Reading: #77: How To Start Your Dream Reinvention For $20K or Less (Amanda McIntosh)

How does a professional musician and self-described “book worm” start a fabulous niche beauty product for under $20,000? By noticing a “glaring hole” with a “low barrier to entry” and jumping in. Amanda McIntosh, was on her way home from a concert when she realized she didn’t have any more washcloths for her special skincare routine. She was grossed out by the grey, half-wet washcloths left on her shower rail.  “My practical brain got started, asking, ‘How do you change the process?’”  McIntosh began by researching how to make a washcloth that was stain-resistant, quick-drying, and would “feel fancy.”  Dozens of trips to the fabric store led her to an incredibly soft polyester used in baby blankets that met all of her qualifications. Her washable makeup remover clothes called Take My Face Off, Inc (TakeMyFaceOff.com) was born. Today, Take My Face Off products disrupt the unsustainable makeup wipe business by selling amusing reusable wipes that last for 4-5 years.  “I invested a good portion of my retirement account” to get started, she says. “I never wanted to lose more than I could earn back in a year.”