Alexia Zaradouka is no ordinary business woman.
Being a female entrepreneur is hard enough, but try being one in Greece.
As she famously told us, the laws in Greek prevent people from acting on their dreams,
“because actually they prefer us to be employees rather than having financial freedom”.
That’s so true!
“It’s much more easier to keep people from realising what needs to be done and change in a country, when you have them struggling with surviving with such low salaries”.
Did you know that in Greece, the main salary is less than 800€/month when gas is now more than 2,3€ltr and rents are more than 400€/month?
Alexia is vocally honest, and we love her for it!
She’s revolutionised makeup removing wipes with her brand Alexia Skin, and is now releasing a unique hair oil, which we have to try! Have you seen her hair?
Firstly, thanks for your time today. Tell our readers about who you are! Where were you born and where do you live?
Thank you for your time, it’s such a pleasure to be featured in Lifestyle Times. I really enjoy reading your issues.
I’m Alexia Zaradouka , I work as a beauty & lifestyle blogger/influencer and I’m also an entrepreneur in the beauty industry.
I am from Greece and I live there too but hopefully this will change in the next few years.
Talk to us about your brand, AlexiaSkin. What sparked the idea?
I was working as a “beauty expert” on an amazing greek TV show which they found and approached me through social media and I got into the team. I had to come up with fun diy beauty ideas that the 3 presenters of the show would have to try on camera, so that we could create some fun girls-time beauty tips “gone wrong”.
As I was searching for ideas at that time, the reusable makeup removing rounds weren’t actually a thing, it was more of a do it yourself “homemade” pinterest idea. I tried everything available online and although the concept was so promising I was really disappointed with the results on my skin and the materials etc.
Everything was so low quality and wasn’t actually user/ skin- friendly.
So I decided to create my very own brand with the best materials for skin and the best results ever. We use Egyptian organic cotton which is the best in the world and makes skin so smooth and glowy.
Till this moment, most of the huge global beauty brands have launched their own reusable makeup removing pads and I can tell you, we are definitely the leaders in quality and skin results.
Every entrepreneur has their journey. Can you tell us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way?
Unfortunately Greek laws have their way to step on young people’s dreams and especially entrepreneurs,
…..because actually they prefer us to be employees rather than having financial freedom.
So all the problems, especially when you are a woman self made entrepreneur have more to do with not having a support system to feel safe and flourish through materialising your life goals.
And this is something I’ve been working on because I want to find and provide a solution for other greek women entrepreneurs.
As for specifically my brand, the main problem was that this was a product that no one could create for us, because they didn’t know how to because it didn’t exist before. So we had to learn and experiment with techniques and materials in order to create from scratch a high quality functional product- for which I’m really proud of.
Did Covid-19 impact your career and how did you rise above the challenges many in the industry faced?
For me, Covid had a positive impact on my career but not my mental health. So, I began to open up to my followers about the mental struggle I had with the situation and what I did about that and this brought us really close and we now have a genuine connection.
I think that I made it through all the challenges because I did what I always do… I’m being my true self in everything that I do and I believe that originality always shines. I don’t have an “agenda” on my life plan. I’m just being myself and trying to make decisions according to what makes me happy.
What do you think sets you apart from others in the (Greek) beauty industry?
Everyone is doing their best and I respect everyone’s journey on this. I don’t think that I am better or worse than anyone, I’m just being myself. I think this is a question for our followers to answer.
What’s your advice for anyone who wants to get started as an entrepreneur?
Dream Big. I know it sounds clichè but the stress, the struggle, the risks that you take are the same, whether you dream small or big. So why not aim for the stars? Set clear goals, plan, visualise, work on it, materialise.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Actually I’m launching my new 100% Natural Hair Oil next month, in my new brand called “Moi by Alexia Zaradouka” (moi: me in french). We will also have amazing makeup and skincare product launches till the end of the year and next month also, my Alexiaskin reusable pads will be available in the US apart from Europe.
So my ideal plan is that I can work as an influencer/ entrepreneur all over Europe and the US, promoting my sustainable, natural products and also helping other women achieve their dream goals too. That’s where I would love to see myself in 5 years. Connecting with women and brands all around the world.
Thank you so much for your time and I would like to thank your readers for spending some time reading our interview!
Follow Alexia here:
https://www.instagram.com/alexiazaradouka
