The pandemic has been hard on many small businesses.

But for Sarah Forrai, the founder and creator of beauty company Contour Cube, it’s been a surprising – and wild – ride.

Just nine months ago, a business idea was planted after Sarah’s mother introduced her to the concept of facial icing – running blocks of ice over the face to de-puff and encourage circulation. “Facial icing has been around for centuries and has been a secret weapon of celebrity facialists and make up artists as a natural makeup primer and facelift. However, people who love ice facials resort to using slippery ice cubes which is an uncomfortable experience”, Sarah explains. I wanted something that would protect my hands from the cold while easily sculpting the contours of my face.”

And she wasn’t the only one looking for a solution. “Lockdown has also driven an increase in demand for ‘do-it yourself’ skincare solutions, with consumers on the lookout for products that give them that ‘spa treatment’ from the comfort of their own home”, she says. With nothing on the market, Sarah spotted the opportunity and jumped at it. Her background in design meant she was able to 3D print her Contour Cube prototypes at home. Deceptively simple, the silicone moulds required months of testing – but the result exceeded her expectations. The first batch of Contour Cubes sold out at launch.

Following a wildly successful social media campaign, with millions of TikTok views, Contour Cube has now turned over $100,000 in sales and landed lucrative contracts with Urban Outfitters and Uncommon Goods, despite still running out of Sarah’s one-bedroom apartment in Sydney. In fact, their biggest problem is every business owner’s dream: “keeping up with demand has been one of our biggest challenges”, Sarah explains. “Especially during a global pandemic, as everything operates a lot slower than usual and the cost of shipping is inflated.” That said, there’s no stopping her now. “If you believe in an idea, back yourself and make moves to bring it to reality.”

Here, she shares her journey, and what she’s learned along the way, including why she never sacrifices sleep to get work done…

What was your background in terms of career, prior to launching Contour Cube?

My career has been a huge influence in how my business has come to life. I started my career in design and production agencies, where I found my passion for branding and bringing ideas to life from concept through to implementation. I put these skills into practice when I created my own products, the latest of which is the Contour Cube. I currently work for a large online retailer in Australia, which has opened my eyes to the world of ecommerce.

Tell me how your mum inspired Contour Cube?

My mom swears by ice facials, which are her best-kept secret for her youthful complexion. She recommended that I get into it and so I read up on all its amazing benefits. Taking her advice, I began my facial icing journey which quickly became my favorite instant wake-me-up in the mornings. As ice facials started to become part of my everyday skincare routine, I realised it was uncomfortable holding cold, slippery ice cubes and wanted to create something that would protect my hands. That’s when it hit me. After some research, I realised there was no tool out there for the purpose of facial icing that was designed to fit the contours of the face. I immediately put pen to paper and started drawing out my designs for the product.  

What was the gap in the market that you saw?

Facial icing has been around for centuries and has been a secret weapon of celebrity facialists and make up artists as a natural makeup primer and facelift. However, people who love ice facials resort to using slippery ice cubes which is an uncomfortable experience. I even stopped to research what tools were available because the ice cube process is so awkward, and made my fingers cold. I wanted something that would protect my hands from the cold while easily sculpting the contours of my face without worrying about sharp edges.

Lockdown has also driven an increase in demand for ‘do-it yourself’ skincare solutions, with consumers on the lookout for products that give them that ‘spa treatment’ from the comfort of their own home. Lockdown has raised the awareness of skin icing tools that instantly depuff and lift the skin to be zoom-call-ready and I believe we’ll continue to see chilled skincare used to lift and sculpt naturally post-lockdown.

Many people have a great business idea, but the jump from idea to actual fruition is enormous. What gave you the confidence to dive in, create the product, and launch the business?

I became extremely passionate about bringing this idea to life! After my research highlighted a gap in the market for a bespoke ice facial tool, I backed myself on the concept... if I needed it, I was sure someone else out there felt the same way. My background in graphic design and production allowed me to see products and packaging through from idea to something tangible for other brands, which gave me the confidence to do it myself. I jumped at the idea and focused on all the steps to launch the product, as the thought of being first to market was exciting! 

Tell me about the prototyping phase. You 3D printed your first model – did it take many tries to get the product right?

