White Earth isn’t just another skincare business. It’s a homage to wellness, self care and family. Founder Liz Anderson has an undisputed passion for health, one that has shaped the philosophy of her business and her personal life.
Liz comes from a corporate, ex-military background. She’s had first hand experience with stress that comes with the territory of the job that she uses to empathise with her customers.
As she changed gears through life, Liz started White Earth as not only a vehicle for her passion, but as a way to affect positive change in her local community.
Taking skin care to the next level
Nothing is done half-heartedly at White Earth. Even the choice of name was carefully chosen to reflect the foundational ethos of the business.
The name is a homage to Liz’s father, whose last name was White. After his passing, Liz used his name to carry on his legacy. As for Earth, Liz reflected on what mattered to her most.
“I have a background as a beauty therapist. So skincare is my passion and I’ve always used natural products because I think we put a lot of chemicals into our system without knowing it.”
“We have other choices that we could make that will lessen the impact that we put on our planet. So the creation of White Earth was a way of offering natural products.”
The bridge between these two elements was a focus on customer experience and fulfilment. For Liz, this meant ensuring that customers were treated as human beings, and their experience with White Earth went beyond just a transactional relationship.
Customers had to feel like guests when they visited White Earth, and they had to leave feeling confident that their needs had been met.
Making customers feel like guests
With an ironclad commitment to guiding people to better skincare, Liz set out to establish White Earth. As she moved towards fashioning her passion into a business, Liz had a clear frame of mind of what White Earth’s philosophy would be.
“I wanted to create a space where people connect their mind, body, and spirit, and breathe. I’ve come from a corporate, ex-military background and it was very high pressure. So self-care was very important to me.”
Determined to ensure that customers would have a guided experience, Liz and her team aspired to give customers attention and care, not treat people as potential sales.
It stemmed from understanding all too well that self care is something that can easily fall to the wayside amidst a hectic, high pressure environment most folks find themselves in.
“I had a lot of friends and family that didn’t apply or didn’t take the time for themselves. So every person that comes into our store is our guest – they matter and we just help them with whatever they need, it might just be to talk.”
That level of care doesn’t stop with in-store customer experiences. White Earth is also dedicated to making a difference in the local community by partnering with three charities through i=Change – supporting children recovering from abuse, teaching healthy masculinity to boys, and cleaning the seas with Sea Bin. White Earth donates $1 from every purchase, with customers getting to choose which of the three causes the money will go to.
One team, one vision
To say Liz is dedicated to White Earth’s vision would be an understatement. With White Earth’s mission so closely tied to Liz’s personal values, she naturally became the beating heart of the business.
She has a presence in each of her stores, supporting the team and customers when they need it.
“I work in each of the stores at least one day a week. I’m pretty much the filler, so I do all the purchasing, the admin and as well as customer service. That’s what I love to do, so why wouldn’t I do it?”
Liz’s team in store share her passion, and they take their roles to shepherd customers to the right products seriously.
“I’m very blessed. I have incredible staff who are aligned with my vision and they love their job and they love connecting with the customers. That’s what gets us through the tough times.”
Building up the local community
Looking to the future, Liz plans to continue growing the business, starting with her own skin care line.
“We’re gonna have our own skincare line. That’s what we’re working on in the next 12 months. So we’ll have that on offer in our stores, but also I would like to offer that up to other business owners to support as well.”
Liz is excited for this new stage for White Earth, but she’s not stopping there. In true fashion, she’s expanding her vocation to support fledgling businesses.
“I’m creating a course or a workshop for other business owners to help them follow their passions and provide any support.”
If White Earth’s journey is anything to go by, any wisdom Liz shares with other business owners will undoubtedly be invaluable.
Learn more about White Earth’s growth using Lighstpeed’s unified POS and Payments platform.
News you care about. Tips you can use.
Everything your business needs to grow, delivered straight to your inbox.
