We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nikki Simches . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nikki below.
Nikki, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
Elli J. Beauty came to be after a series of necessary pivots in life. I’ve been in the beauty industry professionally since I was 17, from makeup to nails to skin to management to sales. I always hated that artistry, passion, and a commitment to taking care of others took a backseat to numbers and quotas.
I found myself also thriving in the restaurant industry, as I got just as much joy behind the bar serving people and making sure they enjoyed themselves. Before I knew it, I was doing freelance makeup, managing a bar, working 80 hours a week outside of the home, and selling makeup on the side while also raising 2 babies 2 and under.
When I started noticing my son was having difficulty and delays in some areas, I went into mama bear mode. No one was hearing me, or taking my concerns seriously, until I was asked one afternoon by his private preschool to please pull him from the program because he is too energetic and distracting for the other children. I remember the moment getting in the car and trying to hide my sobbing from him. In that moment I knew no one was going to advocate for my baby like me, and I took action. Early intervention, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and every resource I could acquire. He was diagnosed with autism and ADHD a few months later and I had already begun working toward leaving the bar industry and working from home to be able to always be there for whatever my son needed.
Less than a year later, I received my own ADHD diagnosis, I had retired from the bar business, was making enough to support myself from home, and then my daughter was also diagnosed with autism and ADHD.
My life was 7 days a week of working in every pocket of time, and giving everything to my kids. The company I worked for kept changing, everyone was struggling, and I found myself questioning if I could continue to align with them against my intuition. With a negative bank account, I borrowed $500, started an LLC, and soft-launched a boutique with zero experience in October 2019. In December 2019 I was enrolled back into college (I never finished the first time) for my Bachelor’s degree in business. Less than 3 months later, we were in pandemic lockdown. Both of my kids were home, resources stalled, and I became the teacher, the resources, the boss, the employee, and somehow we made it all work. We then moved from CT to PA October 2020 and spent almost a year struggling in every which way. My mental health was suffering, my kids were struggling, my husband was struggling, and I just felt so lost and unfulfilled. I was thriving in school still and knew if I could be more mindful and grateful that maybe I would see what I didn’t know I was looking for.
On August 1, 2021 I launched Elli J. Beauty. Makeup and skincare and taking care of people has always been my thing. Mental health awareness has always been my thing. So I took a leap of faith, cut my revenue down 75% and leaned into my own beauty brand so I could feel joy in what I was creating and sharing. I felt like for the next 6 months I was watching my life from outside, as I seemed to be failing miserably. I had to take out loans, my husband was Doordashing at night, I was Instacart shopping for people on weekends trying to make ends meet. I was working every second it felt like. My goal was to not just create high quality products that people of all different kinds and skill levels and budgets could enjoy, but to create a community that encouraged inclusion, acceptance of others, self-expression, equality, and creativity. Makeup without boundaries.
When I started focusing on the good, the negative started to cease. A few products blew up on Tiktok, major influencers were trying and sharing my products, and my customers (who are the most amazing human beings ever) were happy and telling their friends to check us out.
I began using my platform to help promote more mental health awareness and acceptance of those with “spicy brains” (the term I used to help my children learn about our special brains – it emphasizes a uniqueness of person instead of defining them with a label or diagnosis). We’ve created a few gifts and stickers we offer that contribute to organizations close to our heart like the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the Autistic Self Advocacy Network among several others.
I graduated with my business degree in early 2023 and immediately reenrolled into graduate school for my Master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling. My brand reflects passion for makeup, passion for helping people, and a passion for ensuring that at least the people who come into my space, know how valued and special they are.
Makeup and it’s power is subjective to each user, I am just here to provide really badass products that work, and a gentle reminder that being happy is your right, not a suggestion. Dream big dreams, believe you are worthy of them, be grateful for every step of the journey, and live a life of love and compassion not hate and judgement.
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?
Elli J. Beauty was named for my daughter, Elliana Jewell. I have been in the beauty space for 18 years now and have seen the industry from every angle; consumer, professional makeup artist, influencer, admin, brand, etc.
We celebrate those who often feel overlooked by mainstream beauty. We actively seek feedback from customers & supporters to understand their needs better & to create diverse products that everyone can enjoy.
Sometimes societal beauty standards & strategically curated social media influences can leave us feeling overwhelmed as consumers. We want our community to not only feel valued, but we want to give value, by consistently providing education & empowerment through our products and content.
At Elli J. Beauty, we encourage & put an emphasis on inclusivity, acceptance and mental health awareness. We don’t just strive for inclusivity in terms of shade range, skin type, ethnicity, and age, but we try to take it a step further by also catering to different skill levels, budgets, and lifestyles. Our products are made with everyone in mind. Makeup, skincare, and self care for ALL is the goal.
Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?
Full transparency, I have been faced with the scary revelation that I needed to shut the brand down and file for bankruptcy more times than not. I am the sole owner and operator of the entire brand. The products, the packaging, the design, the ordering, the inventory, the accounting, the social media management, the content, the affiliate program, the shipping, the customer service, you name it. However, I am also an extremely present mother, wife, daughter and friend, and a student. To give my family AND my career all of me, that at many times left me giving nothing to myself. It burns you out having the weight of the world on your shoulders and thinking resting is just asking for a missed opportunity. I would have these huge spikes in business and out of fear I would invest in the wrong places in the business and then there would be a slow month that could cripple us. I’m still struggling to this day, and in a chaotic economic climate, being a small one-woman-owned business in one of the most over-saturated industries with everyone competing with everyone, while trying to work on my own mental health and wellness while raising two incredible human beings – I am grateful for the struggle. I am grateful for every failure. Each is a lesson I have learned, and can now see the polarity of those dark, stressful times. For every moment of fear and anxiety around failure, there is an equal moment of faith, confidence and success. You just have to believe it.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I am so incredibly grateful for my customers and I have a fairly high retention rate. That is something I take very seriously, as I know that every time someone orders with us, they are shopping with their hard earned money and should expect effective, quality products they can love. So when they come back again and again, even though social media platforms are flooded with ads from competitors and influencers, I make sure to show my gratitude. I appreciate every single customer so much, and make sure that I convey their importance and to me through my customer service efforts, personal thank you messages, and I also love to include a free gift in my orders that a customer will actual get use out of and enjoy. I go LIVE often on Tiktok when I am working because I love to chat with my audience and answer questions personally about products, usage, etc.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ellijbeauty.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/elli_j_beauty
- Facebook: Facebook.com/ellijbeauty
- Other: Tiktok.com/@ellijbeauty