Today we’d like to introduce you to Tionia Nixon.
Tionia, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I don’t have your normal or typical entrepreneur story. Since I could remember, my mom always wore MAC products, mainly their lipsticks and I couldn’t wait until I was old enough to wear them myself. I still remember the very first lipgloss I ever purchased. When I promoted from the 5th grade, my mom allowed me and my best friend to catch the Port Authority Transit bus downtown Pittsburgh, PA. I purchased MAC’s “Explicit” lipgloss and my best friend purchased MAC’s “Oh Baby”. That’s a day I’ll never forget. As I got older and started growing into my facial features, my peers began to make negative comments about the size of my lips. They would say things like “Your lips are big,” “She has big lips,” “She has big lips just like her dad.” I never expressed to anyone how those comments made me feel however they hurt my feelings and I began to hate my lips. Although I began to dislike my lips, my love for lipgloss never changed. I then started to experiment with different colors and/or textures of lipgloss and lipsticks however at the same I was a little uncomfortable because of all the negative remarks about my lips. Shades like pink and purple became my favorites and were my go-to colors whenever I got dressed and felt I wanted to be brave and bold. Last year, I turned 30 and as I began to focus on my passion and purpose, the first thing that came to my mind was lipgloss and that time when I purchased my first lipgloss and how I feel every time I put on lipgloss or lipstick.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
No, it definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. Although I come from a family line of entrepreneurs on my maternal side, I have never thought about or even wanted to be an entrepreneur. I don’t make my own formula so the biggest challenge was finding a manufacturer that had a quality product I felt comfortable putting my name and brand on. It took months, a lot of money and many prayers before finding the right company. If you are just starting out, I would say have faith and patience. Trust and believe God will guide you to the right people, places and things to help bring your vision to pass. And be sure not to be in such a hurry that you put out a product that isn’t quality and/or a product that you wouldn’t purchase yourself.
Please tell us about SweetGyrl Cosmetics.
SweetGyrl Cosmetics is for the girl who is brave, bold, fearless, unapologetic and courageous. I’m specializing in making women of all ages, nationalities, and race, no matter the size of their lips, feel confident. I want women to wear bold colors like pink, red and purple fearlessly. I’m most proud of my brand giving me a confidence I didn’t even know was inside of me and I’m so excited for women all around the world to experience this feeling.
What sets me apart is I’m doing this for women of all ages however especially those women who allow the opinions of others to prevent them from living their life as who they truly are.
Often it feels as if the media, by and large, is only focused on the obstacles faced by women, but we feel it’s important to also look for the opportunities. In your view, are there opportunities that you see that women are particularly well-positioned for?
Yes, I feel that women right now are well-positioned for entrepreneurship. Celebrity and non-celebrity women who are already successful are currently using social media to share information free and/or paid to help women start their own businesses.
Pricing:
- Lipgloss $12
- Lip Lacquer $15
- Matte Liquid Lipsticks $15
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sweetgyrlcosmetics.com
- Email: info@sweetgyrlcosmetics.com
- Instagram: _sweetgyrlcosmetics
- Facebook: SweetGyrl Cosmetics
Image Credit:
Alex Hudson, DeQuilla Gennay
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