Not Your Average Career Change

On this episode, we invited Rachel East from UltraRay Luxury Spa to talk about pivoting careers during the pandemic, creating a space and self-care products for people with melanated skin, and toughing it out as a small business owner. 

UltraRay, located in Sunset Park in Brooklyn, NY, specializes in personalized skincare treatments that target hyperpigmentation and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH), with a deep understanding of the unique needs of melanated skin. 

Rachel is a NYS-licensed esthetician with a passion for treating skin of color. Every service is curated to safely fade dark spots, smooth texture, and reveal long-lasting results. Rachel pivoted to esthetics from a fashion merchandising background during the pandemic. 

We met as fellow vendors at the NY Markets. We've watched each other grow, and I'm so excited to have her on.

Find Rachel and UltraRay at @ultraray_luxuryspa on Instagram. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:06

Hey guys, I'm Chris, and this is not another gratitude podcast where we bring some of our favorite people on and we uh all bake bracelet wraps together while talking about you know what's going on in our lives and what's going on in theirs. Uh today we're joined by Rachel.

SPEAKER_02 0:23

Hello.

SPEAKER_01 0:24

Rachel, do you want to tell us a little bit about yourself, who you are?

SPEAKER_02 0:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 0:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 0:28

My name is Rachel. We can start there. Um I am a business owner as well. I own Ultra Ray Luxury Spa, a New York State licensed esthetician, so I provide aesthetic services as well as produce handmade products, body product, you know, body butters, perfumes, things of that nature.

SPEAKER_01 0:53

So Rachel has one of the most amazing candle scents that I've ever come across in my whole entire life.

SPEAKER_02 0:59

You literally buy it every single time you see me.

SPEAKER_01 1:01

Every time. And you know what the best part is, is that the best part is that it comes in a gold.

SPEAKER_02 1:06

Because we're fancy.

SPEAKER_01 1:07

Yeah, it comes in a gold jar. And like if anybody knows anything about me, it's that I'm a big gold person. And so you're making a gold as I'm making goldie bracelets. So, you know, and Teddy's also a gold dog. Uh so it's really like it really calls to me, if you will. I feel very much spoken to by that.

SPEAKER_02 1:28

Everyone loves that gold vessel. It's a great one really loves that gold vessel, yeah. It's so fancy.

SPEAKER_01 1:33

Yeah, I mean, you and Richard have a very close relationship. We do. And so that's when we sat you two next to each other. We do. Um okay, so before we jump into anything, I just want to start with our ungrateful confession. Okay. So this is just one thing that's kind of like just you need to get it off your chest. It's like what is driving you crazy, and you're just like what is it?

SPEAKER_02 1:52

Go um the pollen.

SPEAKER_01 1:54

The pollen?

SPEAKER_02 1:55

Yes, because it literally started.

SPEAKER_01 1:57

Is that a person?

SPEAKER_02 1:58

No. No, because like I thought you said a pollen. I felt like it started like two weeks too early because it's not even April yet. And I've also felt like I'm like, am I getting a cold? Am I not? I'm not sure. I don't know. So I went and I bought allergy medicine and then I feel better. So now here we are. Like you know that it's allergies. Yeah, it's allergies. So it's like I'll wake up, my nose is stuffy. I don't like that. No.

SPEAKER_01 2:31

Yeah, I love it when I wake up in the morning.

SPEAKER_02 2:35

So that's my ungrateful, grateful. I'm lucky, I don't have allergies. But I I've heard of like a lot of people getting it like, yes, later. No, that was me. Well, be careful.

SPEAKER_00 2:45

We remember Kim says she doesn't get sick and then she got sick, so you're gonna have allergies next week.

SPEAKER_01 2:49

So the thing is, the funny thing is is that when we used to do we used to do a spring market here in New York.

SPEAKER_02 2:54

Oh yeah, oh god. May she rest in May she rested memorance uh in memorandum of this spring market that is no longer thing anymore. Right.

SPEAKER_01 3:04

Uh you we would go, we would set up, we would set up our tents, and there was literally so much pollen all over all of our clothing by the time we would leave in the evening. Oh yeah, so much. If you thought you didn't have allergies, oh best believe you would go be put to the test, and you would probably you'd find out what you're allergic to real fast.

SPEAKER_02 3:23

Oh no, like that was me last year.

SPEAKER_01 3:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:25

So last year was the first year that I actually like discovered I had allergies, and then to be at the market.

SPEAKER_01 3:33

And there's like thousands of trees full of pollen. I've never seen anything like it before.

SPEAKER_02 3:37

If I did not have, I had to be like allergy med up to like survive.

