 By Terry Johnson Business & Marketing Expert and Teacher Green buds are finally appearing here in the Mojave Desert, a sure signal that spring is on its way! Temperatures are slowly rising, which means much more time outdoors but also reminding us that it is time for some serious Business Spring Cleaning.
Here is my spring-cleaning list of things to do: 1. Dust Off Your Business Plan When was the last time you reviewed your business plan? If your business plan has been collecting dust, spring cleaning is a great time to give it the attention it deserves. Instead of a one-time exercise, think of your business plan as a tool that can help you reevaluate how you’re doing and where you are in your business. As small businesses constantly develop and change, unexpected things happen, and your business plan needs to adapt to these changes. 2. Brush Up on Your Vision, Mission and Value Proposition These important business tools are mechanisms that keep businesses continually focused in the right direction. Does everyone working with you within the natural essence supply chain thoroughly understand them including employees, your accountant, lawyer, banker, suppliers, and customers? 3. Do a Full Sweep of Your Customer List As a small business, your customer list is likely one of your most valuable assets. Are you nurturing and caring for those customers as best you can, or are the responsibilities of running your small business keeping you too distracted? Spring is a great time to check in with customers, past and present. For those you haven’t served in some time, see if they need your services again. While cleaning up your customer list, you can also make a list of potential customers and try to secure new business. Remember, in these post-covid times everyone needs natural essences now more than ever. 3. Scour Your Books Spring is when many small business owners are already getting their financial paperwork and tax documents in order, but it’s also an opportunity to take a step back and do a financial inventory. See where your business stands, review your revenue and expenses and identify areas where you can save. That could even include evaluating your current accounting processes to see if there are ways to make them more efficient. 4. Clean Up Vendor Relationships As part of your spring cleaning, take some time to reconnect with your various vendors to express how important they are to you and how you can work together to improve and develop even more valuable relationships going forward. 5. Spruce Up Your Marketing Strategies Marketing is vital to any small business, and spring is the perfect time to examine and spruce up your marketing strategies. Like your business, marketing tactics are constantly changing, so you must consistently improve your marketing plan. You might research new marketing trends, take a deep dive into social media, or set up new marketing technologies . What marketing efforts are producing the best results? Consider eliminating and replacing any marketing strategies that have not resulted in expected revenues. Spring is a wonderful opportunity to refocus, reevaluate, and strengthen your business going forward for the rest of the year. If you need assistance for your perfume business, follow Terry Johnson's course: Learn Business and Marketing in the essential oil environment.
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 Part 1 Al-Andalous, Haroun al-Rachid and CordobaBy Creezy Courtoy, Perfume Historian and Anthropologist When we talk about perfume, everyone thinks about Paris as the center of perfumery, and we forget about the whole world of perfume history. I would like to remind everyone the way perfumery entered Europe and the role of Spain in the perfume heritage. It is not an accident that Spain is taking the lead today in the evolution of perfumery. Spain has an important perfume heritage. For the first episode of this new series, I invite you to follow me into the Spanish Middle Ages. The initial invasion of the Iberian Peninsula was led by the Umayyad general Tariq ibn Ziyad. In 711 CE, Muslims swiftly conquered most of the region, establishing control over a large part of what would become Al-Andalus. By the time Haroun al-Rashid began his rule, the Umayyad dynasty had already been overthrown by the Abbasids in a revolution known as the Abbasid Revolution in 750 CE. After this, those Umayyads who escape established their own rule in Spain, with Córdoba as the capital, thus continuing the Islamic presence in the region. Haroun al-Rashid was the fifth caliph of the Abbasid dynasty, ruling from 786 to 809 CE. He is often remembered as one of the most famous and well-regarded caliphs in Islamic history. His reign marked a period of cultural, economic, and scientific flourishing within the Islamic Golden Age. Under his rule, Bagdad became a center of trade and commerce. The capital city was known for its architectural wonders and was a hub for scholars and traders from different cultures and backgrounds. During and after Haroun al-Rashid’s reign, Córdoba emerged as a significant center of Islamic culture and learning. The city became renowned for its advancements in various fields, including medicine, philosophy, and poetry. It was marked by architectural achievements, such as the Great Mosque of Córdoba. Al-Rashid was a patron of the arts and sciences. He encouraged literature, philosophy, and scientific endeavors, which helped to foster a rich cultural environment. The famed collection of stories known as "One Thousand and One Nights" (or "Arabian Nights") was completed during his time, though it is a compilation of tales from various sources. The Abbasid Empire, under Haroun al-Rashid, thrived economically, which fostered trade relations across the Mediterranean. This period saw extensive trade in luxury items, including perfumes and essential oils. Arab merchants were known for their high-quality fragrances, which would find their way into Spain through the Perfume Roads.  Spain became a center for cultural and scientific exchange. The Arabs brought with them advanced knowledge of alchemy and distillation, which was crucial for the development of perfumes. They introduced new ingredients and techniques, influencing the European approach to perfumery. They brought with them the art of perfume and the science of perfumery, the culture of flowers and raw material for perfumery. This period saw advancements in the methods of extracting and blending fragrances.
The city of Córdoba, during the height of Al-Andalus, was a major center for learning and culture, including the art of perfumery. The influx of goods, including perfumes from the Middle East, brought new scents and the art of fragrance creation to Spain. While Haroun al-Rashid may not have traveled to Spain himself, his reign contributed to the cultural and economic exchanges that facilitated the introduction and evolution of perfumery in the region, influencing both local practices and later European traditions. Perfumes became a status symbol within Spanish and later European courts, much as they had been in the Islamic world. The use of elaborate fragrances reflected wealth and sophistication, and this cultural aspect can trace some of its roots back to the interactions during Haroun al-Rashid’s reign. The Islamic presence in the Iberian Peninsula lasted from 711 CE until 1492 CE, a period of nearly 800 years significantly influencing the culture, architecture, language and science of the region. Check our next Episode: Spain a Forgotten Legacy Part 2 In the meantime if you are passionate by perfume, follow Creezy Courtoy's World Perfume History Course |
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