The University of Minnesota’s Business of Beauty Club was created to connect students with business opportunities in the beauty industry. The club was inspired by the University’s Women in Business Club.
Students in the club had the chance to meet guest speakers from prominent companies such as L’oreal Paris, Estée Lauder and Kosas Cosmetics, who taught them about the business side of the industry.
Libby Keller, a fourth-year student and the club’s former president, said the club brought in the founder of Evry Makeup Studio in Minneapolis, Maggie Jessen, who answered questions and provided networking opportunities for club members.
“Maggie gave people the opportunity to be brand ambassadors for Evry, and she would tell us what to be on the lookout for and what she would be introducing soon into her brand,” Keller said.
Rachel Ezramus, the club’s former director of events who graduated in May, said the club wants to create a diverse panel of networking opportunities for its members.
“The great thing about reaching out to people with smaller businesses in our community is that there is more of an opportunity to help build their businesses up since they are so close,” Ezramus said. “It’s also great to see opportunities on a larger scale like we did with the speakers from L’oreal.”
Olivia Johnson, a 2023 graduate who helped found the club, said the club always asks permission to share the LinkedIn profiles of guest speakers with members. This allows members to connect with speakers and ask questions.
Johnson, who works in the beauty industry, said simply being a member of this club shows employers how passionate you are.
“I did a bunch of research on any other clubs out there for the beauty industry and there are not that many, so it really does show how passionate you are, and it is something I brought up in every interview I had,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the club taught her to be resilient, think on her feet and be flexible, which prepared her to work in the beauty industry more than any class she ever took.
“Even now, working full time, I always think back to the Business of Beauty, ” Johnson said. “I kept thinking how creating the club was like building our own little business because we had to think about marketing, we had to create our own logo and we had to get people to come in and actually want to be a part of this community.”
Megan Tomas, a 2023 graduate who helped found the club and now works in the beauty industry, said a big skill she gained from the club was confidence, especially in networking.
“We reached out kind of randomly to a lot of people that we thought would come in and speak and people we look up to,” Tomas said. “I got my job now through a connection when I started calling people, so I really think the skills from the club paid off in my career as well.”
Beyond the business aspect, Ezramus said the club is also a great creative outlet for people with a passion for beauty but are not looking to enter the industry.
“I think it balances well for helping people’s career paths, but it also can just be a fun club to join,” Ezramus said.
Ezramus said most of the club’s meetings start with talking about creative aspects of the beauty industry. They then go into how you can make a career and other opportunities.
Johnson said the club also collaborates with other clubs at the University, such as Business of Fashion, where they had trivia nights to help each other learn more about each industry.
Keller said being a part of the club influenced her to try new products in new ways.
“It doesn’t always have to be so overcomplicated,” Keller said. “You don’t always have to follow the trends. They are always being recycled, so there’s a lot of different routes you can go and different ways you can achieve things.”
Ezramus said the club taught her there is a lot more that goes into the beauty industry than just fun and creativity.
“The club helped me realize how complex the beauty industry is and what it takes to grow a brand within the beauty industry,” Ezramus said.