A glance into the life of female entrepreneurs attending Santa Monica College, highlighting how they got started, the hardships they’ve had to face in the industry, while still being college students.

The ‘Looksy Bracelet’, a leather bracelet with a built in mirror created by female entrepreneur and Santa Monica College (SMC) student, Lee Lucas. ( Guadaloupe Perez | The Corsair)

Thanks to unique and innovative ideas initiated by female business developers, consumers have access to many products and services created by women. Female entrepreneurs have blazed trails which have opened doors for other women worldwide to curate their own business ideas.

Students at Santa Monica College (SMC) are not new to the world of entrepreneurship. Kennedy Zimet, a communications major at SMC, is the owner of Custom Candy Creation's, a candy business that uses a 3D printer to create candy in the shape of logos, names, and even selfies. Her inspiration came from a documentary she watched with her mother.

“We were watching a documentary about rich kids in Dubai and their birthday parties, and this kid had something similar [a 3-D birthday candy],” said Zimet. That's when Zimet decided to start a candy business with her mother.

After two years of running Custom Candy Creation’s Zimet has learned, “As women, we have to work ten times harder … for either our male counterparts or potential clients to really take us seriously and see that we mean business,” said Zimet.

At times, being both a business owner and a student has been a struggle for Zimet. “I just had to get really good at creating a good system to make sure that I can balance the two …at first it was a challenge.” said Zimet.

Lee Lucas has an SMC associate's degree in business and is currently working on a bachelor's degree in User Experience Design at SMC. She created The Looksy Bracelet, which features a built-in mirror, allowing consumers to quickly glance at themselves while on the go.

Lucas, a singer-songwriter, thought of the business idea one night before going on stage with her band, “I was trapped on stage and there was no way to go to the bathroom and I’m like I need to check myself.” said Lucas. She wished she could see her reflection with the flip of a wrist.

She faced obstacles in product development.“ I had never developed a product or anything before...I had a lot of hurdles around trademark infringement, people using my name without my consent, so I had to fight quite a few trademark infringement cases, and I had to do it myself. It took over my life.” said Lucas.

Madeline Derujinsky, a photography major at SMC, explained how she had to modify practices at her freelance photography business to overcome recent obstacles. “I’ve had to change the way that I book [clientele] because obviously, COVID is an issue,” Derujinsky said. “My studio is in my home, so I have to be very careful.”

These changes actually created growth in Derujinsky’s business. She started working in product photography instead of booking live models. “I’ve thrived during the pandemic. I just grew in a different aspect,” Derujinsky said.

Derujinsky shared her advice for aspiring female entrepreneurs. “Do it. You won’t regret it, and when you follow your passion you’ll find that every single thing in your life will fall together,” she said. “You can’t make big rewards happen if you don’t take big risks.”

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