Essential U Blog

What's Your Story?

2008-10-09T16:48:44-07:00

Tell It, with Essential Wholesale, Bella PR and You

love my PR company. I’ve been working with Bella PR for several years and they have never failed to impress me. Meredith Morville-Reilly is in communication with me daily. When I send her an email, I have an answer as fast as email can travel (sometimes faster). Logic tells me that I am not her only client but the level of customer service that I get from Meredith makes me feel like I am her top priority. When I asked Meredith to help us spread the word about the FDA Globalization Act of 2008, she got right on it. She developed a press release this week that quickly got picked up by many news organizations. I asked her if she was open to trying something a little untraditional to increase the effectiveness of the indie cosmetic industries campaign against this act she was all for it.

The idea behind the Essential Wholesale, Bella PR and You media campaign is that, if we join together our resources, contacts and voices we will be stronger. Bella PR in their representation of me is willing to be the credibility source of our media blitz. And you and I together will be the stories that make this media outreach program came alive.

Sample Media Release

Click here to see the media release Meredith created to explain why Essential Wholesale is against the FDA Globalization Act of 2008. Use it! Copy it! That's right, cut and paste it, add your name to it and send it out to your local media. How easy is that? Where else can you blatantly plagiarize, with permission??! Don't miss this opportunity.

Once you send out a releease, we will then set up joint interviews with the press, you and I. Many outlets will print our story just as it appears in the release. Some will call Bella PR to set up the interviews. There's no script, just get the word out! We'll deal with the details later!

If you don’t like the idea of doing a joint release, than you are more than welcome to remove my story and Bella PR from the release and fill in your story. My objective is to get our story heard and the louder we are the better our chances are of being listened to. Come on!! Won’t you join me in this media campaign?

A Patch of Blue

2008-10-09T16:31:01-07:00

Find Your Patch of Blue --- It's Out There

hen I graduated from high school, I literally walked out of the ceremony, posed for pictures and walked away from everything and everyone that was related to my two years of high school in San Antonio. I went to college at Lewis & Clark and never looked back. When I left for Oregon, I thought I would never step foot in San Antonio again. I had struggled through two very difficult years (but that’s a different story) there and was counting on my parents being transferred overseas before my winter break. That fall, when I got the news that the transfer wasn’t going to happen, in time I was devastated.

I didn’t want to go back to a place that was full of difficult memories. I had run away and mentally burned all bridges that led to San Antonio. I remember walking back to my dorm reading the letter from my parents totally crushed. I ran into my friend Van (who was by the way the happiest person on earth) along the way. I told him how desperately I never wanted to return to San Antonio even if it was only for a six week winter break.

I have never forgotten what Van said to cheer me up. It was a typical rainy, dreary, grey Northwest day and Van said, “There is always a patch of blue sky no matter how bad things are.” We scanned the grey skies and I couldn’t find it. He told me, “Wait for it and it will come, even if I don’t see it right now it will appear.” Sure enough as we stood there in the pouring rain a tiny patch of blue sky appeared. It was small in the vastly dark sky, but it was there. He promised me that just like the patch of blue sky appeared so would something good from returning to San Antonio.

I went home that winter break and it turned out that I needed surgery which I never would have been able to have had overseas. I recovered in the safety of my parent’s home and never venture out into my old world. Nothing bad happened and the memories didn’t consume me. I discovered I could face my fears, return to hard times a stronger and new person. Most of all the “blue sky” appeared when my parents were transferred back to just before my summer break.

The timing of their transfer was perfect. We lived the entire summer in a hotel in Offenbach. My mother and I had no jobs, lacked the distraction of moving into our new housing, and our family found ourselves in a country we loved at the exact right moment in our lives.That summer was one of my favorites because our housing hadn’t opened up yet so we lived like Eloise in a hotel for months. My dad was new at his post, so he wouldn’t let my mom and I get jobs at the only place to work on base (he would have been our boss and he was strictly against nepotism). So we wandered, adventured, and bonded as never before. My parent and I only had each other because we were in a new city. We loved every moment of being strangers together.

