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Shop Essence Live Ep. 6 featured two small black owned business Soul Balm Sisters and expressions bracelets
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00:00Hey, it is Thursday at 3pm. So you know what that means. We are in another episode of Shop Essence Live. So this is where Essence does our part to support our black owned businesses, our female entrepreneurs. This show is so incredible. Not only do you get to hear these stories from these amazing business women, hear their journey, ask them questions, but you also get to see some really bomb
00:29products. All right. So I'm so excited because today we are going to help you rejuvenate yourself with handcrafted bath and body products from Soul Balm Sisters. Hey, Wani. But up first, I'm going to talk to Sarada from Expression Bracelets and show us how to rock our mantras. I'll talk to you in a little bit, Wani. Hey, Sarada. How are you doing? Good. How are you?
00:58That's an actual real question right now, right? How have you been adjusting to this new normal, as you say, right now with being on quarantine, pumping your business? How has that been going for you?
01:17It has actually been going well. We had a really good month last month. And I think it's primarily because we were predominantly an online business.
01:26For the majority of the time we've been doing business. Right. And so just pumping out newsletters, keeping people encouraged with our mantra bracelets. And it's been going really well, thankfully.
01:37All right. Good. So speaking of bracelets, we'll get into a little bit of how you started. But I know people are dying to see. Let's see some of these products that you have.
01:47And you guys make sure you're still dropping your comments and questions for us. OK.
01:53Awesome. Well, I like to stack my bracelets up. So as you can see, I'm rocking some of them now.
02:00Look at you. They're so cute. So right here we have a stack. These are sold individually.
02:05But you can see this one says, you've got this, which is a really popular mantra.
02:11This is a brass bracelet that has been hand stamped. And then we have two of our pyrite bracelets down here.
02:18They're really nice because they're sort of weighted as well and they pair well together.
02:23Here is another one. Stainless steel, hyperallergenic and non tarnished.
02:28And this is our gold digger one. It comes on a cute little card as well and all of our logo and everything on the back.
02:36So that's a really cool one if you want something that is a chain bracelet.
02:42And here are a couple of other mantra bracelets.
02:46This one was actually in Essence magazine.
02:49So this has been a really popular one on the site, Hustle Slave Repeat.
02:53And then not showing that one correctly. There we are. Gold digger.
02:58And last but not least, we have this set as well.
03:04Yes. So incredible.
03:06And you know what I love about these bracelets, right?
03:10We're all doing 100 and a million things and juggling so many things.
03:15And I'm sitting at my computer trying to answer endless emails.
03:19And I get to look down at my hands at these empowering messages.
03:23Because when you say rock your mantra, you really mean it.
03:27Sometimes we need that constant reminder of, like, girl, keep going. Keep hustling.
03:32Absolutely.
03:32You are unstoppable.
03:33So just imagine being at home and you're working and you're grinding and you're hustling and you're looking down.
03:40And that's what you see.
03:41Absolutely.
03:42Words are so inspirational.
03:43And so that's why we built this brand around words.
03:47And we use scriptures in some of our bracelets as well.
03:49So it's just so empowering.
03:51Yeah.
03:52All right.
03:52What else do we have?
03:53Okay.
03:53Next up, we have the, you can use it for jewelry bag.
03:57You can use it for your toiletries when you're traveling out of town.
04:01We actually have four different ones on the site right now.
04:04This one is fearless.
04:06And I like to tell people, fear less and then have more faith.
04:10So this is just a reminder to fear less.
04:13Ooh.
04:14Fear less and have more faith.
04:16That was a word.
04:18Oh, look at you.
04:19Rock yours.
04:20This one is boss lady.
04:23I love boss lady.
04:24And you know what?
04:25Some people say, you know, you have to, they think you have to own your own business or
04:29be a, you know, have a side business to be a boss lady.
04:32Everybody's a boss lady.
04:33It's just how you look at it.
04:34So empower yourself with that one.
04:37This is a really cute one because it's really powerful right now.
04:43She happens.
04:44Right.
04:46Going on right now.
04:48And then last but not least, grateful.
04:53Oh.
04:53So I like to start each morning with a different style.
04:56The fonts that you choose are so beautiful and gorgeous.
04:58And this is going to be way better than the plastic bags I've been using for my jewelry when
05:03I travel.
05:04Absolutely.
05:05Multi-purpose.
05:06So incredible.
05:08So I know people want to know.
05:10They've seen these amazing products.
05:12I was kind of stalking your Instagram before this.
05:17And girl, like look at the article.
05:19Like, can you look at the hustle?
