Hi fellow Females of Filadelphia readers đ» Hope everyone is staying safe and practicing self-care. I am so so excited for todayâs guest, Heather, because she is a real-life example of what this community stands for. She founded luci skin – luci meaning light in Italian– after graduating from Temple University and has since taken the business from a simple idea to a community of real women with real skin issues. It is absolutely admirable and Iâm so happy to be giving her the platform to share her story. Before I give away too many details, letâs start the interview.
V: Hi Heather! Thanks for joining us today. Why donât you tell the audience a bit about what inspired you to start luci skin?
H: I started the company about 3 years ago from just an idea I had. It was completely a different idea from what luci skin has turned into. When I first started, I was in this gray area. I had just finished college and was planning on going to law school, but I wasnât really happy about where things were going. So I took some time to really think about what it is I love to do. In that time I took to figure out my life, I realized life is short and you really have to do what you love and you cannot be afraid of that.
Because my skin is so hormonal, I wanted to create a foundation that worked with the three phases my skin goes through. It would go from really dry to oily to broken out, with acne scarring, and all that âlovelyâ stuff, so I wanted to create a line based on that. I put it in a back burner for a long time, finished school and thatâs when I realized I didnât know exactly what I was going to do. I revisited that idea and said to myself âwhy not?â. I was in this space where I really needed to do something for myself- something that really made ME happy.
V: That truly is what life is about, and itâs always a journey getting there. Can you walk me through how you started it? Did you know anything about starting a business going into it?
H: I didnât know anything in the beginning. I didnât know how to start a business. But I did my research and took it from there. I thought I would create a three-step foundation system based on womenâs hormonal needs. I connected with all these manufacturers, and one company in Italy was bringing all their manufacturers to New York. I took a train to New York and they hosted me at this wonderful event. In the process of this, I met the manufacturers who would be creating luci skin. It was a very transformative and explorative period of figuring out what I wanted to do with the brand. It was during this time, and through the research, that I found out the market was not ready for this three-step foundation system.
But there were these manufacturers from Italy who had an amazing product and they wanted a US distributor. This was a great opportunity for me. Itâs not what I originally had thought but it was even better. The manufacturing that comes from Italy is super clean and innovative so I wanted to put out a product that was made only with Italian manufacturing. It was perfect for my generation and the generation that follows me [Millennial and Gen Z]. After months of iterating (and still reiterating) we launched our first product, the Metalit. We launched it in September of 2018. We distribute it online in the USA, London, and Canada.
V: Thatâs really quite the journey. I feel like a lot of business owners will tell you such a short story of how they started their business that you donât get all the good details that show how much hard work goes into it. Thanks for giving my readers the real deal. So whatâs next for luci skin?
H: This year we want to launch more products, open up more distribution channels in other countries and grow our ambassador program. The ambassador program is really the heart of the company. Itâs a very unique program where I get to connect with the consumer, the consumer gets to connect with the brand and for people to connect with each other. Some of the people from our ambassador campaigns are now roommates or theyâve become really good friends in other ways and theyâve met through our program. This says a lot about our campaign and how it shows a deeper connection.
I, also, want to grow that to other campuses because we did start at Temple. Iâve had girls who have signed up across the country and even in different countries too. I love the authentic voice that the ambassadors promote. We use only our ambassadors in our marketing campaigns and we donât edit their photos. We welcome people with all types of skin. We use real people with real skin.
V: Speaking of whatâs next with luci skin, how are you guys doing now? With manufacturing in Italy and packaging from China I can imagine this pandemic has caused your business some issues, how has that been?
H: Yes, the manufacturers in Italy were shut down for over 40 days, so it did back up our production. What I wanted to launch in the spring will now launch in the summer. Iâm hoping for a June-July timeframe, but as with anything I am unsure. But for me, what has been a real struggle has been here in the US. Here in the US I had so many plans for expansion with in-person events on campus. All of that has just been wiped out. So I am figuring out how to take all of those in-person strategies and turning them into online opportunities.
V: I canât imagine how hard it has been for small businesses to adapt to this new normal. Do you think this has been the hardest part of your business so far, if not what has?
H: I think the hardest part, for me, is being able to find the right people to help you. And when you have those challenges you end up doing a lot of work on your own, and you end up working a lot of long hours. Like after this [this call at 5pm] I have about 8 more hours of work to do. You have to be your own marketer, you have to put out all of the creative content, and you have to also run the whole business and figure out your strategies. And now with this, I also have to figure out how to move all of this online.
V: But it definitely sounds like itâs worth it for the most part. What would you say to girls and women who dream of being entrepreneurs, aka starting their own businesses?
H: Do your market research. You have to know who your competition is. You have to have a business plan and you have to set real, tangible short-term and long-term goals. Write those goals down. Put the business plan into a pitch deck. Donât fret over the details, like I did in the beginning, because you are going to change your mind so many times. Just launch. Go out there and get your first round of customers. Start small. Learn. Pivot. And then launch again with what you have learned.
V: I love that: âJust launchâ. A lot of times we let details and fears get in the way of our dreams, but you are clearly going after what you want. I know lots of people can learn from your story and I canât wait to see where luci skin goes. If you are interested in buying luci skin products, click the link here and feel free to follow them @luciskinofficial on Instagram.
If you enjoyed Heatherâs story, make sure to follow our Instagram and Facebook to stay updated on new stories coming out! Stay safe đ XOXO, V