Goodbye 2015, Hello 2016!

This year has been one of the most challenging, as well as the most physically and mentally exhausting years of my life. 3 months have passed since my beautiful mom died in my arms, and I still relive that moment DAILY. It's hard to fall asleep, sometimes, so I dance until absolute exhaustion, and sleeping becomes an unavoidable necessity.

This year, my aesthetic and health articles were published in 6 magazines, and my product has been featured and mentioned in more than 20 magazine editorials. I have managed to put out 4 new skincare items: http://saian.net/product/clinical-strength-eye-serum/ , http://saian.net/product/vital-k-creme/ , http://saian.net/product/pure-hyaluronic-acid-spray/ , http://saian.net/product/collagen-ampoules/ , and 2 supplements: http://saian.net/product/snc-labs-hyaluronic-acid-complex-ha/ , http://saian.net/product/snc-labs-hsn-hair-skin-nails-complex/ , as well as formulate a brand new cellulite gel ready to debut in 2016: http://saian.net/product/bio-contour-slimming-cellulite-gel/ all pretty much from the hard hospital reception room chairs and benches... 2015 was the year SAIAN Natural Clinical Skin Care expanded into the EU, and we now have an amazing Academy in Sweden, where skin care professionals get the highest quality training and certification with our natural products.

I'm brave and fearless, but I have to admit it's hard for me to post all this. I usually don't like to share my business on Facebook - I only keep this page for my close friends, my salsa family and classmates. Growing up in Russia, we had been told by our mothers - don't gloat, because no one likes a show off - your friends will hate you for being successful, and resent you for your happiness. This is our collective Soviet philosophy... but it's not MY way of thinking or living. There is nothing that makes me happier than seeing my friends succeed, be healthy, get married, have children, travel, receive gifts and prosperity from the universe. This world is so infinitely abundant - we can ALL have what we desire, and all the good in the universe can be ours, and if we can somehow share it with each other, that is even better! Give love, give time, give touch, give care, give a shoulder to rest a friend's head on, and give 10 minutes to listen to someone's story.

As we go into 2016, I would like to remind you that the calendar is absolutely arbitrary, and tomorrow is just the same as yesterday. No one will hold you accountable for breaking resolutions or for flaking on promises, except your own conscience. No one is ever able to hold you accountable for anything you decide to do, because YOU are the only thinker in your mind, and you can change your thoughts to be POSITIVE. Be YOU, do your own thing, focus on your own health, and surround yourself with people who inspire you.

Getting to Know Me

DERMASCOPE Magazine is trying something new with their Contributors department for 2016! In an effort to further educate their readers about the authors, they asked to include a ‘get-to-know-you’ section with some fun questions for their writers. I hope you enjoy reading my replies, and find out some cool things about me you never knew.

Dasha Saian 

L.E., CEO Saian Natural Clinical Skincare 

Twitter handle: @DashaSaian

• Go-to karaoke song?
Definitely has to be “At Last” by Etta James! I used to be a voice major in high school and college, so jazz is definitely the closest musical genre to my heart.

• Favorite exercise move?
Squats are what it’s all about, ladies. I like to work out with weights 5 days a week, and dance 4 days a week for 4 hours. It’s amazing how exercise picks you up, and revives you!

• Favorite restaurant?
It may sound corny, but my favorite place to eat is at home. There’s nothing like a good home-made meal - I’ll take my own cooking over any restaurant any day.

• Number one thing on your bucket list?
I have traveled the world, and done some crazy things, so can’t think of anything more exciting than having a child. That is the one goal to get done before kicking the ol’ bucket!

• Favorite drink?
Coffee, of course! I am in Europe often, and the variety of coffee there is mind-blowing! I always feel like a kid in the candy store at cafes.

• Favorite travel destination?
I love Hong Kong and China. Whenever I visit Asia, I get to practice speaking Mandarin, shop ‘till I drop, and visit beautiful ancient places. Europe is also wonderful - I can’t resist the charm of old cobble stone streets.

• Favorite book?
“You Can Heal Your Life” by Louise Hay - this is one book I never get tired of re-reading. She is my mentor and inspiration.

• Favorite social media site?
I love Facebook, because it lets me connect with my friends from all around the world. I am always happy to see photos of children growing up, and catch up on the lives of my far-away connections.

• Makeup product you couldn’t live without? (For example, foundation, eyeliner, lipstick)
I can easily live without makeup, but toothpaste and moisturizer - that’s a different story!

• Favorite sport?
I’m not big on sports, but I sometimes watch basketball.

• Biggest phobia?
Shrimp! I’m allergic, so I frantically check ingredients before taking a bite of foreign foods.