Had things happened according to my timing, my parents would have moved prior to my winter break, but my timing would have been all wrong. Many times in life, I have searched the dark clouds for that promised tiny patch of blue – and always I find it, literally and figuratively. Right now the storm clouds are the economy and the FDA Globalization Act, but there is a patch of blue sky up there, there always is. We don’t know what form it will take, but it is there. My friend Van showed it to me and that promise has never failed me yet. Search the horizon for your patch of blue sky. Believe in the opportunities for growth that storm clouds bring.

Tell me your story of finding your personal patch of blue sky.

A Cedar By Any Other Name ...

2008-10-09T16:20:25-07:00

Just Because It's Called Cedar, Doesn't Mean It's So

ne of Steven's and my favorite essential oils is cedar wood. And I mean real cedar wood oil, which is the only kind Essential Wholesale uses. I asked Steven to share his insight as our buyer to give you the inside scoop. True cedar wood oil is distilled from Himalayan cedar (Cedrus deodara), or Lebanon Cedar (Cedrus libani), or Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica). But there are many essential oils called “cedar," which aren’t really from cedars at all. So be sure the oil you are using is the cedar you intend to use.

One so-called “cedar” is Virginian Cedar, also called Texas Cedar and Pencil Cedar. Virginian Cedar is a juniper (Juniperus virginiana), which is a member of the Cypress family. Comparing Virginian Cedar Wood oil to pencils is perfect, because the essential oil really does smell like freshly sharpened pencils! It’s a very pleasing scent, but it just won’t do as a substitute for true, sweet and resinous cedar wood oil.

Other so-called “cedars” are White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis) and Red Cedar (Thuja plicata). These are arborvitae, not cedar. Arborvitae, meaning “Tree of Life," is a beautiful, stately conifer of the Cypress family. Arborvitae is used in perfumery and spoken of highly, but personally, I don’t know why. To me, Arborvitae smells like Mugwort and Wormwood, neither of which make it anywhere near my top ten list. I have a hard time seeing this used as a substitute for true, balsamic, and woody cedar wood oil.

Port Orford Cedar is (you guessed it!) not a cedar. It’s another cypress. Botanists know it as Lawson’s Cypress, or Chamaecyparis lawsoniana. Lawson’s Cypress is indigenous to the Pacific Northwest, so as an Oregonian, I have a special affection for it as a native member of our beautiful temperate rainforest. However, Port Orford cedar isn’t a substitute for genuine cedar wood oil.

We could go on this way, but you get the point. Essential Wholesale has the real thing -- genuine Himalayan cedarwood oil (Cedrus deodara) for its wonderful, sweet, resinous and woody aroma. Our Himalayan Cedarwood comes from India where true cedar has been used for thousands of years in Ayuvedic medicine and to make fine incense. We at Essential Wholesale, know there is just no substitute for the real thing. And we make it easy for you to get the best genuine Cedar wood oil too.

The Salad Dressing Legacy

2008-10-07T20:43:11-07:00

ast month at the Inc. 500 Conference, we had the honor of hearing A.E. Hotchner, the close friend and business partner of Paul Newman, just days after what would become his last visit with his dear friend. Hotchner spoke of Paul Newman with great affection, admiration and brotherly love. He told the story of how they started Newman’s Own. What I enjoyed learning was how these men dedicated their lives to giving, and in return received much more than they could have imagined. There's more to the story, so keep reading, but first, enjoy this video. Get a few tissues first ...

As Hotchner told the story of how Paul Newman didn't like any salad dressing but his own homemade concoction. When he ate out, he would always assemble his own dressing at the table. According to Hotchner, at restaurants, Newman went to the rest room to rinse any lettuce that might have been accidentally "contaminated" with any salad dressing other than his own.

