‘Dream come true’ for mother
A mum from who left school “with nothing” has opened up on how she launched a successful cosmetics business that has become a viral sensation.
Gemma Burdis, 33, from Fulwell, Sunderland, said she was bullied throughout her school years and as a result didn’t want to be there. She left school without any good grades and had little to no selfworth.
After working as a cleaner at Sunderland Royal Hospital for several years, Gemma eventually became an auxiliary nurse. However, after giving birth to her son Kai she “struggled to make ends meet”.
But the mum was determined to give Kai, now 7, the best possible life she could and launched Kaima Cosmetics in 2018 which is also named after her son. Despite admitting it was tough at first, Gemma soon saw her business take off and now it has completely changed her life.
Celebrities like TOWIE’S Chloe Sims have used her products along with Mikayla Nogueira, a top makeup artist from America. It has since become a viral hit on Tiktok and Gemma has hundreds of thousands of followers on her social media pages.
Gemma said: “I didn’t really do well in school, I was bullied a lot so I just didn’t want to be there. I left with nothing. I didn’t have any good grades and I didn’t have any self-worth.
“I got myself a cleaning job at Sunderland Royal Hospital and I did that for five years. Then I went for a job in auxiliary and I did that for four or five years and I really enjoyed it.
“I had my son Kai and I was only able to work 16 hours a week and I was really
struggling to make ends meet. I started working for an affiliate for a makeup company and I was one of the best affiliates there.
“I just thought if I can sell their makeup then maybe I could sell my own stuff and that’s when I started my business.”
Launching Kaima Cosmetics has completely transformed Gemma’s life as the single mum has now moved out of her council house and is now looking to buy property.
She said: “It was hard and I struggled at first but a few months down the line, I started to get some followers building and from there it took a year to two years for us to really start being noticed by people.
“Most of our orders are from America. But we want to push this out as far as possible. We want to become a bit more well-known in the UK because in America they’re really starting to notice us over there.
“It has been absolutely insane, especially the past year. I moved from a council house to a beautiful house near Fulwell and I’m going to buy my own property. I think sometimes you forget what you’ve been through to get here but I’m just really, really grateful.”
Gemma is now encouraging others wanting to launch their own business to take that first leap if their “heart is in it”. Further down the line, she also hopes to become a motivational speaker to help inspire others.
She said: “It’s unbelievable looking back. When I was a cleaner I didn’t have any self-worth. It was only through my son that things started to change.
“I wanted to prove to my son that it can be done and prove to everyone else who said I’d be nothing that I can be something. If your heart is in it then go for it. It’s not easy but as long as you believe anything is possible and dreams can come true.”