Today we’d like to introduce you to Maricia Magana.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Maricia. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles. My mother raised me and instilled working hard, hustling, and being self-employed. My mother worked multiple jobs to put my sister and me through school. Growing up in South Los Angeles in the ’90s was unsafe due to the ongoing gang wars. She paid for us to go to Catholic private school and even sent us to the prestigious high school, Marymount. My high school attendees included the Kardashians when I was there. I was lucky to be able to experience both worlds growing up, which made me really well rounded. I went to University of California Santa Barbara but came back to LA because I missed the city, transferring to California State University Northridge. During that time, I was big into going to clubs. I loved music, so I started an all-female promotions company with my sister, which led to an internship at Interscope Records. When I got the internship, I remember my mother saying, “I’ll support you, but you have to treat this like a paid job. Be the first one there and last one to leave.” That started a really long career in the music industry, where I was promoted several times and was fortunate to work with artists like Common, Lady Gaga, and so many more.
I then tried different ventures, started a boutique with my sister, traveled the world by myself for two years, then eventually landed into the world of social media. I worked with Playboy and Blinkbar. Blinkbar, a very popular lash bar in Los Angeles, is where I worked on their social media and started their influencer program. Social media influencers are the new celebrities. I had spent most of my career working with celebrities, so this was very familiar to me. One very important aspect of my job was getting perfect selfie pictures from influencers. If you are a selfie pro, then you know lighting is everything. I was constantly purchasing different selfie lights to find the perfect ones. I would literally get stopped everywhere and asked, “Where did you get this?” Around that time, I decided to join my husband’s advertising agency AdvertiseMint full time and take on the role of vice president. My husband is an ad genius. At the time, he was really into Amazon advertising and wanted to sell a product. I told him I wanted to sell selfie lights! I wanted to sell a product that I would always use and just enhance people’s beauty. I got a group of the top influencers together to test out hundreds of selfie lights, and that’s how the LITTIL Selfie Mini came to be. Around the same time, I found out I was pregnant. It was definitely a struggle with morning sickness, fatigue, and the agency. My husband has been so supportive through this.
The best feeling for me is when I get messages that the lights have made people feel better about the way they look or that they have been useful for their photos or zoom calls. We have 6 LITTIL products now, all lighting. In each box, we have an insert that gives a compliment. These products are really great for taking pictures, zoom calls, creating content, and more. The message is #loveYourSelfie and as the company has evolved so has our content. We used to hire only models and beauty influencers. We now are taking the approach of redefining the term “influencer” and changing our campaigns to include all of those now at this historical time who can use these lights while teaching a zoom class, a fitness class, as well as telehealth professionals and so much more. An influencer, by definition, is a person who influences another — that’s everyone regardless of your followers on social media. Although this is a different time, products are so helpful for those working remotely and creating content, so much more than getting the perfect selfie. We are excited about the future!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?|
The pregnancy was hard when starting the company, being a new mom, and running a whole other business. If the road is smooth, you don’t appreciate it as much, and you don’t learn anything. We are learning about what it’s like to not get the product shipped on time, the product made incorrectly, and recently, someone taking our product and selling it on Amazon.
Littil Co – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
LITTIL Co is a Selfie Light company. We specialize in all the lighting you would need to take the perfect selfie, create content, work remotely, and to enhance great memories with the perfect lighting. I am most proud of how we have evolved with current events. We are in unprecedented times, and we happen to have a product people want and need. I get so excited when I get messages from people using the light. I even had a customer who was the head of neurosurgery at a hospital, and I’m like, “WOW.” I am also proud of how much our team has grown. In these times when many are out of work, we have been able to employ people.
I think what sets us apart is our branding, packaging, and how we have upgraded our products based on customer feedback. We also are soon to implement a more UGC (user generated content) approach, and we also offer different training for product use. There are a lot of people who want to be influencers, create content, or take their passion online. We will be offering sessions to help with that. Lastly, when you open a LITTIL product box, you’re sure to smile. We have different compliments and sayings in each one. The most popular are “Let your light shine” and “Get your glow on.”
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Personal success for me is the most important. I’m a work-in-progress. Every day, I’m working on myself. Working on myself and loving my selfie helps me in all areas of life. That foundation spreads to my family and my work. I am in a truly happy marriage and have a beautiful daughter. This makes me feel successful. When it comes to working, when I achieve goals, I feel successful. Knowing I provided opportunities to my team makes me feel successful. Making someone feel good about themselves makes me feel successful. I am definitely a driven person and always have been, and having a daughter has put things into perspective for me. I am really doing all of this for her. People always ask me if she will be an influencer, and I’m always like, “A CEO.” Girl power! The biggest marker for success is happiness, and not that I’m laughing or smiling every second, but I am grateful and lucky for where I am and what I have every day. Life is good!
Contact Info:
- Address: 7080 Hollywood Blvd #1100
Hollywood, CA 90028 - Website: www.littil.com
- Phone: 844-454-8845
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @littil
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/littilco/
Image Credit:
Taylor Lewis
Katie Bickerstaff
Toshiko Shek
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