Lamik Beauty is on a mission to build a brand around the idea of beauty inside and out. Founded by veteran entrepreneur Kim Roxie, Lamik is on a mission to provide nontoxic beauty products for trailblazing women. After owning a makeup shop for 14 years and getting to know the women, she knew her clients needed more.
Kim shared, "I created Lamik—it was about sort of standing up for all of these women that I've met before, who are trailblazers, who run the world, who are making a difference, but just as simple as, finding makeup to fit their skin tone, that doesn't have crap in it, it's a hard thing." As a makeup artist and an aesthetician Kim understood skin tones.
She continued to say, "Lamik stands for love and makeup, in kindness. It's an acronym. So now we don't have to sacrifice what we tell our girls. It promotes a healthy conversation between women and young girls about having beauty on the inside as well as on the outside." When her customers use Lamik, it's an affirmation. It encourages her customers to say I am love and makeup and kindness. I am love. I am kindness.
Kim said, "Beauty is revealed, not applied."
What are you most proud of when it comes to Lamik?
Kim had to pause because the question brought many emotions to the surface. "I'm probably most proud of the women who I'm making these products for. I'm most proud of them. They inspire me. They, they ignite me. They influence me. They invigorate me. They make me stand up taller and want to show up in an even better way. Because I see the things that they do."
What were some of your biggest fears along your journey?
Kim is afraid that she'll run out of time. Her mother passed away from breast cancer. She spends a lot of time in the breast cancer community. Kim does a lot and moves a lot in her business because she fears missing a window of opportunity. Kim's other fear is not having enough money, something our Black and Brown women entrepreneurs daily face.
She shared, "Not having enough, and I've had to be creative about the ways I've gotten around that. And that's why I love Black Girl Ventures. They're creative around finding ways for us to be still able to get our products or services out into the world regardless of how many resources you have."
Kim shared how she often cries during moments that challenge her and her mistakes. It was until an aha moment, where she realized that each difficult moment is a bridge for the next moment. She said, "Those are the tears that are building your bridge. And so they're getting me over where I'm going next." Entrepreneurship can feel lonely at times. Therefore she makes it a point to be transparent in sharing her emotional ups and downs with people to help them feel less alone in the process.
Tell us about any significant setbacks that you had in your business and how did you recover?
Kim didn't have the funding she needed to launch her Lamik products. She used the pre-ordering strategy and got her entire social media involved. Kim didn't believe that this strategy would be effective. It worked. However, she didn't have enough products for customers who paid.
She said, "Some of those setbacks that we have can truly be setbacks, but sometimes they're there to spark creativity and innovation and to get you over some of your fears." This learning moment in her business resulted in the creation of Lamik's brow kit. Simultaneously, Kim was experiencing her eyebrows not fully grown in. A dermatologist diagnosed her with alopecia. Not only that, but she was also experiencing hair loss on her head. Kim recommends entrepreneurs challenge the setbacks in their lives and use them to fuel their creativity and innovation. She said, "I like to believe that all things work together for good."
How do you measure success?
Kim understands that people will look at her and measure her success by their definition. Other people's definition doesn't sweep her up. Her friend inspired her to take another look at success. She said, "I do measure success at peace." She recognizes that peace is a continuum, something you consistently work at. However, if you measure success by external forces, it will be a constant movement of the goalpost. Once you reach success, the goal post moves, and it never ends. She said, "I kind of run in a world where the goal post continues to move. But inwardly, that peace is my level of success."
Describe what it was like preparing for the pitch competition?
Kim said, "It was like something I'd never experienced before." She enjoyed the healthy competitive nature of the pitch competition. It was fun for her. She loved assembling her community to solicit voting support which was different for her.
She said, "Getting people to vote with their money. Sometimes you gotta explain like you're running for office to tell them why they should vote for you with their money. So thanks for that. But having to call folks up and send them emails and send them text messages, and I'm talking to folks I haven't talked to in so long." She laughed when she mentioned apologizing to people the next day for calling them at 11:30 p.m. to get their votes.
Pitch practice was helpful for Kim. She shared, "Shelly and the team gave me such great feedback at the pitch practice that I just went right in and used it." The hardest part for her was soliciting the votes.
Kim has excellent advice for those looking to pitch and solicit votes. She said, "Give yourself the opportunity to do it, but sometimes we talk ourselves out of stuff. You said you thought about it, you said you want to do it, then do it.
You're going to grow. You're going to become better after this competition. So however you come into the competition, you're going to leave totally different because you will get that pitch feedback. You're going to get that information. And Shelly and the team, y'all have seen so many pitches!