SPEAKER_01 3:43

I think I got more sick doing the spring market than the first winter market was actually really bad.

SPEAKER_03 3:49

Yeah, but so the same.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

Yeah, first winter market was like I I think I had COVID like every other week. And I and I and I stayed home every single time. Yes. Okay, um So let's talk about this. So we're beading bracelets here. For those of you who don't have the visuals, uh we all have bead spooners in front of us, we're all gonna be making different colors. I'm making Goldie, Richard's making purple haze, Rachel's gonna be making polished orange, and Tiara has sage, one of our most popular colors. So you've gone ahead and you've poured some beads in there. I would pour some more beads in there.

SPEAKER_02 4:24

More? Yeah, because you get to fill it up. Fill it up as much as possible. Fill it up.

SPEAKER_01 4:28

Yeah. All the way, keep going. There you go.

SPEAKER_02 4:31

Okay, good.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

Now, what you're gonna do is turn it on.

SPEAKER_02 4:34

This button.

SPEAKER_01 4:35

It it is it is a button. Slide it over first and then you're gonna spin it up.

SPEAKER_02 4:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:42

Okay, so the right-handed or left-handed?

SPEAKER_02 4:45

Yes, right or left-handed. I'm a right-handed person.

SPEAKER_01 4:47

Okay, so you would want it to spin counterclockwise.

SPEAKER_02 4:50

Okay, so the other one?

SPEAKER_01 4:52

No, you're good. Put the uh that is counterclockwise, Susie. Um I don't know how you look at clocks. But let's put the put the needle in your right hand.

SPEAKER_02 5:01

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 5:02

Pinch it at the bottom.

SPEAKER_02 5:03

Pinch it like this.

SPEAKER_01 5:04

Alright, oh wait, first you have to slide the thread through the bottom.

SPEAKER_02 5:07

Okay. Alright, let's do that.

SPEAKER_01 5:10

And then you're gonna pinch it in place so that way it doesn't move, slide out.

SPEAKER_02 5:14

Okay, so like this.

SPEAKER_01 5:15

Oh, put it more, pull it more.

SPEAKER_02 5:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:17

There, there you go.

SPEAKER_02 5:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:19

Now, I want you to hold it with your index finger and your thumb.

SPEAKER_02 5:23

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 5:24

Right hand. And then I want you to bend the needle in the shape of an L. Kind of like a hockey stick.

SPEAKER_02 5:30

Why does your needle look like that?

SPEAKER_01 5:34

Bend it like a hockey stick. You want it to go up. You want the L to like a J, sorry. A J rather. Let me see. So when you're holding it, you want to hold it like that. Like that. No, no, no. Like this is what I'm saying. Yeah. Like a J.

SPEAKER_02 5:56

That's a J? No, this is J Okay. I see the J. Okay. Because that was not given J.

SPEAKER_01 6:03

So now put your take take your finger, your index finger, and put it in right in the middle of your beads.

SPEAKER_02 6:08

My index? Which of this bead?

SPEAKER_01 6:10

No, it doesn't matter. Just push them down. Yeah, just you want it to just kind of like. There you go. Because if you try to put it in there like that, it's not gonna do anything.

SPEAKER_02 6:17

Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_01 6:18

There you go. You can lift it. Take it out now. You just go like this. You kinda like make sure that they're all level. So that way when I put the needle in, it can actually catch them. Otherwise you're gonna be like sticking a I don't know, straight, sticking a pole into uh to the side of a building.

SPEAKER_02 6:32

Alright.

SPEAKER_01 6:32

You want to go ahead from the side. So you're just gonna kinda glide over top.

SPEAKER_02 6:36

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 6:37

And just glide it, glide, glide, and you're gonna watch, you're gonna feel as if the needle picks up the beads. You wanna go turn the speed down a little bit. Go a little fast. There you go. Is that better? You just want to get used to it. Okay. Get used to the feeling. You just want to glide it right on top. You're gonna watch them catch. Or not catching, definitely not. Then you give it a little bit too much of a loop at the bottom there. Here, let me see it. Let me fix this. You're gonna hold like this.

SPEAKER_02 7:16

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 7:22

Oh a lot of twisting and turning around here. Yeah. Put it right here. You see how that is?

SPEAKER_02 7:31

Like downward like that.

SPEAKER_01 7:32

Yeah, yeah. You want the tip of the needle to just glide over top, on the glide on the top of it. The skin on the top of it. Yeah, there you go. Maybe try to. Maybe grab it. Like grab it.

SPEAKER_02 7:51

Grab the needle a little bit more. Grab the needle more. So that it's more stable. Alright. So we do it like this.

