Since childhood, Michelle Phan has embraced and nurtured what one would call an entrepreneurial mindset. Coming from a poor family, with no help from her father’s gambling addiction, Phan sold candy to her classmates in elementary school in an effort to purchase her family’s first computer. After purchasing the computer she worked so hard for, Michelle began blogging on different platforms. However, once YouTube was an established site with a significant userbase, the entrepreneur shifted her efforts and began posting beauty tutorial videos.

What started as a hobby became a passion, and eventually led to a job offer from prominent cosmetic company Lancôme. Phan made history by becoming “Lancôme’s first official video makeup artist,” and expanded her fanbase. Not long after accepting her job with Lancôme, Phan created ipsy, a subscription service that mails users 5 sample-sized personalized beauty products for $10 a month.

With extremely minimal marketing, ipsy caught like wildfire and gains nearly 100,000 users per month. As a [former] ipsy user myself, I can say that I never saw any ads about the company, but heard about it from my roommate. This company offers users the opportunity to use brands or products that they may not otherwise use with no real concern of waste of product or money.

Michelle Phan created an extremely successful business with hard work and perseverance. She is an inspiration to young entrepreneurs of this generation and shows that a strong mindset can take you anywhere.