Jasmina Aganovic, Bona Clara
Jasmina: I am a nerd at heart. I went to MIT and studied Chemical and Biological Engineering. I loved the beauty industry though, and set out to make a career in it. I was fortunate to be able to do so! Bona Clara is the beauty brand I launched this year. It is a skincare brand formulated by age. It is an educational brand first, and a beauty brand second. Our customers were so excited about the concept and product that they started telling their friends and family about it. This actually changed my original vision for the company. Now we are proud to be an entrepreneurial platform as well. We enable our Brand Reps to start their own businesses by educating others about skincare by age (and of course having fun doing it!).
AMS: How is your business different from other businesses in the area?
Jasmina: In the beauty industry, we are radically different. No other company formulates by age. The biology of our skin changes radically as we move from our 20s to our 50s – and its more than just fine lines and wrinkles. These changes in the biology of the skin affects how it responds to ingredients and how they absorb. This means that our skincare routines should adjust with it. This is something we are SO passionate about. Women are information seekers – we will go to all sorts of lengths to make sure we are making the right purchasing decisions for just about anything. However, there is no brand out there that is actually providing information on this. As a result, we purchase products that sound good, smell good, look good, or are priced well… but at the end of the day, they may not be what our skin actually needs, and its not our fault – we just didnt know. We are here to change that. Your needs always come first. Great products come next.
AMS: How do you see yourself in this business in the next five years?
Jasmina: I see incredible growth with our Brand Reps all over the US as they start sharing our story and our vision. I also see Bona Clara expanding into exciting new product categories like hair and color cosmetics. The age concept is applicable across all of them!
AMS: Who or what inspired you to start this business?
Jasmina: A strong desire to educate others was the initial spark for this concept, but it was really the customers and women I interacted with after our launch that inspired me on a much different level to change our business model.
AMS: What are some of the greatest achievements that you’ve had in doing what you do?
Jasmina: Finding a great team that also shares my vision and believes and supports one another. Its hard to come by, and I am so grateful for it.
AMS: What are the most important skills that a woman needs in order to be successful in business – what are they?
Jasmina: Passion for what she does, good work ethic, and a great sense of humor!
AMS: What are your next goals for yourself and for your business?
Jasmina: My goals are currently focused on enhancing our support system for our Brand Reps in any way possible – from our messaging, to our tools, and product launches. The last few months went incredibly quickly, and we weren’t prepared for some of the scale and challenges. I have realized that the smallest challenges for our Brand Reps can result in tremendous inefficiencies, and I want to change that. Over the next few months we are overhauling our software platform and have a few key product launches happening. These will make a huge difference for the company as a whole.
AMS: What is your definition of success?
Jasmina: Success for our brand is teaching others something. Success for me personally is feeling happy and fulfilled.
I thought bona Clara went out of business
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