SPEAKER_01 7:57

Yeah, just use all your hands to kind of like keep it in place, but then like also like this kind of thing. I'm still holding the double thread.

SPEAKER_02 8:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:08

You can hold a double thread. As long as you're holding the double thread, you don't have to necessarily hold it on the like on the point there. I think it also helped get you started. Because it is a lot easier once you've actually started it. It's going really fast.

SPEAKER_02 8:27

Richard, how do you do yours where your one moves?

SPEAKER_01 8:31

So you spin his in the middle. Just keep it still. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:37

See, it's getting on right now. Alright. You got one? Yeah, yeah. There you go. Now pull them down. Pull them down, but don't.

SPEAKER_01 8:46

And then keep it on the double part of the thread. Pull them.

SPEAKER_00 8:53

Pull these down. So you want to hold the thread. So you want it to hold the thread in place. So now you don't have to hold the thread anymore. Now you don't have to hold the thread.

SPEAKER_02 9:02

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 9:03

So you always want to keep a few beads on the double thread.

SPEAKER_02 9:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 9:06

So that way it holds it into place.

SPEAKER_02 9:08

So it holds it. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 9:09

Now you don't have to hold it, you don't have to hold the thread anymore. You can just focus on that needle and just getting them on.

SPEAKER_02 9:14

Getting them on.

SPEAKER_01 9:14

And then when you get them up, there you go. You just lift it up.

SPEAKER_02 9:17

Okay. Pull them down. Just pull them down.

SPEAKER_01 9:19

Yeah. There you go. And you're off. First person to uh finish a bracelet gets a thousand dollars.

SPEAKER_02 9:28

You probably won't be me. Do I keep pulling this one down?

SPEAKER_01 9:35

No, no, no. Just just do little by little. Okay. And then as you get closer to filling that up, then we'll we'll we'll approach that. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 9:42

Just and I'll see you can get some more.

SPEAKER_01 9:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:44

Okay. Alright, cool. All right. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 9:48

Awesome. So you're off. How does it feel to uh finally be making a bracelet of your own?

SPEAKER_02 9:53

I think it's definitely a learning curve.

SPEAKER_00 9:58

Literally.

SPEAKER_02 9:59

Definitely a learning curve, but it feels great.

SPEAKER_00 10:03

You've seen these at the markets.

SPEAKER_02 10:06

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's actually, I feel like it's one of you guys' like best sellers, right? Like it is.

SPEAKER_01 10:11

It's funny because like online we sell tons of them. In person, we sell a lot, but nowhere near as many as like online? Online. And then online, it's like we don't really sell that much clothing, but in person everybody buys the clothing. The crazy little like flip-flop. But you know, it's it's it's also a learning curve. Uh you know, being a part of an industry that you have had no prior experience in, you kind of learn things as you go. And I and I think you know something about that.

SPEAKER_02 10:39

Yes, I do.

SPEAKER_01 10:40

You had a background in uh in fashion, right? Yes. For a very long time. So you know a lot of things that I would love to know.

SPEAKER_02 10:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:47

So and uh now you do now you do what you do now, which is incredible. Tell us a little bit about that.

SPEAKER_02 10:52

So I um started my corporate career at like 23, and I started in wholesale.

SPEAKER_01 10:59

Oh, yeah. So jealous. I need to learn.

SPEAKER_02 11:02

I started in wholesale. I worked for a licensing company for about um maybe like a year or two before I went over to um like actual like clothing.

SPEAKER_01 11:12

Okay, so you went to like magic and you went to Yeah, all of those things, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:17

So I want to say for like a year, like the first six months of a year, I was never home for two weeks straight. Really? I was always like at a trade show, like always somewhere.

SPEAKER_00 11:30

Did you have a favorite trade show or I had a the worst one?

SPEAKER_02 11:35

I can tell you that.

SPEAKER_01 11:36

Okay, Atlanta's supposed to be really good.

SPEAKER_02 11:39

It was one in Denver. Denver Vegas was great. Denver?

SPEAKER_01 11:43

Vegas, you like Vegas?

SPEAKER_02 11:44

Vegas was nice. Denver, oh my god, Denver was a nightmare. So first, first of all, I missed my flight because it was a problem, it was a problem for you. Oh, for the yeah, for me.

SPEAKER_01 11:56

It wasn't Denver. No, it wasn't Denver. There's a Rachel.

SPEAKER_02 12:00

Yeah. I missed my flight because the driver didn't know his way to JFK, which was interesting. Missed my flight, had to catch another one, got there, lost my luggage. The luggage didn't get there, so I was like, oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 12:15

You work for a clothing brand.

