Meet PRERNA SHARMA

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful PRERNA SHARMA. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with PRERNA below.

PRERNA, so good to have you with us today. We’ve got so much planned, so let’s jump right into it. We live in such a diverse world, and in many ways the world is getting better and more understanding but it’s far from perfect. There are so many times where folks find themselves in rooms or situations where they are the only ones that look like them – that might mean being the only woman of color in the room or the only person who grew up in a certain environment etc. Can you talk to us about how you’ve managed to thrive even in situations where you were the only one in the room?

Being South Asian and a brand owner in the beauty and skincare space means I often find myself in rooms where South Asian and brown representation is still lacking. A younger me would have seen this as a disadvantage, but with time and experience, I’ve learned that most people are kind, helpful, and genuinely want to support you if you ask.

This hits especially hard because my business exists in an industry that constantly pushes narrow ideas of what we’re “supposed” to look like and what beauty should be. One of the core reasons I started this brand was to reinforce the idea that taking care of yourself has nothing to do with society’s version of beauty – or what big industries have told us to strive for.

There are two key tactics I rely on to stay grounded in my power and confidence when I’m the only one in the room who looks like me. First, I visualize an outcome that’s in my favor. Getting my nervous system to believe I belong here and that winning is my most natural state, while picturing a clear, positive result makes a huge difference.

Second, I train my mind to believe that everyone in the room wants me to win. That simple mindset shift helps me approach people with openness, see them as allies, and show up in the right headspace.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

In the past year of trying to grow my skincare brand, STEP ZERO, I realized I’d been building in hard mode. You can’t grow something meaningful by sitting behind a laptop without a network of people cheering for you and a community that connects with your mission and values.

At the start of this year, I made it a point to change that. I began intentionally building a network of mentors, connecting with other business owners who are in the same boat, and surrounding myself with experts I could tap into when needed.
I’m proud to say that many of the leaps my business has made this year are directly tied to the people and opportunities I reached out to. One of our biggest wins was getting STEP ZERO into Anthropologie – a milestone that came directly from outreach, making the ask, and refusing to self-dismiss.

I’m also focused on being a resource for others – sharing what I’ve learned, offering support, and leaning into the spirit of paying it forward. So many of us are trying to grow mission-driven businesses, and there’s so much we can learn from each other. I want to do my part by sharing my journey and insights, in whatever way I can.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Looking back, the three things that made the biggest impact on my journey were: being scrappy, doing real customer research, and just focusing on the next step instead of the entire staircase.

Being scrappy meant finding a way forward even when I didn’t have the “perfect” tools or answers. I’ve learned to rely on my own skills, leverage AI when it makes sense, and tap into a network of freelancers and contractors—running small experiments to test and validate my ideas along the way.

Customer research helped me create products that actually solve real problems—not just what I think people want. That meant stepping away from my screen and learning directly from real people. I invested in a series of pop-up markets to get face-to-face with customers, watch their reactions, ask questions, and share my story in person.

And finally, focusing on the next step—without spiraling about how far I still have to go—helped me stay grounded. Building a business is a long, hard road. You have to trust yourself to just take the next step. The rest of the path becomes clearer as you go. I’ve realized that no one really has it all figured out, and there’s real strength in just continuing to show up.
If you’re early in your journey, my advice would be: stay curious, stay close to your customer, and don’t let perfection slow you down. Just keep moving.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

The biggest challenge I’m currently facing is building brand awareness because at the end of the day, visibility is what makes or breaks your business. You can have the best product, the most thoughtful packaging, or the most meaningful mission, but if people don’t know you exist, none of that matters.

Right now, I’m focused on showing up consistently, reaching out to new people, and embracing the discomfort that comes with it, like putting my face on social media, talking on camera, and sharing the behind-the-scenes of building my brand. Once you realize that true community is built by sharing your story, and that no one can tell the story behind your brand better than you, that’s a game changer. But insight alone doesn’t make it easier.

You have to keep showing up, keep telling your story, keep testing different messages and formats, and notice what’s resonating. Sometimes it lands, sometimes it doesn’t. But every time, you learn something and improve.

It’s not always easy, it can feel vulnerable and exhausting but I’ve come to see visibility as a non-negotiable part of growth. And the more I lean into it, the more aligned and authentic the process starts to feel. Because at the end of the day, people connect with people, not just products. And if I want to build a brand that people care about, I have to be willing to show up and be seen.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.shop-stepzero.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopstepzero
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prerna-psharma/

Image Credits

STEP ZERO