05:27So talk to us about your business, how you got started.
05:31How did you come up with even the idea of putting empowering words on jewelry and bags?
05:37And tell us a little bit about your journey.
05:39So I was laid off eight years ago and I was thrown into the entrepreneur game and I had
05:46started several businesses.
05:47I wouldn't say several.
05:48I started like three or four before this and they didn't just take off.
05:52And the bracelets actually took off unexpectedly.
05:55They actually came from my niece's autistic.
05:57Her name is Storm.
05:58And we were doing a walk for her and we didn't have t-shirts that year.
06:03So I decided to string together some blue beaded bracelets.
06:06And from there, I was encouraged to go ahead and start listing stuff on Etsy.
06:12And within six months, of course, a lot of hard work.
06:15Within six months, I was able to get off unemployment and hire my first part-time employee.
06:21And it was originally a bead-it bracelet company.
06:24And over the years, I would say about two years in, I wanted to give it more meaning.
06:29And that's when we started adding hand-stamped charms to it to personalize the bracelets.
06:34And then we started with the mantra cuffs because that way you could put more on it
06:39and just really keep yourself inspired throughout the day.
06:42So incredible.
06:43And we have a question here from Kimberly.
06:45She wants to know, were there other businesses you had in mind before starting this one?
06:49Yes, I started a baby headband business and I don't have children.
06:55And so that was not a good look because I didn't know how to measure baby's heads.
07:01And that didn't work out really well.
07:03I also had a women's headband business.
07:06Didn't go over really well.
07:08One of my other businesses was diaper cakes.
07:10And we would make these huge, elaborate diaper cakes out of diapers for people.
07:15I was like a diaper cake.
07:16I was like, what?
07:17I know.
07:17But, you know, it got so costly because they're so heavy and it's so much to ship.
07:23And so that didn't work out either.
07:25Wow.
07:26Well, you see, sometimes you start stuff.
07:29It doesn't work out.
07:30That doesn't mean, you know, there isn't the next big idea.
07:34You just have to keep going.
07:35So that's really inspirational.
07:37Yeah.
07:37Don't give up.
07:39Right.
07:39So what's something that you wish somebody would have told you before starting your own business that you had to learn the hard way?
07:47It's not as sexy as it looks.
07:49A lot of 24-7.
07:51It's a lot of doing things yourself.
07:53It's a lot of learning quickly how to pivot.
07:57Even before all of this happened, you have to know how to pivot in business, be on top of things, researching trends and things that are happening.
08:05So I wish someone had told me that it was going to be a hustle to begin with.
08:10But the idea is to get to a point to where you're hiring people to work for you and that you're able to do more of the things that you love and give back to the community.
08:20Wow.
08:21So, so great.
08:22So how do you come up with what you put on these?
08:27Like, where do you find inspiration?
08:29These are things that inspire me.
08:31I have an app that gives me daily quotes.
08:34I do a lot of research of trends, of like what's popular, what's trending.
08:39And then with the scriptures that we sometimes put on there, I actually go back into scriptures that have inspired me over the years.
08:46And that's my baby right there, fearless.
08:48I mean, it is incredible.
08:50I can't say fearless anymore.
08:51I have to say fearless because now you put that in my head forever.
08:56Fearless, yes, fearless.
08:58Yeah.
08:59So it's just research and keeping up with trends, which is important.
09:04I love that.
09:05And she happens.
09:06Oops.
09:07And she happens.
09:09Available at shop.essence.com.
09:12You guys go out and support.
09:14Not only are you supporting amazing, you know, this amazing black woman that's just making stuff happen.
09:20But the products are incredible.
09:23Like I was saying before, you know, you're going through your busy day.
09:26You're juggling the kids, work, everything and everything that's going on right now.
09:30For me, it's just so amazing to be able to look down as I'm typing and I'm seeing like unstoppable hustle, slave, repeat.
09:38And it just like gives you that extra boost that you need.
09:42So that's amazing.
09:43So that's amazing.
09:44You guys keep dropping your comments and questions here.
09:47I'm going to bring Sarada back a little bit later to answer any questions.
09:51But right now I'm going to bring up Wani.
09:53Thank you so much, Sarada.
09:54I'll see you in a little bit.
09:55All right, Wani.
09:57Hey, how are you?
09:59I'm good.
10:00How are you?
10:01Amazing.
10:02So where are you from originally?
10:04Wani is such a beautiful name.
10:06Oh, thank you so much.
10:07Originally, I'm from Liberia, West Africa.
10:10I grew up in New York and I've been a New Yorker all my life with small hitstops in California, Miami.
