Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections. An Interview with Ginger King and Michael A Forman
- mforman521
- Oct 17
- 9 min read
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Welcome back to another episode of Networking Unleashed, building Profitable Connections, where we break down the art of building relationships that actually grow your business, not just your contact list. Today's guest is proof that when you combine innovation with intentional networking, you don't just create products, you build a brand that gets noticed.
Ginger is a beauty industry force as the founder and formulator behind Clean Vegan Innovations. For brands like Fan love, beauty, she's built relationships that go beyond the lab into boardrooms, influencer circles, and major retailers. But here's what makes Ginger different. She doesn't network to collect names.
She networks to create impact, whether it's aligning with celebrity founders or staying ahead of what conscious consumers truly want. Ginger's stories packed with insights on how to leverage authenticity, niche positioning, and strategic collaboration to stand out in a saturated market. If you're in a space where credibility, connection, and clean values matter, this episode is your blueprint.
Ginger, welcome to the podcast. I am so excited that you're here. Why don't you introduce yourself and give us a little bit about your background. Thank you for having me, Michael. So I am a. Award-winning cosmetic chemist as well as a certified 10 x business coach. So what I do is I help people to build their own beauty brand from concept to launch, including formulations they can own.
I also help them with the sales and marketing after they launch their products because a lot of time people come to me for product, but they do not know how to promote the products, and that's where my coaching comes in. Wow. That's very good. Oh, I I can't wait to get started. That sounds very interesting.
Okay, so let's begin here. Let's start with the beauty industry. It's crowded, competitive, and trend driven. What role has networking played in cutting through that noise and helping you get products into major retailers? It's going to the industry event. It's not only for networking, going to industry event is actually a form of marketing to let people know that you are out there because if nobody knows you, nobody flows you.
So get your face out there. It's very important. So it's beyond networking. Yes, it's that's very true. All of the events, people think that they just have to go there just to network. But you're right, it's brand recognition and getting your face out there will so that everybody can recognize you and say, oh, I know her, or I know that product.
So it's very important you create clean vegan products. That's a specific niche with loyal followers. How have you used that niche to build a powerful network that both amplifies and accelerates your brand? We all know in order to create a following, you need to be niche. So you need to find who is your target market for every single product or brand that you would do.
So my brand Fela Beauty, we focus on speakers actually because the whole concept for Fela beauty brand was because I was with my mentor, Damon John the shark, at at event, and I saw him took out a lip balm and use in front of me. I was like, Damon, that's something so close to you that's. In your pocket on your lips.
It has to be my, since I'm a cosmetic chemist and they naturally have a cancer scare a few years ago. He's cancer free now, but can think about it. Lip balm is something that could be ingested because it's on the lips. And if you look at the market space. I guarantee you, you can either find petroleum Lenin or base Wax in the ingredient list.
There's nothing wrong with them. However, petroleum, unless it's USP grid, it could have carcinogen ingredient in there because it's from petroleum. Landin is from the old Greece. Long-term use, you can get contact dermatitis and beeswax. Nothing's wrong with it, but where do you get beeswax from the beehives?
How do you like your house to be messed up for human vanity if you are bee right? So it's not considered cruelty-free or vegan. And this is the reason why I focus on clean vegan beauty is because I provide a. More value to the society by giving better products. Wow, that's I can see where having the clean product really comes into it especially with, like you said, the lip balm and you wouldn't think anything of it, but you think about the ingredients that go into it and where those ingredients come from.
So that's very astute. Okay. When working with celebrity brands or influencers, what have you learned about the importance of trust and timing in forming partnerships that actually work? Trust and timing. They are everything. They are the basis for any business. Without trust, it's very hard.
It's not only trust you, you and your partner have to be aligned on your mission, on your vision, and on the value proposition, I. And timing is like you see on Shark 10, 10 seconds, you take it or that the ability to make decision is also very important. And if you are a good entrepreneur, you should have the gut feeling to feel if this is a good deal or not.
Yes, that's true. And there, there's a mantra with networking. If they know you, if they like you, if they trust you, they'll do business with you. Yes. And know you. That's pretty simple. Like you all that narrows the field just a little bit, but trust you, that's the main factor and you have to build on that trust.
So it's very good mixed with the timing, as you said. It all would be very good. You built a reputation for innovation. How do you network with people who keep you forward thinking rather than just clapping from the sidelines? For you to grow, you really need to get to in a bigger room. So I constantly go to big events, big conferences, so it's just keep growing because you are.
As good as your average five among you, right? Yeah. People clapping is good, but if they cannot really move you forward, you need to consider a separate circle. Yeah. Yeah. Different friends. Yeah. There's a saying that you surround yourself, with the people that you want to be around.
So you don't wanna be around people that's gonna drag you down or just have the status quo. You want people that are going to lift you up and say, okay, come on. You did this right. Go ahead. But you don't want Yes men either. You don't want somebody to say, oh, you did great. You did great when it really didn't follow through.