Hotchner told us that when they set out to package the Newman's Own dressing, they ran into many obstacles, many of them the direct result of Newman's insistence that his dressing be preservative-free and contain chunks of healthful vegetables. Their responses to these challenges are indicative of a true entrepreneurial spirit. When they were told by the established food industry that there was no way the filling lines could fill bottles with chunks of tomatoes and vegetables, Hotchner and Newman simply told them to build new lines. How can you not love that!

When Hotchner suggested that they use Newman’s name and face on the packaging, Newman agreed on the condition that all profits be donated to charity. This became their joint mission, and today, Newman's Own has raised over $250 million for charity.

Hotchner was so proud of what he and his friend had accomplished. He was moved to tears as he spoke tenderly of the kids who attended The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, which he and Newman created for kids with serious blood diseases and cancer. He told stories of children who came to tell them that they lived all year just so they could enjoy a week at the camp. Paul Newman said of being able to help sick youngsters, “That’s it! That’s applause. That’s what you really want in life.”

A long, loud and respectful applause brought Hotchner back out onto the stage for an encore after he finished speaking. This applause was special because, out of all of the speakers at the conference, Hotchner was the only one for whom 1,200 conference attendees simultaneously rose to their feet to honor. We rose not because he had helped to build an empire and sold millions of dollars worth of products. We rose to honor his life, and Newman's, lived to the fullest and exchanged for a legacy that will live on for many years.

When I heard Hotchner speak, Newman was still alive. Now that he's gone, Hotchner's words bring an even greater understanding of his life.

On the last evening of the conference the host told us the story of what happened after Hotchner spoke. He could barely tell the story as he choked back tears. He said that in the hallway a man ran up to Hotchner and kept repeating, "Thank you, thank you, thank you," and as tears streamed down his face, he said, “I once attended The Hole in the Wall Camp.” Proof positive, again, that the impact of their business and how they lived their lives, will go on for generations to come. Read more about Paul Newman here.

While everyone can’t give away all business profits, we can take inspiration from their story and apply it to our lives and businesses. Give first, give with a plan and give wholeheartedly.

At Essential Wholesale, giving is a year-around activity that everyone participates in. Our employees donated their day’s paycheck when we walked the Portland to Coast, and daily, they help us give out bags containing non-perishable food, water and necessities to the local homeless. We drive around with four food bags in our car at all times. Our kids are so committed to handing out the bags that they will holler for us to change lanes so that we can hand out bags to the homeless that line the streets and on-ramps of the Portland Metro area.

Our customers help us give with some of the campaigns that we have created to support Breast Cancer and Tree Planting.

Do you have a giving campaign for your business? Please share how the Newman's Own story inspires you to give back in the comments section below.

A Tree Grows -- Wherever You Are!

2008-10-02T20:03:48-07:00

hrive right where you are! There is nothing more important than to realize that it is your responsibility to thrive exactly where you are today. There are a thousand and one reasons for us all to worry, fret, give up, quit or be depressed. It only takes one reason to hold you back, which ever one it is that we chose to hang onto and use as an anchor. The economy, the bailout, the FDA Globalization Act, and a dozen other personal reasons anyone could add too the list.

But the reality is that many businesses will thrive during this economy. Those that get frightened and pull back will start go backwards. But those that move forward, push through the trials and tackle their fears will grow. I keep hearing all the doom and gloom on the news, but it doesn’t translate to reality for my customers. I have more customers growing and thriving than ones going out of business. All I keep hearing on Twitter and from my customers is about new orders, more orders, big orders and promising growth. But with the FDA Globalization Act looming ahead of us, I know some people have chosen not to get into the beauty industry and others have given up on their dreams before the fight ever began.

My years in Amway taught me several great lessons that continue to be true and helpful. Thrive right where you are and step right over all the reasons to quit. Garbage in, garbage out. What you put in your mind is what will be the reality of your life. With all the bad news in the media it is critical that you balance the bad with a whole lot of good. Read about companies that have succeeded during hard economic times and the leaders that brought them through it.

