GUEST: Rizza Lana | “The Mindful Entrepreneur”
GUEST INTRO
Rizza Lana Sebastian is the CEO & Founder of Mindful Businesses – LANA PH (a cruelty-free skincare and zero waste lifestyle brand), MINK PH (an intimate care line) and Le Cat Coffee Shop (a place where you can enjoy coffee with cats). Her philosophies and addiction revolve around these words: Sustainability + Productivity + Skincare Hacks.
EPISODE SUMMARY
Seeing how plastics destroy the planet, Rizza Lana shares her literal paradigm shift as she closed her thriving print-on demand business (WHIM MANILA) in favor of creating sustainable, more eco-friendly businesses.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
Q: Who is Rizza Sebastian before being the CEO and Founder?
A: Rizza initially wanted to be a careerwoman and was a hotelier for 5 years. I dreamt of being one of the first female General Manager in the Philippines but she felt that she was being called elsewhere. She loved her job and excelled. But with the realization of the kind of legacy that she wants to leave, she switched her path to entrepreneurship.
“What if one day I die, what’s my legacy? How can I change people’s lives?”
“Like Casetify, my first ever venture was Whim Manila – a print-on-demand phone case business. Whim Manila was born when I brought the idea to the Philippines.”
“By the way, people should know thatI’m a low-impact movement advocate. Since phone cases are made of plastic, I felt that the brand didn’t align with my values anymore. So if I constantly push on zero waste, sustainability and low impact movement, why would I sell plastic phone cases?”
Q: What came to mind when you developed LANA, MINK and LeCat?
A: “When I started in June 2018, all-natural and made in the Philippines. I’m a skincare addict. I just really wanted to have a sunblock that wasn’t sticky on the face. I wanted to support local but I can’t find local brands that have this sunblock. IT’S A NEED! Good thing I came across a family friend who works for a manufacturer of all-natural products. ‘I can have the sunblock formulated for you.’ I’m so grateful for that person in June 2018.”
Rizza shares her awakening in December 2018, after seeing the documentary “A Plastic Ocean. “Plastic is really detrimental. If we consume so much plastic, this is what it does to the ocean.As I was doing the changes, little by little, I realized that it should resonate with my brands as well. That’s when we started the narrative #YouMatter, even if small steps it can help our environment. By December 2019, I decided to make a switch to the low-impact lifestyle.”
Q: How did you curate Lana?
A: “I listen to the people. On social media, I have LANA and MINK community who are very supportive. When I post questions on LANA and MINK, they respond and that’s how I test the market. It’s personalized. Pristine customer service. It’s me and my hospitality background. There are a lot of skincare brands out there, but I think the service for my clients and my team, it’s invaluable. It’s one of our core products. People first – clients and my team.”
Q: How does your day look like knowing that you’re handling 3 brands?
A: You have to protect your time in the morning. I wake up at 7am and read for an hour. After an hour of reading, I don’t read my messages, I don’t check on my email and scroll on my social media. I meditate for around 30 minutes and journal for another 2 hours. I count it as my self-love time. At 9am, I go to the gym. I go back home, cook lunch for my husband. Then I go to my HQ, check on Lana and MINK first. Le Cat starts at 4pm.
Q: Now you are in the scaling stage and expanding your market share. But during the time you were establishing your business, how did it look like? How do you know it’s time to build another brand and how do it with your time?
A: I do everything by myself. With Whim and Lana, I do all the all at the same time. Accounting, Purchasing, Creative, Photography, Marketing, All! The entire family is hands-on with LeCat. My first hire was a picker and packer. He also helped me answer inquiries.
Q: If you were so busy, how many hours of sleep did you had?
A: “I was mean to myself, I only get three hours of sleep. I went through so much and had anxiety attacks.”
Q: What was the struggle when you’re at the verge of closing LANA?
A: “Last January 2019, vividly remember that I wanted to close LANA. We weren’t making a lot but I have two employees who are relying on me so I can’t give up because their families are relying on me too. We ended that year with 18 employees.”
“We were losing money. But it’s good that I didn’t give up. One of the most important trait of an entrepreneur is Grit. Not everyone has grit but it can be developed. Just keep on pushing. There’s no way up.”
“One of the struggles for me was to delegate. I’m OC and have high standards that when I do it, it’s better. I had to adjust and learned so much that you have to trust your people. When I stopped micromanaging them, that’s when we boomed. It really helped us scale.
Q: In your journey as an entrepreneur, what’s your biggest takeaway to replicate for budding entrepreneurs right now?
A: “Never be afraid of failure. It’s all about the mindset. Failure is one of the lessons that you can learn. Failure is not the end.”
Q: What would be your advice to leave to our audience today as a mindful entrepreneur.
A: Protect your mental health. As women, we hardworking and we come to a point where we push ourselves too much. First, you must love yourself before you can overflow with love for others. If you are struggling whether to push an idea or not, or doubting whether you are enough – GIRL, YOU ARE ENOUGH.
You can do it. Go and dive the waters. We can be perfectionists. You just have to let go and sometimes it’s okay to go half-baked than have analysis paralysis. Improve as you go along. Just do it and release your pitch.”
FAVORITE QUOTE
“Go and dive the waters. We can be perfectionists but you just have to let go. It’s okay to go half-baked than have analysis paralysis. Improve as you go along. Just do it and release your pitch.”
“One of the struggles for me was to delegate. I learned that you have to trust your people. When I stopped micromanaging, that’s when we boomed. It really helped us scale.”
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
For more related content, follow Rizza and Melissa at:
- YOUTUBE – Rizza Lana
- INSTAGRAM – Rizza Lana , LANA, MINK, LE CAT
- Join the Queen’s only Tribe http://bit.ly/enterkingdom
- Get to know Melissa Profeta at h https://www.thisismelp.com/
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