Despite the Contour Cube’s perceived simplistic and minimalist look it was an extensive development process. There was a lot of trial and error where we reviewed numerous hand built prototypes and samples. Over several months, myself and my partner Lewis tested multiple different shapes and materials before we were satisfied with the final result. We own a 3D printer which we put to good use, trialing different shapes to eventually print the very first prototype. In just a few hours we had our very first Contour Cube in our hands. Our first customer test started immediately… with mom, and she loved it!

You sold out at launch. Were you expecting the response you got, and what do you put the success of the launch down to?

Yes, it was surreal! To my surprise, we immediately sold Contour Cubes when I posted about the product on TikTok. The first video that went viral was about how I created the product from the ground up and how I came up with the idea. I posted it before bed and the next morning I woke up to my first batch of products completely sold out and the video hitting 100K views - which continued to gain momentum until it hit 1M views. It was heart-warming to read all the supportive comments which really highlighted the demand for the product. My second video that went viral hit 6M views, where I shared my inspiration for the creation of the product, my mom. Our followers loved the story behind the product and again, TikTok drove a huge amount of traffic to our website and helped grow our online community or what I like to call our ‘Contour Crew’.

I would say the success of the launch was down to telling the story behind the product. I openly shared the behind the scenes of my business from the inspiration behind my product (mum),  how I came up with the idea and how we’ve developed the range since launch.

Social media is so competitive these days so to gain the traction you have is quite incredible. What are your top tips for small businesses launching social media platforms?

Pick a niche, be consistent, tell your story and be your authentic self! One of the unique features of TikTok is that your videos can be unpolished rather than being highly edited so don’t be afraid to make a mistake, just keep going and share your story. Create content that is relatable and engaging and your following will grow. I like to think of three things when creating content, whether it educates, inspires or entertains. TikTok is a sound-based platform so make sure to choose a trending song or recontextualise a trending sound that relates to your business.

You run your business from your one bedroom apartment in Sydney, in the middle of a pandemic. What parts of the business do you outsource, and what are your plans for scaling and expanding?

As we’re a new business, we’re definitely looking at how we can improve efficiency but are currently running most things ourselves with our apartment slowly turning into a small beauty warehouse! We are looking to outsource certain time-consuming tasks such as packing orders which will allow us to focus more on developing the business and product range.

Our marketing team is based in the UK and they help manage the creation of our Facebook and Instagram ads so we can focus on growing the brand organically based on our customers' real-time feedback on TikTok.

We’re also looking to expand our distribution partnerships overseas and locally as the product is Australian-designed. This is just the beginning for our small business journey and we’re keen to grow the business to new heights.

How do you keep up with demand, and how do you avoid burnout?

Keeping up with demand has been one of our biggest challenges especially during a global pandemic, as everything operates a lot slower than usual and the cost of shipping is inflated. We are constantly reviewing our stock levels to ensure we are on top of our inventory and always planning ahead of time given the slower turnaround times.

Working 9-to-5 and running a business is exhausting, but I never sacrifice sleep to get more work done. Sleep is crucial for me and helps buffer against the risk of burnout. It's really important to have a self care routine so I like going to the gym to help relieve stress and get those endorphins going. I think a lot of us tend to over-commit so I write down all the key tasks I want to achieve the night before and stick to it rather than getting overwhelmed by frantically multi-tasking.

You’re now stocked in Urban Outfitters and Uncommon Goods. What impact has this made on the business?

With Contour Cube only being 9 months old, having the support from large US retailers has been a huge confidence boost for a small business like ours and gives the same confidence for potential customers. It’s also given us greater exposure and credibility in our brand. There is also the added benefit of our US customers getting their hands on their order much faster when they order directly from stockists based in the US.

What’s your advice to anyone with a business idea who doesn’t know where to start?

If you believe in an idea, back yourself and make moves to bring it to reality. Often negative opinions can stop an idea from blossoming, but taking small steps can make what feels like an overwhelming process, achievable. If, like me, you are not a marketing expert, I have found TikTok a great platform to promote products and new business ventures -  it’s free, gets you global exposure and helps you build your online community. Think of it as a 15 second to 1 minute investment of your time that could kick-start your business journey. There is no need to strive for perfection and once you get started, your learning curve will be that much faster as you can get real-time feedback from customers.