I quit my job and moved in with my mum so I could use house deposit to fund my side hustle – I now make £2m a year
A SKINCARE entrepreneur has revealed how she quit her 9-5 and shacked up with her mum to begin her multimillion dollar company.
Priscilla Hajiantoni poured her precious £42,000 home deposit into founding beauty business Bangn Body – before it made £4million in its first two years.
Aged 26, the Aussie launched her e-commerce skincare range at great personal risk.
She even threw in the towel at her job in corporate finance on the very first day the company went live.
But it took years of hard grind and side hustling to begin Bangn Body.
Despite having minimal savings, Priscilla and her fiancé Jake chose to spend every cent they’d saved for a home deposit on creating her dream business.
The couple even had to move in with Priscilla’s mum, and hit pause on their wedding day to get the idea off the ground.
Speaking to 7NEWS, Priscilla said: “It was definitely overwhelming at times when you realise there is no plan B, this is it.
“We put everything on hold – our house, wedding, kids – everything to start a business.
“I had to have no fall back.”
Priscilla, now 30, decided to set up the skincare brand after years of battling problem skin, in her never-ending search for products that could tame her acne and eczema.
The tycoon revealed: “I was unable to find skincare that worked for me. I was using far too many products.
“I was finding it overwhelming with how many products needed to be used to achieve healthy skin. I knew it could be simplified.
“I knew this could be something others were looking for too.”
Initially, Bangn Body began with one product – a multi-purpose, creamy moisturiser for face and body, called the Firming Lotion.
The original batch of the now uber-popular product, which comes in a yellow tube, almost sold out on its very first day of sales.
But despite the success, Priscilla had to work hard as a team-of-one to get her business off the ground.
She would spend hours packing orders on her mum’s living room floor, to keep up with demand.
But she said she was glad she had her “incredibly supportive” partner Jake, who had been by Priscilla’s side since she was 14.
Priscilla confessed: “He said to me, ‘I believe in you and I’m willing to risk everything we have for you to feel good in your skin and to see how beautiful you are’.”
Originally, the Bangn Body founder had been working a 9-5 job in corporate finance alongside years of planning her business, including sample testing and brand creation.
But on the day the company launched in March 2019, she left her office job to dedicate herself fully to the brand – which has since announced a major partnership with multinational beauty retailer, Sephora.
Priscilla, who in 2021 was named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list, had this advice for people looking to follow in her footsteps.
The business pro said: “Always stay true to your ‘why’, your purpose and the reason you are wanting to create.
“Stay authentic.”
If you want to read about another savvy operator who turned her side gig into a full-time job, you might like this.
While this millionaire was business-minded from her early childhood.
And this cat lover found a way to combine her fondness for felines with a welcome cash boost.