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Rio Vera-Newton has offered skincare advice in her writing work for years. "The beauty market, and specifically, the skin care industry is oversaturated, it can be insanely confusing for consumers who aren't authorities in this field to sort through," she says. "I always loved how rewarding it was helping inform people about products and to find ones which make sense to them."

In 2017 a viral event took that advice to a wider audience than ever before. The actress shared the details of her routine for skincare following a bad acne flare-up that was shared through friends and friends until eventually making it the pages of New York Magazine. Since then, Rio has gone to an esthetician's school, started a skincare consultancy, and published a book regarding the subject.

Find out how she started her consultancy, how helps her keep her business on track and how authenticity is crucial to the way she discusses skincare.

From viral article to business strategy

Rio's beauty routine that went viral was one thing. But the transformation of that moment into an opportunity was a longer and more nervous journey.

"When I graduated from an esthetician's school, I knew I wanted to start an organization that was more intimate and individual," Rio says. "I was totally scared and I'm sure that many people are as they begin an enterprise."

"When I first started, I wanted to make sure that I'd structured my consulting with the best way possible, so I did an initial round of around 20 free consultations for people in my circle prior to launching and asking them to provide me with some feedback," she adds. "Because of this I was able eliminate the issues once I began to get my first paid customers. This was extremely important since it ensured that when I launched the business, I was able to get a lot of training and was able to launch my business with loads of confidence."