–making waves in cosmetics industry with beauty products

By Mesha Sealey
LOSING a job is seen by some persons as one of life’s most stressful experiences, as, aside from the obvious financial constraints experienced by unemployed persons, the added stress could have a serious effect on one’s mood, relationships and overall health.
While this might have been the case for 28-year-old Sadhana Seeram, in the aftermath of losing her “nine-to-five” job, she quickly found the knob to a new door, which led her to the field of entrepreneurship.

“When I had started [my business], I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur, but I wasn’t sure what to get into. Then, I saw an ad that was looking for agents to sell beauty products in Guyana, so I went for it. I became the agent for that company’s skincare products. I was still working my job, and I didn’t have a location or a business name. I was just bringing in products and selling them. Then I lost my job in 2016,” she recalled.

It was the loss of her job that gave her the time to focus on her business. With the help of her sister, who was selling makeup products at that time, she brainstormed the name ‘Be Beautiful’ for their skincare and makeup venture.

“We had a location in Albert Street, then we moved to Fogarty’s, but because of the rent and everything, we had to close. My sister ended up pulling off, and it was just me on my own, doing my online thing, as I was still looking for a job after I had to close.

“My business was a part-time thing, but I just couldn’t get something that I liked. I felt like doing the whole thing online, I couldn’t meet customer demands. Sometimes the delivery time was inconvenient for them, and we had issues like that,” she said.
In 2019, Seeram decided to give her venture another shot, and once again sought places to rent. She later reopened the doors of ‘Be Beautiful’, and has since been functioning independently at the lot 83 Robb Street location.

Speaking about what motivated her to pursue this dream and create ‘Be Beautiful,’ the entrepreneur said that while she was initially undecided about a venture in which to invest, becoming the agent for beauty products as well as her own experience pushed her to help women feel more comfortable “in their skin.”
“I believe that every woman is beautiful in their own way, and true beauty comes from inside; but from my experience, I think a lot of women lack self-confidence because of their appearance. We, as women, particularly worry about how we look. Be Beautiful is basically here to help women boost their confidence,” Seeram said.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has also helped “Be Beautiful” take off, in terms of giving her the time to create a new line of products.
“During the pandemic, I launched my very first product, which is a turmeric scrub. Being in the beauty industry, I knew I wanted to make something and launch it. I always had the idea, but I never put the work into it.

“After the pandemic hit and I was at home, I thought it was the right time to actually work on it, and in July last year, I made the scrub and launched it. The response has been so amazing. The customers are so supportive! My customer base wanted to try it, and when they tried it, the feedback was just great. I knew it was going to work, but I didn’t know they would love it so much,” Seeram said.

Her ‘pandemic’ product served as a launch pad to greater success, as the entrepreneur went on to create and launch her own series of ‘Be Beautiful’ natural skincare products, which she said sells “like hot cakes.”

“I think every day gets better because the best part of my business or my day, is when a customer gives me feedback that this product is exactly what they were looking for, or exactly what they needed. It makes me proud that I’m delivering what they want to them,” the entrepreneur said.
It is for this reason that she extended her gratitude to her customers, who have been nothing but supportive since the establishment of Be Beautiful.