• Perfect pizza?
Doesn’t really matter what’s on it, as long as it’s eaten with friends over some good laughs!

• Favorite genre of music?
Salsa music is my addiction - I have a vast collection of mambo I’m very proud of.

• Favorite thing to spend money on?
Absolutely, with no questions about it, undoubtedly - travel!

• Favorite television show?
Oh gosh, it may be strange to tell you this, but I don’t watch TV at all. No idea what is going on, or what shows are on. I have no time or interest in pop culture, celebrities or fashion. Just living my own life one day at a time.

• What do you do in your free time?
I spend a lot of time dancing and taking dance lessons, traveling, and spending time with my closest friends. I believe that time is the resource that you can never get back, so make the best of it every minute!

• What does your name mean?
When people ask me what the meaning of my last name is, and why they have never heard it before, I explain that it’s unique, and everyone with this last name is related. My last name (Saian) means Zion - a very spiritual word. My mother told me that she heard that our ancestors were the first to arrive on mountain Ararat out of Noah’s arc. Zion or Sai-on was later changed to Sai-an like all armenian last names. The meaning of the word is “kingdom of heaven” and “Jerusalem”.

• Favorite decade?
Every decade is amazing, but I remember the 1990s being super cool!

• Celebrity crush? 
Will Smith! Isn't he everyone's? Just perfect in every way.

• If you could choose any artist to see live, who would it be?
Maia Plesetskaya, the famous ballet dancer. Watching the videos of her performances is electrifying!

• Biggest guilty pleasure?
It’s silly to say, but nuts are my downfall! I can easily eat 2 lbs of walnuts, almonds, and pumpkin seeds! I’m like a mad squirrel when it comes to nuts.

• Which “_______ for Dummies” book do you need to read?
Quickbooks for Dummies, please! I am sure the program is capable of a million functions, but in all the years that I have used it, I only know how to make receipts and enter customer data. Good thing my accountant is on top of things for me.

• Favorite childhood game?
Building tree houses was great - I was quite a tomboy in my days.

• Dogs or cats?
Both! I have a cat and a dog - they are both orange, fluffy, and loving.

• Cookies or cupcakes?
Fruit, please! I’ll take delicious natural goodness over baked goods any day.

• Would you rather explore the ocean or space?
The ocean is a bit scary for me, and so is space. I’d rather explore in books from the comfort of my own home.

Sorting Out Your Priorities

I'm always amazed at the number of people I constantly meet, who feel drawn to my ideas! I just returned from Miami, this weekend I will be teaching in NY, and everything I put my mind to is a success because of one simple reason - I have my priorities sorted out correctly. 

So many people live their lives in constant stress, because money is their main priority. Getting more money, spending more money, having money only to help others, having money only to show your status, spending money on others because they have spent on you, believing money is difficult to come by, etc. 

Are you allowing yourself to have fun with your money? Why not? It's just a means of exchange, that's all it is. This constant stress is what I feel, has created cancer in my mother's perfectly healthy and beautiful body, and (adversely) has helped me realize how to set my own priorities. For the past 2 years that I have been taking care of my mother and grandmother, while running a corporation, I have realized that prosperity thinking has nothing to do with marketing, making money, or having any special system of living. Prosperity comes when we realize that we are stable and have all the wealth we need when we know our next breath is provided for us. Just in the same matter, if your bills are paid, and you are safely asleep in a comfortable bed at night, trust that your stress will not aid you to make more money. 

I am completely aware that I don't have the ability to cure my mother's cancer, and this doesn't mean I have to break down and mourn her illness. Having my priorities sorted out, means that I take care of my family first, uphold the integrity of my business, take care of my own mental state by releasing anxiety, engaging in positive activities, helping the less fortunate, and doing my best not to project into the future. Who knows what is going to happen next? Just make the best of the time and sort out your priorities.

Why I Dislike the Word "Follower", and You Should, Too

As a business person, and a lifetime student of mentors and influencers, I often think about simple marketing flaws that companies make, and completely miss their mark because they underestimate the size of their audience. All messages that come out of your account, be it twitter, Facebook, blog, YouTube, Instagram, or Pinterest speak to MILLIONS of people, even if the majority of your audience seems to have a very small following. Many companies and public figures refer to their audience, customers, and fans as simply "followers". I dislike the word "followers", and make sure it doesn't creep up into my lexicon. 

Let's look at twitter. My biggest mentor and influencer, Gary Vaynerchuk, for example, has 126K tweets • 1796 photos/videos • 1.12M followers, and follows 7,624 people. I am one of his 1.12M followers, and (amazingly so) he is following me back. In fact, Gary Vaynerchuk and I follow each other on Twitter  since I met him at his #jjjrh book signing. My personal twitter has 1.3K subscribers, and my business twitter has 10.5K, but I don't like to call these people "followers", I prefer to call them "like-minded people". Every time you say a word, or write something, you are connecting to "like-minded people", who gravitate towards you because something you believe in resonates with them. I don't see a reason anyone would subscribe to my blog, Pinterest, or Twitter, other than receiving information they believe will resonate with them, and that is why these connections matter. 

