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Many a business is born of a passion that has commercial possibilities. For Karen Kerk-Courtney, giving birth to her first child Ben in 2004 intensified her passion for healthy living. And when she couldn’t pronounce any of the ingredients listed on the hospital baby wash container (some of them 26 letters long!), she decided in that instant to clean Ben with water alone and committed to finding healthier alternatives.
So, you could say that her business was born with her baby though it took two years of extensive research and recipe creation before Bare Organics was officially launched in November of 2006.
For Karen, Bare Organics represents the ideal of what we all need to move toward—reducing over-consumption of unnecessary personal care products, making informed purchasing decisions and choosing all-natural, organic skin and baby care products.
Did you know that 60% of what you put on your skin can get absorbed into your bloodstream and that babies and children are especially susceptible? asks Karen.
Karen is proud to have created products people look for and are happy to use.
Like most bright and ambitious business owners, Karen says that hardest part of her business is finding enough time.
Everything takes 4 times as long as I imagine. Nonetheless, I am finally developing a schedule for manufacturing and packing and starting to carve out planning time but it’s orders that pay the bills so that is always the priority.
About six months ago, having reached a saturation point, Karen hired a business coach to help her see her blind spots and to hold her accountable to taking the business to the next level. She’s pleased with the work they have accomplished so far.
What’s been easier than she would have thought is fitting “family into business” and “business into family”. Even Liam, her 2.5 year old, speaks about Bare Organics when he’s with her on business errands.
Pursuing the development of an organic clothing line for kids turned out to be her biggest failure and her greatest lesson to date. She invested in large quantities of simple unbleached fabrics and production only to find that a competitor was offering much cuter fabrics and styles. She hadn’t done any market research and she paid for it. Fortunately, she recognized her mistake early enough and pulled the plug before she got in too deep.
Three years in, the next steps for Bare Organics are to get full organic certification (an involved and expensive process), launch a new brand and expand the retail base. Karen doesn’t hesitate when I ask what she needs most:
What Bare Organics needs most right now is cash for new product development and the organic certification process.
So any angel investor with a penchant for a healthier planet and healthier people can contact Karen to discuss how an investment can create an even healthier bottom line on many fronts.
As I write, my face is enjoying the natural oils of Bare Organics Serum and my legs are soaking up the moisture from Bare Organics Natural Massage Bar . While I have never been one to over-do it on beauty products, I am very drawn to the simplicity of a few quality natural products for all my needs. And knowing the woman and the story behind the brand made my purchasing decision very easy!
The notion that business problems are personal problems in disguise I believe can be traced to 
For my business coaching practice, you will get past the the velvet rope if you are:
Maybe you run a bakery and one of your values is Living the lemon chiffon/ red velvet cake life. To you and your employees, this value may mean that you aim to treat your stakeholders with lemon freshness, delicious transparency and develop rich, smooth relations. 
That being said, it was built around 1870 for railway workers in Toronto’s east end and over the years it has aquired quite a tilt. As such, “the house that Jack built” didn’t appeal to everyone. Happily though, it did appeal to one couple who will be the new owners starting in July.
You have made a decision to let a longstanding employee go because she no longer adds value to your company; your number one supplier is slipping badly and if they don’t improve, you are going to contract with another supplier; you need to tell your wife you are going on a week long golf trip with your buddies (and you neglected to consult her…ok this isn’t a business issue per se but business and life all blend together anyway, don’t they?). Whatever the situation, knowing you have to face it and have a conversation makes your stomach turn inside out. 
