Lilit Caradanian knows how to hustle with a capital H. The makeup artist started building her beauty career as a side-hustle while working a corporate 9-to-5 job. After years of being miserable sitting at her desk all day and moonlighting as a makeup artist, she was laid off from her corporate career, which pushed her to pursue her passion for beauty full-time.

Fast forward to 2021, and Caradanian has built a veritable beauty empire. Her award-winning beauty brand, Elcie Cosmetics, which started with the introduction of a single product—a game-changing foundation that comes in 12 shades—has since expanded to a wide range of coveted products spanning lipsticks and glosses to mascaras and eyeshadow palettes. 

Ahead, Caradanian fills us in on her journey from makeup artist to multi-million dollar beauty brand, including the creative marketing pivot that has allowed the company to thrive despite COVID.

How did you make your first dollar and what did that job teach you that still applies today? 

I made my first dollar at Macy’s when I was 17 years old. It was hard work, tiring, long hours, but I learned that customer service is everything in addition to being the right type of salesperson (a.k.a. honest!).

Take us back to the beginning—what was the lightbulb moment for your business/career and what inspired you to pursue this path? 

While I was working at Disney in finance, I found myself constantly researching and studying beauty looks, routines, and techniques and writing them up on my blog every chance I got. I would take clients early in the morning before work at 6, 7, 8 AM, then go back to work and leave again at lunchtime to take a client, then would go home after work and take more clients. On the weekends, I would not only take clients all day long (after working all week at a corporate job), but I would use my spare time and days to create photoshoots to showcase my work. I realized that every minute of my day if I wasn’t working, was dedicated to makeup, even if I was tired, even if I wasn’t getting paid. It was my passion and all I wanted to do in life.

Entrepreneurship is all about taking calculated risks. What’s the most pivotal risk you’ve taken, and how did it change your path? 

After several years of being miserable at a corporate desk, I started to lack in work, so much that I got laid off. I had several job offers in different departments at the time, but I refused all of them; it was time to pursue my passion. I decided to open my own makeup studio and teach makeup. My studio became the #1 makeup school in all of L.A. within a year. During this time, I also started my own cosmetics line with a simple financial risk. With a slow start for about six months, it became the number one reviewed foundation on Youtube and my first product went viral and won me a Cosmopolitan Foundation of the Year Award in 2016. This was the jumpstart to Elcie Cosmetics.

What career mistake has given you the biggest lesson? 

I make career mistakes all the time. Investing in the wrong product at the wrong time, etc. What I’ve learned is that you cannot expect every hit to be “the best.” Some will do “ok” and some will become top sellers. What is important is that you don’t give up and you keep moving forward! 

2020 presented everybody around the globe with new, unprecedented challenges. How did you #FindNewRoads + switch gears towards your new version of success? 

2020 was definitely the most challenging year for Elcie Cosmetics. My “spring” launch got stuck in Italy and we ended up launching months later in the summer. This not only means your launch loses its storyline but it also costs you money. We invest in our products almost a year in advance and postponed product launches affect you financially. With that said, we were not able to do any photoshoots for our campaigns. I decided it was time to utilize the influencer market. Instead of paying models and photographers and securing a location, we paid influencers directly to create these looks for us. It was amazing! We were able to create jobs for influencers during a lock-down. We have now decided to move forward with this concept.

Going after what you deserve in life takes confidence and guts. Does confidence come naturally to you or did you have to learn it? What advice can you share for women on cultivating confidence and going after their dreams? 

If you don’t try, you will never know. Confidence did not come naturally to me. I learned that, in order to create confidence, you take small steps towards your goal. If these small steps start showing you amazing results, it encourages you to keep striving. However, if one thing doesn’t work, don’t give up right away, try different methods until you find one that works!

For those who haven’t started a business (or are about to) what advice do you have? 

Be prepared, do your homework, study, and don’t sleep! I do not believe in the “starving artist” mentality. I worked a corporate job and brought home money in order to invest and pursue my dreams. I would work on my passion/new business venture every moment of the day. That included me not having a social life for quite some time, but that is the price you pay for it and it will be absolutely worth it. 

What is your number one piece of financial advice for any new entrepreneur and why? 

Referencing my above statement, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Work hard, save money, and invest little by little, don’t just dive in. Don’t invest every penny you have in your pocket into a dream (although others may advise otherwise). It doesn’t always work out for everyone; why not give yourself a little cushion?

What's the one productivity tip or work hack that truly changed your life? 

It is all about time management and organization. I make a list of my responsibilities each night and I list them in the order of importance. Whatever I do not tackle in my day, I will move the task to the next day, again, listing it in the order of importance.

What is the #1 book you always recommend and why? 

“The Alchemist.” The story explains, metaphorically, whatever you are meant to do/have is in your hands and sometimes we need to go on a journey in order to learn or discover that. That sometimes you may come across trials and tribulations that seem like it is the end of your journey, but it is only testing you to see how bad you want it. It is truly inspiring.

If you could go back to the beginning of your career journey—with the knowledge you have now—what advice would you give yourself? 

To be patient. Success doesn’t happen overnight. For some, it comes a little quicker than others, but don’t ever compare yourself to others. Stay in your lane and only learn from your previous mistakes and how to make things better. When you look at other comparable brands, only look in the eyes of inspiration and aspiration. 

Fill in the blanks:

If I wasn’t in my job now, I would be… 

Still in the beauty industry. 

Three qualities that got me to where I am today are… 

My work ethic, passion, and ambition.

The change I’d like to see in my industry is… 

For people to support smaller businesses. 

My perfect day begins with… 

A cup of coffee.

The craziest thing I’ve done for work is…

Take a client at 3 AM because I was booked from 4 AM on. Good times!