Entrepreneurship can be a rollercoaster ride! It has ups, downs, and loops. I've experienced all three with my women's fashion accessory brand Accented Glory. Too often, entrepreneurs only share about the ups. I believe in keeping it real and share the good, the bad, and lessons learned.
I recently shared one of my lessons learned with my online community Digital Marketing On A Budget for creative women entrepreneurs. In May of 2019, one of my designs was featured on Martha Stewart Shop as an Etsy Find. I know you're probably thinking that is amazing news and it was! I was so excited when I learned about it, however it was also a missed opportunity. See below the three lessons I learned from the experience.
As a mother and small business coach I always tell my children and clients, there are no failures if you learn from the experience. Experiences are building blocks for success! Tonya Cross - Accessory Designer What are some lessons you've learned from your experiences?
Accented Glory's design that was featured as an Esty Find on Martha Stewart Shop is our Double Cowrie Shell Adjustable Headband! Check it out in our Amazon Shop by clicking shop now below.
Accented Glory's visionary Tonya Cross got a chance to chat with Brittney Badie of Herbal Accession LLC. Brittney is a Chicago native that has always carried a passion for providing peace to others, through counseling, support and care. Read below to learn more about her and her business!  Brittney Baddie of Herbal Accession TC: Please introduce yourself and tell us who you are. HA: HEY! I am Brittney, the founder of Herbal Accession LLC. I am from and live in Chicago. I am a natural enthusiast, a positivity influencer, and a knowledge seeker. I just launched my small business, Herbal Accession, in October of 2020, but my passion for healing and being a service to others started long ago. I have 15 years of experience in social service and completed a Masters program in Health Communication to further my dreams of promoting health and wellness to others. My focus now is to help others in their journey of healing. TC: I love connecting with other fellow naturals in business! Tell us about your natural hair journey. HA: I can’t talk about my hair journey without mentioning my spiritual journey as well because they both carry the same significance and, simultaneously, occurred at the same time. In order for me to grow and know my natural hair, I had to grow to know myself. I had been natural for the first 18 years of my life but I never knew how to take care of my own hair. I didn’t know my own hair, what products worked best for my hair, and even what my natural hair really looked like. My mother would take me to the “shop”, which was a local in-home beauty salon to have my hair straightened (hot comb/flat-ironed), or to my aunt’s house to get braids or she would spend a Sunday night burning and curling my hair with a hot comb. I could remember begging my mother, in high school, to allow me to relax my hair. At the time, I admired the long, sleek, neat hairstyles that I couldn’t enjoy because my hair was naturally curly and “unruly”. Finally, after I turned 18 and was ready to move away for college, she agreed that I could relax my hair. I didn’t realize, at the time, how delicate my crown was. I attempted my own “box relaxers”, dyed my hair, used excessive heat and manipulation and dried out my hair. I literally fried my hair. When I came home from school during my Spring break, I went to the shop to get a “touch-up” but because my hair was so damaged, the stylist had to cut my hair off. I was devastated. I remember looking in the mirror on my way out of the door, in tears and thinking “How did I get to the point that my “crown” was so damaged that I didn’t care enough to prevent this?” “Why did I care so much that I would stand out from everybody else?” and even more important “Why is my hair so impactful to my life?” To be honest, I didn’t know how to take care of my hair because I didn’t know how to take care of myself. I remember being in my dorm, combing through my hair and globs of broken, lifeless, damaged ends falling into the sink and ignoring the fact that my hair was suffering. That was my approach to a lot of situations in my life at that time. I realized that much of my despair had little to do with my actual hair (or lack thereof) but it had much to do with my alignment within myself. I had to dig deeper to find out what my hair needed, to be repaired, much like I had to dig deep to repair myself. This was the beginning of my natural hair journey. TC: Now you have a unique skin care and relaxation product line! Tell us more about your brand Herbal Accessions and how it came to be. HA: I was a natural skin care and product junkie. I would buy the latest popular products in hopes of finding the perfect body care/skin care that answered all of my skin care needs and had all of the right ingredients. I realized that majority of these products only have one or a few natural ingredients and was full of unnecessary preservatives and chemicals. I was pushed to take an even closer look at what I put on my skin and in my body after I had my son, who experienced severe eczema. After researching eczema, I learned that it can be treated simply by becoming conscious of the toxins we ingest and put on our skin. I decided to ditch spending money on popular brands of wellness and body care products and simply make them myself with no preservatives and just the right mix of herbs and ingredients. I created my own “perfect” product. Within recent years, I have also been conscious in advocating self-care. I had family members that suffered from illness due to simply not prioritizing their own health. I wanted to combine a variety of products, that I personally love and enjoy, into a brand that specializes in combining these two factors- self-care/reducing stress and all-natural herbs and beneficial ingredients. That’s how Herbal Accession came about! Herbal Accession’s goal as of now, is to open a wellness center in Chicago that offers free classes on how to grow herbs and plants for healing and wellness, how stress affects our minds and bodies, mindfulness and mental health workshops, public nursery, and Herbal store. TC: Love your brand story! I see from your website that you also have wine and elixirs. Wine Wednesday is one of my favorite days of the week. Tell us more about these products. HA: Yes! Girl I love a good wine! Our wine has been the top selling item lately! Kudos to that! I often indulge with a glass of wine or cocktail and a nice warm bath for relaxation, but on my journey to better my health and become conscious of what I consume, I learned that a lot of wine brands that I used to enjoy, were full of preservatives and additives. So one day, me and my fiancé went to a wine making class and it dawned on me, that I could make my own. I could include the level of sweetness I enjoyed, as well as any other perks or herbs I chose and most importantly, no preservatives! I started simply making sweet red wine (that’s my favorite!) and then I incorporated THC/Cannabis into my wine after learning about the natural benefits of Cannabis for stress relief, anxiety, and well-being. I was trying to create a drink that offered a delightful calming effect. My Elixirs are infused with Indica Strains of Cannabis for a relaxing feel. The wine is infused with Sativa strains for an uplifting, yet relaxing feel. I plan on expanding my collection to include wine infused with some of my favorite natural herbs such as lavender, rosemary, hemp, etc.  Full Moon Candle
TC: Is there anything else you would like to share with our audience? HA: I simply want to thank your audience for reading and allowing me to talk about my passion and experience. TC: Where can our audience find out more about your business, products and services? HA: You can keep tabs on updates, latest news, goal and mission progress, product announcements and engagements via Instagram-@herbalaccession or at herbalaccession.com/pages/expanding-the-brand. |
Cierra CrossCierra has been a part of Accented Glory since its launch in June 2013. Outside of being an "Accessory Diva", she's a millennial who's currently navigating adulthood. Click Not One Of Your Little Friends to check out her podcast! Archives
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