Businesses and public figures who connect with their audience on a human level are always more successful and more influential than those who send out generic messages to "followers" and never reply to fan comments and questions. We are all people, when you connect with like-minded people, they will feel compelled to re-tweet, re-post, or otherwise share your content with their group of like-minded people ("followers"). Someone finds out about your philosophy or product from a friend, or someone they are subscribed to on twitter, they like it and re-post to their network, and all of a sudden you are exposed to a whole community of people who think what you have to say is valuable to them and their audience. This is how things work on social media - it's just like the old concept of "word of mouth", but this time, you are reaching millions of ears and making valuable connections no ads can rival with.

How To Become The Biggest Small Company

Trade shows are always wonderful, because my team members and I get to connect with other skin care professionals and vendors. Even though I have been participating in trade shows for the past 8 years, they never annoy me, or wear me out. Sometimes I hear vendors say they don't do trade shows anymore, because they feel they have outgrown shows, and don't want to spend the time and money. I don't agree with this philosophy, because as a professional brand, we owe it to the industry to show up, and give support to the estheticians. Isn't it great to receive free training, samples, discounts, demos, get answers to your questions, compare products, or just get to know the company philosophy and team? I think personal interaction is the best advertising, and maybe this is the reason my brand, SAIAN Natural Clinical Skincare,  is often referred to as "the biggest small company"! I want to give you some advice that will help you better understand what it means to be "the biggest small company", and how this will work for your advantage!

Oh, and this is me being interviewed by the amazing team of SpaBooker about my company's social media success! Which brings me to my first major piece of advice: 

Pay It Forward

This is a simple, yet majorly underestimated, and underutilized way of doing things, and you know what they say: "how you do anything, is how you do everything". It cost me absolutely zero dollars to mention SpaBooker in my blog, and give you a link to their site http://www.booker.com where you can sign up for scheduling services for your spa, salon, vet's office, or any other appointment-based business, and they paid me absolutely zero dollars to do this. Why did I just give them exposure? Well... you may also wonder why they interviewed me about social media, if I paid them nothing, and  they got nothing out of it but content. Content gets out there, people click on photos and videos, and do further research on things that they deem interesting and useful. It just so happens that some of their fans and customers may see me and become interested in what I have to say, and many of my readers will click on this link and see what awesome services SpaBooker can offer for their business. Magical, isn't it? Quite!

Respect Your Competition 

When we were little, we have always heard our parents and teachers say: "respect your classmates, play fair, etc.", but what happened to some of us once we grew up and established our own companies? Sadly, many people still don't believe in "playing fair", and outwardly put down other brands' philosophy, ingredients, practices, or anything else that they can think of, only to look better on that dirty background. Don't go down that drain, I beg you! Respect is something we owe to each other, as competitors in the same field. You surely feel how hard it is to wake up every day and go to work, try to make your current customers happy, gain new ones, spend money on ads, put out social media content, send a million e-mails, have issues with engineers or chemists, deal with UPS, pay the bills, make sure employees are saying the right things over the phone, and a plethora of other things we, as business owners, do. Respect your competitors as human beings, and that is all. Human beings who are also trying their best to succeed in a world of competition.

Offer Amazing Customer Support

We have friendly personnel in the office M-F 9am-5pm, ready to take your phone call, greet you with a delicious cup of cappuccino, or send you an e-mail signed with a happy face, and when the day is over,  another nice person is ready to answer your questions live on our site http://www.saian.net. Why is this important? Why do we keep answering your questions, even after you have placed the order, and completed the transaction? Why do we walk you through the steps of a collagen facial for an hour, even if you haven't completed the transaction? Human reasoning - when you know you're not alone, you feel empowered to use the product! You have help, you have support, and you know you're not a number. Our staff gets to know the customers, and remembers their preferences, and their favorite items. It's amazing to see our regular customers at the trade shows, and get to take photos with them! Several women have told me they always try my quinoa recipes, and love them! What a wonderful way to be a someone's favorite brand - teach them the way you eat, and they will always remember you, even at meal time! 

