(Highland Park, NJ) July 13, 2009 – A year ago, Valerie Mason-Robinson opened Eden Organix, an eco-friendly spa in Highland Park. Since then, she’s won awards and learned more about herself than expected.
Robinson was named one of the top 40 under 40 by The Network Journal, a professional and small business magazine that caters to the African-American community, she was also named as one of NJBIZ’s 40 people under the age of 40 and she was a finalist for the Green Leadership Award by NJBIZ , a statewide business magazine.
“I was ecstatic. I thought I had a decent chance, but I didn’t expect to get it,” she said of the awards.
Winning the awards has made Mason-Robinson work harder at making Eden Organix a success.
“When you see the caliber of people who have won the awards, it makes you work harder. You always need to do more,” she said.
The MIT-trained chemical engineer had a career in sales, and then returned to school to get a esthetics-skin care license, which eventually lead Mason-Robinson to opening Eden Organix.
“The first year, I had to deal with employee turnover and managing the cash flow. I also had to think of new and creative ways to get people to come in,” she said.
One of those ways was the $1 per minute massages and free makeovers, which were offered during the first anniversary celebration on July 9.
The biggest lesson Mason-Robinson has learned over the last year is to delegate responsibility.
“I have a Type A personality. I’m trying not to do everything myself. I had to learn to trust my employees,” she said. “You have to outsource to keep your sanity.”
What’s next for Eden Organix? Mason-Robinson is planning to expand the Eden Organix brand by developing a skincare product line and is working on writing a book about going green in 90 days.
