Yigo, GUAM— It is 7 a.m. Leona King, 22, wakes up surrounded by what feels like a bubble of cold air. Still feeling tired, she decides to sleep in longer and gets cozy under her blanket.

Before going back to sleep, she decides to check how her business is doing through her Shopify shop.

She scans through the inventory for their “Shy Babe” collection. In disbelief, she immediately puts her phone down then picks it up again.

In just three days since the launch of their new collection, everything was sold out. Filled with joy, she calls her best friend and business partner, Jasmine Balajadia, 22, to tell her about the news. The two begin to scream in excitement over the phone about their achievement.

Loyalty Lashes by Leona and Jasmine first launched on May 1.

“Our business was in the making for about a year and a half before our launch,” King said. “We finally decided to launch despite this pandemic, and things have been super good.”

Their business was created solely to provide the island of Guam with high quality, cruelty-free false lashes and lash accessories.

The pair first met in elementary school and have been best friends for about 13 years before they decided to be business partners.

Initially, King was going start the business alone, but it just didn’t feel right to her.

“About a month in, I was like, ‘Loyalty Lashes by Leona… I don’t know,’” King said. “When COVID wasn’t happening yet, and Jas and I were always spending time together, I thought, ‘What could go wrong with two best friends running a business?’”

They reveal that the hardest part about running a business is not having your best friend as a business partner, but it is managing their time because they both have other responsibilities.

Balajadia and King both work and attend school full-time. Balajadia is a high voltage electrician, while King is a financial accountant.

However, when they focus on their business, they feel at ease.

“Believe it or not, when it is time to work on the business, it really does take a load of our shoulders because we love what we do,” King said.

Although it has been a few months since the launch of their business, they are still new to the whole thing.

“For me, it is a learn-as-you-go,” Balajadia said.

Their top priority when running their business is to ensure that they provide good customer service.

Allyana Canete, 20, a customer, said she first discovered the business through Instagram.

When asked about what makes the business unique, Canete said it is their branding and customer service.

Soon, they hope to expand their product line.

Their main goal is to be able to expand their business globally.

“Besides growth, we want to go global,” Balajadia said. “We want to have our line in Ulta and Sephora.”