By now it’s no secret you’re one of my favorite beauty influencers! I know I share that sentiment with many others. Your genuine kindness and business acumen make for a compelling businessperson.  When I first interviewed you in July of 2019, you were on the verge of releasing your new product line – BK Beauty.  Tell us about all the fantastic changes to your life and business since then.

Wow! Thank you for that incredibly sweet compliment Yvonne. The last year has been amazing, and there have been many days I just can’t believe that this is my life. BK Beauty has accomplished more in this first year than I could have dreamt when we started, and the freedom it has afforded our family has been the greatest part. Paul, my husband, left his company after 10 years to come on board full time and work alongside me. He has always worked long late hours, and weekends so having him home (A LOT) more, has been so wonderful. He takes the kids to school now and picks them up, and just having all this family time has been the greatest gift. To think this has all grown from me deciding to upload youtube videos for fun 6 years ago, to what it is today is truly crazy to me, and I don’t take any of it for granted. On the business front, we have spent the last year heavy in product development on new categories to our line; all that will start to launch as early as mid November through the next 12 months! I am SO excited for what is to come in 2021. 

Some of the changes we have seen are that you have been able to hire some of your close friends and Paul has officially joined BK Beauty full time.How does this growth and integration of trusted advisors impact your success?

Yes! When we launched in August of 2019, we thought we could manage everything from our dining room table and I could handle it all part time alongside YouTube. It didn’t take long to figure out that wasn’t going to work. After 3 months we decided to hire our first full time employee and rent a little office space. Paul joined the team full time this past March, which coincided with the Pandemic, and while it was pretty scary (if I’m being honest), it was also good timing to have him fully focused during Quarantine. My best friends since childhood also help us out during major launches or promotions when order volume is high. That has been a lot of fun! 

What are your top 3 pieces of business advice for anyone wanting to follow in your footsteps with a startup?

To be patient and expect a long process. Depending on what your business is selling (product or service), it could take many months or over a year to develop once you have the funds to move forward. Don’t rush the process, or launch prematurely. Once your product is out there, you can continue to improve and refine it to help maintain confidence in the product. Next I would say to define the core values of your brand, and never compromise those values. Use them as your guides when you are making decisions. And last I would say that if you operate with your customer’s satisfaction at the heart of your brand, you can’t go wrong. Particularly in a Consumer goods product category, word gets out on your level of service, and a negative experience shared online is far worse than losing the profit on that one transaction. Don’t be short sighted, think long term and big picture in all your decisions. 

What has been the most surprising thing you have learned since starting BK Beauty?

I don’t know that I would say is surprising, but I have been truly amazed by how incredibly supportive the beauty community is. From all of our customers who have been subscribers of my channel, to other beauty creators. It has been so uplifting to see that support. It is an amazingly supportive group of women (and some men) around the world, that is brought together by an interest in makeup. That is so fascinating to me when you really think about it.

You announced yesterday you are releasing a new product tomorrow (11/12/2020).  Please share any information you have available with our readers.  How does it feel to experience the success you have earned as you begin to broaden your product line so quickly?

Yes! We launch our first Eyeshadow Palette on November 12th! The TRUE BEAUTY palette was inspired by our mission, to inspire a conversation in the beauty industry about inner beauty. The palette is made of 12 shades, mostly warm neutrals with a pop of color meant to enhance your natural beauty. A mix of shimmer and matte shades to create dimension on the eye, and compliment eyes of all ages. The shimmer is creamy and melts into the skin, no glittery fall out! This launch is so exciting for me because eyeshadow is my favorite part of the application. It is a true art form! 

BK Beauty has been able to make some sizable donations to the community and your charity of choice.  Please share a bit about the type of donations you are making and how these have had a positive impact on your community.

This has been one of the most rewarding parts of the business. Our primary non profit is The Kindness Campaign, but throughout the year we made donations to several other organizations including The Center for Child Protection (serves children and their families who have been victims of sexual abuse, Casa Marianella (serves women and children Immigrants) The Central Texas Food Bank (We donated enough to provide almost 27,000 meals). 

Your daughter, Brooklyn, who is 9, seems to be following the family entrepreneurial   path.  She has her own babysitting website and is actively working with her ‘clients’. (your sister-in-law).    What are the top 1-5 things you want her to remember as she embarks on a business career.

The biggest lesson I want to teach her (about business and also life) is that failure is not only normal, but it is part of the process. Many people don’t go after their dreams because they are afraid to fail. There is a quote I love, “Fear kills more dreams than failure ever will”. How true is that!? I want her to go after her dreams and goals without that fear of failing and I want her to get right back up after she fails and reevaluate and persist! I also want her to follow her heart and passions when it comes to business, find out what she loves, what brings her joy and thinking of how she can share that with the world. Rather than be focused only on money or success, I want her to focus on what brings her joy and happiness. 


Over the last 6 months you have put more focus on your own health.  You have been working with a number of professionals to help you better integrate a plant-based nutrition plan as well as other types of health focused endeavors. What are the top learnings you would share with our audience? 

Yes, I have transitioned to mostly a plant based diet over the last 4-5 months. Not completely but I would say on an average week I consume 1-3 servings of meat or cheese. I have seen improvements in so many areas of my life. Better sleep, no mid afternoon crash, and a more calm peaceful inner being. I didn’t realize just how anxious I had become. I also eliminated Caffeine which definitely helps. I try and eat as organic and natural as possible and really be aware of what I am eating and how I feel afterwards. It has also shifted my mindset around food and my body. A chronic “dieter” and sugar addict I have spent most of my adult years, looking at food as either “bad” or “good” in relation to if it will make me gain weight. It was a really unhealthy mindset. I obsessed over calories, protein and carb intake. Now I eat as much as I want, as long as it’s a plant based, dairy free meal. 

What are the top 1-5 things that we can look forward to from you in 2020-2021?

BK Beauty will be launching a lot of new product categories! 

I want to increase my video quality and output on YouTube. Once we get past this launch and have our new hire fully trained, I think it will open up more time for me to really focus on what started all of this… my YouTube Videos. I want to revamp a bit while remaining true to my subscribers. 

If you could be a superhero what would you superpower be and why? Cape or no cape?

Oh this is fun! I guess I would have to say, I’d love the power to go back in time. As a mom, there are so many memories I see pop up on Facebook when my girls were little… I would love to be able to go back in time and relive them, and truly savor them. At the time I remember being exhausted, not aware of how quickly they slip away. I would love the power to go back and just slow time down a little. 

Be sure to check out the full line of BK Beauty products including the new eyeshadow palette!! And use my code, “Yvonne10”, to receive a 10% discount.