Don't Sell Out

I know it sounds quite ugly, but the message is plain and clear - if you wish to stay cozy and small, there is no need to become a giant conglomerate. Everyone wants financial freedom, the ability to place bigger orders with vendors, more global distribution, an easy and beautiful life, going to the bank and depositing money. That's great, but what is your passion? Mine is every single one of my products. They proudly bear my mother's last name, and that is what makes them my biggest passion... I don't want my passion on the shelves of Walmart, or a copy of my passion in Luohu mall in Shenzhen, somewhere between the fake MAC mascaras, and plastic spray-painted J'Adore bottles. I will stay small, stay true, and stay authentically professional forever. This is my promise to my mother. 

I hope you will find your passion, too, and I will support you 100%!

Home Is Where the Peace Is

"Wow! That's quite a lot of books you have there!" - exclaimed my friend as she sat in my car. I looked back, and giggled - I had almost forgotten that the back seat of my car looked like a bookshelf- I'd gotten so used to it over the years. I carry a book in my purse, I keep another book on my desk at work, and you should see my bed stands! Books have a very special place in my heart, because they come from a place of love, and carry associations that warm my heart.

While my mother was getting adjusted in the USA, I was raised my my grandmother, my father's mother, in Moscow, Russia. As you can imagine, the only ladies who ever came into our house were in their 60s, just like my grandmother, and (since fancy candy was scarce, and they were all engineers and abhorred pointless dolls) I always received books as gifts. My birthdays were filled with books, all signed by friends and classmates, and those gifts were all carefully arranged in the "library" that my grandfather built himself in one of the hallway hollows. This was a miniature room with a chair, and bookshelves that towered from floor to ceiling. Yes, I was the youngest proprietor of a library, and that was my safe haven.

I had severe problems with my kidneys when I was a child, so I spent a lot of time in and out of the hospital. I remember my hospital roommates always being rude, so I tried not to leave my room for a long time. My roommates had stolen from me, destroyed my belongings, and eaten the food my grandmother had so lovingly prepared for me, so instead of leaving the room  to play, a stayed and read. I read about Egyptian pharaohs, about the Incas and Mayas, I read all of Chekhov and Pushkin, Lermontov and Grimm brothers. I loved Dumas, and imagined the 3 Musketeers fencing their nemesis with épées in my hospital room! 

My days were filled with inpatient appointments, and reading, and one day, my grandmother came in the evening and announced that we were going home! I was discharged, and I could sleep in my own bed! It was about 7pm, and already dark outside when we left, and I remember how the snow crunched under my boots, and how great the fresh, cold air felt inside my nostrils! It was freezing cold, but all I wanted was an ice-cold can of coke and real food. Everything tasted delicious when I was home - even the air had a different taste, and it was amazing! 

Years later, I am re-living my hospital experience with my mom. While she undergoes her doctor's visits, lab work,  MRIs, avastin infusions, ultrasounds, and chemo preparations, I read, and float away on the loving clouds of books. We typically spend 2 to 5 hours a day at the hospital, about 3 times a week, and there is no better time than the moment we both know we are done for the day, and are going home! That moment that she tells me what she feels like having for dinner, and how extremely famished she is (and there is no way she is eating anywhere other than home!) 

There is no place like home. No place that can comfort you, and make you feel well and healthy. That's why home is where our peace is. I sincerely hope you all have spent a beautiful Holiday with your families, and give gratitude for your home today, and every single day you have the privilege of sleeping in your own warm bed, and making yourself a meal in your own cozy kitchen.

Book review of "Rework" by Heinemeier and Freed

Flip the pages of "Rework" and you will be pleasantly surprised by the black and white drawings that grace every other page. It is a bit unusual for a business book... When you start reading, you will realize this is an unusual type of book, giving unusual advice. Did I mention it is great advice, because I truly believe so!

"Rework" takes business outside of the box by making it available to everyone. One of my favorite concepts is getting rid of the word "entrepreneur", because it is dated. The writers suggest throwing away traditional ideas of what a business person looks and dresses like, and just making and selling a product or service YOU would want to buy. The book mocks workaholism, and gives many reasons as to why anyone can be successful by working normal hours.

The writers emphasize the importance of doing what works for your business, as opposed to doing what everyone else does to get ahead, ie: hiring more people, spending more on ads, acquiring more territory. You can't please everyone, so make sure you know what you're selling and who your customer is, and you will do great.

The most wonderful advice anyone doing any kind of business will benefit from, is to become educators. Let's "out-teach" the competition! Anyone can sell you a scarf, but the companies that take the time to make a video and show you 20 ways to tie it really stick out of the crowd. This is a brand that creates fans! This is the way I have done business for the last 8 years. Educating not only shows my professionalism and knowledge, but encourages customers to try to copy my technique and treatments to do better and make more money! A wonderful example of this in the book is comparing brand educators with chefs who openly publish their recipes and secrets. 

I love this book, it was a quick and pleasant read, and surely, very informative. I would definitely rate it as one of the year's best in business.