Why 'Honesty' Still Counts In Business

Contributed by Ehsan Khaleel

Supermodel Selita Ebanks travels the world modelling, doing philanthropic work and promoting her swimwear line, Sass by Selita. She's the Health & Beauty Mentor in Shopify's Build A Business competition, and she took some time to answer your questions on what it's like to be both a supermodel and a super businesswoman.

That's a hard one because I'm from somewhere that's so beautiful, and I've shot there: the Cayman Islands. It's so expensive there, so money is an object. But it's home, and it's so beautiful, so that's where I'd choose.

I can't say that I personally condone child modelling. I think sometimes it can be a little overwhelming and parents can be aggressive about it. They don't know if it's the child's dream when they're so young. If the child's personality is really big and they seem to love it, I think it starts at school. Putting her in extracurricular programs, music classes, drama and acting classes. Let her hone in on her own craft. Let her figure out what she loves to do. Modelling is mostly personality. If she wants her to grow up to become a professional model or actor or whatever it may be, I think that really starts with supporting her in all of her dreams and exposing her to the different arts.

From a business standpoint, it's about branding your spa. I would want to eventually have my own products. Of course, hopefully one day my products would sell in other spas too. From the beginning, if I had to start from scratch, I would definitely have other products in my spa. As for how to choose them, it's all about trial and error. I would try them all myself. I'd give them out to some girlfriends or even male friends and ask them to use it, and in two weeks get back to me. The products you sell in your spa should be part of the overall experience, so you need to make sure they're the right fit.

Let's keep this PG! I think it's my honesty. I really strive to develop businesses that people can feel comfortable investing in or purchasing from. I think it's really important to be honest.

It took me a long time to come up with that answer for myself. I just want people to remember their D's: Demographics and demand. I think a lot of times people don't really consider that when they're pricing. They think that their product is what they're worth. A lot of it is what you paid for it and what your return on it is, and you have to think about that as well, but at the end of the day if it's too expensive for your demographic, you're not going to sell anything.

Source : Huffington Post