An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Know your competition: You have to know who your competitor is and know their prices so you can stay moving forward as well.
As part of our series about how to create a trusted, believable, and beloved brand, I had the pleasure to interview Maria Raquel Thomas.
Maria Raquel Thomas is an Entrepreneur, Humanitarian and Philanthropist.
Maria Raquel Thomas, 15 years old, is the owner of Maria Raquel Thomas Cosmetics. After struggling with her personal lip care, she began mixing her own products to help with chapping. She then tried samples out with her friends to see if it helped them. It did and so she began mixing more products.
When COVID-19 hit the world, Maria Raquel Thomas wanted to find a way to help girls keep up with their self-care, stay positive and stay motivated during the crisis. She started Maria Raquel Thomas Cosmetics.
Maria Raquel Thomas first developed a full line of lip scrubs and lip masks to encourage girls to take care of their lip challenges. Next, she launched the D.R.I.P. lipgloss (Daring. Radiant. Independent. Powerful.), naming the products using uplifting adjectives. The collection sold out in less than one week!
Next, she produced a collection lovingly called “Girl Power,” which included an assortment of lipglosses and eyeshadows. Again, she wanted to empower girls through positivity, so she named the individual products in the Girl Power collection adjectives such as Beautiful, Dreamer, and Adventurous and more. She most recently debuted a new 5-piece lip shine collection, called “Rockstar,” an ode to her family who has a musical background. It also reminds girls that they are rockstars in their own right.
In her future, Maria Raquel Thomas plans to take proceeds from her cosmetic line and use it to pay for medical school. She wants to be an ER doctor so she can continue to care for others.
Maria Raquel Thomas continues to give back to the community by donating a portion of her earnings to children’s charities including Victoria’s Voice, SE4K, and Standup for Kids. She is the first-ever National Youth Ambassador for Standup for Kids, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending youth homelessness. Maria Raquel Thomas has assisted StandUp for Kids in raising over $150,000 in their virtual run/walk race fundraisers. She has put in over two hundred hours of volunteer work with Standup for Kids and other non-profits. She has been awarded the 2021 President’s Volunteer Silver Medal.
Maria Raquel Thomas has earned several awards for her leadership skills. She was named a 2018 Junior National Young Leader and received the National “Girl of Merit” award in 2018 and 2019. For her voluntary work, she recently earned The President’s Volunteer Silver Medal. She was most recently nominated for Forbes 30 Under 30.
Maria Raquel Thomas has made appearances on ABC, FOX, and CBS. She’s also graced the cover of five worldwide magazines and made history as the youngest model on the cover of 17.23 magazine! In Feb 2021, she was nicknamed, “The Humble Giant,” by Malvie magazine, Vol 28.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Yes, when I became a teenager, I noticed that my lips would continuously get dry over the course of the day. I was getting really frustrated, so I came up with a solution: mix my own lip scrubs and lip masks. After several trials and errors, I made a formula that worked!
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
A funny mistake I made was the sales of my first lip gloss line. I didn’t make enough for the demand from the customers. I knew the product would sell, however it sold out in a week! Now, our team stocks up with the products we know our customers like the most.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Maria Raquel Thomas Cosmetics stands out because of its authenticity. We not only sell the products, but we also wear them daily.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now?
Yes, we are working on a spring/summer collection which will feature new colors for all ages!
Ok let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?
For me brand marketing is the overall way to promote your product. It is the approach you take when reaching a target audience. Product marketing is for specific products within that brand that you want to promote.
Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?
It is very necessary to invest in your brand. For example, we sat down a wrote out what my brand would look like, who was the target audience and then we put a budget together to show costs of advertising to them.
Can you share 5 strategies that a company should be doing to build a trusted and believable brand? Please tell us a story or example for each.
1) Have a clear purpose for your brand: For me, I knew I wanted to help teens and women with their lip dryness challenges. I also wanted them to feel good about themselves using my products.
2) Listen to your customers: I can not emphasize this enough. Your customers can give you great insight on what products work and those that do not work.
3) Know your competition: You have to know who your competitor is and know their prices so you can stay moving forward as well.
4) Learn. Be Humble.: Sometimes we want to do everything ourselves the way we want it and not look at what the customer is asking for. We have to keep our eyes and ears open with the customer.
5) Don’t give up: Being an entrepreneur is a tough however it is also rewarding. To see the smiles and the thank you notes I receive from my customers about how they liked the product, gives me energy to keep moving forward.
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job building a believable and beloved brand. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
I look at top brands such a Loreal and Chanel. They have longevity in the cosmetic business. I like their campaigns too!
What role does social media play in your branding efforts?
Social media plays a significant role in branding; however, you can still reach people in other ways such as text, email, and your website.
What advice would you give to other marketers or business leaders to thrive and avoid burnout?
Take time out to do things other things you love. For me, I love to roller skate, so I take time out to do other activities.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
The movement would be for everyone to be more kind. I would love to see more people on social media take a positive approach when posting. Everyone is going through something and to be kind to someone could just make their day.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“For every problem, there is always a solution.” My mom taught me this quote years ago. So, I use it in every factor of my life. When I get in a tough situation, I try to figure out at least three potential solutions.
We are blessed that very prominent leaders in business and entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world with whom you would like to have a lunch or breakfast with? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
I would love to have lunch with Zenda.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Personal Instagram @mariaraquelthomasofficial
Business Instagram @mariaraquelthomas
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
Maria Raquel Thomas: Five Things You Need To Build A Trusted And Beloved Brand was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
