Boosting Business and Beauty
Tameka Jones knows the pressures put upon women to meet a certain standard of beauty. She also understands that makeup and beauty can help women, like it did her, to re-write their story and feel empowered in their own skin. Enter Lip Esteem, a dream-turned-reality when Tameka left her 20-year career as a makeup artist to start her own beauty line in 2020. While new customers have steadily increased, sales are beginning to plateau, leaving Tameka looking for more avenues to sell her product.
To help round out Tameka’s retail strategy, Deluxe enlisted its own Board of Directors Chair, Cheryl Mayberry McKissack, owner of BLK/OPL and formidable leader in the beauty industry. With Cheryl’s network providing key connections, the Deluxe team freshens Lip Esteem’s brand and online presence to go from startup to legit contender. See how Tameka plans to change the world one tube of lipstick at a time.
When one feels confident and beautiful, the world opens up to them. More opportunities arise and they feel more empowered to do the things they love and take control of their lives. In St. Paul, Minnesota, Tameka Jones helps many people rewrite their stories through her lipstick brand, Lip Esteem. And, with today’s increasing pressure in beauty standards, Tameka’s brand—featured in episode three, season 6 of Small Business Revolution (SBR)—is more important than ever. Lip Esteem is a plant-based, gluten-free, cruelty-free lipstick line. Not only does it uplift her many customers, but it’s allowed Tameka to rise above her own personal challenges—her own childhood trauma and loss of an infant child—and, to continue providing many with necessary confidence, she had to rise above a series of threatening tech-related challenges as well.Â
Tameka created Lip Esteem during the pandemic after being furloughed from her job as a makeup artist, and with her twenty years of experience, she knew what she was doing from a beauty standpoint. But what about the business side? Small Businesses tend to be most vulnerable in the beginning stages of their establishment. So, Tameka had to ensure that the tech her team was using was going to work in the most effective way possible. With her new business moving, but not growing, she had to expand her revenue channels—such as growing Lip Esteem’s ecommerce platforms. However, creating a stronger online presence gave rise to security concern, especially because Tameka garners much of her business through virtual consultations with customers and retailers. This meant that her devices and systems needed to be fast and reliable, with powerful remote capabilities so she can interact with customers outside of the office.Â
With all this in mind, Lenovo’s team was ready to provide complete tech solutions built to work for Lip Esteem—to enhance their virtual consultation experience, while generating higher levels of productivity no matter where her team is working. Kelly Darden, Lenovo tech consultant, helped to build and present Lip Esteem’s customized tech package.Â
Small Business Revolution, by Deluxe.Â