Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in beauty and cosmetics but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Amy Parsons, CEO of Mozzafiato, located in Denver, CO, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We are creating a new retail experience for beauty, men's grooming, and fragrance based exclusively on Italian brands with the craftsmanship and style that only Italy produces. We import from 20 different Italian brands (and growing), offering over a thousand products, along with rich content around the brand's stories and regions, a beauty and travel blog, all on your e-commerce store, Mozzafiato.com. Our customers are people who love beauty and craftsmanship, love Italy, and seek an elevated experience with the products they bring into their homes and daily routines.
Tell us about yourself
I spent 20 years as an attorney and executive with the Colorado State University System. There, I learned how to launch and execute large projects and was able to travel to dozens of countries around the world. I always had a heart for beauty and fragrance and especially the deep generational craftsmanship and style of the Italian brands. When COVID forced everyone home in early 2020, I took that found time to start imagining this company with the idea of creating an alternative retail option made up exclusively of these relatively unknown Italian brands. I had a partner who has a passion for all things Italian, and we started reaching out to the brands one by one and putting all the pieces together. By September of 2020, we had enough validation from the brands that we decided to launch. I quit my job with the university to go all in, and our website went live on November 1st of 2020!
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I'm very proud of how we represent our brands and their products. Some of these companies were started hundreds of years ago. Some are much newer, but all of them have real families and stories and passion behind them, and we're privileged to be able to bring their creations to the US market. We're also really proud of how many of our customers continue to return and purchase us with us once they find us. We're working hard to make customers for life, and it's really exciting to see people return to us again and again.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Like in most businesses, but especially in e-commerce, the tools and strategies are changing all the time, and there are endless numbers of people and companies making promises about the results they can help you achieve. When first starting out, it's tricky to decipher what is real and what is smoke, and we definitely made some mistakes in the first year. We try hard every day to get better and smarter with our strategies and to stay focused on what we do best.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Be sure you have your energy right. Launching and running a new business requires all of your focus and energy, and if you're too scattered with other things and not all in, you won't have what it takes to get it off the ground.
- Be prepared for surprises but stay calm and focused enough to know that it's all part of the journey and each challenge teaches you something.
- Listen to your data. Your data and metrics are always telling you something about what's going on, what's working, who truly is your customer. Take the time to listen to the data and let it inform your next move.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
We're grateful to everyone who visits our website and love hearing people's suggestions for additional brands and products to carry!
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://mozzafiato.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IAmMozzafiato/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iammozzafiato/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amybuildingmozzafiato/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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