By Bianca Eddy, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
In honor of Black Business Month (in case you did not know, it's August), I had the pleasure of speaking with Saidah Pearsall, owner of Shea BODYWORKS, a skincare and haircare company. Saidah's motivation behind Shea BODYWORKS is her daughter, who struggled with dry skin as a result of an intense gymnastics schedule when she was younger. When no other products on the market helped her daughter's skin (and her daughter's coach recommended using a product typically applied to animal hooves), Saidah took it upon herself to mix butters, oils and gels together to find the holy grail of moisturizers. Saidah's knowledge of skin treatment came from her own mother, who mixed together skincare remedies for Saidah when she suffered from a burn incident early in her childhood. Treating and healing skin is a part of Saidah's history, and she is now sharing her remedies with others.
Initially, Saidah had no plans of becoming an entrepreneur. It was her family, specifically her daughter and her husband, who pushed her to research the industry and test her foot and hand lotion products out on a wider market. Over time, Saidah went from promoting her products at tradeshows to selling her products at Whole Foods and then eventually online.
During our conversation, Saidah shared a few tips on what helped her navigate in those early stages (and also identified things to avoid):
- "Testers" outside friends and family – Saidah's "testers" were people from her neighborhood, church, workout classes and other organizations who all provided honest feedback on what they liked and did not like about her products. "Family will always tell you something is great and that they will buy your products, but then when you actually launch your business, they are not your customers." In other words, it is vital to have testers that are associates with no skin in your game.
- Reach out to people successful in the industry you want to break into – Like anyone starting out, Saidah was new to the skincare and haircare industry in the beginning and therefore leaned on individuals who were established in the industry for advice. She would go to their businesses and get a sense of the equipment/set up, ask about vendors and eventually, they made connections on her behalf.
- Do not be afraid to get outside help – Although Shea BODYWORKS is a family-owned business, they are not afraid to outsource. Saidah worked with business coaches and agencies to assist with navigating the intricacies of having your own business and to strategize the best way to enter the market. Through her discussions with agencies, she was able to identify a niche in the market (foot and hand lotion), as opposed to general products that have already saturated the market (body butters). As a result, she could distinguish herself from the rest of her competition.
- Invest in the right people – Be wary of relying solely on personal recommendations or the first good hit when hiring without doing more research on the person or company. Saidah found in certain instances where the person or company she hired to help her did not have a clue about the beauty business and took it upon herself to do more due diligence before hiring.
- Be flexible – As COVID-19 shook up everything in our lives, COVID-19 shook up the health and beauty space as well. Previously, Saidah was traveling around the country in trade shows and participating in pop-up events to market and sell her product. When COVID-19 hit, Saidah pivoted away from in-person events to e-commerce, by initially giving skincare tutorials with household products on Facebook (tip: sweet potato skins are great for your skin!) to now selling her products predominantly online. "You either learned how to use social media and got really good at e-commerce, or you took a loss." Shea BODYWORKS is one of the success stories.
- People don’t (necessarily) buy the product, they buy YOU – Sure, having a great product is a must, but a great way to differentiate your product from another is if people connect with the business owner, which can be easily done now through social media (i.e. Facebook/Instagram live tutorials). There are so many ways to market yourself nowadays, you just have to get creative and seize the opportunities.
- Being an entrepreneur/working mom is HARD, but rewarding – As successful as Shea Bodyworks is now, Saidah will be the first to tell you that launching her business was no easy feat and it is hard to imagine making the same decision again. However, Saidah can confidently say this has been "rewarding and one of the most challenging things I have ever done."
If you are looking to support an incredible, black female-owned business in town, look no further than Shea BODYWORKS for your skincare or haircare needs. My personal favorite is their best-selling hand and foot lotion, but I will definitely be trying the Twilight Facial Oil soon!
Find Shea BODYWORKS here:
Website: www.shea-bodyworks.myshopify.com
Instagram: @sheabodyworks
Facebook: Shea BodyWorks
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