10:22And yeah, so but here I am now living in New York.
10:25Here you are.
10:27So tell me about Soul Bomb Sisters.
10:30How did you come up with this idea?
10:32What was your road to getting to where you are right now?
10:36Well, it started with a business where I was with a friend of mine.
10:39And we were and I've always wanted to be an entrepreneur.
10:43I've always tried small businesses that, you know, I selling pillows was my first foray.
10:50I do web development.
10:52So I had a web development business that I would I would do.
10:55But I've always wanted to have a product based business.
10:58And a friend of mine, we've been great friends for from college.
11:02We started this journey together.
11:04She was doing back bombs.
11:06And I was like, I would love to be able to to to learn.
11:09And so she did.
11:10She taught me everything about the business.
11:12But we parted ways.
11:15She decided to go in another direction with her business.
11:17And I decided, OK, I really love what a bath represents.
11:23I love taking baths.
11:25And how can I make this my own and focus it towards women like myself?
11:31I do a lot of tasks.
11:33I have a son.
11:34So I'm a single parent.
11:35But I'm very, very busy.
11:37So I said, what would be what what did I get out of baths?
11:41How do I want to how do I want to share that with others?
11:44And what I got from that is the time to take time for yourself, you know, take care of yourself.
11:50Because if you're not well, if you're not centered, you can't take care of the people that depend on you.
11:56And as a woman, we have a lot on our plate, right?
12:01Most of us are taking care of the whole family.
12:05We're the provider.
12:07We're the comforter.
12:08We have a lot.
12:09And a lot of women feel like I'm too busy to take a bath.
12:13But it's just actually the opposite.
12:15The bath empowers you.
12:16The bath, you know, strengthens you.
12:19And it's almost like a 20-minute sort of self-care, self-therapy that when you get out of it, you're recharged, rejuvenated.
12:29So we started with what we're expanding to other things that we love.
12:34I love it.
12:35So I'd love to hear about what you're expanding to.
12:38But let's talk about what you have available for everyone.
12:44So that's our self-care box, right?
12:46And if you sign up for the subscription, which is the best value, every month you'll get 12 bath bombs that'll come to you.
12:53It's like $36.
12:54And there'll always be a surprise.
12:56So we also have what we have, cocoa butter.
13:00These we work with in Central Africa.
13:02It's from the Basin Davo Forest.
13:05So this is pure, 100% shea butter, right?
13:09And a lot of shea butter comes from West Africa.
13:11But this one from the Basin Goa is softer.
13:14So it never gets hard.
13:16It's very moisturizing.
13:18And those are some of the products that we will be bringing to you.
13:21And it's lovely.
13:22We have it scented and unscented as well.
13:26And as you can see here, I have all my bath bombs here.
13:30Some of the favorites, the blue ivy.
13:33It smells heavenly.
13:34And what's so special about our bath bombs is in the center, there's a cocoa butter heart that is very moisturizing.
13:42So you know how we need a lot of moisture for our skin.
13:45It layers on the moisture for you.
13:48So it's not just, you know, you get into bath bombs and you're irritated and itchy.
13:54I was very careful about how much color I put in, how much fragrance I put in.
13:59You're not going to have a situation where you leave with a mess and stuff.
14:05Yeah, that's blood orange and lime with a gold speck on it.
14:09Oh, pretty.
14:11Yeah.
14:11The majority.
14:13You know what I love?
14:15And I started my day.
14:16This is, I never do this.
14:17But I started my day today with a bath.
14:20And I used the lavender bath.
14:23And it was just, first of all, I love just dropping it in the bath.
14:26And you have this little fizzle effect.
14:28That was really nice.
14:30But it was just so nice to have, to start my day, which is that relaxing time to just kind of decompress and get ready for my day.
14:39But then what I really loved was I didn't feel the need to put on any lotion or moisturizer after because I was already, you know, all over here, just moisturized automatically.
14:51Exactly.
14:52That's the whole idea for it because you get out of the skin and you already have that one layer of moisture.
14:57In the summer months when it's warm and there's a lot of moisture in the air, you're not going to be getting extra moisture.
15:04In the winter, you can obviously add more to that.
15:07But it's also something that, it's also great for kids.
15:10My son, he's an athlete.
15:11He plays basketball.
15:13I didn't even think of that, girl.
15:14I'm fighting my son to put some lotion on.
15:17So now.
15:19He loves the bath bombs.
15:22He will put them in and relax and get rid of all his soreness.
15:27So we have, like, the eucalyptus and mint that's really good for the boys.
15:33And he also loves the oatmeal, milk, and honey.
