can help people, etc… It is a constant pursuit of improvement and overall excellence.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My husband and I are both active duty military, but we also are working hard to build our small business. This means that we rarely have days off, but for us it is rewarding to see our small business growing. When I started off making handmade and all natural soaps, it was for personal use to relieve some sensitive skin problems. As friends found out about my little hobby, I realized that there was a potential to grow it into a small business. Starting and growing a business is rarely an easy task, and it’s one that was made even more challenging due to the frequent training and transfer schedule that a military career brings. The most important lesson learned along the way is that because I have a passion for what I do, the work schedule is a lot easier to bear. If I did not absolutely love making soaps and skincare products, I think the stress and workload would have been overwhelming.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I think if I had a friend visiting, I would like to spend a part of a day at the Little Italy Farmer’s Market, and probably eat there too.
I would spend a day taking a trip to Julian for apple pie and to go hiking in that area.

I really enjoy the small town vibe and small business supportive atmosphere in the City of Imperial Beach. There is also a great walking/cycling trail there that we frequently ride. We usually go from Imperial Beach up towards Coronado, grab a quick bite and some coffee at some random local spot there, then catch the ferry across the bay and ride south back towards home. It’s a nice 22 to 24 mile ride, and it’s a great way to see a lot of the area and good exercise too.

The USS midway is a must see, it is such an important part of history and it’s right here for us to see and enjoy and remember the past.

Cabrillo Monument is another important part of the area for us, for similar reasons as the USS Midway.

And finally, the Kearney Mesa area has some fantastic (and really authentic) Asian restaurants that we really enjoy.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shout out to my amazing and very supportive husband. He works so hard on everything to try to help make this business successful, From building displays, to measuring ingredients, to cutting soaps, to all the hard work moving and loading/unloading/organizing heavy equipment and supplies… his (often behind the scenes) hard work helps to make progress towards our goals.

Also a big shoutout to all our loyal customers who often drive considerable distance to buy our products, tell their friends about us, and leave positive online reviews. All of these things are so encouraging to small business owners.

Website: lelusoaps.com

Instagram: @lelusoaplab

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