Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal care but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Shaun O'Hollaren, Co-Founder of Strip Makeup, located in Los Angeles, CA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Our mission is to redefine and harness beauty's most important (and most neglected) step - cleansing. Our obsession is helping customers achieve "better than naked" skin. STRIP was created to counter the less-than-beautiful side of beauty. Everyday life takes a toll on your skin. Rather than creating a clean, healthy, fresh face for skincare to add all the good stuff onto, most makeup removers are only adding to the day's damage. We focus on being experts in one category - Makeup Removal. Our customers are anyone who wears makeup or washes their face and cares about all aspects of what they put on their skin. I started Strip Makeup so that people could have a go-to and trusted source for all of their makeup removal and cleansing needs.
Tell us about yourself
I started my professional life as a celebrity talent manager before getting into beauty. My first company was an eyebrow cosmetic brand with a celebrity eyebrow artist in Los Angeles. I fell in love with the business, and it satisfied both my professional and creative sensibilities. I was actually able to finally use my degree in chemistry as well! I absolutely loved creating and selling a brand that lived on people's counters and that they used every day. It was incredible to see how a great product could transform the way someone looked, felt, and saw themselves.
I have been incredibly fortunate to work and be a part of many different brands over the years. These included amazing companies like Makeup Eraser, Maely's Cosmetics, and SugarBearHair. So I have been able to play in color cosmetics, skincare, and haircare/wellness. I am motivated every day by our customers and creating products that are incorporated into their daily routines.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
One of my biggest accomplishments to this day is growing my brand from a no-name product into a globally recognized leader in beauty. It is never an easy task, even with how connected we are online these days, to be sold and known in over 30 countries, so it is always incredible to meet people from all over the world who know and use our products.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
One of the hardest things is knowing you have a great product, brand, or idea but actually executing it and bringing it to market. Patience is never easy! There are always a million roadblocks and things that need to be done before your idea can actually reach people. It takes a lot of "blocking and tackling" to overcome each obstacle as they come up to eventually reach your goal.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Be great and master just one aspect of your business. Whether that is a sales or marketing channel, if you do one thing great and not get stuck trying to do everything at once, it will pay off in the end.
- Be kind - to your customers and employees. Kill them with kindness, as my mother always said.
- Fail fast. If something doesn't work, don't be afraid to step away from it.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.stripmakeup.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stripmakeup
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stripmakeup/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/StripMakeup
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaun-o-hollaren-41485a35/
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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