“You Cannot, I Repeat, Cannot Do This By Yourself” With Riane McWain, Founder of EA Polish

“Whether you have a friend cheering you on or a virtual assistant helping you to answer emails, having a team around you is very valuable. The key is having people around you who are knowledgeable and experienced. It’s important to think of your village as capital. It’s just as important as liquid capital.”

I had the pleasure of interviewing Riane McWain, the founder of EA Polish, a non toxic nail polish inscribed with encouraging messages which focus on self care and empowerment.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! What is your “backstory”?

After I gave birth to my daughter, a friend noticed I was no longer polishing my nails and she knew how much I loved having my nails done. I was faithful to changing my nail color at least once per week. Profoundly, my friend told me, “just because you have a baby, doesn’t mean you have to lose yourself”. At that moment, it clicked and I realized the importance of self care. While I was on maternity leave and socialized with other moms, I realized that we often neglect pouring into ourselves. With that, I wanted to create a nail polish line that not only inspired women with inscribed encouraging messages but reinforced the need for self care. I wanted to create a market for beauty products that not only enhanced our exterior beauty but created a sense of interior beauty.

Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you since you started your company

I was at an event and a lady yelled out, “it’s the nail polish lady”. It was a nice moment.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

My company has a relatable beginning- the tired and overwhelmed mom. I believe many women, not just moms, can relate to giving their all, being tired and not pouring into themselves. For example, when I share my “Up All Night” story, I instantly bond over late night feedings and watching random infomercials at 2 am. We bond over a shared experience which is so important in a world that masks how we are all truly connected at some level.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

I would have to thank my daughter. Without her, I never would have started the business. She’s also a great chatting buddy when we have mani and pedi time. She also holds me accountable and let’s me know, without hesitation, that it’s time for my pedi to be redone.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

I am. I’m working to expand beyond nail polish colors into nail accessories and treatments. I’m really excited to change how we view mani time — not as just another beauty moment but a moment to add value.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

The core of EA Polish is encouraging ourselves so that we can encourage and pour into others. We know first hand the positive impact words from a friend can have. It’s amazing to meet women who wear EA Polish and were able to experience a self care moment, a pick me up moment or a moment to bond with their own daughter. Creating moments like these allow us to encourage others to do the same. With that said, on a larger scale, we really enjoy hosting mani-thons which is an opportunity to raise funds for a cause all over mani’s and positive conversation.

Do you have a favorite book that made a deep impact on your life? Can you share a story?

How To Master Selling. This book was so profound in the sense that it shifted my mindset and I interact with people in general. As an introvert, I do not initially enjoy social settings. This would paralyze me from meeting folks. One time, I actually skipped an event because I was so overcome by anxiety of sharing my story and EA Polish. From this book, I now welcome opportunities to meet new folks, to engage in dialogue and share EA Polish.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me before I started my company” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

Overcoming fear of failure is important — There will always be another hurdle or unknown that sparks a fear of failure. Never succumb to it! When I first started the business, I was so nervous and feared failing. At the time, failure, to me, meant that I did not reach my goal. That I should quit. I soon realized that there will always be something to fear but I shouldn’t allow that to stop me from pursuing my dreams. Soon after, I named a nail polish, “Never Give Up”.

It takes an experienced village — You cannot, I repeat, cannot do this by yourself. Whether you have a friend cheering you on or a virtual assistant helping you to answer emails, having a team around you is very valuable. The key is having people around you who are knowledgeable and experienced. It’s important to think of your village as capital. It’s just as important as liquid capital.

Do your research — You want to know what you are walking into and want to be knowledgeable in your field. I’m not the first nail polish brand; however, EA Polish is still different. I wanted to serve my niche consumer and to do so, I had to do my research.

Implement a system — Having focus and being organized is just as important as doing your research. If you’re unsure or need clarity, having a system in place will help you stay on track and not lose focus. There were days I felt as if I was a chicken running around with my head cut off. I took a coaching program on automation which helped equip me with the tools to implement automation. Now, I have a system for all of my business operations.

Celebrate your wins — It’s important to take a moment to celebrate how far you’ve come and what you have accomplished. Celebrate those around you who helped you win. It’s so easy to be caught up in the next task to complete, that you forget how far perseverance, hard work, your village and overcoming failure has gotten you. Two weeks after I reached 100 online sales, I finally noticed. I was so caught up in the business, that I didn’t even realize that I accomplished one of my own goals.

Some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this. :-)

I really have a huge appreciation for other moms. As such, it would most likely be Serena Williams. Her ability to persevere, push forward with her goals, defy the naysayers and rise above conflict. I read a quote by her one day that read, “I’ve grown most not from victories, but setbacks. If winning is God’s reward, then losing is how he teaches us”. I would love to talk about failure with her and how she overcomes it and what lessons she has learned from them.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

If you would like to see the entire “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me” Series In Huffpost, Authority Magazine, ThriveGlobal, and Buzzfeed, click HERE.