Propagating a Mindful Bathing Ritual for Everyone

Helen Yin

Co-Founder, onova

Helen is a serial entrepreneur from Canada. She is the Co-Founder of Inoki Bathhouse, a modern bath company built on tradition and mindfulness, the Co-Founder of Onova, a boutique innovation consultancy that helps Fortune 500 innovate like startups, as well as the Co-Founder of an angel fund that invests in high potential early-stage startups.

Raised by her single immigrant mother, Helen witnessed first-hand throughout her upbringing what decades of sacrificing one ' s health can do. During the pandemic, amidst social isolation, when Helen was at the lowest point in her own mental health, the idea for Inoki Bathhouse came to life - a business that helps people prioritize their mental, physical, and spiritual well-being. After gaining traction on TikTok and receiving validation of her business idea, Helen began creating, testing, and eventually launching her bath experiences with others.

Propagating a Mindful Bathing Ritual for Everyone!

TikTok for small business

A few sentences on how you’ve used TikTok for your business and the success you’ve seen because of it:

TikTok' s ability to blow up small businesses like mine has been quite astounding. I had zero expectations when I started my TikTok account. Less than a year later, our business has been seen by millions of people, we have hired our first couple of employees, and we ' ve secured our first retail deal. We ' ve truly accelerated our timeline to build a business and we ' re more than grateful.

What was your motivation for starting your small business?

In early February, the idea for Inoki Bathhouse came to me. During the winter months of the pandemic, the social isolation, non-stop work lifestyle, and lockdowns resulted in insomnia and mental health challenges. As a bath fanatic, I carved intentional time to help bring my spirit balance and, out of all the remedies I experimented with, this is what brought me the greatest sense of peace and comfort. During this time, I realized I never took time to prioritize myself – I was constantly working and feeling burned out. I aspired to build a bath company that helps people prioritize their mental, physical, and spiritual well-being.

What are some strategies you have found helpful when it comes to running a small business?

Which, if any, of the following has been the most difficult aspect in handling your small business over the past year: Marketing/Brand Strategy, Passwords/Security Passcodes, Employee Policies/Relationships with Other Employees

Constantly Seeking to Improve: I constantly ask for feedback from our customers. Asking for feedback (positive and constructive) helped me improve and iterate the product experience for the better. My goal was to re-imagine the bath experience and I wanted to ensure that I reimagined it alongside our customers. Being Resourceful with Marketing and Finances: It’ s incredibly important to be savvy with business financials, especially in the early days when budgets are tight. To this date, we haven ’t spent a single dollar on ads and have only promoted primarily through TikTok and, although this won ’t be the case forever, I wanted to leverage free resources that were available to me to the best of my abilities. Defining My Brand Vision Early On: At the start of building Inoki Bathhouse, I was committed to sourcing premium ingredients. I tested the same ingredients from numerous vendors and made purchasing decisions based on the quality. By prioritizing quality, I have selfishly built a product I’ m proud of and our small business built a reputation for ingredient integrity with our initial customers.

Building Inoki Bathhouse

’ s brand strategy was very difficult, and it took many iterations. Normally, the process is behind closed doors – you have an idea, work on it, create a brand around it, find suppliers, distributors, etc. I had an idea, immediately posted about it on TikTok, then scrambled when our videos picked up steam. I wish I took the time to properly think through my idea first so that I didn ’t have to make so many mistakes. The best part is growing something in your vision – feeling full ownership and fulfillment in everything you touch.

The worst part is the uncertainty, fear, and negative emotions that can come with being an entrepreneur – there ’ s no one directing your business but you, and that can create a lot of mixed emotions.

What are the benefits, both in terms of marketing and resources, of having an account on TikTok?

With limited capital and connections, it would have taken me a significantly longer time to build Inoki Bathhouse. I’ m immensely grateful for the advantage that TikTok offered me (as so many others) in the early stages of our business. TikTok singlehandedly removed one of the biggest barriers to entry that help keep large companies dominate in the industry.

Do you have any advice for people who want to start their own business?

I leveraged my savings to build Inoki Bathhouse initially and I don ’t anticipate paying myself until our business grows much larger (which is longer than a year). Building a small business and growing it is not a luxurious experience and being comfortable financially is the first step to being ready for entrepreneurship. I am extremely introverted, and I struggle to network, but I suggest building a community of entrepreneurs around you to support you through this lonely process.

Share some of the best and worst parts of being a small business owner!