From ballroom dancing and chemistry to my own cosmetics brand
I’m Anna Manko, founder of JOSS Cosmetics, a specialist professional cosmetics brand for athletes and dancers.
My journey to creating my own brand involved several different stages. Until the age of twenty, I competed in ballroom dancing professionally. At the same time, I earned a degree in chemistry, specializing in biochemistry.
After university, I started working for a company that supplied raw materials for cosmetics production. There, I saw the industry from the inside: I worked with product developers and procurement specialists, learned how products are created, and saw how companies make decisions about production. Gradually, I realized I didn’t want to spend my whole life as an employee. I wanted to create my own product and take responsibility for its development.
Today, I understand that each previous stage prepared me for the next. Dancing gave me discipline and perseverance. My chemistry education gave me an understanding of the product. Working at companies gave me experience with customers and the market. And entrepreneurship taught me to take responsibility for decisions and their outcomes.
Sports, chemistry, and experience in the cosmetics industry
How did you come up with the business idea?
The idea was born at the intersection of three areas of my experience: chemistry, working in the cosmetics industry, and my long-standing connection to ballroom dancing.
I deliberately chose not to enter the mass-market skincare segment. It requires considerably greater marketing resources, and competition comes from international brands. Instead, I saw an opportunity in a niche I knew well from the inside.
Ballroom dancers need specialized cosmetics with specific properties: staying power, moisture resistance, durability under physical stress, the right shades, and suitability for stage and competition conditions. These needs became the foundation for creating the product.
Before launching my own brand, I started with an online store selling European cosmetics. This allowed me to test demand, build an audience, and gain experience. So I didn’t launch my own brand from scratch: I already had an audience, an understanding of customers, and sales experience.
Product expertise, understanding the customer, and perseverance
What key skills helped you launch your business?
- A deep understanding of the product. I know how cosmetics should perform on the body, how to test them, and which properties matter to customers in ballroom dancing.
- Customer focus. Working in management roles taught me to research customer needs and understand not only what people say, but also what they actually need.
- Communication skills and perseverance, developed through sports and dancing. I’m used to not giving up after the first setback and looking for other solutions.
I gained much of my knowledge without taking specialized courses—directly through work and by speaking with outstanding professionals.
Building a product from scratch, war, and entering international markets
What were the 3 most difficult challenges you overcame in the early years?
- The first challenge was creating a product from scratch. I had no hands-on experience with the full cosmetics development cycle, from formula to finished product. So I worked through every stage myself: from the first prototypes and numerous tests to the final product.
- The second challenge was launching a business during the full-scale war. At a time of widespread uncertainty, every decision carried significant risk.
- The third was entering international markets. I had to quickly learn about international logistics, certification, European notification requirements for cosmetic products, new sales channels, and working with international partners and customers.
Financial constraints are an ongoing challenge, too. We reinvest a significant share of our profits in developing the company, so personal needs often take a back seat.
When demand outpaces production
What crises has your business faced, and how have you overcome them?
One of our biggest operational challenges remains product shortages caused by rapidly growing demand. Our production cycle is long—restocking takes from two to six months. That’s why we now pay particular attention to demand forecasting and inventory planning. At this stage, ensuring a steady supply of products in stock is more important to us than constantly launching new products.
Another challenge is people. It’s difficult to find specialists who combine a high level of professional expertise with an understanding of our niche, especially in international and business-to-business areas.
A personal crisis at the beginning of the full-scale invasion was another major test, when losing my job coincided with the start of the war. At the time, I questioned whether I had made the right decisions. But that period became the starting point for creating my own company.
A focused niche, international markets, and reinvestment
Which decisions proved most effective for the company’s growth?
One of the most important decisions was to keep reinvesting almost from the first day the company began operating.
The second was entering international markets quickly. This allowed us to scale the business and opened up new opportunities for growth.
The third factor was focusing on a narrow niche. We didn’t spread our resources too thin; instead, we focused on a specific customer and products for which there was already demand.
Another important decision was to build sales through the audience of our own Instagram store even before launching JOSS Cosmetics.
A mistake that taught me not to do everything myself
Which mistake do you now consider your most valuable learning experience?
I consider starting the business without a mentor or coach my most valuable mistake.
At the beginning, there were many processes I didn’t have enough experience with. As a result, some decisions were delayed and progress slowed. I now understand that outside support could have helped me structure the work faster and avoid some mistakes. For me, this was not a financial mistake but a management one. I tried to do everything myself for too long.
