episode 227: making your dream business a reality with Joann Zehenni
Joann Zehenni is the founder of Gemini Beauty, a skincare brand dedicated to helping individuals become more comfortable and confident in their own skin. She was inspired to craft her own natural, plant-based formulations after she couldn’t find a solution for her & her family’s extremely sensitive skin due to Lupus.
She launched her company at just 15 and she’s now an 18-year-old college freshman at Loyola Marymount University in Southern California. Where she keeps her inventory under her bed and manages her business in between classes. A percentage of Gemini Beauty’s profits are donated to Lupus LA, a non-profit organization that provides a variety of support opportunities for patients in all stages of Lupus.
Yes, you heard that right – this girl is only 18 years old, and she launched a business while still in high school. If your mouth is wide open right now, I feel you – mine was too.
As you’ll hear in the episode, Joann is such a bright light and is doing work in the world that many people her age wouldn’t even dream up.
Inside, we chat about:
- How she got the courage and resources to create a complex product-based business and what it’s looked like to handle all of the moving pieces
- How she approached getting customers and her first round of sales, landed amazing press in BuzzFeed, the New York Post, Vanity Fair, and more
- Which marketing efforts on social media and email worked to grow her audience and land consistent customers
- What it looks like for her to run a business as a full-time college student and what her plans are for the future of the business
- And so much more!
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