Now is the time to start reading good business books and magazines that map out solutions to help us focus on the true promise of the American dream. If you think you can do anything, you can do anything. If you think you can’t, you’re right. You are your hardest critic and the one with the most influence on your success or failure.

Keep your goal right in front of you. Never forget why you are doing what you are doing. Associate with people who will build you up and help you on your journey. Find employees that are sold out to your dream. Let your family and friends into your vision of the future, but if they are skeptical don’t let that detour you.

If one potential customer says no just say “thanks, next” and keep going forward. Don’t be afraid of getting a no. Statistically, you won’t get all yes’ so you need a whole bunch of no’s to get to a yes.

Work on the problems in your business, but don’t allow all of your focus to be on the problems. We must not stop working on fighting the FDA Globalization Act of 2008 but if we focus on it we will miss all of the growth going on around us.

You are your very best salesperson, marketer, and cheerleader. Don’t get so busy working in your business that you don’t work on your business.

Make a mess and then clean it up later. Just get going in business and don’t worry about having all of your ducks in a row. Attitude is everything. Refuse to complain. Focus on the reality that you are faced with an opportunity for growth rather than having a problem.

Believe in your vision, realize that you are responsible for it, affirm to yourself that you will succeed and commit to taking the actions needed for success with the persistence to follow through no matter what. We believe that in adversity there are more opportunities to thrive right where you are.

We are committed to thriving along side you.

Reformulated Sugar Scrubs Are Here!

2008-10-02T19:51:18-07:00

Change Is Good

here's a lot of talk going on tonight about change. Well, we've got some of our own changes to squawk about! Before I get to that, I have to first say that our changes are not just any old changes. The fact is that, when it comes to reformulating products, we have been known to drag our heels a bit. We don’t want to upset customers who have been using the product for years with no problems. But sometimes we just have to make the leap because the issues outweigh the good values of the product.

That is the case with the reformulation of the Dead Sea Scrub, Turbinado Sugar Scrub and Coffee Salt Scrub. The old formula is lovely and beautiful, but has always caused leaking problems in retail and wholesale packaging. We worked on the new product in the lab about a year ago but never released it because we were concerned about the customers that depended on the old formula.

This week I had an “Aha” idea. The “Aha” idea is to sell the original scrub as Kits which package the dry portion of the product separate of the oil portion. On the wholesale side that will solve the leaking problem. The new kits include the Dead Sea Body Scrub Kit, Turbinado Body Scrub Kit, and the Coffee Salt Scrub Kit. On the retail side the solution is the reformulated products. We are leaving it up to you to decide which product you prefer to sell. The Private Label Selector Program will only be using the reformulated version of Turbinado Sugar Scrub, Dead Sea Salt Scrub and the Coffee Salt Scrub. Both products are fabulous exfoliants with high emollient properties.

Ryan Madder - Employee of the Month!

2008-10-02T13:13:45-07:00

ur very first "Employee of the Month" is Ryan Madder. Ryan has only been with us three months but he has been a stand out employee from day one. Ryan was hired as a compounder but during the interview process I knew he would excel as a formulator as well. When we had an opening in the Research & Development department it was an easy choice to move Ryan. Ryan has just as good of an attitude at the beginning of a day as he does at the end of the day

Even when Ryan doesn't know anyone is watching he goes the extra mile. The first week he was here I was in the mezzanine and noticed Ryan jogging across the warehouse hustling to do his job. It looked like he noticed a stray paper towel on the floor and jogged off of his path, picked it up and tossed it into the garbage. Not a huge task. But it wasn't his job, he didn't drop it, it was completely out of his way, he was in a hurry and yet he went out of his way to take care of something that was out of place. He could have just kept walking, but I don't think that it is in his nature.

