00:00The bonnet line before bedhead is Toya Wright, and those, I remember when she first started the line, her tagline was like, team, no granny bonnet.
00:08And I remember when she was first starting, I'm like, people are really going to buy those? I see people wear those bonnet everywhere.
00:14Well, they have the beautiful crystal.
00:15They have the jewels, they are ornate. I think, yeah, I don't have a problem with bonnets in the airport.
00:20But make it good, there's a sister online, and I'll remember the name and then make sure the Essence team posts it.
00:26There's a sister online that's doing hoodies, which are wonderful travel gear, but with a satin-lined hood, right?
00:34So we're still protecting, but you don't have to do a bonnet.
00:38She put all, and she's got a variety of colors, but the hood is satin-lined, which is why we wear the hoodie.
00:44And so I even think, start looking for those kinds of creative things, because you're starting to see people accommodate textured hair in other fashion
00:52that might actually give you an opportunity to prioritize the protection of said style,
00:56but not feel like the bonnet you slept in is the only option to wear.
01:00And this sister has this hoodie line that has satin lining that I just think is such a dope way to think about both what's important to us and rockin' style.
01:08It is.
01:08More to the story. Stop bonnet shaming.
01:11Stop bonnet shaming.
01:12Protect the edges at all costs.
01:14At all costs.
01:14But do a good bonnet, or you will be identified.
01:20Not shamed, identified.
01:21Not shamed, identified.
01:22Friends, don't let friends wear a bad bonnet.
01:24Yes, I love it.
01:25Jeremy and Caroline, thank you so, so much.
01:28I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did.
01:30Can I get a round of applause?
01:32Don't go anywhere yet.
01:33There is much more of Essence Festival of Culture coming up soon.
01:44We'll see you next time.
02:14We'll see you next time.
02:44But I'm going to put everything that I have into this.
02:47The goal is to create a foundation and a legacy for them.
02:50You dive in deeply.
02:51You're constantly studying, re-evaluating.
02:53You're going to make mistakes.
02:54I would like for her to see Daddy made dinner.
02:58I also had to raise my level of empathy.
03:00Understand the job that my wife does is insane.
03:04I know I was driving my wife crazy because she couldn't even step down into the basement.
03:08Like, her workday is real, too.
03:10Spend time growing your business as long as you are present.
03:15Presence with our kids actually is one of the safest places to be our whole self.
03:19So, what did we learn from the last panel, y'all?
03:27Friends.
03:28Don't let friends wear bad bonnets.
03:30I had so much fun talking to Caroline and Jeremy.
03:34And if you guys learned anything, it is that your wardrobe does not have to cost everything
03:39in the world.
03:40It doesn't have to break the bank.
03:41Do what you want.
03:43As long as you feel good, that's all that matters.
03:45So, it's going down, y'all, right here at Essence Fest.
03:48And if you're wondering how to keep your body tight and right at any age, we've got you.
03:53Also, if you're a beauty entrepreneur who is ready to grab the bag, then get ready to stack
03:58your coins with tips from Honeypot founder B. Dixon.
04:01Ladies, I know you know that, Honeypot.
04:03Don't forget to grab your passes for our VIP beauty experience and shop all the black-owned
04:08brands you all love in one spot over at our virtual marketplace at EssenceStudios.com.
04:13We've got amazing beauty products, wellness products, and even fashion accessories and apparel.
04:18So, be sure to check that out.
04:20More Essence Fest Beauty Carnival is coming up next.
04:23With the ladies who truly know how to secure the bag.
04:26Check it out.
04:34Welcome back to the Essence Festival of Culture.
04:37My name is Blake Newby, beauty and style editor from Essence.
04:40And today, we're going to be talking about a topic that is being talked about quite a lot today.
04:45And that is entrepreneurship.
04:47Nobody knows that word.
04:49Better than B. Dixon, founder of the Honeypot.
04:51Thank you so much for joining me.
04:53Thank you for having me.
04:54Of course.
04:57Thank you, guys.
04:58Of course.
04:59So, we know that, you know, if you have not heard of Honeypot, we guarantee you that there's
05:04a friend that you have that has heard of Honeypot.
05:06We were just talking about keeping your products on the shelves is quite a challenge.
05:11And I'm grateful for that.
05:13It is a wonderful thing.
05:15So, for those that might not know, what is the Honeypot?
05:18The Honeypot is a plant-based feminine care system that pretty much encompasses everything
05:23that you can imagine for the vagina.
