Today we’d like to introduce you to Bianca Rodriguez.
Hi Bianca, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Growing up, I’ve never heard the word “entrepreneur” yet I’ve always had an eye out for entrepreneurship. Since I was a child I’ve always wanted to own my own business and be my own boss. Both of my parents are also entrepreneurs and I believe that’s where my interest in business came from. My mother has her own cleaning business that she’s owned for over 10 years and my dad also had his own painting company. It wasn’t until the pandemic when I started my own business and this path in my life has genuinely been the most amazing experience. When people ask me about my business and how I started I always say, “My business saved my life.” When I say that I truly do mean it. My life before my business wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. I suffered from depression and really bad anxiety at a young age. My anxiety started to get worse so I decided to finally reach out for help. I’m very grateful to have supportive parents and my mom told me to try therapy and I did. I was diagnosed with social anxiety. I knew I had anxiety but in my head, it didn’t make sense. How could talking and being around people give me anxiety? About 2 months after I was diagnosed with social anxiety, the world flipped upside down. We went on lockdown and everyone had to quarantine. Who would’ve known that 2 weeks off from school would change to the rest of the school year and my sophomore year being virtual learning.
Like many, after the pandemic, our lives changed but something good came out of a dark time. I started my own business at 15 and named it “BabyGloss.” I started by making my own lipgloss, lip scrubs and lip oils. I created bundles and sold them to people locally and to my family. I remember when I got my first order my anxiety was so bad. I was happy but physically my body was shaking and I was so nervous. Having anxiety and owning a business was such a hard thing to deal with in the beginning but I knew that I didn’t want my anxiety to stop me from something I loved and enjoyed doing.
Local orders started to pick up quickly. Every week my sister took me to drop off local orders and each week, I had about 15-20 orders. I had back-to-back launches and everything was going amazing. Once 2021 started I upgraded my lipgloss tubes, packaging and I made a website. The business did slow down for a while and it was scary because I thought that after being successful, my business wasn’t going to do well again. I gave it time and trusted the process. I wanted to overcome my anxiety so I started attending pop up events to force myself to talk and get out of my comfort zone and this has definitely helped me cope. Running a business and having anxiety can really take a toll on you mentally but I knew I didn’t want my anxiety to control me so I had to change my mindset and overcome my fears. Meeting people and other business owners have been such a blessing and being able to be surrounded with people that support each other and bring positive vibes is my favorite part about the pop up events.
After a year of running my business, I started adding matte liquid lipsticks, lip liners, beauty blenders, lip liners and more. I was excited to branch out of just lipgloss and matte liquid lipsticks have been one of my top sellers. For two years I was really consistent with posting almost every day, working, planning and I didn’t realize that I was slowly getting creators’ block. I had a moment where running my business was starting to feel mentally draining but I knew that I loved doing what I do, just mentally it was getting tiring. It was hard having these feelings and I felt guilty. I knew I had to make some changes and help myself fall in love with my business all over again.
Now that I’ve grown up more and am almost 18, I recently made the decision to rebrand and make my business and make my business reflect me rather than reflect what I thought people would want. I decided to completely change my aesthetic, name, and added apparel to my business and I genuinely love making content again. Beauteously Co reflects more of me as a person and it displays my creativity more. With BabyGloss I felt that I kept my creativity boxed in and now I can explore and branch out of my comfort zone. BabyGloss will always hold a special place in my heart and I’m so grateful for those who have stuck around to see me grow not only as a person but a business owner as well.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced while owning my business was making my brand stand out in an “over-saturated” industry. The beauty industry is definitely one of the biggest industries so with there being millions of small and big beauty businesses it can be tricky to stand out. I first created my brand as “BabyGloss” and I only started with lipgloss. Over time I added matte liquid lipsticks, lip liners, lashes and more yet, I still wasn’t satisfied. After two and a half years I decided that I wanted to rebrand and branch out of my comfort zone. The hardest part about rebranding was changing my name “BabyGloss” which truly meant alot to me. It was like I had a connection to the name, not because of what it meant for my brand but, more so, what it meant to me. The name BabyGloss came from a girl first telling her parents she wanted to start a business. The name BabyGloss got me my first order. The name BabyGloss got me to where I am today. It was a hard decision but I had to tell myself it was okay because I knew the name was holding me back from growing into a new chapter of my entrepreneurship path. I remember talking to god and asking If this was the right decision. I knew he led me to this decision, so why question it. This was what he needed me to do in order to become the best version of myself. After months of going back and forth, I decided to rebrand my business as “Beauteously Co.” Not only do I focus on cosmetics but I also added apparel to my brand to branch out my creativity skills and reach out to different audiences. Beauteously Co has really brought a whole other side of me out to my business and I believe many are excited for what’s to come in the future.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Beauteously Co?
Beauteously Co is a cosmetics and apparel brand. Each of my lipglosses are handmade and made with the best oils for your lips. Each gloss has its own creative touch to it and is scented to match the glosses style or collection. My apparel is perfect for everyday wear, iced coffee lovers and more! I’m currently working on a huge Christmas collection which I’m super excited about and I know others will love.
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Along my business journey, the biggest lesson I learned was to stay humble and support those around me. I’m very grateful to be where I’m at but I know I would never be where I’m at if it wasn’t for my family and my supporters. At any event I attend I try my best to purchase or support others in any way possible. As small business owners, we all try our best to get to where we want to be but I believe you will be at the top as long as you enjoy the ride. Be grateful for those friends who come to your events when they could be at home, be grateful for those family members who take you to events and be grateful for those who support you.
Pricing:
- $20.00 (Shirts)
- $8.00 (Lipgloss)
- $10.00 (Matte Liquid Lipsticks)
- $5.00 (Lashes)
- $5.00 (Lip Liners)
Contact Info:
- Website: www.beauteouslyco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beauteouslyco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064120631688
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@beauteouslyco?_t=8WeYyC0M7cA&_r=1