I knew Ryan had a quizzical nature when I was interviewing him. During our second interview we were asking questions like: do you like dark chocolate or milk chocolate, who is your favorite Winnie the Pooh character and why, and what books are you reading? Ryan sincerely asked the questions back to us and wanted to know what the information tells us about a candidate. We explained that even though there was no wrong answer to the chocolate question the lab folks were biased towards dark chocolate. We just like to know ahead of time if we have to convert someone to the dark side of chocolate. The Winnie the Pooh answer tells a lot about someone even though there is no wrong answer. And if someone reads on their free time they tend to love the research side of Essential Wholesale.

Ryan is 27 years old and has a B.S. in Biology, a minor in Chemistry and an option in Pre-Med. When Ryan was hired he was excited to join our Portland to Coast Relay Race Team. A few weeks before the race we lost one of our teammates and his girlfriend Ginger stepped in without hesitation. Ryan and Ginger spend the free time enjoying the outdoors. Ryan likes to run, ski, fish, bike, learn, kayak and raft. His enjoys music, community, food, art, wine, health, agriculture and aviation. He especially loves chips, but what it really comes down to is that he loves salty foods. My theory is that he is craving the salt because he is constantly exercising. Would you believe that during the Portland to Coast Relay Race Ryan needed to go for a jog between his legs of the race? He plans on being on the team again next year and rallying everyone to exercise all year long. In the meantime, he's happy to show off his new Employee of he Month parking space.

What Ryan enjoys about working at Essential Wholesale is “working under the premise that natural products can be better for the consumer and Mother Earth.” His favorite products are Taming the Wild Child Essential Oil Blend and Muscle Jelly. Ryan is currently still working in the compounding department while we train two new compounders. We look forward to having Ryan in the lab full time in the coming months. I asked him what he would like to share with our customers and he said, “Thanks for reading about us” because Ryan honestly feels honored that you would take the time to read about us all here at Essential Wholesale.

Four Industries. One Bad Law

2008-09-30T17:14:03-07:00

ave you been wondering exactly about exactly what the discussion draft of the Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act of 2008 is and what it means? Judging from the amount of email inquiries I'm getting on the topic, the answer is "yes." This post provides an overview of some of my thoughts and predictions.

The FDA Globalization Act of 2008 was triggered by several food catastrophes that have occurred over the past few years. Congress is not happy about these issues, so it is seeking to stem the tide by amending the FDA's regulatory framework. Since the FDA regulates cosmetics as well as food (and also drugs and drug devices), Congress seems to have decided that a one-size-fits-all approach is best. It has drafted a law that would regulate four separate industries in exactly the same way.

Four Industries. One Bad Law.

The draft of the law seeks to also amend the ways in which the FDA regulates cosmetics. Kind of like when your sibling does something he or she is not supposed to do, and you end up getting in trouble for it.

While it's true that the cosmetics industry, just like all other industries, has its fair share of challenges, I find myself and my customers asking this question over and over again: When was the last time you heard of someone's life being put in danger as a result of a cosmetic?

Can't recall? Join the club.

The fact is that, the provisions contained in the draft of the FDA Globalization Act do not address any of the challenges faced by the cosmetics industry today. Instead, they focus on adding burdensome and unreasonable fees and incredibly labor intensive paperwork that are really designed to send a "tsk-tsk" to our siblings. They do nothing to protect consumers, which is the stated intent of the cosmetics laws.

Let's examine the provisions of the draft of the FDA Globalization Act of 2008. In its current form, it would require:

$2000 yearly registration fee for all companies engaged in manufacturing, processing, packing or holding cosmetics in the United States
$10,000 yearly registration fee for all companies that import ingredients or finished cosmetics
require at least one person to be working full-time on ensuring compliance with government-imposed Good Manufacturing Practices
require that cosmetics companies report "anticipated and unanticipated serious adverse events" with respect to the use of the cosmetics they manufacture.

