How was the idea of creating Le miracle d’Asunta born?
My son suffered from atopic dermatitis, and finding products with a safe, gentle composition for him became my top priority. After a long search, I decided to start making soap with natural ingredients myself. Atopic dermatitis is often accompanied by dry skin, and oil-based soap moisturises skin perfectly. It really helped my son. Soon after, friends and acquaintances began using the soap, and I received good reviews.
Everything is done at home using the cold process method. This is a higher-quality method, as boiling causes the oils to lose their beneficial properties. The cold process, by contrast, preserves these nutrients.
Why did you choose such a poetic, almost fairytale-like name?
My name is Asunta, that's what my father named me, and I wanted the brand to be called Asunta's Miracle, because if this miracle helped me, perhaps it could help others too.
What fragrances or ingredients do you most enjoy working with?
My soaps do not contain any synthetic fragrances or chemical essences. We are so used to chemical fragrances that we subconsciously expect them. However, there should be no smell in natural products. If there is any aroma, it is only from natural oils, for example, lavender or orange. Even then, during the saponification process, most of that scent fades away. As a result, only a weak, very natural aroma remains – and this is an indicator of genuine naturalness. The basis of my soaps is three main oils: olive, coconut, and castor. I also use shea butter and almond oil – always cold-pressed. We do not add any chemical components to achieve foam. At the same time, our soaps foam perfectly. Among our most popular products are soaps against hair loss and dandruff. These are especially favoured by men and are made with clay and lavender.
Women, on the other hand, prefer lavender soap for treating skin rashes, excessive oiliness, or dry skin.
How do you combine teaching with entrepreneurship?
I’m a teacher of the Azerbaijani language and literature. Although I no longer work at school, I continue to tutor privately and have over 12 years of experience in education. This background helped me a lot in my victory, because I can speak beautifully and express myself well.
Why did you decide to take part in the She's Next Empowered by Visa initiative supported by Birbank Biznes?
I came across the announcement about the competition by chance and decided to give it a try. I read through the details and registered right away. The process was quite structured: we were given a deadline to submit a motivation letter and a video. There were three stages in total, and the deadline was the 13th. On the 13th, however, I didn’t manage to finish my application. Fortunately, the deadline was extended to the 17th – it felt like it was meant just for me. Even then, I barely managed to submit everything in time!
After that, I was selected for the semi-finals and scored 84 out of 100. When the mentorship phase began, I was quite nervous; my voice was shaking during the first meeting. But as soon as I felt some encouragement, especially from Afat khanim, I came to life. I managed to pull myself together and speak confidently about my project.
She became the person who supported me the most throughout the journey. For me, this initiative was a real opportunity, and I’m so grateful I didn’t miss it.
What did the competition give you, and what was the most valuable part of the experience?
I gained very valuable experience and revised my strategy. Afat khanim truly opened my eyes: she showed me how branding works, and how something as simple as soap can be packaged and beautifully presented.
She helped me realise that my product isn’t meant for the mass market, and together we moved away from a general approach to create a much more tailored and distinctive presentation. Before, I did not have a full-fledged business plan at all. We created a new presentation, which included everything – a budget, a plan for the distribution of funds, and a sales forecast.
What emotions did you feel when the results were announced?
At first, I was sure that I would win. But when they announced the second and third place winners and my name hadn’t been called, I suddenly began to doubt, and for the first time, I thought things might not go as I had hoped. And then, they announced my name as the winner! I couldn’t contain my emotions – I just screamed with joy!
How do you plan to spend the prize money you won?
Everything has been carefully planned down to the last detail. According to our plan, first, the money was supposed to go to production. We had included about 4,000 manats in advance to cover monthly production costs. We also plan to work with corporate orders, which means the packaging must be of high quality. We have allocated 2,500 manats to ensure the packaging has a clean, professional look with a distinctive, individual style.
At the moment, I do everything myself – I film, edit, post stories, manage our social media, and handle deliveries. I’m the SMM manager, the courier, and the content creator all in one. Honestly, it’s not easy. There simply isn’t enough time to do everything properly, and sometimes the quality suffers. I believe everyone should focus on what they do best to achieve real results. For example, our photo and video content could be much stronger, so we’re also allocating part of the budget to improve that. Looking ahead, one of our key goals this year is to open a physical retail space.
What advice would you give to other women who are just starting to think about launching their own business?
Yes, it’s a difficult path, but don’t be afraid. Keep moving forward. Looking back, I sometimes think that if I had been more active earlier, I might have achieved even more by now. So, my advice is: don’t hold back and never give up.
Don’t fear failure; it’s a natural and necessary part of the journey. Without it, you won’t fully appreciate the joy of success. And above all, remember this: everyone has their moment of glory. Yours will come, and when it does, it will find you.
