In this episode of The Beauty and the Brand Podcast, licensed aesthetician and founder Leah Hacker shares how she built Hayven by Leah, a clean beauty brand designed for sensitive skin and busy women. Working just 10 hours a week while raising two young children, Leah has grown her business with a conversion rate of 1.95%, an average order value between $64–$70, and an email list with over 50% open rates. Together with Aggie, she unpacks how survey insights revealed that word-of-mouth referrals and Facebook traffic drive her brand’s growth, and they brainstorm practical strategies like referral campaigns, quarterly promotions, and creative activation events to scale Hayven further. Listeners will walk away inspired by Leah’s scrappy, authentic approach to building a beauty brand from the ground up — proving that even with limited time, founders can create meaningful traction by focusing on the right marketing levers.

Chapters:

• 00:00:00 - Kicking Off: Meet Leah and Her Brand Journey
• 00:01:45 - From Confused Messaging to a Crystal-Clear Website
• 00:02:30 - Juggling Mom Life and Building a Brand
• 00:03:27 - What a 1.95% Conversion Rate Really Means
• 00:04:25 - Turning Email Into a Revenue Machine
• 00:05:34 - The Referral Program Hiding in Plain Sight
• 00:09:11 - Stop Random Sales: Plan These Instead
• 00:16:49 - The Power of Word-of-Mouth—Done Right
• 00:21:01 - The Real Cost Behind Gifting Campaigns
• 00:21:27 - Why Warm Leads > Cold Traffic (Always)
• 00:22:47 - The Lead Gen Strategy You Can Start Tomorrow
• 00:23:01 - Easy Ways to Promote Campaigns with Email + Social
• 00:24:01 - This Teacher Appreciation Idea Is Pure Gold
• 00:26:27 - Instagram or Facebook? The Answer May Surprise You
• 00:31:23 - Quarterly Activations: Map Your Momentum
• 00:33:46 - Free Consults + Freebies That Actually Convert
• 00:37:19 - Final Action Plan for Busy Founders

• 👉Take our 5 Days to Growing Your Iconic Beauty Brand Challenge for only $17! -
• https://abcreativenyc.com/signup
• 👉 Scale from 0 to 7 figures without spinning your wheels with the Beauty Brand Roadmap: https://abcreativenyc.com/the-beauty-brand-roadmap
• Aggie on LinkedIn
• AB Creative
• Aggie on Instagram
• Hayven by Leah – Clean Beauty for Sensitive Skin
• Hayven by Leah on Instagram: @hayvenbyleah