15:38That's really a very popular scent.
15:41Yeah.
15:42So it's been really great.
15:46You're showing up all the cards.
15:47One other thing that we started for a lot of people, when I do a lot of the Essence shows, I've done the Essence Festival.
15:56And a lot of people said, I don't take baths, but I really love your stuff.
16:00It smells so good.
16:01Same.
16:03I'm a shower girl, but now I'm going to be taking more baths just to be able to use these.
16:08So we started shower steamers for shower girls like you.
16:11So first scent online, the eucalyptus mint, but we're going to be introducing sort of more wellness type of shower steamers.
16:20So you can wake up in the morning if you're looking for focus, there will be a scent around focus.
16:26If you're looking for energy, there will be essential oils for energy.
16:31So that's how we're building the business is to really focus on health and wellness and feeling good about your stuff because that's really important, I feel, for us to be able to say, I'm good.
16:49You know, I'm good.
16:50So important.
16:51And yeah, and I love what you were saying earlier about us being the caretaker, we have to take care of ourselves first in order to really take care of everybody else in the house.
17:03That is so important and such a great message.
17:07So I still want a sugar cookie.
17:12Yes.
17:12It has sprinkles in it.
17:14Can you talk a little bit about that one?
17:15Because I feel like my daughter would love that.
17:17But that's the sugar cookie.
17:18So we create sort of these six packs that it's easy for you to buy if you don't know what you want.
17:24The sweet spot is the one with the sugar cookie.
17:27Sort of these are the sweet scents that girls love.
17:31A lot of girls are our customers as well.
17:34And they really like the hot pink one, the very sexy.
17:38That's amazing.
17:39I don't know if you had a chance to smell that one, but that's one of the best, top sellers.
17:44The other one with vinegar is also one that's really considerate of the pH.
17:51So for a lot of women who have, you know, sensitivity towards bath bombs, and they feel like I can never use a bath bomb because they're more familiar with other bath bombs that put all types of unnatural ingredients in it.
18:06My bath bombs are not focused on shizz and pop and mess.
18:11It's focused on what is good for your skin and what really smells really good.
18:19So that really enhances your senses as you take a bath or you're in your thing.
18:27And if you don't bake, send it to a friend, put it in your drawer, like your lingerie drawer.
18:35It really smells, makes that whole area smell really well.
18:39It's very nicely scented in the bathroom.
18:42Oops, sorry.
18:42And yeah, so it's one of, I make them, they're handmade, so I make them.
18:50And every month I come up with sort of different fragrances that I want to explore.
18:55But when you subscribe to the box, right, you will have an opportunity to sample some of the new innovation that we've come up with from time to time.
19:05I didn't send you the bath salts, but we have bath salts that you can add.
19:14Like if you're just into bath salts, we have that as well.
19:18Sugar scrubs, those are all sort of the new things that we're going to need to cover.
19:23And oh, and I forgot.
19:27You know how everybody needs hand sanitizer?
19:30So we've come up with a very nice hand sanitizer.
19:32It's a spray and it's nicely scented.
19:35And I'm giving away this to people who sign up for our mailing list.
19:41So if you go and sign up, you might be one of the lucky people who gets to get one of this big box of bath salts to try.
19:48And we'll put one hand sanitizer in there for you as well.
19:53Very cool.
19:54Oh, my gosh.
19:55All right.
19:56So I have a lot of baths to take now because I want to try every single one of these.
20:01I cannot wait.
20:03So you said every month you're coming up with new sense.
20:07How do you what's your inspiration behind that?
20:10How do you find new combinations?
20:13What's your process for that?
20:14What is the current word for me right now?
20:28It's surrender, right?
20:30And so I want a scent that allows me to feel that way.
20:34And when I say surrender, because we are in this time where so much is changing, right?
20:39And people are either reacting towards it like, I want to go back to the old.
20:45But I say, why?
20:49What about what is in front of you, right?
20:52Prepare yourself and surrender to that desire to go backwards and think of how do we go forward, right?
21:01And that's what we need to be looking forward, how we can come out of this better, how we can emerge out of this stronger with different skill.
21:09Look at what we're doing now, you know, like having these conversations on Facebook Live, Zoom birthday parties, Zoom, you know,
21:17just all the creativity and innovation that has had to come out of us needing to survive and then thrive after COVID, right?
21:28So that's sort of how I come up with what am I feeling?
21:32What do I want to communicate?
21:34How do I want to help empower women?
21:36That's my motivation.
21:38Come through, Wani.
21:40So we're going to end the show with a positive word.
21:42You're already getting us over there.
