Our youngest kid on the Cloud St block is Isabella Dymalovski who, at just eight years old, decided to make a natural skincare range for girls her age. Fast forwards seven years and the fifthteen-year-old has stock her line, Luv Ur Skin, in Priceline stores across the country - and she's set to take the brand worldwide.
Q. How did you first come up with the idea to start your own business?
A. When I was younger I did a lot of dance concerts, which required really heavy make-up. But there was nothing that I could remove it with that was suitable for my skin. My Mum wouldn’t let me use her skincare, and one night she said ‘just go make your own stuff.’ She didn’t realise how seriously I would take it and that’s how I got to where I am today.
Q. How do you balance running a business and going to school?
A. I’m one of those people that works a lot better and more efficiently when I have a lot more stuff on than I should. I started this business at such a young age, when there wasn’t much schoolwork involved – because I was only in year two. So it was okay at first, but after getting into high school it got a bit harder. I’m really lucky that I’ve got an amazing team that helps with everything. I couldn’t do anything without them.
Q. What was your biggest obstacle when it came to opening your business?
A. Definitely my age. When I was in meetings with my Mum, people would direct the questions to her because they’d think, ‘Oh, the kid has to be here.’ My Mum would say, ‘Listen to her, it’s her business.’ Once I started talking they realised, ‘Oh, crap, she actually knows what she’s talking about.’ And then they’d take me seriously.
Q. What’s the next step for you and Luv Ur Skin when you finish school?
A. In terms of deciding what to do when I finish school, I have no idea. For the business, we definitely want to expand the range and go worldwide. If you want to make profit you’ve got to go overseas. We’ve just soft launched in America, which was great to do just before Christmas. We’ve also been working on getting into Europe and Asia – and hopefully that works out too!
Q. What would be your advice to people thinking of starting a business?
A. Just do it. You’ll regret it if you don’t. I love to say, ‘If there’s a will there’s a way’. If you give it 150% and come out of it succeeding, you’ll be so thankful that you did it. If you give it your all and nothing comes out of it, well, you can reflect on what you learnt and use that insight in the future. So just give it all a go.
"I’VE LEARNED A LOT ABOUT HOW TO START A BUSINESS IN TERMS OF MARKETING AND FINANCE, BUT IT’S ALSO HELPED ME GROW AS A PERSON. IZZI DYMALOVSKI"
In collaboration with Cloud St - Xero, we will be having a Pop Up store located in the heart of Melbourne, Federation Square. The Pop Up store will be happening between the 14th - 19th of December. Come meet our Founder and Girl Boss Isabella Dymalovski and also our amazing team of ambassadors. We'll see you there!
Love LUS Team and Izzi xoxo
