Oilixia Skincare: Intro
Hello! I’m Alexandra and I’m the founder of Oilixia. I grew up in Australia, have lived in the UK for 9 years. I have travelled across the globe in between. I’ve worked in the beauty industry for over 12 years, mainly for L’Oreal and Tweezerman. Whenever I visit a new place in the world I automatically view it with ‘beauty goggles’ on. One thing that really fascinated me was that every region of the world has their ‘tried and tested’ native ingredients that they swear by.
For example; eucalyptus oil in Australia; birch in Latvia; cacay in Colombia. So, the seed for Oilixia Skincare was planted. Oilixia is inspired by global destinations. We create natural beauty products that feature some of the most potent ingredients sourced from all over the world. The star ingredients in our products can be traced back to the source. We choose to work with suppliers that nurture their natural environment and community, maintaining social and environmental sustainability. We are ideal for customers that are looking for clean and green beauty products. That are also, cruelty-free, vegan, eco-conscious and traceable. Most importantly, our products are unique, fun to use and give visible results.
Q&A
Would you say your business is your passion?
I love to create things, so having a business where I can dream up new products and push the boundaries of product development is my ideal situation.
What made you start your own business, instead of going down the regular 9-5 route?
When I was working in a regular job, although I loved it, I got frustrated that I wasn’t able to have total control over developing products and I was craving something with more creative control. That’s when I knew that I wanted to start my own business.
If you originally went down the 9-5 route, when did you know it was time to leave and start your own business?
This is a really tough one and it’s different for everyone. For me, quitting work and going 100% on my business was not an option until I knew it would be able to support me, because let’s be honest, living in London is not a free experience. I was working full time for the first two years while I was developing my business idea and products. Just after I launched one product and before I was going to launch another 3 new products, I dropped to part-time work (between 3-4 days a week – my employer was very supportive), to be able to focus more time on the business.
At this stage, the business was generating revenue but not profit, but I made sure that my part-time work would pay me enough to cover all rent and bills. It’s actually not until 4 months ago (and about four years after having my initial business idea) that I have been able to officially leave the 9-5 and work 100% on my business. It seemed like the time was right because the business was generating more stable income and I felt that I was splitting my energy too much between a business and a job that were too similar and I wasn’t able to give either my 100% effort.
I don’t know if you ever know if the time is right, but sometimes you just need to take the plunge, give yourself goals and a deadline to really make sure you’re spending your time effectively. I think the most important thing to consider is that often starting a business is a ‘slow burn’ and a lot of the revenue that you generate needs to be reinvested to grow the business, which leaves you very little to be able to pay yourself, so if you want to start a business to ‘get rich quick’ maybe starting a business is not the best idea haha.
What’s the hardest part about being a founder and what’s the most rewarding?
For me personally, it’s riding the rollercoaster of highs and lows. Since I am working alone it’s really hard to navigate this by myself, so I have tried to create a network of people and friends that understand the challenges of running a business and we become each others sounding boards and cheerleaders.
Any advice you’d like to give to aspiring business owners?
Two things that I heard a lot before starting my business is ‘it’ll take twice as long and cost twice as much’ and ‘cash is king’. I can now say there is a lot of truth in both of them. This is not the most glamourous advice, but you need to be on top of your numbers because running out cash will cripple your business. Do your own book keeping. Learn how to prepare and read basic cash flow and P&L statements. Know where your money is coming in from, where it is going, and protect your cash fiercely.
Where can our readers find Oilixia products?
You can find Oilixia products on our website!
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