High School Senior Is Her Own Boss At 17

At just 17 years old Antonina Kuznetsov is all about business. She is a high school senior and entrepreneur. Her natural beauty line Antonina Naturals featuring lip balms, bath bombs and lotions was created at an early age.

“I started my natural beauty business when I was 12 making lip balms out of my mom’s kitchen,” said Antonina Kuznetsov, founder of Antonina Naturals. “We have six girls in our family, so we’re always running low on that and the natural beauty world always interested me.”

Antonina felt that many of the beauty products on the market were hurting rather than helping people. That’s why she sticks to an all-natural agenda by using essential oils and Shea butters.

“Instead of just making something that’s mediocre seem great, so that’s something I try to stick to,” said Kuznetsov. “I know I have a great product and I want people to know that.”

Antonina comes from a large family and her sisters and mom sometimes help her decide on a product but the final decision is ultimately up to her. The top sellers are eucalyptus mint lip balm and rosemary lavender body butter.

“i just keep perfecting the recipe until it is something that we all like,” said Kuznetsov.

Her team includes two manufacturers and one more person that assists with packaging, but this doesn’t feel like work to Antonina. She makes time for what’s important to her including running her business and everything else that comes with being a teenager.

“Do my homework and after that it was business time and I enjoy doing my business,” said Kuznetsov. “So it didn’t really feel like work but I made time for it because I enjoyed it.”

The most exciting part of all of this is the journey. Her products can be found in gas stations along Highway 2 and are also available through her online store. This pass summer Antonina also did trade shows. She’s looking forward to what’s next.

“I want to take some marketing classes cause that really interests me and expand my line hopefully into cosmetics,” said Kuznetsov.

She’s the face of the her line and sets up her own meetings and does presentations to push her product. Not every door you knock on will end up with a yes but that doesn’t stop Antonina from pursuing her passion.

“There’s always going to be no. People are always going to say no and it motivates me to okay what did I do wrong this time?” said said Kuznetsov. “What can I do to make my next presentation better? It’s all about learning.”