Soap, suds and surviving Hurricane Ian with Deanna Wallin

July 6, 2023

This week’s guest is Deanna Wallin, founder and CEO of Naples Soap Co. She has a classic entrepreneur story: she sought a product, soap for her daughter’s sensitive skin. But no one sold one she liked. So in 2009 Deanna, a former nurse, created the soap on her own. Then she started to sell it. After a decade, with lots of twists and turns, she’s at the helm of an $11 million publicly traded company that mixes a dozen or so stores with flourishing ecommerce options, selling a line of self-care products.

Join us as we speak with Deanna and delve into her solution-oriented mindset, leveraging technology in the hiring process, the experience of taking the company public, and more.

3 Takeaways

(03:58) If you see a problem, solve the problem
(07:30) In order to delegate, have trust in your team, set the expectations, and have deadlines for deliverables.
(12:50) When beginning a difficult conversation, start with “may we speak candidly?”

Timestamps:

(00:25) Interview starts

(01:25) Deanna shares how she got started

(04:35) Taking Naples Soap Company public

(06:35) How Deanna has grown as a leader

(09:25) Building a 20,000sqft warehouse and corporate office

(10:50) What do you look for when hiring other leaders?

(12:20) Having difficult conversations as a leader

(14:52) Utilizing technology and Predictive Index

(16:30) Hiring in the current market

(18:15) Any leaders you look up to?

(21:08) Recommended reading from Deanna