There are so many different types of Boss Babes but the ultimate Boss Babe has to be a woman that sees something wrong in her world and tries to fix it. I am excited to introduce you to not just one but two amazing woman and have dreams of putting an end to avoidable blindness in the Pacific and all with a flick of a wand…a mascara wand that is.
1. Firstly tell us a little about yourself and indigo & iris.
indigo & iris is a kick-ass makeup brand – we create insanely beautiful products and use the profit to support awesome organisations working in the Pacific Islands.
We have worked three hard years to find the world’s best manufacturer for our first product, a mascara called levitate. After visiting and working with countless suppliers and manufacturers we found an absolute treasure of a manufacturer in Italy, who helped us create levitate – the formula is really hydrating and comes off nicely when you remove in the shower or with makeup remover, and when you wear levitate your eyelashes are so nicely separated, super black and long. BUT like any good story we have to overcome a challenge; our amazing manufacturer works with some of the worlds best brands so they have a huge minimum order quantity. We aren’t a big company and do not have the financial backing we need to purchase their minimums so we have launched on kickstarted to raise the 75k we need to bring levitate – our life-changing mascara – to life. We are donating 50% of our profits to The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ to help end avoidable blindness in the Pacific Islands.
Hannah – Born and Bred in Christchurch, studied at the University of Canterbury finished with a double degree commerce and law in 2016 (BCom, LLB). But while at Uni found myself doing a few different entrepreneurial ventures and fell in love with the concept of social enterprise – it’s now my dream to build a global social enterprise!
Bonnie – I’m 21, super creative and am in love with being happy! I also grew up in Canterbury & love NZ so much that I don’t think I’ll settle down anywhere else.
2. Are you a tea or coffee person?
Hannah – Long Black that’s it.
Bonnie – Iced coffee at least once a day equals a happy Bon.
3. How do you start your day?
Hannah – Long Black thats it.
Bonnie – I read in bed for 30 mins!
4. How did you find yourself starting indigo & iris?
Bonnie – I was 18 when I had the idea for indigo, it came into my head while I was in the shower! Initially I thought – “oh yeah that’s a really cool idea, someone should do it.” But I didn’t have the self confidence or belief at the time to even consider that someone could be me. A few months later I saw an advertisement for a free 9 week business course called ‘Live The Dream’ so I took that first step and signed up – that was all I needed to do because after 9 weeks of working on it there was no way I was going back to uni. I dropped out and have been working on it ever since!
5. How do you find balance when owning/creating your own business?
Hannah – time management is key for me, when stuff gets really hectic I literally schedule in everything – exercise, friends, family time and even when to wash my hair. Keeps me calm when I know everything is scheduled.
Bonnie – Hannah and I both know that there is no point working yourself into the ground and being miserable. We work freakin hard and make ourselves proud – but ultimately life, family and happiness comes first.
6. What is your ultimate dream be for indigo & iris?
Hannah –
A global multi-million dollar social enterprise – having a full range of makeup products that each contributes millions to different impact projects
Bonnie – That it challenges people and makes them consider what beauty really is, and to see it within themselves and others. To inspire other companies to dig deeper, have more fun and bring joy into the world.
7. What advice would you give someone wanting to start their own business?
hannah Collaborate, surround yourself with good people and listen to your customers!
Bonnie – Know your intention for starting the business! Is it to make a ton of $$$? Impress everyone in your life? Become a huge success? Help others? There is no wrong answer; knowing your intention means you can assess if that is a good enough reason to spend the majority of your life on it! Maybe it’s not and you’d be happier doing something else. Or if it is, knowing your intention will help you make the right decisions that will get you to your goal quicker than if you just do it with no internal guidance.
8. What beauty product you couldn’t live without?
Hannah Mascara!!!! 110% I have always said if I can only have one thing it would be mascara. If I am having a good skin day and would go makeup-less APART from mascara.
Bonnie – Realistically we’d be okay without any beauty product – life would go on – but that answer is ruining the fun haha;
yes to be honest it is mascara. Im blonde and my eyelashes are light, so when I wear mascara I feel poppin.
9. Your next holiday is?
Hannah... hopefully, NEW YORK in Feb 2018 for fashion week!
Bonnie – Me too!! New York Fashion week with Hannah, my best mate and business partner, quickly followed by back-packing in Peru with my boyfriend – so so SO excited.
10. What do you love most about indigo & iris?
Hannah – It’s potential! It just freaking excites me what this could be! Just got to make that target!
Bonnie – I love indigo so much because it’s a huge creative toy for me to play with – to see how far we can push ourselves to create something we’re really proud of. I can explore what beauty really means to me and others and create an untraditional business. It’s bloody fun – every day.♥
