This Week We Feature Young Professional Samiah J. Leonard
Valley, Virgin Gorda resident, Ms Samiah J. Leonard said crafting a niche business out of body scrubs and body butter while juggling school is not easy. At 16-year-old, our Young Professional is the owner of ‘Enchanted Beauty’, a skincare brand.
Formerly a student of St Mary’s Primary School, Samiah is currently a Grade 12 student at Ciboney Centre For Excellence in Virgin Gorda and will be graduating in July 2021.
Our very Young Professional said she has an interest in Fashion/Beauty and also enjoys cooking and dancing.
“For the most part, I am unemployed. On my school breaks I would work with my father at Global Ocean Transport,” she said when questioned on whether she has a job.
As such, our young professional said she started Enchanted Beauty, which offers lip gloss, lip scrub, body butter and body scrub and has plans to expand the business.
“I enjoy seeing my customers happy after they use the product and getting feedback from them,” she said.
Business Challenges
According to Samiah, the most challenging part of running the business is trying to balance school life and running the business effectively and efficiently.
“My biggest life lesson so far is don’t be afraid to start small. I overcame this by getting started with what I had and not forcing things to happen because everything you wish for will come your way, you just have to be patient.”
Touching on what inspired her into the business field, our young professional said, “I always had a love for beauty products especially lip gloss. As a toddler coming up, I always wanted different lip glosses. That passion never left my side.”
Samiah said she had conversations with her parents in the past about being a business owner; however, she said she never knew it would be at such a young age.
Staying Focused
Although school and business have been challenging, Samiah said staying focused is always having her mind engaged in creative ways to better the business.
“In my profession, I see myself reaching the international market in the future. I haven’t seen a change since the business was launched during the pandemic.
Samiah said COVID-19 has affected life and business but she is pressing on. “My family has seen a decrease in revenue, as a result, we had to cut back on certain things. COVID-19 also affected my personal life because my academic studies were shifted to online studies drastically without having the chance to plan and put things in place.”
Parting advice
In parting advice, our Young Professional encouraged young people to just follow their dreams. “You’re never too old or too young, it may not come as fast as you like but stick with it until you achieve it.”
“Don’t be afraid to start small. In this world, you don’t need a whole lot to make it in life. Everyone has to start somewhere,” Samiah said as final parting advice.
7 Responses to “This Week We Feature Young Professional Samiah J. Leonard”