Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Hermo Benito, Co-Founder of Beauty Lash, located in Barcelona, Spain.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Beauty Lash is an eyelash extension brand. We specialize in eyelash extensions and bonds, which are professional products. Also, we are an academy, and we train lash artists that want to improve their skills and technique and anyone starting from zero who wants to become a professional.
We have two types of customers. 1) established professional lash artists and salons and 2) people that want to learn about eyelash extensions to be able to work at a salon or start their own business.
Tell us about yourself
I first started selling books. Years after, I created a couple of brands, kitchen products, and compression socks. My business partner, Laura Martinez, used to be a lash artist and had a salon. She was reselling some brands at that time because there were very few eyelash extension products in Spain and Mexico. Even in the USA. Then she created Beauty Lash, her own brand, to create more variety and better products.
I joined Beauty Lash about a year after that, and we created a plan to grow the business with more and better products, social media, and online training. We created new products, new techniques, and security protocols, and we spread all that information using social media when nobody was using it for this industry and by no means spending money on advertising.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I think my biggest accomplishment has been creating a company structure that works almost without me, with a great team and systems in place. And all this without knowing anything about business, just learning as we go.
Also, I think being able to overcome periods of uncertainty, times when we didn't know if this industry was going to grow or if it was just a temporary trend with limited opportunity to thrive. We kept the faith, and now we are part of something bigger than we thought.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Self-doubt is hard. Although we have a great team, in a relatively small business, decision-making lies with the business owner. Moments like when you get into debt to chase opportunities nobody else sees when you lease three 1000-square-foot warehouses to prepare the business for growth, when you have to give up on other projects and short-term revenue for a higher long-term price.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
I would first recommend understanding what having a business means and knowing that money alone is not enough motivation to become an entrepreneur. Money is a big part, but not enough. The three tips I would give would be:
- Focus on a niche/product line because you need to understand your customer and your product, and by specializing, it's easier to position a brand in the market.
- Focus on the long term and don't give up the long-term growth to make some more revenue short term. This happened to us when we were launching new products that weren't our core business.
- Simplify as much as possible. A business is simple and complex at the same time. Your job is to make everything systematic and as predictable as possible. If there is something that works for you, double down and don't overcomplicate things.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website:
https://beautylash.store/
https://beautylash.es/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hermobenito/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hermobenito/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HermoBenito
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hermobenito/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/beautylash/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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