Small business: How Lumen Eyes Started

Before I begin telling you how our journey began I would like to introduce us, Jess and Sonya, the founders of Lumen Eyes Beauty. Like most young adults, the question of starting your own business pops up in your head. What if I started a clothing brand? Or What if I started my own jewellery brand? For us, it was lashes. Who would have thought that a conversation in passing turned out to be reality. 

When Covid-19 hit for the first time in Melbourne, retail was really quiet and the foot traffic was really low. Which only led Sonya and I brainstorming about what we could potentially start ourselves. We splashed ideas of our own and we both ended up saying how starting a lash business has always been on our minds. As it was just a quick conversation, we never thought much about it and just carried on with our lives... as you do. 

Thinking back, I can remember this day so vividly. Lockdown just began and the topic of starting our own business popped up again. Little did we know that this was the beginning of everything. We quickly jumped on a skype call and started brainstorming ideas. Just like any two passionate individuals would, we were so excited! In the midst of planning, Sonya had told me that “if we start this business, we have to take it seriously and we can’t just give up.” and that is exactly what we did. 

A couple weeks in, lash businesses just like ours, started popping up. We started stressing, but this did not stop us from continuing what we started. 3 months it took us to get Lumen Eyes Beauty up and running. Every day we would wake up at 9 A.M and we would work until 11 PM and this continued until the day of our launch. You would think that we would be sick of each other right? But no, this business could not have brought us any closer. We already knew from working in retail together that speaking our mind and completing tasks together would not be an issue. 

Did we know how to start a small business? No. Did we know how to make a website? Hell no. Did we make mistakes along the way? Absolutely. Do we know how to run a business now? Yes, but honestly there is so much to learn and we are still learning as we go. 

I bet you’re wondering how we knew where to begin and I guess we can both agree that our degrees in business and marketing really helped us a lot but also… Tiktok was our bible. Small business Tiktok had so many tips that we followed which really helped us get to where we are today. Our business is still up and running and we are about to hit our 1 year anniversary mark. It feels like forever ago, taking our first product photos, emailing our day one influencers and celebrating our first launch! Our launch was an absolute success and that would not have happened without the ongoing support of our friends. We are beyond grateful for the amount of people who believe in us and this is exactly what motivates us to do what we do. 

Which leads us to this… if you have ever wanted to start a small business, just do it. Take that leap of faith. All I can say is that mistakes will be made but nothing beats the feeling of the insane amount of things you learn, the wins you make and how people are wearing YOUR brand.

We are just two 22 year old girls, with big dreams and learning each day as we go. So if we can do it, you can too! This business would not have happened if we didn’t believe in each other and didn’t have the same mindset. To all small business owners reading this, keep up your amazing work, your hard work will pay off.