Today we’d like to introduce you to Maniga McClendon.
Maniga, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
The inspiration for my business came from watching YouTube videos during the summer of 2019. In my spare time, I like to watch tutorials on YouTube that will teach me how to do hair, makeup, nails and then eventually I came upon a video that taught me how to make my own lipgloss. After watching videos about what materials I needed, about how to package and ship products, and how to create my own website, I decided to start my own business. A few of my goals in life are to create generational wealth, engage in multiple sources of income, and to create a name for myself and creating this business was a step in the right direction. In addition, I have loved all things beauty and cosmetics since middle school, so this idea that I had was essentially a dream come true. I started with just making lip gloss but then I began to add skincare products because I’ve had acne for most of my life, so I wanted to create natural products that not only I can use and benefit from, but also so that others with similar problems can benefit. I started M.McClendon Cosmetics almost a year ago, so we’re still a small business, but the reason it is where it is today is through constant advertising on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, posting flyers on boards at my school, passing out business cards, and recruiting brand ambassadors. Posting on social media has brought me supporters and customers from all across the United States, as well as in a few other countries. Having brand ambassadors has helped M.McClendon Cosmetics because they can get word out to their followers on their social media platforms, as well as pass out business cards to the people in their hometowns.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It hasn’t been a smooth road, because like every new, small business, the orders come in very slowly and some days you get discouraged but I just have to remind myself that it’ll get better over time. Companies like Amazon weren’t always receiving thousands of orders everyday, it progressed overtime and I remind myself everyday. Also, I am a full-time student with a part time job, so it’s easy to run my business during the summer because we’re on break but during the fall/winter/spring seasons, it’s starts to get difficult. It starts to get difficult because I take between 5-6 classes, and since I’m a senior the classes are a little more demanding and more rigorous. In addition, I’m the president of an organization by the name of the National Society of Leadership & Success on the campus of Clark Atlanta University, so after classes I have to host events and answer lots of emails and approve lots of things. When I get home around 7 or 8pm, I’m usually very tired, so I take a nap because I go into work at 11pm. With this type of schedule, I won’t be able to stick to my shipping policy. But as it gets closer to the summer and closer to graduation, my schedule will begin to clear up and I plan to get back to creating products, advertising, making YouTube videos, and getting my sales to increase.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
M.McClendon Cosmetics is a cosmetics line devoted to providing remarkable customer service, providing phenomenal products at an affordable price, while making all people feel beautiful on the outside. Our products include lipgloss in 2 different tubes, skincare, mink eyelashes, body shimmer oil, eyebrow/eyelash growth oil, and lip care. M.McClendon Cosmetics is most known for our lipgloss. The 5 lip glosses that I began with were named, ‘Midas’, ‘ TheBaddest’, ‘Simone’, ‘Diamond’, and ‘LilMama’ – all named after my friends. I am most proud that my customers love my products and I get very excited when I receive their pictures and their feedback because it lets me know that I’m doing a great job. The thing that sets me apart from others is my great customer service, I feel that a lot of companies don’t care about their customers as much as they should, but I make sure that I’m very polite and answer all questions to the best of my ability. In addition, I write handwritten thank you notes to every customer.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was really shy and introverted. Personality-wise, I was hard-working, dedicated, determined, funny, friendly, quiet and nervous. I really stayed to myself, focused on sports and my education. Middle school is what peaked my interest in running because my favorite teacher encouraged students in her classes to join the running club, and that’s what I did. We ran 3k, 5k, and 10k races. Upon entering high school, I joined the Cross Country team my freshman year, but it was at this point where I realized that running long distance wasn’t something that I was very interested in. I then joined the Track & Field team, running 50, 100, 200 meter races, doing relays, long jump and triple jump and I fell in love, it was my passion throughout high school. Also, in high school I began to become interested in psychology. After taking an AP Psychology class, I was fascinated with the mind and behavior and it inspired me to major in Psychology in college.
Pricing:
- ALL Lipgloss in a squeeze tube – $5
- Bye-Bye Acne Bundle – $35
- Turmeric Face Mask – $6.50
- Activated Charcoal Facial Scrub – $8.50
- Acne Fighting Face Serum – $12
- African Black Soap Face Wash – 13
- 15mm 3D Mink Eyelashes – $10
- 25mm Mink Eyelashes – $15
- Lipgloss in a wand tube – $9
- Body Shimmer Oil – $10
- Eyebrow / Eyelash Growth Oil – $7
- Lip scrub – $2.50
- Lip oil (Pot of Gold) – $7
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mmcclendoncosmetics.bigcartel.com
- Phone: 773-678-9806
- Email: m.mcclendoncosmetics@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/m.mcclendoncosmetics/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mmcclendoncosmetics/
Image Credit:
Maylee Rebeles, Kiarra Holmes, Katherine Elder, Alesia Houston, Sylvia Las
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