Skincare brand founder boosts revenue 300% with reformulated business approach
At a glance
Octavia Phillips had been creating natural skincare products out of her home in Philadelphia for years, inspired by her family’s origins as organic farmers in central Virginia. A scientist with a master’s degree in biomedical sciences, Phillips made balms and creams, which friends and family used for eczema, burns and other skin concerns. Her passion project eventually evolved into Touch of OShea Natural Skincare, a full line of natural deodorants, body butters, hair oils, tattoo care, and other skin and hair essentials.
While Phillips had perfected her products, running a small business was another matter. “Those first five years I was in business, I had no clue what I was doing,” she admits.
After making Touch of OShea her full-time focus in 2025, Phillips turned to Verizon Small Business Digital Ready, a free online platform that helps entrepreneurs build business skills. The program helped her rework her pricing strategy, leading to a 300% year-over-year revenue increase.
Optimizing pricing and generative AI for business growth
Phillips originally priced her products low, believing she’d attract more customers. But after taking part in “Pricing for profit,” a Hands-On Help virtual event with one-on-one expert guidance, she learned to price her products based on both the time required to make them and her use of clean ingredients. An Ask the Expert virtual event called “Charge what you are worth” further reinforced the idea that Phillips should increase her prices to mirror the products’ value.
Although she said she was “terrified,” Phillips raised some prices by as much as 35%. The change worked: She had her best-ever first quarter, boosting revenue 300% from the previous year.
Digital Ready also reshaped her approach to AI. An Ask the Expert event on using AI for content creation taught Phillips how to write better prompts and develop more inventive social media content, such as a comic series featuring characters trying her products. The first installment drew nearly 500 views, with some customers asking about her products and others making purchases.
Phillips even built AI agents for roles such as chief of staff, CMO and CFO, which saved her seven to 10 hours a week on administrative work. The changes impacted her sales, too. For a back-to-school sale, the CFO agent helped structure the promotion, while the CMO agent wrote ad and email copy. The sale hit its revenue target.
Embracing newfound confidence as a small business owner
One of the biggest changes for Phillips is harder to quantify. She used to compare herself with entrepreneurs with large staffs and brick-and-mortar stores. “I used to feel so embarrassed telling people that it’s just me running this little business,” she says. But a Digital Ready “Founder SWOT” virtual event—in which she mapped her strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats—helped her feel empowered.
“I always looked at being a solopreneur as a limitation, but the event helped me see it as an opportunity,” Phillips says. “I get to build every part of this business from the ground up.”
That confidence also led her to consider opportunities that once felt out of reach. After a Digital Ready virtual event called “Creating the perfect pitch,” Phillips used AI to help her develop her first pitch deck. She is now considering entering a pitch competition to help her obtain funding. Additionally, an in-person event about selling at major sporting events prompted Phillips to register as a vendor with the city of Philadelphia, leading to opportunities with a Black men’s wellness coalition organized by the mayor’s office.
Phillips is also building her own network of small business owners she met through Digital Ready events, both online and in person, providing her with a support system made up of people who are navigating the same challenges. “You feel so alone [as a solopreneur],” she says, “but when you get in these spaces and hear from other business owners, it’s great.” She says she regularly encourages other small business owners to try Digital Ready; three colleagues have signed up for the free resources thanks to her advice.
Now, Phillips is focused on the future. She plans to hire her first full-time associate within the year, and she’s eager to honor her loved ones and carry forward their tradition of organic agriculture. She says, “That’s one of the reasons I make sure my products’ [names] center around my family members, because it’s important to keep that grounding and legacy.”
Verizon Small Business Digital Ready is part of Verizon’s goal to support 1 million small businesses by 2030 with free resources to help them succeed. To sign up, visit Verizon Small Business Digital Ready. Visit CitizenVerizon.com to learn more about the company’s responsible business efforts. An individual user’s experience may vary and results are not guaranteed.