21:44Before I bring Sarada back, I have an announcement at the end of the show.
21:50If you are an HBCU 2020 graduate, Essence is doing something very special for you.
21:57Tag an HBCU grad right here, right here, or share this because I'm about to tell y'all something very exciting.
22:04So stick around.
22:06Sarada, come on back, girl.
22:07Yay.
22:08So I am just over the moon about you guys and your products today.
22:15So Sarada, if you're just, audience, if you're just joining us, this is Shop Essence Live.
22:20Every single Thursday, we are bringing you a new Black-owned female business where you can see products,
22:28you can hear their stories, you can ask them questions, and you can go to shop.essence.com to support.
22:35All right?
22:36And the products are amazing, and they smell really good.
22:40We're just hooking y'all up because you know you're shopping online.
22:42I mean, you know you're shopping online right now.
22:46You can also text LIVE to 29071 and get a 10% discount and future updates on future shows.
22:58So we're going to end the show in a positive word, ladies.
23:03So let's say someone is watching right now, whether they're a business owner or not,
23:10and they're just having a hard time, they've reached the end of their rope.
23:13What's something like a mantra or something to rejuvenate yourself that you would say to give them some words,
23:22to give them a positive word?
23:26Sarada, I'll tell you.
23:27If you guys aren't following, follow on Expressions Bracelets on Instagram.
23:34And if you are a small business owner, Sarada Speaks is also my other business where we help small business owners build their empire.
23:41And so for all the women out there and for just anyone in particular, I like to say do you.
23:47And what that simply means is don't focus on what everyone else is saying or doing or how they're doing everything because we can get lost and caught up in that.
23:55Do you focus on you?
23:57And when you start doing that, you'll be able to make decisions for yourself that are going to empower you and help you move on to the next stage in life.
24:04So do you?
24:05I love that.
24:07I see a bracelet, a few bracelet coming.
24:11I love it.
24:12So what would you say?
24:14So I would say my thing is breathe and surrender.
24:17Business is hard.
24:18You have to be ready to pivot and change.
24:21So I surrender, you know.
24:22And surrendering doesn't mean giving up.
24:24It means letting go of things that you think you can control and accept and seeing how you can be empowered by the current situation.
24:33Everything has a plus sign, right?
24:36So surrender and listen to what's the good out of your situation.
24:43Take the good out of your situation.
24:45Amazing.
24:46And Wanyu, why don't you let the people know where they can find you on social as well?
24:51Right.
24:51So I have an Instagram, Soulbomb Sisters.
24:54And B-A-L-M because bomb is coming, not bomb.
24:58And also we have a website, Soulbomb Sisters, as well.
25:05You can shop with us there or shop with us on shop.essence.
25:09Of course, we love shop.essence.
25:11So thank you.
25:12And that's it.
25:14Yeah.
25:14Facebook and our website.
25:17So, so incredible.
25:19Thank you guys so much for joining shop.essence.com, y'all.
25:23Hooking you up.
25:24And fearless.
25:26I love it.
25:27And there's my dog.
25:29They're reducing.
25:30Yes.
25:31It's amazing.
25:32All right.
25:33Thank you guys so, so much.
25:35Thank you so much for having us.
25:38Absolutely.
25:39All right.
25:40So as promised, Essence is doing something very special.
25:44If you are an HBCU grad, HBCU alumni, but you're graduating this year, 2020, right?
25:53We are doing HBCU grads.
25:56We're going to celebrate, right?
25:58With a live stream event featuring all-star lineup of speakers and musical guests, including Barack Obama.
26:06Right?
26:06You got Barack.
26:07And we also have Kevin Hart, Amari Hardwick, Terrence J, Debbie Allen, and more.
26:19Tune in.
26:20Hashtag show your walk HBCU edition.
26:23It's this Saturday, May 16th at 2 p.m. on Essence Studios.
26:30All right?
26:30And you can RSVP at essencestudios.com slash events, HBCU dash commencement slash RSVP.
26:39I know that was a lot.
26:40We're going to leave it in the comments for you guys.
26:42But it's super-duper special.
26:45So make sure that you guys tune in.
26:49Share it.
26:49Share it with your friends.
26:51Tag your friends on it.
26:52It's going to be absolutely amazing.
26:55And as always, thank you so much for supporting Shop Essence Live.
26:59This is a real passion project for us.
27:03We've always wanted to support our entrepreneurs.
27:07And this show is no different.
27:10And I'm so, so happy that you guys tune in every single week.
27:14So I'll see you next Thursday with some more businesses.
27:17See you soon.
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