We recently connected with Gwen Monique Billings and have shared our conversation below.

Gwen Monique, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I started working for a manufacture in the professional beauty industry in 1990 and have been in ever since. I worked my way up from a Customer Service Representative, to management positions for haircare, skincare and cosmetics companies. After reviewing various cosmetic companies and seeing the limited products available, I knew that there was a missing link to people of color. I planned a dinner with close girlfriends (one being a makeup artist/blogger and the other, owning her own successful haircare brand) to talk about my issues of being a Latina with limited products out there that are geared for medium to darker skin types. Gladly my friends both being of multi-culcure agreed and asked if they partner with me and create a new brand from scratch. To my surprise, Eleman Beauty was created as a multi-cultural cosmetic brand. We wanted to be a part of the missing link within the cosmetics industry.

Gwen Monique, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a Latina American from Southern California. In 1990, I applied for a job as a customer service representative for a haircare company. Servicing the customer has been my mission from the very start of my career. . Learning about products and the brand I was representing through the years is important. You have to love what do to service and sell the products. I have a saying, if the company treats you good, you will continue to prosper and there is no limit! The customer always need to be heard and it takes a special person to listen, problem solve, and fix any issues. The goal is to ensure that each customer is happy and satisfied when you either hang up the phone or leave their business. I still continue to honor these traits today.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I don’t live in the past anymore. I live each day with no regrets. Life is short and so very precious and I do not take it for granted. My goal is to set an example for young Latina girls out there that may think that they are stuck, or their lives cannot change. There is always hope, no matter what. Dream big! To make a difference.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I don’t live in the past anymore. I live each day with no regrets. Life is short and so very precious and I do not take it for granted. My goal is to set an example for young Latina girls out there that may think that they are stuck, or their lives cannot change. There is always hope, no matter what. Dream big! To make a difference.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.elemanbeauty.com
• Instagram: elemanbeauty
• Facebook: elemanbeauty
• Linkedin: eleman beauty
• Youtube: Eleman Beauty