Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal care but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Maria Karr, Co-Founder, and CEO of Rumore Beauty, located in White Plains, NY, USA.

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

Rumore Beauty is the first online platform dedicated to the discovery of Russian beauty brands in the U.S. Russian beauty (R-Beauty) brings clean, natural skincare and haircare products that blend centuries-long beauty traditions centered around botanical remedies and the power of herbs, and the latest innovation in the modern beauty industry.

Our customers are beauty-conscious consumers who are on the lookout for the latest trends in beauty from around the world. They are knowledgeable about ingredients and choose clean, natural formulations that are effective yet gentle on the skin.

Tell us about yourself

I was born and raised in Siberia and had been living in the US for the past 15 years. For most of this time, I’ve worked in the beauty industry, where I was fortunate to try products from all over the world – from Australia to Iceland and everywhere else in between. I loved them all, but I couldn’t recall seeing anything from my home country, and that made me want to introduce the best of Russian beauty to fellow American beauty lovers.

When I left home back in 2007, the local beauty scene didn’t have much to offer. So, I became curious about the modern beauty industry in my home country and decided to investigate on my then-upcoming trip to Moscow. To my surprise, I discovered many Russian-made products that I hadn’t heard of before. Driven by my curiosity, I couldn’t resist squeezing all the tubes and twisting jars open to try the formulas. I was in awe of everything that I saw – what I’ve found exceeded my expectations, and I wanted others to find out about these great products.

I knew they would be helpful to many people looking for safe, clean products that are effective yet gentle on the skin. And, if none of these brands were available in the US yet, I should start this conversation and spread the word about my country’s beauty secrets.

That’s how the idea of launching the first Russian beauty discovery platform in the US – Rumore Beauty – was born. It’s a true honor for me to have an opportunity to share beauty secrets and traditional ingredients that have been used by people from my home country for generations and make them available and accessible to a broader audience.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment is our customers. Since our launch last year, we’ve built a community of clean skincare fans who have become our supporters. Most of our products have excellent five-star reviews, and I’m very proud that our repeat customer rate is more than 30 percent, including many clients who have purchased from us five or more times in less than a year. Seeing our customers happy with our products and seeing them back at our online store is what keeps me going, and I consider it my biggest accomplishment as a business owner.

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

Prioritizing turned out to be one of the most challenging things for me. I’ve always taken a lot of pride in being great at multi-tasking, juggling a demanding senior-level corporate job, teaching at the university, actively participating in social life, spending time with my family, and balancing a rigorous training schedule. But starting a company has taught me so much about truly focusing on what’s important for the business and what it takes to get it done on time. Another challenge that is closely connected to prioritizing is finding some “me” time without feeling the pressure of staying on and continuing to work. This is something that I’m still working on!

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

  1. Don’t be afraid to go for it. Oftentimes, we aspire to start something new and exciting, but for some reason, we postpone it or don’t do it. Maybe we don’t have enough time or money to spare, or the timing doesn’t seem to be right. The truth is, there will never be enough resources, or the timing will never be perfect, so the time to act and go for it is now.
  2. Practice makes it perfect. I’ve been putting a lot of pressure on myself to know it all and have it all figured out. I keep catching myself on this thought and reminding myself that things don’t happen overnight, and you need to try many times before they can start taking shape. For example, we don’t become fluent in a foreign language after studying for just a month, or we don’t get to run a marathon without any running experience. But both are possible with practice. It’s very similar to starting a business – we may not know a lot of things when we first get into it, but we’ll improve with time and desire to learn.
  3. Follow your path. It’s tempting to start comparing yourself to others, especially when most content on social media is about achievements and success stories. However, everyone has different circumstances and starting points, so when we look at other people’s performance, we’re not comparing apples to apples. Work hard, focus on your priorities, do what you think is best for your business, and have patience, and things will come eventually.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://rumorebeauty.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maria_instalife/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-karr-05a80a31/

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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