When it comes actually to get the votes and soliciting that, it makes you, again, a better businesswoman because now you're able to—people want to help. And you allow them to do that. And so everybody after was like, what happened? Did you win? And so that part of it is always good for business."
The pitch funds went towards new packaging, inventory, and getting situated with their new partnership with Rare Beauty Brands.
Support is not always given to Black and Brown women in business; when has this shown and hurt or disappointed you the most?
Kim shared, "I think it disappoints me the most when sometimes I'm in an environment where it is just general and people sort of ignoring the plight of Black women. They sort of act like they give you the tips or what have you for fundraising or pitching or whatever. And they don't acknowledge that there is a plight for Black women.
They just kind of act like everybody's the same, no big deal. Everybody should be able to network and know this person and just talk to that person. And you, don't consider that when you go talk to them, you get a funny reaction from the person or they look at you in a certain way.
It's a lot of things that Black women experience. And when people act like, just go pitch, just go. Like it's the same. It's like, it's not. And so when that's sort of ignored, it's when I'm irritated or disappointed by it.
They'll act like what you're saying is so, so different. Like you're telling your side of the story, and now you're starting to feel like you're complaining, and I don't know."
This lack of recognition is a commonly known issue for Black and Brown women business owners. The nuances are heavily misunderstood and are often forgotten or ignored in critical conversations.
What's the biggest risk that you've taken so far?
Kim closed down the makeup shop that she owned for 14 years to pursue Lamik. This was a significant shift in how she conducted business. To have to learn a different way of doing business was a huge risk for her. She went from a service-based business into a completely new business model.
What's the most exciting part of your business?
Lamik receives emails from customers who can now wear their lip gloss and not have adverse reactions like upper respiratory conditions. Creating natural products that positively impact the health of her consumers is what's exciting for Kim. She loves reading those testimonies.
What's the most critical lesson you've learned about business, in general?
Kim finds ways to keep herself level-headed in her business. You lose focus when you're at one end of the spectrum and not finding the middle ground. She shared, "One thing I've learned is, business a lot of times it's never as bad as you feel it is, and it's never as good as it looks. And so, sometimes, when things are not going quite the way, it's not as bad as it feels. And then sometimes, you look over on the other side of the fence, and it's not as good as it looks over there."
What do you think the future holds for Black and Brown women entrepreneurs and small business owners?
Kim believes that the Black Lives Matter Movement activated and brought many issues to the surface that have always been there. Despite whether the support is performative or authentic, it's hard to ignore the disparities. Because of the struggle, it's bringing about visibility and change.
She said, "I think this is going to be definitely a time where we start to really see some new sort of activation for Black and Brown entrepreneurs. We've been here the whole time. You just started paying attention. It'll be okay because of the innovation that will come with that. It will be like you can't deny her brilliance.
I'm looking forward to that light shining on us—to see it and that the darkness around us—we'll turn the light on, and you'll be able to see the shine on things that we're doing and working on."
If you and I were meeting three years from now, looking back, what would it take for you to feel over the moon about your progress?
Kim hopes to continue to have more stories of impact to tell. When her customers can praise the effects of Lamik and share positive experiences and results with the brand, she knows she's living in her purpose.
Running a business while balancing a personal life can be demanding and taxing. How do you take care of yourself?
Kim spends time not taking herself too seriously by laughing and dancing. She also gives herself moments to cry it out. She'll do whatever she needs to do to keep herself feeling good and grounded.
What do you think is an important skill or asset you need to be successful in business?
Kim believes no matter where you are in business, regardless of the industry, irrespective of the growth, the number one asset to embody is authenticity. She shared, "I think authenticity is just something to have that across the board. It helps with your self-awareness as an entrepreneur and all of that."
What is your favorite quote or mantra?
"Beauty is revealed, not applied."
What is your favorite book and podcast?
Believe Bigger: Discover the Path to Your Life Purpose by Marshawn Evans Daniels
What's your favorite business hack or app that you can't live without?
Duo, Telegram, and her calendar.
Name one food item that you have a hard time saying no to.
Kim likes everything that starts with a "C," chocolate chip cookies, and cake.
What's next for Lamik?
Lamik has a lot in store for its consumers and a lot in store for business. With the Rare Beauty partnership, you can now find them at Ulta.
Subscribe to the Digital Orange Juice for juicy ideas and the people who fund them. You can find out about our next pitch competitions here. Also, be sure to join our new community BGV Connect!
Comments