The above provisions would force companies to pay up to $12,000 in annual fees (when you add the import fee to the manufacturing fee), and also require small businesses to spend so much time filing paperwork that little time or resources are left to innovate and manufacture. This will cause many one-person operations to go out of business. Additionally, those companies that are able to stay in busines will have o raise their prices to cover the costs of hiring a new person or even a new department to maintain their businesses.

There are also the "hidden" fees not yet discussed including; re-registration fees, re-inspection fees, certification fees, certifying agent accreditation, laboratory accreditation, export certification and importer registration. These fees are not specifically contained within the draft legislation, but they will be necessary by-products of compliance.

In a nutshell, the new law would make cosmetics as expensive to produce as drugs. And you know what that means. That's right. Consumers pay the price.

As if that were not enough, there are some adverse global consequences. If passed in its current form, the law would shut down free trade with countries now dependent on the cosmetic industry. Natural ingredients are sourced from countries around the world because they grow only in those regions. A great example of an ingredient that is enjoyed by millions of Americans is Shea Butter. It grows abundantly in Africa and small villages around Africa sell their Shea Butter directly to small businesses all over America. With this legislation the livelihood of small American companies that import shea butter will be destroyed. What a shame that some of the small businesses that directly support African women who produce shea butter by hand would vanish.

Do we really want a law that would shut down existing small and medium sized cosmetics companies simply because they don't have an additional $12,000 lying around? I think not. But that's what could happen. Many companies will be shut down overnight by the fees. Others who can write a check will collapse under the weight of burdensome paperwork.

I am inspired to see so many men and women starting their own cosmetics businesses. I do not intend to stand idly by and watch this exciting stream of new companies that started with a dream, a passion, and a shoe string budget around the kitchen table fall by the wayside.

Consider Mary Kay, Estee Lauder and others. They all started in a kitchen. I would like to think that those ladies would do exactly what I am doing -- fight a law that would have make it impossible for them to follow their dreams and provide for their families.

After all is said and done, here's one thing that the current draft of the FDA Globalization Act of 2008 would not do: make cosmetics safer. There is nothing in the language of the FDA Globalization Act of 2008 that would change labeling laws or close loop holes that allow harmful chemicals in such things as fragrance oils to be included in cosmetics without being disclosed.

More information regarding the FDA Globalization Act can be read at these links:

Essential U Blog: FDA Globalization Act
Indie Business Blog/FDA Globalization Act
Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild

What to you think? I imagine you can think of millions of reasons why this legislation is bad policy and bad precedent. Consider that if legislation like this passes in the cosmetics arena, what next? Food is already included in this draft law. How many of you sell cookies, brownies, fudge, cakes and candies online? All of it would disappear it his law passes.

Share your thoughts and insights in the comments section below.

Opportunity Disguised as Crisis

2008-09-25T18:47:58-07:00

y friend Jamila White of j.blossom recently mentioned on Twitter that she was going through "an opportunity for business and personal growth disguised as a crisis." After I got myself off the ground from laughing, because I just love that kind of attitude, it really got me thinking about the importance of one’s outlook on life. So often we see our current situation as a hopeless predicament rather than the incredible growing and learning experience that it can be. The painful experience generally is going to happen no matter what you attitude is regarding the situation. And with the wrong mind-set it sometimes takes much longer to find the solution.

I found that sometimes in the midst of calamity the obvious answers and solutions could be sitting right in front of you and part of your own knowledge base but missed because of the distraction of the emergency at hand. The reality of this came crashing down on me some 14 years ago when Keegan was just a toddler. I was a single mother for many years and living in a constant state of crisis. Life simply isn’t easy for a single mother because you must to juggle all the responsibilities of a household, childrearing and bring in the sole income. Because I am a fanatical reader and believe in learning everything about any topic I am faced with I had read every book on childrearing. But nothing could have prepared me for the first years of Keegan’s life.

Keegan is an amazing child and in a million ways his life marked a turning point in my life. But our early years were marked with constant upheaval. He went from being the loveliest child on the face of the earth to having unbelievable, uncontrollable tantrums. The noise level was so extreme that the neighbors called the police to my home on many occasions. I was doing nothing wrong so I gladly allowed them in my doors. A few hours later Keegan would return to being absolutely delightful child and almost unaware of what had just transpired.

