Young entrepreneur trusts her ingenuity and passion for success

SHAKKEENE Layne may not have any formal qualifications to show, but she surely knows how to get the job done. This is due, in part, to a fiery personality and an inner determination to succeed, despite any challenges that may pop up.

At just 20 years old, Shakkeene has already started up two small businesses that she feels have the potential to excel once she gets the right kind of help she needs-financial and otherwise. But help or no help, the young entrepreneur says she is ready to charge ahead with the ideas that she has in mind.

“Let’s just say that a burning desire is about to become something bigger than my imagination can allow,” she boldly expressed during an interview with the Pepperpot Magazine last Monday.

Do It Yourself
Layne’s Cosmetics, the skincare business that Shakkeene started early 2021, started on the basis of a “Do-it-Yourself” (DIY) project with a hair cream made of rice. She then tried her hand at a body scrub, and to her surprise, it worked wonders for her. “But this simple DIY was about to be the start of something great,” she reflected.

A few months passed, and Shakkeene was greeted with a terrible skin condition resulting in dryness of the skin, peeling, acne breakouts and excessive hyper-pigmentation. “I was ashamed of my skin and used heavy oils to hide as much as possible the flakiness and dryness which led to itching. While this brought temporary relief, I still tried to get on to a dermatologist to be treated, but my tries failed and time was not mine. Eventually, I accepted my reality, or so I thought,” she shared.

After doing research, Shakkeene made her first turmeric face mask and started to see significant improvements in her skin. She also made a dilution with apple cider vinegar and water and she used it every night to clean her pores. In just one month, she noticed that the condition of her skin had greatly improved.

“I then proceeded to make a body scrub. All this I did while keeping my DIY [project] a secret from the world, only sharing it with my best friend. Although I knew from the ‘get-go’ that I wanted this to be big, I was afraid; afraid because my remedies were natural and simple, and maybe, just maybe, people would not be interested in simple.”

But Shakkeene got an opportunity to test her skills when someone she knew sought good skincare recommendations via WhatsApp. “I responded to his status, explaining that I could help. I told him I would provide him with samples and that all he’d had to do was to give an honest review, along with pictures of his skin improvement. This was the beginning of Layne’s Cosmetics.”

After starting the business, Shakkeene’s desire to know more grew, and with that, she began working on more products. “To this day, my products give results, and they remain 100 percent natural. Currently, work is being done to extend the shelf life of the products without changing its core makeup, so that I can have products on shelves around Guyana,” she shared.

Pride in Every Outfit
Shakkeene has also started up Layne’s Apparel, a fashion business directed at designing and clothing creation. “The aim is for you to experience royalty with every outfit you wear. I take pride with the clothing that I produce, and recently I have been working on getting better in every aspect, so that my pieces can be a reflection of greatness,” she expressed.

Shakkeene has been directing all of her energies towards improving her clothing business. “There is love and life in creating. The feeling of producing a new outfit, cutting new cloth, and putting everything together, is amazing. This business started on talent and desire, but will elevate on determination and greatness.”

She has been interested in designing clothing from an early age, but it was in 2017 that she started to take it seriously. She started by making hand-sewn clothing for herself and friends and later invested in a sewing machine. In fact, she can still recall how excited she was the day she got her first machine; it was something that she always dreamt of having.

Operating from her home in Den Amstel, West Coast Demerara, Shakkeene now takes orders and tries to do the styles that her customers request. “Since I was young, I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I don’t do it for the money; I just am passionate about what I do. It’s all natural. The products do work and I have faith in them. I just have that drive. Whenever I am stressed, I just sew and get a whole lot of relief,” she said about her businesses.

Shakkeene has recently quit her job to focus on building her businesses. “I am hoping to benefit from a small-business grant, but in the meantime, I have some money saved up to buy fabric. I have plans to sew and display my work; to put it out there, and hopefully, I will get some more customers.”

Shakkeene is at times discouraged by the fact that while there’s so much more that she can do, she is limited on account of finances and other factors. Yet, her advice to persons in the same boat as her is not to take their talent for granted.

“A lot of times, we think it wouldn’t matter if we did it because others are doing it, but you never know who will benefit from your talent. You never know how many other people you can make happy. Invest in your talent. It’s going to be hard at first, but just believe in yourself,” she advised.