Filipino-American beauty guru and content creator Patrick Starrr considers the launch of his very own inclusive make-up brand ONE/SIZE Beauty as one of his greatest achievements during the pandemic.
Patrick Starrr, whose real name is Patrick Simondac, is a professional make-up artist known for his beauty tutorials on YouTube. He currently has over 8 million Instagram followers and YouTube subscribers in total.
Patrick launched ONE/SIZE Beauty in July 2020, two years since he started working on the brand.
In his exclusive interview with PEP.ph's (Philippine Entertainment Portal) virtual show called PEP Live! Extra, Patrick shared some of the lessons he learned while working on his own make-up brand.
The 30-year-old YouTube vlogger likened creating a business to driving a car.
He explained, "When I look on building business, I look at it like a car... You think of business as a vehicle to get you from point A to point B.
"And so that was for me, from this point A and I wanna go to success. So for me to build a brand, I need wheels, I need gas, I need guidance, I need a map.
"And so I really was on building this brand like building a car. And I’ve never built a car. But I knew I had the fuel and the drive in me to have this journey with everyone.
"And I learned from somebody that if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."
FINDING THE Rght people
Patrick also reiterated the importance of having the right knowledge in pursuing the business.
He related, "I really talked to other successful brand founders in the industry, whether they were in skin care, whether they were in hair, whether they were in make-up.
"And I said, 'What does it take?' They said, 'You need this piece of your brand, you need marketing, you need part of product development, you need digital, you need social, you need sales, you need coordinators. So they really taught me."
More importantly, having the right people is a key element.
"I drew a map and I drew a web chart. And I started plotting who I wanted to be my key players.
"If I didn’t have a role... A lot of us had to work two hats at one point. And it took a lot of interviews with specific questions to make this amazing team come to life.
"And I have an amazing team behind me. And I pinch myself every day ‘cause I was like, 'Who’s ever gonna wanna work with me or for me in... in beauty?'
"‘Cause I’m so different. I wear the most make-up. I’m the most gay. I’m the most plus size. I’m so crazy. But that’s what makes it really fun.
"So I’m very blessed and honored to have an amazing team who works with me on this brand and also supports me in this industry."
CUSTOMER RELATIONS
Patrick also values customer feedback, especially the reactions of his closest friends in the beauty business when it comes to his brand.
It actually keeps him on his toes and makes it easier for him to implement the proper changes to further improve his make-up brand.
"What makes a good business is to really listen to the consumers. And make changes really fast. And really understand who’s reacting to the product and why.
"And if not, if it is about review, what can I do as a creator and as a CEO to educate.
"‘Cause my way of making make-up is different from the person who’s next to me, and next to them. So the way that we, that I do my make-up can be totally different.
"But it’s a matter of working together and listening to the customer, and listening to the creator to see how I can make a difference. Or show how to do it a different way that applies to them. So that’s [what] I feel is really important."
Patrick ended, "I’m not gonna take any negative criticism, and, you know, sit in the corner and 'boohoo' about it. I really have to listen and make up a business decision that will help [the brand] and help them find a solution."
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