Bluffton business owner gets one-on-one advice from ‘Shark’ Barbara Corcoran on podcast
It was 10 o’clock at night when Wendy Kushel decided to make a phone call she hoped would take her businesses to the next level.
“I didn’t think, didn’t rehearse, anything,” said the Bluffton entrepreneur, who operates Wendala’s Lowcountry Sugar Scrub out of her home.
Kushel picked up her phone and dialed Barbara Corcoran, a businesswoman known as one of the investors on the ABC reality TV show “Shark Tank.”
On Corcoran’s podcast, “Business Unusual,” the guru encourages listeners to call and leave a message with their questions. “Got a question? Call me at 888-BARBARA, and I might just answer it on a future episode,” she tells them.
“I have this great business, and I’m in stores and online and at festivals,” Kushel’s message to Corcoran said. “... I want to know how to take it to the next step.”
To her surprise, she was picked for a private Zoom call with Corcoran, and the podcast episode is scheduled to be released Tuesday. Listeners can find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other podcast platforms.
Kushel has been an actress and comedian in New York and worked in the food and beverage industry, most recently for a national wine and liquor distributor. Now, with mentorship from the SCORE SC Lowcountry, she is trying to get her own line of sugar scrubs into more local stores and larger chain retailers as well.
“Every single thing I do, something comes from it,” she said. “Whether you get pushed into a ditch and have to crawl your way out, it helps you.”
Lowcountry Sugar Scrub products are available at select retailers on Hilton Head and in Bluffton, Beaufort, Charleston and Mount Pleasant, and also on the business’ website.
