Four years of Mojave desert living had taken a toll on Psyche Terry鈥檚 skin. But that dry skin became the business opportunity she and husband Vontoba Terry took on as they worked on their master鈥檚 degrees at 51吃瓜网万能科大 in 2009 (he in economics, she in the Executive MBA program). The couple has spent the decade since then developing their multimillion-dollar company, UI Global Brands, headquartered in Frisco, Texas, north of Dallas.
At the center is their extensive line of natural skin and haircare products called , the idea for which took shape while they were graduate students. Its moisturizing creams and lotions, body washes, shampoos and conditioners are now sold online and at 7,000 retail locations nationwide including Walmart, Target, Macy鈥檚, CVS, JC Penney Salon, TJ Maxx, and Sally Beauty Supply.
However, the Terrys are quick to explain that it took plenty of tenacity and trial and error to get inside those retailers鈥 doors.
鈥淲e are the pioneers of the `clean-beauty鈥 industry, we really are,鈥 says Psyche, co-founder and CIO (chief inspiration officer) of UI Global Brands. The sizeable line of Urban Hydration products features all-natural ingredients including lemon, vanilla, and rosehip extracts as well as castor, coconut, and hemp seed oils and shea butter. 鈥淥ur products are known to be great-smelling and extremely moisturizing.鈥
鈥淲e say, `Nature unites us.鈥 So, no matter what you look like, if you have dry skin or dry hair, nature can unite us together. We鈥檒l give you some good old-fashioned home remedies like shea butter and castor oil that can come in and do a good job.鈥
The Terrys credit their experiences at 51吃瓜网万能科大's Lee Business School with preparing them for their journey toward entrepreneurial success.
鈥淪tudying economics taught me how to think and form a balanced approach toward analyzing problems and looking at both sides,鈥 says Vontoba, who earned a B.A. in finance from Bowling Green State University. He rose through the ranks to become a vice president with Comerica Bank before 鈥渟tepping out鈥 of the corporate world to take UI Global Brands full time.
While enrolled in an entrepreneurship class at 51吃瓜网万能科大, Psyche said she and Vontoba began to test some of the small business ideas that they had conceived, which included making and selling chocolate-covered strawberries and flavored popcorn. The duo failed 鈥渕iserably,鈥 she recalls.
However, participating in a business-plan competition sponsored by the university provided them some much-needed direction. 鈥淚t made us write down an idea and identify a problem and a concept, and that鈥檚 really where (Urban Hydration) unfolded,鈥 she says.
Just before submitting their plan for a skincare company into the competition, the pair decided to add a size-inclusive lingerie line into the mix.
Despite losing the competition, the couple remained undeterred. They attended MAGIC, the annual fashion-industry tradeshow in 51吃瓜网免费App, and invested their own money to fund the production of their first batches of inventory. They networked with business pros, and even held fish-fry and spaghetti dinners in their small apartment to connect with potential customers.
2010 was a big year for the Terrys: They started a website and took their first online orders. Vontoba鈥檚 job transferred the couple, who at the time were expecting the first of their three children, from 51吃瓜网免费App to North Texas. Meanwhile, Psyche decided to leave her position with Whirlpool Corp. and devote her career to developing UI Global Brands.
The following year, the pair applied for and were accepted into the inaugural session of The Workshop at Macy鈥檚, an exclusive vendor development program to help up-and-coming business owners grow and succeed. The couple also launched Inspire Psyche Terry, a line of plus-size bras, sexy sleepwear and other undergarments, which were sold at Macy鈥檚and featured at Walmart stores under the brand name Audrey Olivia.
Grabbing the attention of the world鈥檚 largest retailers has been no easy feat.
Vontoba and Psyche pitched Walmart a half-dozen times, road-tripping to attend meetings at the company鈥檚 headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, before it agreed to stock UI Global Brands鈥 products in some of its stores.
鈥淓very time, we鈥檇 get different feedback and suggestions,鈥 he recalls. 鈥淲e got told no several times,鈥 including one occasion when they learned that their handcrafted product labels 鈥渨eren鈥檛 good enough. If (Walmart) had put the original product out (with those), it wouldn鈥檛 have sold. When we did launch our bra line in Walmart, it sold out.鈥
Since 2011, their products have been available on Target.com 鈥 long before Urban Hydration was granted shelf space earlier this year at select Target stores, as well as some CVS locations throughout the nation. They shuttered the lingerie line in 2016 to focus solely on Urban Hydration.
鈥淭he future is looking bright. It鈥檚 full-speed ahead鈥 for the family-owned-and-operated business, Vontoba said, adding that the couple plans to continue building brand awareness for its products. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 just want to be in stores, we want to establish loyal customers who are like, `My first choice is Urban Hydration.鈥欌
Philanthropy plays an important role in the Terry鈥檚 personal and professional lives. In 2016, UI Global Brands joined forces with WATERisLIFE, which provides safe, clean drinking water to villages and schools around the globe where it is lacking. A portion of the proceeds from every Urban Hydration product sold has helped to build and fill a pair of wells in Kenya. The company鈥檚 goal is to help fund the construction of 10 wells by the end of 2020.
鈥淥verall, I think the people that we touch by way of giving them good products that they can actually use, that actually help, as well as knowing that we鈥檙e doing good internationally is what really drives us,鈥 Psyche says. 鈥淚 think I鈥檇 be successful no matter what 鈥 it鈥檚 just my makeup. I think Vontoba would be successful no matter what 鈥 that鈥檚 just how he鈥檚 created." That they鈥檝e 鈥渃hosen to use those gifts to help other people be successful is what matters most to me.鈥
The Terrys Business Advice
Psyche Says 鈥
Put yourself out there: 鈥淜eep yourself around people that are (performing) higher than you. 鈥 If you鈥檙e the highest-paid person in the room, you鈥檙e probably in the wrong room. If you鈥檙e the best-eating person in the room, you鈥檙e probably in the wrong room. Go to rooms that you鈥檙e uncomfortable being in. That keeps you humble.鈥
Know your purpose: 鈥淚f your product, idea or concept isn鈥檛 solving a problem or isn鈥檛 filling a space, go back 鈥 and keep going back 鈥 until you figure out what can and what does. It鈥檚 so crowded out here (in the marketplace). It鈥檚 best to figure out how you鈥檙e improving a process or improving a situation. That will guarantee sales.鈥
Marriage and business can mix: 鈥淲e鈥檝e learned that sometimes when you go to work, you treat your employer or your coworkers better than you treat your own kids or your spouse because you鈥檙e afraid of being judged. 鈥 If we鈥檙e willing to be extra nice to people outside our home, we should bring that same spirit into the home.鈥
Vontoba says 鈥
There鈥檚 no time like the present: 鈥淚f (aspiring entrepreneurs) wait until they鈥檙e ready, they鈥檒l be waiting for a long time. You鈥檝e got to leap in at some point, and when you do leap in, you鈥檝e got to be together, you鈥檝e got to be organized and you鈥檝e got to be willing to learn a lot very quickly.鈥
Be knowledgeable: 鈥淧eople say the customer is always right. No, they鈥檙e not. Sometimes the customer is wrong. 鈥 But the customer is first, and the customer is most important. Knowing your customer, where to reach them and how to reach them, is important.鈥
Work together as a couple: 鈥淭he first year, it was tough. 鈥 What we learned is that it鈥檚 important to be honest and transparent and to air our feelings so that everything is on the table. We鈥檙e on the same team and we鈥檙e respectful (toward one another) in front of our employees, even when our emotions get high.鈥