Today we’d like to introduce you to Teresa Oyono Nsuga.
Hi Teresa, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
The story of who I am today goes back to when I moved to the U.S. in 2014. I was 18 and had just finished high school in my home country, Equatorial Guinea. It was time for me to start college, and my parents decided for me to move to Sacramento, California, where my sister Africa was currently living. My dream was to pursue a career in healthcare, specifically medical school. After community college, I transferred to CSUN (California State University, Northridge), a 4-year university where I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree in Biology, Class of 2021. After my bachelor’s, I applied to Pharmacy school, and I am currently a third-year student who will be graduating in 2025 with a PharmD degree.
My sister Africa was an engineer, but YouTube was her hobby. She had a natural hair channel, and I would observe her whenever we visited from back home. Her and I would record outfit-of-the-day videos, hair videos, and fun Q&As. She influenced me and sparked my content creation interest when I was a teenager, and at 15 years old, I recorded my first makeup tutorial. Makeup played a significant part in my life since I had acne dark spots, and being able to cover them when I needed to was amazing to me. But the whole artistry behind makeup amazed me even more.
Even though I was already creating content at a young age, I didn’t create a YouTube channel of my own until September 2014, which is when I’d say the history of my brand and who I am today started. I was recording and posting YouTube tutorials in Spanish for the people of my country, which was my target audience at the beginning. However, I started to attract an English-speaking audience and began recording videos in English for the most part to also attract U.S. brands. I was always creating content when I could. It wasn’t easy as a Biology/pre-med student, but I always managed my time, and most importantly, I always did it for fun.
In 2016, I got to go to Generation Beauty 2016 in San Francisco with Nyx Cosmetics, where I met the CEO, Michelle Phan, and many of my favorite beauty gurus like Angel Merino (MacDaddy). I also received PR packages from time to time. I kept creating makeup tutorials and fashion videos for a while, and then, around 2019, I started to think of the idea of creating my beauty brand and selling makeup. After researching, I figured that starting up a lash brand was easier in terms of finding vendors and designing. It was interesting because lashes were and still are the part of doing makeup that I am not that good at. Therefore, starting this small business was not only a way to start my dream of becoming a brand owner but also a way to challenge myself to get better at something that I was not a master of.
While creating this brand, I developed and learned so many skills: how to communicate with vendors and how to create and customize a website. I created my website from scratch, and let me tell you, it is not easy! I got frustrated so many times and watched many tutorials. I took all the professional pictures by myself, edited the pictures, and developed the entire website by myself. This is something I take pride in, and I would do it all over again because once you have it figured out, all you gotta worry about is marketing and advertising for your business, which is something I still struggle with today. But I am glad that I started, and now, 3 years and 7 months later, my small business still stands with loyal customers from here and my home country as well.
That being said, who am I? That’s a secret I will never tell… just kidding! In a few words, I am a 27-year-old West African girl from Equatorial Guinea, a third-year Pharmacy school student who owns an online lash store and loves creating beauty, fashion, travel, and lifestyle content on Instagram mainly.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’ll be upfront with you, and if you’re expecting a typical “overcoming all odds” kind of tale from me, I hate to disappoint. I pride myself on being a realist, or at least attempting to be one. I don’t buy into the notion that success has to be synonymous with constant struggle. When building my brand, I set practical goals, understanding that launching something publicly with unrealistic expectations is not just misleading to others but also to myself.
Sure, there were challenges along the way, but I couldn’t fix or anything that could stop me and bring me completely down. Why? Because I made a conscious effort to operate within my capabilities. I made a pact with myself that whatever I did, it had to be enjoyable and fun, making the most of my resources efficiently. And always, always keeping in mind why I embarked on this journey in the first place.
Let me illustrate a few examples of the challenges I faced:
When searching for the right vendor, I exercised caution in not buying samples from just anyone to avoid ending up with an overwhelming amount of products to choose from or having to go to waste.
Another obstacle was the lack of information about technical aspects, such as shipping, website domains, and other details, I had to research a lot.
The most substantial challenge, one that I believe all brands come across, is keeping the audience and clientele. These are the individuals who bring your brand to life. It’s essential to keep them satisfied and continually returning.
Another challenge is consistency, arguably the toughest one for me. Balancing multiple priorities as a graduate student, with my business not being my primary source of income, I still struggle with maintaining consistency in the social media and marketing aspects of my business.
Remember, it’s not about the hardships; it’s about navigating challenges smartly, enjoying the process, and staying true to your vision.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next, you can tell us a bit more about your business.
Coco Queen Lashes is the name of my small business. I have been selling strip lashes for three years now, but I am hoping to expand my products this year because I feel like the business is ready now. Coco comes from Collucci, which comes from my Instagram name @cynthia.colucci, where I create fashion, beauty, travel, and lifestyle content. When I am not being Cynthia Colucci on Instagram, I am a full-time third-year Pharmacy school student. For my brand, I want to include more professional content showcase my life as a future Doctor in Pharmacy, advocate for my profession, and show my followers that side of me. This is a side of me that a lot of my followers don’t know, and I would like to share because it’s a side of me that I have grown to love, and every day, I am trying to become a woman that I would trust and admire myself.
Brand-wise, I am proud of my consistency and never giving up, regardless of a bad month in sales or discouragement.
I would like for the readers to know that Coco Queen Lashes offers strip lashes and eyelash tools like glue and applicators for affordable prices. I wanted my brand to be affordable. Again, I set realistic goals, so I wanted to sell something I would buy and something I know my girlies in college, my girlies with goals that are trying to be safe could afford. I also want them to know that we are going to expand the business soon, and that is going to be fun and amazing.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
I don’t know if I have entirely succeeded, but what keeps me going in everything I do is simplified into 6 principles:
1. Work and upgrade your life in silence until you even surprise yourself,
2. Start today, be productive, make a list and a schedule, and follow through
3. Set realistic goals; lying to others is one thing, but lying to yourself is worse.
4. Rest when you need to; taking a break when you need it is also being productive
5. Forgive yourself for the things you didn’t know and be open to learning and educating yourself.
6. Do not compare yourselves; seek inspiration.
Pricing:
- Lashes $6.99
- Lash glue $5
- Lash applicator $5
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cocoqueenlashes.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cocoqueenlashes/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/cynthia.colucci/
