The United States opens doors to aspiring entrepreneurs for many reasons. As the world’s largest, open-market economy, there is more of an equal opportunity for people to start a business; all you need to do is register. According to the U.S. Constitution, business owners are afforded complete ownership over their corporations, and have control over how it is run as long as it complies with state or federal law. There’s a wide range of marketing tools available, open access to the internet, and a broader base of investors or access to crowdfunding sites. There are also tax benefits in place to incentivize starting a business. America’s economy has thrived on capitalism and commerce in the past century, and as a result, American culture tends to be extremely supportive of entrepreneurship.
On the contrary, in a country like Russia, it is far more difficult to become a successful business owner. The Russian economy is governed under high levels of corruption, which limits the ability for micro-businesses to strive. Information and access to the open web is more limited, especially on social media platforms, where the majority of online marketing takes place.
For an ambitious young entrepreneur like April Ryan, making it big in the Russian market was close to impossible. As a 23 year old woman running three nail salons in the south of Russia, she faced a momentum of jealousy and discrimination; people taunting her over her hard-earned success. Her aspiration to build a bigger business led her to move countries in pursuit of the “American dream”. Today, Ryan is the owner of Red Iguana, an online store premised around professional nail art supplies and the inventor of the first Silicone Hand model.
By moving to America, she expanded her opportunities as a young businesswoman, which allowed Ryan to build a $3 million beauty empire.
Breaking into the Industry Takes Time
There are many structural barriers that have to be overcome when it comes to starting a business. Knowledge of market trends, access to funding, and the ability to communicate your ideas to the public or investors may be some areas that need extra support. If you’re a foreigner in a country trying to start a business, it may be even more difficult because of language barriers. Being adaptable, persistent, and observant is crucial to gradually break into the industry of your desire.
Being adaptable means you are always ready to take on the next challenge, or the opportunity to grow yourself in a specific skill set. This might mean you have to learn a few technical things if it will help you get further along – whether that means learning a second language or computer skills. Having a raw sense of drive, or persistence helps especially when there are factors holding you back from achieving your goals. One of the ways you may quickly differentiate yourself in the beauty industry is by bringing something that is less known to the market.
Ryan leveraged her foreign background to bring Russian manicures and techniques to the internet. She established a reputation through online marketing, by creating content for Instagram and making tutorials on Youtube. She quickly realised how effective using social media was to gaining clients, by how companies were reaching out to her to create content for their brands. By focusing on the craft she excelled in, nail art, she quickly began to find different outlets in which she could create multiple streams of income by using the same skillset. One of them, selling monthly subscription boxes with nail products that nail technicians used on a recurring basis.
Responding to Public Feedback
Once you have a base of recurring clients or viewers, it is important to be diligent about listening to feedback and readjusting your product and service to meet that demand. Market feedback is a valuable resource that will help in improving your business model.
The Silicone Practice Hand was redeveloped over two years until it finally made it to market. At first, the model was only created to protect Ryan’s hands from damaging UV rays when she was making nail tutorials for her channel. She soon realised the utility of this resource, following the attention it received from her audience– many began asking her if she sold them. Ryan kept on readjusting the model until it fit her viewers’ standards, and today, 2000 hands are sold each month and distributed over five countries.
Building an Empire
Having a proven business model that works opens the opportunity to expand through different channels. For example, having a successful beauty influencer career proves that you have a solid marketing strategy, as well as the ability to create content that is desirable to your audience. There are many ways you can expand this, including, but not limited to creating your own beauty brand and products. The internet makes it possible for your products or services to reach more parts of the world. Learning how to leverage your success from an original idea, to create more business opportunities will help you scale your beauty empire.
Ryan had multiple successes throughout her decade-long career– all of which she used to catapult her to the next level. She started as a nail artist working at a salon, eventually starting three nail salons of her own. Using her knowledge of the industry, she began creating content online which led to another business altogether. She utilized her technical capabilities from her influencer career to build her own online business brand, Red Iguana.
Beyond just providing useful and clean products for nail technicians, she is planning to expand her product line to anyone who wants to practice nail design from the comfort of their own homes, and that doesn’t require them to frequent the nail salon. By constantly thinking of ways to grow and expand her business, she has created a million-dollar company with little help other than from her customers and viewers.
Conclusion
It is easy to start a business, the difficult part is generating enough volume to be successful. Seizing the right audience and nailing the business model will take time and patience, but once you have something that works, it becomes easier to implement channels to scale it. Acquiring loyal clients that will support your business, in the long run, requires you to heed to their needs and criticisms. If Ryans had let the negativity from her home prevent her from pursuing her ambitious dream of having a mega beauty business in the U.S., her nail empire would have never been actualized. Her story reflects the importance of growing a business on intention, and to always aim higher.
