We recently connected with Kiara Richards and have shared our conversation below.

Kiara , appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I came up with the idea of being an entrepreneur right after graduating high school. I knew it was more to me then working a regular job in something I had to do but knowing there was so much out there I wanted to be apart of. If I’m being very transparent I wasn’t really into a full face of makeup at the time but I was definitely into lip balms , mascara , lip liners and lipgloss . I always had them with me. I would always get compliments on my lip combinations and that’s when it all came to me that it was time I started my very own.

I had the idea of starting a cosmetics brand for two years after graduating high school but I was scared that nobody would support me due to everyone buying top brand cosmetics. I just knew I wanted to start a business and my vision was stuck on a cosmetics line so in the mean time I was doing a lot of research in the industry I knew I wanted to step into. Months of research turned into me actually taking that step and leading with faith. My emotions were really high and I was very uncomfortable knowing I was going in alone. No boss , no employees and nobody to fall on but nonetheless I knew If I didn’t start It all still be a dream and not my reality. I knew I needed to come up with a brand name and Joyce came to my head multiple times and after thinking about it I came up with LAJOYCECOSMETICS .

Lajoycecosmetics is in honor of my oldest sister that never got a chance at life. This was to keep her name alive regardless of meeting her . Her name would’ have been Joyce but adding the La in front of it fit so perfectly . I knew it was the perfect name for my business, something that’ll mean the world to me and still be a remembrance of her beautiful soul. May she continue to sleep in paradise.

I knew this was something that’ll take me very far but also knew nothing came easy without failing, I was ready and prepared which I thought until I felt defeated with no support in the beginning but if I knew strangers would be there to support and give those words of encouragement I wouldn’t have stop for two months . I knew consistency and discipline were my only options so I came back with a different mindset . The support came when they seen how serious I was to work for myself and have the #1 beauty brand in Delaware . I put in the work to be where I am today. Two years into entrepreneurship I learned a lot and still learning and I’ll never regret when I started and how I did. November 20th 2021 was the year I launched and I wouldn’t be where I am today if I never had the vision to start. The mess ups taught me that I’m human and it’s going to happen and to fall in love with the process. Anything you do new will come with downfalls and mess ups and that’s why everyone isn’t doing it. That’s when I knew this was apart of my journey and one hundred percent knew it’ll be worthwhile. It hit me that I was made for this and I’ll get where I want to be as long as I stay true to myself , my vision and follow Gods plan I’ll be there. Giving up isn’t apart of my Testimony.

Entrepreneurship isn’t easy but anything easy won’t last long and this will stay and everyone will know and wear LaJoycecosmetics.

Kiara , 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 Kiara Richards the owner of LaJoycecosmetics. I’m 25 years old currently located in Delaware. I am a mother of one and he continues to be my motivation to keep the definition of a hustler going and getting it by any means. I knew I wanted something of my own and something I create. A cosmetics line is what kept popping into my head which made sense and I went for it. I was into very minimal cosmetics such as lip balms , lipgloss and mascara. Overtime it grew on me as I got older and fell in-love with how the different shades of lipglosses looked, felt and complemented me but also knew I was a neutral girl.

I had the vision for a while before ever launching it to the world to see, as any human my thoughts and procrastination kicked in and pushed me back two years. I had to put how I felt to the side and get the work done if this was going to be my reality.

My primary goal is to ensure my customers will have quality cosmetics. I’m very passionate about my brand prays it continues to take off and that my customers enjoys their experience with me. I provide lipgloss , mascara, lashes , lip liners , liquid matte lipsticks, sponges , eyebrow wax , highlighters , lip oils you name it I provide.

I currently ship in the United States and plan on shipping worldwide one day. Slowly but shortly I know it’ll happen. I do offer customer pick up in my state for those that order and wants their products the same day. Providing that service really sets me apart from others and hearing feedback from my customers is everything. It’s nothing like having a go to for high quality products. I’m also working with brand ambassadors that are all different and unique and so dope in their own way and see where my vision is going. Truly appreciate them.

I am so proud of all the hard work I’ve put in , I don’t sit back and congratulate myself for the small accomplishments I’ve made while putting myself and brand out there for the world to see and knowing it all started as a dream. I’m so proud of my loyal customers that comes back , spread the word and even wear my brand it means the world and I want them to all know they’re all appreciated in every way. Taking a chance on a small business like mine is HUGE.

To everyone out there take a chance on yourself , bet on yourself and you’ll see where you fall. Entrepreneurship isn’t for the weak and most do it alone such as myself. To my customers and future customers thank you for being patient with me while I am a one man army, every package is packed with love and every product is handmade with even more love. I work day and day out to ensure every package is shipped on time. Being the best fast shipping company is something I’ll forever be proud of and will continue to do. I’m living my dream.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

I took a risk at adding my brand on Google for all to see. I was determined to have LaJoycecosmetics to be on every platform and the only one I was missing was Google. I knew I had to add everything to ensure it was easy for my future customers to navigate. I felt good about the outcome and which didn’t go a plan in the beginning. After a month I finally got a sale from someone that searched up a small business that proved high quality products that she can easily pick up from and my brand came up. She left in the comments when she placed her order that she found me on Google! Like wow! Weeks after that I got five more orders from Google and my stats were growing and if I didn’t make that move I wouldn’t have met another small business owner. That was really dope to me and until this day I get chills because who would’ve thought my business would be recommended to her.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A few lessons I had to unlearn was problems are bad , follow your passion , the past predicts the future , and it’ll all work out in the end. I say these are important only because inside every problem lies an opportunity. Don’t follow your passion follow your effort because you might have no idea what your passion is. Don’t over analyze, just build something and see if works and also life isn’t fair and you have to get use to it, BUT you can do a lot about it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lajoycecosmetics.bigcartel.com/
• Instagram: Lajoycecosmetics
• Facebook: Lajoycecosmetics
• Youtube: Kiara Richards