We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ronnell Luster . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ronnell below.
Hi Ronnell , thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.
I try to stay optimistic no matter what the circumstances are, just hoping that soon the bad things won’t matter or won’t even be remembered.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Hi, I’m Ronnell Luster, the CEO behind Nelly’s Cosmetics. I’m 16, turning 17 in May, and I started my brand in 2022. I’ve been on the go ever since. I’m all about being creative and thinking outside the box. I make sure everyone feels included, from creating products for every age group or skin type to giving back. I’m not just a business owner; I also do other things like dance, painting, acting, coding, and a whole bunch of other stuff. I try to showcase these things through my business by coming up with different collections and events that you might’ve never seen other brands do. For instance, the OLAIDE collection is a makeup kit for performers, and it comes with a “how to do stage makeup” tutorial. My vendor, which is in Guangdong Shenzen, China, sent me MULTIPLE samples to find the perfect formula for on-stage makeup. It’s also named after my sister as a dedication to her since she was also a dancer. My business has inspired a lot of people. I get text messages almost every month from people congratulating me or saying how much I’ve inspired them to start their business or finish school—anything, really. I was homeschooled, so that’s how a lot of this was easier for me to focus on and put so much into it, but I graduated high school two years early. Now I’m getting my business certification and my esthetician license. My mom is already an esthetician, so she has helped me a lot with knowing what products are good and what aren’t, but I do most things on my own. I have a new collection coming out on April 1st called SKIN; it has a few skincare products, and I have more to come this year. I’ll be expanding S.T.E.A.M. Beauty, which offers kid activity boxes for every age and gender(there will be books attached to the boxes too😉) and I have more makeup collections coming up in the next few months. With my business I’ve been invited to multiple events in my community and also hosted a few. Ive won an award for “Young rising entrepreneur” in July 2023 and also was gifted $100 to invest in my business, I’ve hosted two young entrepreneur popupshops and I donate 10% of every order to the cystic fribrosis foundation and also donate toys to the kids in the hospital where my sister passed and in honor of her.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Three quality skills I think you need to own a business no matter what it is is having a good support team, money management, and a strong mind lol, it’s hard to own a business now being that you have to rely so much on instagram and TikTok and other people make it look so easy so you think you’ll also have the same outcome I haven’t had too many people tell me no since I’ve started my business and my mom has helped me a lot with getting events and hosting events even when I can’t show up.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I honestly love a good collaboration or event, I’d like to collaborate with anyone in the makeup/skincare field. Whether it’s a podcast, a salon or an influencer.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.nellyscosmetics.com/
- Instagram: Nellys.cosmetics
