Anna Ross is the founder of Kester Black nail polish. Photo / Josie Hayden, news.com.au
Anna Ross is the founder of Kester Black nail polish. Photo / Josie Hayden, news.com.au
A Kiwi woman who had just $50 in her wallet after graduating from university has opened up about how she turned that last note into a million-dollar fashion empire.
Anna Ross was just 20 years old when she used her last $50 to start up her jewellery-making side-hustle.
Little did she know her 2009 venture would become an ethical beauty empire named Kester Black.
In the past 12 months the business has made more than $1.16m in revenue and was the first in the world to be awarded a B Corp certification - the highest achievement in ethical and environmental performance.
Dunedin-raised Ross told 9 News her start into business proves you don't need to have a lot of money behind you to be successful from the beginning.
"The $50 part started when I started making jewellery. I made a few necklaces and took $50 out of my wages, made a few necklaces, and then sold those and went back and made $200 worth of jewellery," she said.
"I never had investment or money from my parents to start it."
She said she wasn't very good at school, struggled to read and spell and doesn't know her times tables too well.
After living on a farm, she went to university to study fashion before uplifting her life and moving to Melbourne to pursue her dreams.
When she made the move, she couldn't even afford a sewing kit.
She worked full time as a design assistant for a fashion label and eventually her passion for making jewellery took off.
By 2012, she had launched six shades of nail polish and tripled her revenue in three months, while continuing to work full time.
What's Ross' secret? She told 9 News her zero expectations and modest upbringing helped drive a strong desire to want to succeed without being overwhelmed with pressure for it to come off.
"We were really poor and there was no pressure from (my parents) on me because we were poor," she said.
"There wasn't a drive for me to be successful from them. I probably blossomed because I didn't have any of that and I had no expectations of myself because I never thought I would be successful."
After shipping nail polishes around Australia to customers, she registered Kester Black in 2014, now dubbed the world's most ethically conscious beauty brand.
Her products use only clean ingredients, is certified cruelty-free and vegan, B Corp, carbon-neutral and halal.
"I started this company not to make money, but to change the world and Kester Black is doing just that by raising industry standards for beauty brands," she said.
"(We) set the trends bigger brands follow. Consumers want to buy great quality products that don't cost the world - both financially and environmentally."
Her brand has some regular celebrity clients, including Elle Macpherson, Vogue, Marie Clare, Liberty London, Nylon, and The New York Times among others.
However, with the sudden growth and backing, Ross explained the pressure started getting to her, to the point where it "really crippled" her.
She said advisers were saying her business would be turning over $30m in profit in two years.
Ross soon became chronically fatigued. It started to become too much.
"About three years ago, for probably like 10 months, every night I would go to bed and cry and have a panic attack and lie awake all night," Ross said.
"There's totally been times where I wanted to give it up and thought, why I have done this?"
But following her difficult times, Ross pushed on and was named Telstra Young Business Woman of the Year in 2016.
Anna Ross is the founder of Kester Black nail polish. Photo / Josie Hayden, news.com.au
Kester Black has gone from strength to strength and is one of the leading beauty companies in the world.
The company also donates two per cent of all revenue to social causes.
Ross said her advice to others thinking about starting up their own business is to don't be afraid to ask questions, and stick with your plan.
"It's all about asking questions and get as much information as you can before you decide on what product you want - but then I think you should just go all in."