So very important to, to realize what's one powerful introduction or unexpected collaboration that completely changed the tr the trajectory of your business, and how did that relationship come about? I think this will be in reference of the John, my mentor. He has helped me a lot. Ever since I know him, I was just like a regular person, but I stalked him on social media.
I stalked him on every single event that he's there. I just show up and I provide value. I never ask him to invest in me because I understand you are not investible until you prove you are investible. You only get investors money to put fill on the fire rather than take investors money as a tuition. So you need to know where you're coming from, and I think a lot of people, they go to him just because, Hey, you are a shark.
Invest in me. I never ever do that. Yeah. No it's true. That is so true that you have to bring value first. You bring value to the relationships and I'm gonna go back to networking again. When you're trying to network with somebody like you did with your mentor, you have to bring value to the table first so they can see it.
So then they ask you the questions that you don't have to. So that would really come about. Let's talk about product development. How does networking help you stay close to consumer needs while also appealing to retailers, influencers, and most importantly the investors? There are different type of conferences.
There are retailers conferences. There are raw material supplier conferences, there are investor conferences. It's like I go to them all. So you're a very busy woman then. Yes. You go to all these conferences. Okay. There's a lot of talk about clean beauty. But not all of it is genuine. How do you use networking to cut through the greenwashing and align with people and brands who actually walk the walk?
I'm a cosmetic chemist myself. I do review ingredients that when the ingredient suppliers bring in the new ingredients, so I can tell if it's science, if it's science or is it's just marketing. Okay, good. Good. Okay then. So what role has personal branding played in how people approach you for collaborations and how do you protect your time and energy in a space full of shiny opportunities?
Okay, so what role does personal branding? Personal branding actually is more important than your own for creating any other brand because your brands can be folded, but you are still there, so that goes. Personal brand you'll always be around. So your reputation is extremely important to protect.
In terms of shining object, you just have to be very clear what is your purpose. So you need to stick to your mission. So it is taking on this project or partnership is gonna de track you or move you forward. That's how you gauge, you know what you need to understand your why. Okay good. If a young Beau Beauty entrepreneur came up to you today with a breakthrough formula, but no connections, where would you tell them to start?
Social media because first of all, she needs to put herself out there by using her own social media to build her personal brand. Also, she can emulate those who are already successful and just following them to see what kind of messages that they share. And if they follow enough of them, comment enough, like enough of the post, eventually you get noticed.
Okay. And so how would you suggest them increasing their social media presence Post daily and post on every single channels? Be omnipresent. Okay, good. And you know where let me see if Nope. You are successful today, but I'm sure you weren't always successful and you must have run into a problem as you're going up the ladder.
So give us a problem that you had and how did you get out of it? I think a problem. Everyone will have, if you are working in corporate is where can you go? What is the ladder the highest you can go? So that was the reason why a lot of people become entrepreneur because you control your own destiny. Do you upside potential is unlimited, like when you work within a corporation?
Yes. It's good. It's stable. But you always need to consider what is a risk versus reward, right? With you being on your own. Yeah, there are risk because there's no protection, but that's also push you forward to work harder, to hustle more and you'll have untapped potential because it can only go up. That's very good. Okay so let's bring this podcast full circle and looking ahead. What kind of relationships are you seeking more of now, and what does that say about your brand? How your brand is evolving? What kind of relationship on seeking is? Whoever wants to work with me, we need to have the same alignment because without the same alignment, it's just very hard.
Even with my clients, when they want to work with me, I request for a strategy call and I request that we are aligned on every single element before we start. Otherwise, we will have a lot of conflicts down the road. That's very good. Ginger, I, this was very informational. I'm so glad that you came on the podcast, but if somebody wants to get hold of you for either a reason, for the, your chemistry and cosmetics or whatever else, or just wanna be coached by you, what's the best way for them to get hold of you?
The best way is actually through dm Instagram, the Beauty Shark, ginger. Okay, good. Good. All right then, ginger, thank you very much for coming on the podcast and I look forward to speaking with you soon. Thank you.
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. A huge thank you to our guests for sharing such incredible insights today, and of course, a big shout out to you, our amazing listeners, for tuning in and spending your time with us. If you're interested in my digital courses being coached or having me come and talk to your company, just go to MichaelAForman.com and fill out the request form.
Remember, networking isn't about being perfect. It's about being present. So take what you've learned today. Get out there and make some meaningful connections. If you've enjoyed this episode, please don't forget to subscribe. Leave us a review and share it with someone who could use a little networking inspiration.
Let's keep the conversation going. You can find me on Apple, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, or my website michaelaforman.com/podcast.
Michael is a business networking expert specializing in enhancing professionals' networking and communication skills to drive profitability. As a leading authority in this field, he is highly sought after for his dynamic presentations and workshops. His extensive experience has consistently led to significant improvements in corporate profitability by empowering individuals and organizations to connect more effectively and efficiently.
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