When I started my first beauty e-commerce business, I didn’t have a big budget.
So instead of hiring an expert for every task, I decided to become the expert.

This often goes against the advice you hear everywhere:

“Hire people better than you.”

But, if you’re a small brand or solo founder, the people “better than you” will be expensive. And if you’re bootstrapping, that could drain your budget before you’ve even found your feet.

What I Taught Myself

I learnt how to:

  • Build an e-commerce store

  • Sell beauty products online

  • Make and edit videos

  • Shoot product images

  • Use Klaviyo for email marketing

  • Read Google Analytics data

  • Run Meta and Google Ads

  • Market my brand and bring customers back

The list is… long.

The Payoff Later

Once the business had grown and I could afford experts, I already had:

  • The skills to know what “good” work looked like

  • The ability to spot agencies who sell well but deliver poorly

  • The confidence to choose freelancers who could actually do the job

Learning the basics early meant I could delegate smarter later.

Why This Matters for You

If you’re building a beauty brand, the groundwork matters.
You don’t need to become a pro at everything, but you do need enough knowledge to:

  • Make informed decisions

  • Protect your budget

  • Get better results when you hire

That’s why I’m building my new online learning platform for beauty founders.
It’s designed to give you the skills to build, market, and grow your brand, before you invest in outside help.

I am planning to launch the first course in 2 months time. This will be an in depth and comprehensive course on how to build your BRAND STRATEGY. This is the foundational knowledge for any brand.

If you are interested in being one of the first to get your hands on the course, look out for a discount code in your inbox in the coming weeks!

Remember…

Knowledge is power. Start building yours now.

with lots of love and ambition,

Mel Jenkinson

✍🏻 Work with me

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