Featured Entrepreneur: Kristin Fraser Cotte, CEO and founder The Grapeseed Company Inc.

How did you become an entrepreneur?
It’s been a lifelong process for me. I started my first business at age 14, teaching swim lessons in my backyard pool. With the help of my dad, mom and sister, Fraser Aquatics grew to over 250 students within 5 summers and ultimately provided me with the cash to leave Boston in a 30-foot sailboat with my boyfriend, Peter. During the long ocean passages, I studied botanicals, aromatherapy and formulating natural personal care products. When we arrived in the Caribbean Islands, I observed local women turning their plentiful supply of coconuts into lotions and soap. After our 2-year sailing adventure, Peter and I settled in Santa Barbara and began to learn about wine. I started formulating scrubs with grape seeds, a byproduct of the winemaking process. A spark went off when friends tried the products; I combined my passion with a local resource and The Grapeseed Co. was born.

What is the nature of your business What kind of product/service to you provide?
The Grapeseed Company creates botanical beauty from wine. Our organic vinotherapy spa & skin care products are hand blended with certified organic and local ingredients, pure essential oil based fragrances, and are 100% paraben, sulfate, and phthalate free. In addition, we produce a line for keeping your pets clean, green and sweet smelling, called Dirty Dog Organics. We sell retail through our website, wholesale, and back bar spa products for professional use- we are currently found in 30+ states across the USA. The Grapeseed Co. also formulates custom and private label lines for spas, boutiques and wine tasting rooms.


Why do you love what you do?
I firmly believe if you do what you love, you will love what you do!

How long have you been in business for yourself?
I started The Grapeseed Co. in 2004.

How do you attract clients?
We have a strong web presence and 80% of our wholesale and retail customers find us online. The rest are word of mouth. Twitter, GreenSkincareBlog.com and above all, excellent customer service have been integral in this. Our press features have helped too.

Share any information that helps to further describe your business including any publications, awards you have received or shows in which you have participated.
We have been featured in a number of great publications like Natural Solutions Magazine, Yoga Magazine, The Denver Post, EcoFabulous.com and Newsweek’s blog. I’ve been named a Top Health & Beauty Blogger by Alltop and WellSphere and also just wrote my second magazine article as a skin care expert.

Contact Info:
www.thegrapeseedcompany.com
www.dirtydogorganics.com
www.greenskincareblog.com
twitter @grapeseedco

Featured Entrepreneur: Jennie Reinish, owner, Tidepool Pictures and co-owner, Riviera Productions

How did you become an entrepreneur?

I have always wanted to work for myself. I wanted to have the freedom to make my own decisions and be as creative as I wanted to be. I started Tidepool Pictures while I was making my first feature documentary, while still working full-time for a Hollywood production company. When I left that job, I had enough savings to take the plunge and start working full-time for myself!


What is the nature of your business? What kind of product/service to you provide?

I am a video producer. I create video for all sorts of clients - from music videos to corporate training to special events and life-story videos. I have made videos for my clients' websites, for televised commercial and a lot more. I come in with cameras, audio equipment and lights, and after we film, I edit the project to the client's specifications. Then I provide the project on DVD or upload to a website if requested. There are so many uses for video - people are visual, and a video on your website's homepage is a great intro to who you are!


Why do you love what you do?

I love what I do because every client and every project is different. I love the variety. But most import, I get to help people tell their stories, and its that human connection that I am good at capturing on video, and that gives me so much satisfaction in what I do.


How long have you been in business for yourself?

I started Tidepool Pictures in 2003, and Riviera Productions, which does wedding and event video, about two years later. Both have been going strong ever since.


How do you attract clients?

Many of my clients find me by word of mouth, but I am also listed in the Santa Barbara Film Commission's Production Guide, and have had some great connections through that. I am also involved in a networking group of media professionals, and have had some really nice referrals through other members of that group. I've found that the best jobs come from other clients who were happy with my work, and give my contact information to their colleagues.


Share any information that helps to further describe your business including any publications, awards you have received or shows in which you have participated.

Along with my projects for clients, I am also a documentary filmmaker. I have produced and directed three feature-length documentaries so far. Two of them premiered here at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. My most recent project, which takes a look at what goes into fighting a major wildfire, was filmed here during the Zaca and Gap Fires. It is called "Behind the Lines: Fighting a Wildland Fire" and it just won the John Muir Gold Award at the Yosemite Film Festival. I put on my own premiere of "Behind the Lines" in June 2009 at Samy's Camera in Santa Barbara and proceeds from the event went to the Jesusita Fire Recovery Fund and the Stephen Masto Memorial Scholarship Fund (named for a local firefighter who lost his life fighting a fire here in Santa Barbara County in 1999.)


Contact:

Jennie Reinish
Tidepool Pictures - www.tidepoolpictures.com
Riviera Productions - www.rivierasb.com
805.965.2929
jennie@tidepoolpictures.com