Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Areena Shrestha, Founder of Kumari Beauty, located in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

My name is Areena, and I am the Founder of Kumari Beauty. Kumari Beauty is a vegan, handmade, and cruelty-free cosmetics brand. I started the brand selling just lip glosses; now, I have expanded to skincare such as body scrubs, body butter, and rose facial oil.

Tell us about yourself

I always knew that I wanted to make my own income at some point in life by doing things that makes me happy. Around the end of April 2020, after my final exams, I was scrolling through Instagram and Tiktok. I came across Entrepreneur Videos, and in an instance, I became attached to the idea of starting my own Lipgloss line. How did I come up with Kumari beauty? Well, I wanted to stand out from other beauty businesses and connect the things I do to my home country, Nepal. "Kumari" is a living goddess in Nepal who embodies the supreme female identity as it is worshipped all over the country. With Kumari, I want to empower women and embrace themselves the way they are.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment so far is being able to go viral on TikTok last summer with over 2.8 million views which got me a lot of sales. Another accomplishment is being able to participate in something similar to SharkTank, which was run by the Royal Bank Canada, where they only selected 12 candidates out of 62 applicants.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

I started this business while I was still a university student so being able to find a balance between school life and business was one of the hardest things to do. However, after being able to find a balance, I was able to keep pushing and doing better.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Do your Research. Make sure you are making high-quality products with the cheapest raw materials to maximize your profit. Know which ingredients fit with what products, and learn to understand analytics to better customer outcomes.
  2. If you're thinking of starting a business... JUST DO IT! It doesn't hurt to start and see where the experience leads you to. This could result in a trial and error, or you can end up being a very successful business person.
  3. Maximize using Social Media. In today's world, everyone uses technology, and you need to learn how to maximize people's use of social media to earn profit/sales. The quicker you learn how to do analytics, the better.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://kumaribeauty.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kumaribeauty_/


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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