Emma Baltadano, born and raised in Santa Barbara, established her business, Mariposa Cosmeticz, back in August of 2020. Baltadano is currently a junior who attended Santa Barbara High School up until last year. She switched over to Alta Vista Alternative School right about when the pandemic started. She remarks that most of her time is taken up by her job as well as “coming up with ways to advertise the brand on Instagram.” She also states that she has always loved how businesses have the ability to “open up doors for different types of people.” Baltadano adds on to her list of reasons by saying that each business also has the potential to “bring something special and unique to the table.”

Mariposa Cosmeticz has a variety of different products, ranging from eyelashes and jewelry to T-shirts and tapestries. Baltadano decided to create Mariposa Cosmeticz because she was inspired by many different businesses she’s seen online, she wanted to be a part of the business world and wanted to have a platform to share ideas with others. Baltadano gathered inspiration from her childhood and culture to shape the style of her brand. She draws inspiration from the murals all over her neighborhood and also from early 2000’s glamour shots, specifically ones that she found of herself as a child and used as an inspiration for her tapestries. The main factor that pushed Baltadano to create her own business was wanting to see her own ideas come to life. 

There are many positives that come with starting a business. For one, the positive feedback a business receives and seeing a product go over well with customers is extremely important because it’s encouraging. Everyone needs encouragement in order to strive, so a good job can go a long way. But because owning a business can be a bit overwhelming at times, Baltadano, in a way, makes lemonade out of lemons. Baltadano feels she gets into her “zone” when she listens to music while packing orders and making lip glosses. She finds the process “therapeutic,” a small way of incorporating mindfulness into her day.

There are some negatives to owning a business as well. The biggest factor to consider when starting a business or being a business owner is being aware that they’re constantly going to have to be taking risks. In Baltadano’s words, “you never know what people are going to like or dislike.” Whatever you’re going to be selling, people will either love or hate it. That’s why a business owner will constantly have to be taking risks. Baltadano adds on that another difficult aspect of owning a business would have to be advertising or finding ways to promote your business. It’s difficult after a while to come up with new ways or ideas to catch people’s attention and possibly gain new customers.

Overall, running a business does take a lot of consideration and hard work, but Baltadano does give some words of wisdom to anyone who is planning to start a business of their own. She advises that they do extensive research on what they’re going to be selling because sometimes there are some pretty good deals out there that most people overlook. Baltadano also advises to not rush the process! It’s very important to take the time you need in order to have a successful business. Do whatever feels right or in other words just go with the flow