LEANNE SHARP: BEHIND THE BUSINESS

Leanne Sharp, a 21-year-old student at Leeds Beckett University, moved from Grimbsy to Leeds after finishing college to further her education in Business. With many dreams and hopes, Leanne hopes she will gain the extra skills and knowledge to open her own cosmetics business one day.

What made you want to come to Leeds?
I'm from a small town, I was wanting something a lot bigger and faster pace lifestyle, but also a place with bigger ideas.

What is the one thing that is different about Leeds to Grimsby?
It has a lot of character and has a lot more opportunities for me than back at home.

Have you made many friends after moving to Leeds?
The friendships I've built back at home were already with people who already lived in the Leeds area. Since moving to Leeds though I have made a lot more friends.

What do you hope to gain from studying at Leeds Beckett University?
A degree, obviously. Also to make connections with people within the industry.

What sort of business route are you planning on taking?
I want to be a successful entrepreneur in the makeup industry.

Has business always been a big interest of yours?
No, not always. I originally thought I was going to be a photographer, that's what I was studying before. I really wanted to work for Instagram.

What side hobbies do you have?
Besides makeup, I like singing, which I've taken more seriously since moving. I've also recently, started collecting vinyl.

Other than Marketing Management with Advertising were there any other courses that interested you?
I had a brief thought of doing something like Graphic Design, it would be something I would fall back on due to branding being a big side of business and advertising. I also did think about doing Business Law too.

What was the hardest thing about moving to Leeds?
I think it's just restarting everything, it's been very stressful but it's something I really needed to do.

Why was it difficult to restart everything?
I moved three days after having an emotional breakdown.

Why did you have an emotional breakdown?
Because sometimes in life people are crap and even if they know you have stuff going on mentally and physically. They will still be that person who will victimise themselves and manipulate you into thinking you've done something wrong. This happened when I let someone into my life who I used to be very close with, she manipulated my emotions for months and the way I carry myself. It made my expectations in people decrease, there were endless nights of her insulting me and arguing with me, then she played the victim so she wouldn't have to apologise. But honestly, on the outside you know there are a lot of other things going on in life that is a lot more important. People are going through a lot worse situations. 

Did this situation make you more motivated to succeed?
In a backward logic way, it made the whole moving situation a lot better, made me want to start over more.

What made you want to open your own cosmetic business?
I lost passion for photography and I kept hearing to do what you know you can do and from then my makeup skills have improved. I've been interested in colour theory, colour pallets, and aesthetics so it just seemed like the right thing to do.

Is there a certain type of cosmetic you want to focus on?
Not really, I want to do makeup and skincare to build up brand loyalty.

When did you get into makeup?
I got into makeup back in high school, started up from started emo makeup and it just went up from there.

Is there a deep meaning behind you doing makeup?
It stemmed from not having a lot of self-esteem, I would get called out on my appearance so I would use makeup to cover it up but it became something I really enjoyed. So if you want to be a little cheesy, where there is a shadow there is always a light.