05:25And where did the idea...
05:27I love hearing this story, so I just want to hear it again.
05:30Where did the idea for the Honeypot come from?
05:32I had bacterial vaginosis for almost a year.
05:37And everything that I did, nothing worked.
05:39I went to the doctor.
05:41I took medicine.
05:41I went on Google.
05:42It was crazy.
05:44You know, but one morning, I had a very vivid dream with my grandmother.
05:48And in the dream, she told me...
05:50She basically handed me a piece of paper and told me that I need to memorize what was on
05:55the paper because that's what was going to solve my problem.
05:58And so, that's what I did.
05:59And when I woke up, I remembered it, I wrote it down, I made it.
06:03Within a few days, everything that I had going on went away.
06:06What a dream.
06:08And that's...
06:08And, you know, and for me, immediately, for me, it was like, oh, this is what I'm doing
06:14now, you know?
06:16And while, you know, that was immediate, I think that one of the misconceptions a lot
06:21of times, especially with social media of entrepreneurship, is that everything comes
06:24immediately, right?
06:25No.
06:26And that is absolutely not the case.
06:27Can you talk about the buildup, like, the time that it took to actually get Honeypot
06:34off the ground?
06:35Yeah.
06:36I mean, me and my brother and our team, which started off much smaller than it is right
06:41now, I mean, we've been doing this since 2012, right?
06:45So, what?
06:47That's nine years?
06:48Mm-hmm.
06:48Soon to be 10?
06:49One, you know, a good business does not happen overnight.
06:54Right.
06:54That's just not...
06:55It's not realistic.
06:56Right.
06:58You know, and typically, if it happens overnight, most likely, you're not ready.
07:02Right.
07:03Right?
07:03So, it's better to go with the flow.
07:07Let things go slow.
07:10Build things up.
07:11Right.
07:12You know, and learn along the way, because that's the fun part.
07:17You don't want it to go too fast.
07:19And you said, like, it took nine years.
07:22How do you stay encouraged, though?
07:23Because I'm sure there were times that you were like, maybe this ain't it.
07:27There's never been a time that I've said, this is not it.
07:30Not ever.
07:31And never will there be, you know?
07:36I chose this journey, and it's a responsibility, you know?
07:42And I've never, ever, ever had the mindset of maybe I should do something else.
07:48Not ever.
07:49If anything, it was like, let me get another job.
07:53So that I can keep doing.
07:55So I can eat.
07:56Right.
07:56And keep a roof over my head, you know?
07:58But it's never been, even when times were hard, we just had to figure out how to get by, you know?
08:06But it's business.
08:10It's like anything else.
08:11It's hard.
08:12It doesn't come easy.
08:13You have to work for it.
08:15And I'm sure that there were times that you were like, this is just not going to work.
08:18This is not going to work.
08:20There's never been a time.
08:21Never.
08:21Not ever.
08:22I have always had, the best way to describe it is a religious belief in myself and Honeypot and the humans that have partnered with me to build it.
08:39My brother, Simon Gray, you know, our entire team.
08:43I mean, we've come a little too far to say, even for a moment, that we're going to give up.
08:53Right.
08:53Like, there's no backsies.
08:56Right.
08:57You know what I mean?
08:57And so there's never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever been a time where I would decide that.
09:04And I'm sure, though, however, that there have been hard times.
09:07Of course there have.
09:08I mean, you know, there have been and there will be.
09:11Right.
09:11I mean, this is startup life, man.
09:15Nobody said, who said it was going to be easy?
09:19You know, and the fallacy is that people think that it gets easier as you get more successful.
09:30Right.
09:30That is not real.
09:32Right.
09:33It actually gets harder as you get more successful.
09:36Right.
09:36Because now you have more responsibility.
09:40Now you have access to more resources.
09:44Right.
09:45Now you have more eyeballs.
09:47Now you have social media.
09:49When we got started that, it wasn't really popping like that.
09:52Right.
09:52Right.
09:52So it's harder now than ever.
09:58It's just the hard things may look different.
10:02Okay.
10:02You know?
10:03And you said, you know, the eyes.
10:06And one thing that a particular time in quarantine taught us is that it really amplified a lot of black brands.
10:14Right.
10:15But that was something that you were experiencing literally right before COVID had started with the Target commercial.
10:20Right.
10:20But that brought a lot of, not backlash, because we don't care about the outside.
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