This series on entrepreneurship failure is mainly to share my experience of creating a beauty brand in 2015. Although I didn't formally register a company, I did purchase a platform from a system provider, sourced products from Korea, managed social media, and ran it for about a year before deciding to close it down. Through these articles, I'll document the entire process!
What's worth documenting about failure?
Jack Ma, whom I admire, once said "There are countless factors for success, but the reasons for failure are all similar. If we combine the experiences of all failed entrepreneurs and seriously study these mistakes, I hope everyone spends more time understanding why we fail." Failure is the greatest wealth in our lives—it represents that you once had an idea and executed it, rather than merely fantasizing. Through time and effort in building something, you discover what suits you and what doesn't. Even if you ultimately fail, the results are entirely your own.
You can refer to my earlier brief notes:
Entrepreneurship Failure 101! Created a Beauty Brand at 25, Closed After One Year — My Greatest Gain: "Accepting My Flawed Self" Part 1 / Part 2
Now let me share why I wanted to create this beauty brand in the first place.
This is the LOGO I designed:
Philosophy: INPACO is composed of three elements: Influence, Passion, and Confidence. For us, these three qualities form the attitude we take toward life.
Each pair of triangles has a missing side, representing that people aren't perfect, but we strive for perfection. I mainly did Korean beauty product reselling, and honestly, the results weren't bad. Through translating PONY's makeup tutorials on YOUTUBE, I gained 32,000 subscribers in half a year, with my most popular video reaching 500,000 views. I actually had many collaboration offers coming my way.
The reason I wanted to do this was incredibly simple: In 2014, when I studied abroad in Korea, the beauty products I bought there—like INNISFREE eyeliner—cost only 105 NT$, but in Taiwan they sold for over 250 NT$—double the price! The same went for eyeshadow palettes. Buying in Korea during sales meant paying around 45 NT$ per unit, but in Taiwan it cost over 200 NT$. Frustrating, right?
So when I returned to Taiwan and couldn't easily get Korean prices anymore, I got so angry that I impulsively started doing Korean beauty reselling. But the timing was completely wrong. Why?
1. I Was No Longer in Korea—High Travel Costs and Reduced Credibility
If you're going to do Korean reselling, you really should do it while you're there. Actually, when I arrived, a blogger wanted to collaborate with me, but I was too lazy at the time and didn't follow up. Going back to Taiwan and then flying to Korea to source products meant spending at least 6,000 NT$ on airfare alone. Plus, if I was based in Taiwan acquiring Korean products, customers would wonder "Where's this inventory coming from?" This naturally raises questions about authenticity. But honestly, Taiwan has many channels to source Korean products—most people just don't know about them. (I'll introduce this properly in later posts.)
2. I Was Completely Impulsive—Didn't Consider My Own Abilities and Interests
Initially, I oversimplified entrepreneurship. So I started ordering with a friend who was already doing reselling, which meant we could accumulate larger quantities. Many friends ordered from me at first. I remember the first product was "Blackhead Goodbye Pore-Cleansing Gel." I even designed an interactive campaign for fans and created a proposal document (ha!).
Exploring Iceland's geysers and hot springs surrounded by rugged volcanic landscapes.
↓ Self-made campaign graphic:
↓ Campaign proposal document:
At first, of course, I was overly enthusiastic. I thought having a proposal document and graphics made things "seem" professional. Later, 30 friends ordered this pore-cleansing gel, but no one participated in the campaign. Having orders felt like an achievement, but without them, I lost that sense of accomplishment and didn't really want to keep promoting products to friends because it wasn't my interest at all. This eventually made me lose motivation in product marketing.
Most of the time, I was working alone on planning and execution, asking friends for help here and there. Everything became patchy and makeshift. This was because my initial motivation was too simple. When I encountered problems I couldn't immediately solve, I felt very discouraged. I believe the initial question in entrepreneurship should be "How can I contribute to others?" rather than, like me, "How can I benefit myself?"
Looking back critically, my initial motivation was just that I couldn't afford cheap Korean products, so I wanted to start a business. The idea was far too simple—it lacked market analysis, ability assessment, financial planning, and other things you should consider before starting. So when difficulties arose, I easily lost reasons to persist.
If you're thinking about starting a business, I strongly advise against being "overly enthusiastic." Take time to calmly assess the market environment and timing. These two points are absolutely essential. And behind "Why start a business?" there must be a very strong reason—something you'd work hard to maintain even when facing criticism.
