We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dorcas Mbevo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Dorcas , thanks for joining us today. One of the toughest parts of scaling a business is maintaining quality as you grow. How have you managed to maintain quality? Any stories or advice?
One of my company slogan is QUALITY over QUANTITY.
As a company grows I think it comes along with the pressure of adding more products to attract and meet your consumers needs and often times we have all experienced a drop of quality products from some of our favorite brands out there. This can be on products that we consume internally as well as externally.
I always say I am a consumer first before being a business owner. Having that in mind keeps me grounded in making sure that whatever we (Vonga Beauty) produces or puts out for sale has maintained the same quality that we are known for.
We (Vonga Beauty) would rather have fewer products with high quality to offer than having tons of different products with lower quality. That alone is a loss of trust and money.
Consumers spend their hard earned money to support small businesses over big businesses and the least we can do as small business owners is to provide them with exceptional customer service experience as well as high quality products.
As a consumer my self, I expect that every time I purchase something from other small businesses or companies at large.
It’s very important for businesses (large or small) to maintain quality products in their stores. It’s not the products / services that leads to returning customers but rather it’s the quality of your products as well as your services that will generate returning customers to your business.
So why not offer quality over quantity….
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I Am Vonga Beauty, also Dorcas Mbevo. Vonga Beauty is a celebration of woman refined beauty in every shade & age.
A good decade of my life was spent as a fashion, beauty & pageant model. With that alone I am sure you can have an idea of just how long I was exposed to beauty / makeup products. Some which were critical & toxic to my sensitive skin.
After moving to the U.S.A from Africa, my skin started reacting differently to almost every beauty products I tried. Drugstore or high end products. From lipgloss to skin moisturizers.
I quickly learned that’s a common side effects a lot of us foreigners / immigrants experience. You can imagine how devastating that was. I found my self in a position where I felt as if nothing was working / nothing was made for me. Can you relate?
Most of the beauty products in the market then and now are primarily marketed for people with perfect skin conditions, that’s why it’s extremely hard to see any skin care brand commercial showcasing models with real skin issues such as acne and acne scars, etc…
I strongly felt excluded from the beauty concept and I know I am not the only one. Having that in mind and having experienced the lack of care for sensitive skin first hand boosted my courage to start my makeup brand VONGA BEAUTY.
I know it’s often a cliche to say that Vonga Beauty products are Vegan & Cruelty Free because a lot of companies now uses that as their forecast of their business while not living up to it.
But as a consumer of my own products and one who still have a sensitive skin with acne skin condition, making sure that my makeup products are truly vegan and cruelty free is one of my top must have qualities that I do not compromise neither do I plan on compromising for my business ( Vonga Beauty).
As a new entrepreneur in a dominating industry such as the beauty industry I am most proud of a lot of the things I was able to achieve with my business.
Primarily getting started. I personally think there is a lot of great entrepreneurs out there in the world who have the fear of getting started, so that to me is already an achievement.
Secondly seeing my products in a British Vogue magazine – December issue 2020 along side Beyoncé as the cover star, that was truly unbelievable and mind blowing. I still have to pinch my self once in awhile that I have crossed one of my life goals for my business early on into my entrepreneurship venture.
That served as confirmation that I am doing something right and someone out there is watching.
Someone is always watching indeed because just a year after our British Vogue feature , I was blessed and fortunate enough to make it to The New York Journal Top 30 Entrepreneurs 2022… With the type of year we had, coming out of a global pandemic I truly feel honored that someone out there thought of me and my business to be worthy of such recognition.
What I want to leave with everyone who reads this and potential new customers, Vonga Beauty is made with you in mind because we have experienced what’s like to not have what this industry considers perfect skin and we know what’s like to feel excluded because of your skin type, condition and color.
When you purchase a product from Vonga Beauty I want you to know that your product will always be of quality. That’s a promise from me & my team to you.
Also to anyone wanting to start or join the beauty industry, the pie is big enough for all of us, please get started. Get started with what you have and watch your faith, determination & hard-work carry you through.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
2020 was a year that tested my faith & determination to succeed in life and business like never before. Not only was it the year that I made my business official and by official I mean obtaining an LLC and every legal registration needed it was also the year we were hit with the deadly global pandemic COVID…
Every business strategy I had planned , drafted and knew shifted by the blink of an eye. While the pandemic made and created millionaires amongst us, we can all attest to just how many of small business were closed down during the pandemic.
I for once in my life felt lost, confused and uncertain. I constantly battled the thought of closing everything down or keep going.
New into the business with no prior training or business experience, I had to trust my calling and purpose. What I often call my “why”… I had to be resilient, there was no other choice or option.
Pushing through the months of confusion came in the months of no sales… I mean 3-4 months of $0 revenue. Those month molded me, those months taught me what being resilient is truly about, those months made me realize entrepreneurship is not just about the glitz and glamor that we hear or see on TV/ social media.
Those are the moments entrepreneurs go through that is often not talked about.
But knowing and believing in my why! Why I started the business and why it’s important for me to have Vonga Beauty out there and grow it into a family renowned name truly kept me going.
I knew then, I am not in for the money but to make a difference. No matter how little or no revenue comes in I knew better days were ahead and all those months were teaching me how to persevere and be resilient.
Just like a tornado, u have to withstand it with everything in you otherwise unwillingly you may find your self carried away. I had to be blind to what was happening to others, how well they were doing and focus on me! My journey, my purpose, my why, my calling and my business ( VONGA BEAUTY).
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
While I can testify that Vonga Beauty could be known to many, to me it’s not where I want it to be hence forth i am always striving for a better reputation.
To say the least I believe what truly helped me build a great reputation is my customers, word of mouth and the quality of our products.
A lot of businesses downplay how important it’s to maintain great quality and a having great customer service.
The customer service experiences you offer to your customers determines the type of relationship you are building with them. Your customers are your biggest cheerleaders. They can make or break your business
The good quality of your products will have your customers and industry expects waving about your business even in your absence.
Which will then create a reputation for you and attract new & potential clientele. To add on I would say being present and visible. It’s not just enough to have good quality products with great customer service experiences, you have to be present and visible to social matters and where your customers are.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.Vongabeauty.com
- Instagram: www.Instagram.com/dorcasmbevo
- Facebook: www.Facebook.com/VongaBeautyllc
Image Credits
Vonga Beauty LLC