Female entrepreneurs are increasingly successfully going it alone, breaking the glass ceiling to build major cosmetics and beauty based companies. From the lips of some of the most successful entrepreneurs, if you love and are really passionate about a something and use it yourself – it is very easy to build a business around it.
If there is something that many women are very familiar with, it is the items they themselves would use in their daily life. Everything from cosmetics and skin care products all the way through to makeup tools and laser IPL machines is something where women have an advantage through insider knowledge.
This is has been true all throughout history, even are recent as the 20th-century beauty icons Helena Rubenstein, and rival Elizabeth Arden recognised opportunities in the modern beauty industry. They joined by Estee Lauder opened doors for female entrepreneurs. They took something they were not only passionate about but also something they had insider knowledge about and opened their own businesses. Created for women by women.
With the rise of the internet, it has become easier to transition from home-grown passion to a fully fledged business. One success story is Zoe Boikou, the founder of a global makeup brand ZOEVA. Living in Germany, she started from a position where she was simply frustrated by the lack of any quality makeup brushes in their local area. In her own words, she did not have any formal experience in makeup instead relying on her intuition about products. She knew what she liked and knew that other women would also like them.
Using a supplier and a simple eBay business, ZOEVA was born. With the emerging popularity of online makeup tutorials, the brushes quickly took off through video and other media sites. From those followers wanting to buy the products, to a global company it is a true success story.
Now the brushes are sold in Australia through different retailers with one range becoming one of the most popular brushes in Australia. From someone who was initially selling 2 digit numbers to selling over 5 million in 2016, it is just one example of a female entrepreneur following her passion to success.
There are many reasons women might turn to launching a beauty business as a second or even third career. Many simply desire to put their experience and passion to use helping other women in a field they are familiar with.
However, although the glass ceiling may have some widening cracks, it has not been completely smashed. While many women have now claimed a role in the boardroom of corporate cosmetic companies, many more are finding it easier to simply start their own business using the ease of the internet. However some business specialists are pointing to this as the lack of a glass ceiling, indeed many in PR and marketing say there is no glass ceiling, instead it is all about how hard you are prepared to work for it.
In any industry, there is a huge competition, what make the beauty industry so exciting for many women, are the opportunities. Not only are success stories like Zoe Boikou becoming more common, but they are also creating an industry that is aware of the value women can bring. Ultimately many of women by following their passion and talent have revolutionised the industry.