When the pandemic started, flight attendant Toni Ann Nebreja had no choice but to take an indefinite leave. The aviation industry was one of the first major industries which immensely suffered from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. It sent her over the edge but the succeeding lockdown allowed her to pursue her long-overdue project—cosmetic lash line.
“Like everybody else facing financial uncertainties, I had to come up with a plan since I won’t be flying anytime soon. I made use of my available resources to make ends meet and fulfill my plans for Lash Party,” Toni Ann shares.
Starting the business
She thought everything will go on smoothly once she gave suppliers her go-signal.
“Most of them promised that they could deliver by mid-January but Covid-19 started spreading so fast,” she explains.
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Discouragement started as soon as couriers stopped shipping goods and delays were experienced at the customs. “I didn’t know where to start with little to zero resources at that time,” she added.
Overcoming self-doubt is also among the challenges that she had to face while she was building her business. She started second-guessing if it was the right time to sell her products and whether there would even be a market to engage.
“But I continued to work on my vision. With the help of my family and friends, I composed myself and started with baby steps,” Toni Ann explains.
Gradually, she receives inquiries on Instagram even before she announced that she can finally start accepting orders. She said that she could feel the excitement around her brand’s following and got inspired even more to power through.
Currently, she enjoys the relationship that she is building with her consumers and she thinks that helping them explore self-expression through makeup and her products has made her career shift meaningful.
She advises budding entrepreneurs to believe in themselves and honor their own pace. “The process is never easy, you will be tested in all ways possible and you will only have yourself most days so believe that you can and you will,” Toni Ann says.
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