For many, the COVID-19 pandemic sparked a movement of creativity and resourcefulness. For freshman Sofia Canning, this led to the creation of Perfect Pure, an at-home small business that sells lip gloss.

Canning originally started Perfect Pure under the name Perfect Pure Flaws in January, but later decided to change the name because, as she says, “everybody has flaws, but you’re still perfect.”

She believes that sustainability is crucial to making the world a better place, and she excitedly tells me that her lip gloss is made from vegan and all natural ingredients. As Canning’s business continues to grow, she wants to swap her plastic bottles for more eco-friendly materials like bamboo.

“I use bottles from Amazon . . . but they’re clear and plastic,” she said. “I’d like to be more eco- friendly though. Eco-friendly packaging is important because I want to help stop global warming and contribute to making the world better.”

For Canning, juggling school, dancing, singing, Zumba, and managing her own business can be stressful, yet that does not deter her from doing what she loves.

“I just get stressed out because [I think] I’m behind orders when I’m not, really, because it’s your business, you handle it,” she said. “It’s not like somebody is bossing me around, I just get stressed. It’s [mainly] a big commitment because you have to put [in] a lot of effort.”

Canning mainly promotes Perfect Pure through a private Instagram account. Her next steps for Perfect Pure include: making a public Instagram account, creating a website, and eventually selling her lip glosses outside of the United States. So far, sales have gone well; Canning attributes her success to her personality because she is “not very shy, [but] just out there” and also to customer feedback.

Along with selling her lip glosses on a global scale, Canning would like to have her own organization to help people in poorer countries and help them gain access to makeup and lip gloss. Canning and her family help support a family in Ethiopia. They are very close with the family and have helped them by upgrading a shack they were living in to a four-room house. She wants to send them some gifts along with some of her lip glosses.

Canning hopes to “inspire people to do stuff they love” and that others will take the initiative to start their own businesses.

“Just do it and don’t be afraid because you shouldn’t be afraid of doing something that you love and you really want to do . . . keep on going no matter what happens, even if you struggle.”