Every year, electronic commerce is gaining more and more momentum. Today, the scale of online trading is hard to imagine. And all thanks to the fact that this type of activity is accessible even to those who have never tried themselves as entrepreneurs before. Of course, they are unlikely to surpass giants like Amazon and eBay, which emerged at the dawn of online market development. But it is entirely possible to build a profitable online business from scratch.
Businessman from Ukraine, Roman Ustymenko, had prior business experience before launching his own online store, and it wasn’t just commercial experience. He opened his first company, “Salon Svet,” which supplied lighting fixtures and electrical products to factories and leading companies in Eastern Ukraine when he was a first-year student at the Vladimir Dahl Eastern Ukrainian University’s economics faculty. Even then, he fully demonstrated his entrepreneurial and managerial abilities. It’s often believed that one person cannot be both a businessman and a manager simultaneously, but that’s not the case with our hero. Challenging himself, he not only earned two higher educations and successfully managed his own company but also simultaneously began to develop his real estate business.
The idea of engaging in commercial online business didn’t come to Roman by chance. Due to the dramatic events of 2014 in Eastern Ukraine, he had to leave his home, business, all his savings, and move his family to a safe place, which became Kiev for them. In search of a better way to make a living, he decided to start selling Korean cosmetics, which didn’t require significant financial investments. Starting with a purchase of cosmetic products worth $300, he initially sold them to his friends and acquaintances, and then word of mouth began to work its magic. In 2016, the entrepreneur opened his own online store selling branded cosmetics from South Korea, both in retail and wholesale.
Step by step, Roman, along with his team, systematically built and promoted his brainchild, creating not just an online trading platform but an unparalleled world of beauty and health. And this was not done solely for financial purposes. The primary focus of his attention, apart from sales, has always been and remains the customers, whose ranks grow with each passing day. As of today, crispy.ua has gained more than 20,000 loyal customers, including large retail chains and online stores, and cosmetics sales in 2022 reached a record-breaking $2 million.
The substantial business achievements of the entrepreneur, his active civic stance, and volunteer participation in assisting the Ukrainian Army were highly recognized by the Ukrainian business community. In August 2023, Roman Ustymenko was awarded the “Order of Honor” and honored with the honorary title of “Great Ukrainian” as part of the national-patriotic project “GREAT UKRAINIANS,” established by the Presidium of the Association of Business Circles of Ukraine in collaboration with the Council of Experts of the International Image Program “Leaders of the 21st Century.”
Currently, Roman is in the United States, where he relocated a year ago through the U4U program. Within just a few months of staying in the country, he is creating a website with an online store, alfabeauty.com, specializing in wholesale sales of Korean cosmetics to American business clients. To realize his ambitious goals, he has directed all his knowledge, skills, abilities, and the experience he accumulated in Ukraine towards securing exclusive contracts with the best cosmetics manufacturers in South Korea and searching for potential large buyers in America. His immediate plans include increasing the number of contracts with Korean cosmetics companies for exclusive distribution of branded cosmetics in the United States from 4 to 10 by the end of 2024, as well as expanding the product range to 400 items this year and 1,000 items in the following year.
Today, being in a safe place, Roman can now make more forward-looking plans. Having long nurtured the idea of creating his own cosmetic brand, he only now has a real opportunity to embark on its realization. Consequently, American and European women have a chance, in two years, to obtain a product that will significantly simplify self-care, reducing the time spent on grooming procedures by three to four times. And this is just a small part of what the businessman plans to implement in the United States for the benefit of the American people and the country.
There are numerous keys to success in business. However, the most important ones for Roman Ustymenko are a happy family and the ability to make even a small change in the world.