At my absolute whit’s end I showed up in my Doctor’s office announcing that I was most certainly was having a complete and total nervous breakdown. I explained the Dr. Jekyll Mr. Hyde transformation that took over Keegan and how I had literally tried everything in every book to parent him. My Doctor listened carefully and then excitedly announced that he had just finished a book the described exactly my situation and had watched the Oprah segment on Dr. Doris Rapp’s research.

I was stunned to hear that allergies might be the cause of this bizarre behavior. But in retrospect the answer was right in front of me. Both of my parents and I suffer from severe allergies. My father had claimed for years that sugar made him feel agitated, irritable and sick. We just sloughed that off one of the quirks about my Dad and his health food fanatic ways. I had researched and been fascinated by how foods react with the human body for many years but I never connected the dots to Keegan’s behavior. I simply thought I was a terrible parent and struggled to get a hold of the situation.

I left the Doctor’s office and went straight to the book store to pick up a copy of Is This Your Child? http://www.drrapp.com/yourchild.htm by Dr. Doris Rapp and I read the entire book over the weekend. Our lives were transformed by the information in the book.

My physician, Kim Webster, guided me through the options of both alternative and traditional medicine over the next few years. Keegan’s allergies were more extreme than any doctor had ever seen. When I removed the dozens of foods that Keegan was allergic to from his diet only the sweet kid remained and the tantrums ended. I never had fed Keegan sugar because I’ve never believed that it wasn’t good for kids. Yet sugar was the most severe of his allergies because it is in so many foods that you wouldn’t expect without reading every label.

The lesson I learned is that sometimes we get so wrapped up in the smallness of our own personal world that we lose sight of abundance around us. I was living in the micro situation of my crisis and I didn’t go for help until I had broken down under my own resources. Like Jamila White said, at any time, we might be going through "an opportunity for business and personal growth disguised as a crisis." We must reverse our thinking to see the opportunity rather than the problem. In thinking backwards we actually think forward to the ultimate results of trials.

Business and Family Friendly

2008-09-25T18:15:51-07:00

t Essential Wholesale, we value our employees. Each one is like a member of our family -- well, each one really is a member of our family. To celebrate the contribution our employees make to our success, we provide a complete and generous compensation package. Like any good relatives, we are always on the lookout for new ideas and innovative ways to take care of our family members.

Our current program includes a variety of standard benefits along with some untraditional ones. Some of our more traditional benefits include:

401 (k) Savings Plan with Company Match
Bereavement Leave
Maternity & Paternity Leave
Educational Financial Assistance
Medical, Dental, Vision, Alternative Care Insurance
PTO (Paid Time Off) (2 - 5 weeks per year)
Paid Holidays
Cafeteria Plan (Think AFLAC)
Employee Discounts on most EW Products

Some of more progressive benefits we offer include:

Tri-Met Bus Passes
Certified Childcare Reimbursement
Bike Riding Reimbursement
Various Business Training Courses
Company Savings Plan
Pizza Parties and Company Lunches
Massage Therapy (related to approved overtime)
Quarterly Family Fun Events (Examples: Portland to Coast Relay Race, Bowling Party, Christmas Party, etc.)
Sabbatical (a 3-week paid sabbatical for every 7 years of full-time employment to include a $3,000 credit toward any expenses planned during the sabbatical)
Company Gym
Break Room with cable TV, Wii Fit, X-Box 360 & PS3
Summer Every Friday Company Bar-B-Q
Spur of the moment company wide Cin-a-meeting (translation: occasional two hour break for company sponsored trip to the movies)
NEW! Employee of the Month with a special parking space, public praise, lunch with the owners and a cash bonus.

We are always looking for new and innovative ideas. Do you have any ideas you can share with us?