As a part of the Morning Lazziness series about empowering women who are encouraging and doing incredible things with their ideas in society, I had the pleasure of interviewing Luna Seto.
Luna is a Black woman in business, and she is the founder of a vegan, clean beauty brand called Luna Skins. The brand uses Arabica Coffee which helps to protect your skin from radical damage, removes dead skin cells, eliminates skin impurities, and much more. The luxury, eco-friendly, affordable line is determined to give you that glow you are looking for and is perfect for all seasons.
It’s an honor to speak with you today. I would love to know more about your story and your background. Give us some details about your journey as an entrepreneur.
I am from the Democratic Republic of Congo; I developed a keen interest in homemade beauty remedies and would look on the internet for hours upon hours, searching for the best, natural homemade remedies for my skin. I had been making products for a number of years for herself and her family. A good friend of mine told me about an old African recipe that was homemade, with its main ingredient as coffee. He was using coffee beans to make different products and this sparked an interest in me. This recipe was a natural skin product that could be used on any skin type, that expels toxins for smoother, more radiant skin. Packed with caffeine and antioxidants the formula could improve blood circulation, reduce the appearance of cellulite, and help prevent premature aging. It was from that moment I knew I was onto something. I began to research online only to find that there was a gap in the market for my unique products, so from March 2021 Luna Skins was born.
What do you specialize in, and why should someone choose you over your competitors in your field?
Our ingredients are different from most brands as 85% of Luna Skins products are made up of Arabica coffee beans that have anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties that can help beat acne blemishes. Our products can help with those annoying acne scars, cellulite, and stretch marks so that you can feel like the best version of yourself. Whether a person uses a lot of make-up or not Luna Skin products are about achieving great-looking skin that glows under the spotlight or sunlight. Luna Skin products are organic, simple, natural-based products that have no artificial chemicals.
What are the three things that mostly helped your online business succeed?
- Persistence and hard work, are the keys to success in small business push through when it’s hard, consistent keep taking those little baby
- Get Traffic to your website from as Many Places as Possible
- Understand who your customers are
There is no shortage of good ideas out there, but people struggle to take a good idea and translate it into an actual business.
Most people fear someone saying their idea is ridiculous or why would anyone want that. The first fear everyone need is to overcome the fear of being ridiculed for bringing the idea out or why anyone would want that my advice is to believe in your idea and your dream business
What are your three biggest accomplishments?
- Becoming an entrepreneur
- Managing my Brand
- Going back to study at university I am doing a degree in international business I choose this course as I wanted to learn and understand more about running a successful and solid business
What were your most important challenges? & How did you overcome those challenges?
Lack of knowledge running an online business and not knowing the beauty industry is very competitive, I overcome these challenges by talking to small business owners when going to events. I was willing to abandon what didn’t work I replaced old strategies with new ones by really helps you learn not just what your customers want, but how successful your business is at reaching and connecting with them.
What’s your piece of advice for readers who want to achieve wealth and success in life?
First ask yourself honestly where you would like to be in 5 years, create goals all the time, setting good daily habits are the foundation of wealth building. If you understand that your bad habits may be preventing you from becoming wealthy, that realization will be the first step in your improving your circumstances.
What do you think is the key to a truly successful online business?
Learning about online business laws helps you learn not just what your customers want, but how successful your business is at reaching and connecting with them.
The ability to satisfy your customers to such a degree that they buy from you rather than from someone else, and that they bring their friends is the key determinant of growth and profitability.
What’s your business model? How does your online business make money?
My business model is to identify products or services the business plans to sell, its identified target market, and any anticipated expenses.
Where do you see yourself and your business in five years?
To finish my business degree, my aim for the business is to have increased traffic on our website and minimize cash flow.
What’s your piece of advice for people who want to quit their 9-5 job and start a business?
To be clear about your vision also it is very important to recognize your strength and weakness please make sure you do a business plan if you don’t know how to do it get someone to help you do it’s very important it prevents you from overspending. I didn’t have a business plan I just jumped in the big pond hahaha. My final advice is to make sure that you are financially ok to start up a business. Some businesses don’t really require lots of money to start with sometimes it’s worth taking the risk to become your own boss.
What would you tell yourself ten to twenty years ago that you wish you knew then?
Putting myself first and if I knew how to save save my money to start up my own business as I have always been ambitious becoming my own boss
What is the biggest sacrifice you’ve made in starting or running your business?
My biggest sacrifice was to use all my savings to start my own business without a business plan.
What do you think could be the future of NFT? How useful can they be for everyone?
NFT can create opportunities for new business models that didn’t exist before for fast transactions. Asset ownership that is tokenized into an NFT can more easily and efficiently be transferred among people anywhere in the world. NFT ownership is secured by a blockchain: Using blockchain technology to digitally signify ownership can make an investor’s ownership of an asset more secure.
What is your no-fail go-to when you need inspiration or to get out of a creative rut?
I connect with nature by taking long walks in the park I also love going to Kew Gardens it changes everything. To overcome personal fear and get out of your comfort zone
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
This is an interesting one to have a business, to do background research on the chosen graphic designer, be very selective about web designers, record all my expenses, and avoid collaborating with lots of influencers.
Do you have any app, digital course, or book you would like our readers to know about?
I don’t have any at the moment but I am planning to have an app soon.
Lastly, what do you think this world needs the most?
kindness, acceptance, understanding, forgiveness, and compassion