SPEAKER_02 12:16

Right. And then um, I didn't realize the elevation in Denver. Yes. Didn't know that was gonna happen. You got sick? Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I had the worst headache ever, and I was just like sitting in the booth, like looking up, what is going on? And this sweet woman, she came to me, she was like, Oh my god, are you okay? And I'm like, no. And she's like, you just need to drink more water. I didn't think, I thought it was like bullshit, but she was right. So yeah. So that was the worst. Um, but yeah, so I've done um wholesale production and merchandising, compounded about 12 years across intimates, outerwear, men's, women's, all of it.

SPEAKER_01 13:01

Was there like a certain brand that you worked specifically for?

SPEAKER_02 13:04

Yeah, so I've worked for Tommy John for six years. Um, and then I worked for Delta Galil. It was interesting, they were my main factory, and then I ended up working on the other side out of their offices. What is it called? Delta Galil. They're a factory in Egypt, a huge factory in Egypt. Um, and then I worked for outdoor voices.

SPEAKER_03 13:24

Oh.

SPEAKER_02 13:25

I worked for Good Life Clothing. I worked for like so many different brands, both men's and women's.

SPEAKER_01 13:31

Outdoor voices, I would love to. We could pick your brain up about that afterwards.

SPEAKER_02 13:34

Yeah, yeah. I worked for outdoor voices. Yeah, I did um at first I was doing production and then they switched me over to product development, and I got switched back to production.

SPEAKER_01 13:43

Were you not good at product development?

SPEAKER_02 13:44

No, it's just that they what they wanted is that they they switched me over and they go, okay, build out this team. They're like, build off this team, hire, fire, do whatever you have to do, get it to a good place. And I was like, okay, did that. I had like eight people under me, did that, got that. And they're like, okay, great, you can move back to your original position. So that's how that happened.

SPEAKER_01 14:03

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_02 14:03

They weren't like, oh, they just wanted you for that. Yeah. And I was just like, okay, I guess. But yeah, so I've done that for I've done like the whole production corporate thing for so many years. And then after a while, I just got tired of it. So just decided to, you know, during COVID, I went to um esthetician school. So that's how that happened. Got my license and everything. And then after a while, like, all right, let's just see.

SPEAKER_01 14:28

That is a big, it is a big shift. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, like, it's a completely different industry. Like, I I try to find like the similarities between the two. None. Uh well, I mean, in the sense that like you are you are still in retail.

SPEAKER_02 14:40

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

SPEAKER_01 14:42

You do still you own your own business, you like you do markets, that's how we know each other. So it's through a lot of the uh market scene, if you will, yes, uh, here in New York. It is it's crazy because like although you know New York is such a huge city, there is like there's like the pocket of like the small business vendors, and they all know who we are. Yeah, everyone knows everybody. Everybody knows everybody, like we all show up to the same places, we do the same things, and like you know, for such a massive city, you would kind of like expect there to be like a lot of variation or a lot of like I don't know, something, but like it is the same people, same people every single time, right?

SPEAKER_00 15:21

And there's even an overlap between here and Boston because there's a lot of and Chicago.

SPEAKER_01 15:29

Uh Chicago, not as much, but between here and Boston for sure, but that's also probably shouldn't talk about that. Uh but uh yes, yeah. There's there's definitely a lot of like cross-market exposure that happens uh between like different cities, but for the most part, like it is it is nice to know that like you can show up someplace even if you've never been there before.

SPEAKER_02 15:51

Yeah, and you're gonna know you're gonna know someone. You'll definitely find someone that you know for sure.

SPEAKER_01 15:55

You just like go through the roster and you're like, uh-huh, know her, know her, know him. He's a bitch. Don't like him.

SPEAKER_02 16:05

Yeah, you're seeing faces for sure. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:09

But it's been it's been nice, and like for the past what two years now we've both had spots across from each other at Union Square. Which I've seen that which I heard was a thing. I love working out at Union Square. It's my favorite pop of channel.

SPEAKER_00 16:23

Oh it was awesome. Did you ever work at that one of this last year?

SPEAKER_01 16:28

No.

SPEAKER_00 16:29

It drops the ball.

SPEAKER_01 16:30

No, actually, no, it's a lie. I did work there one time. One day? One afternoon. Remember, and then Rachel just watched me from across the from across the sideway, from across the aisleway as I was like struggling to figure out how to open up the booth. And then once I finally got it open, and I'm like standing there for a minute, like drenched in sweat and drenched. Over it, I'm like, Richard does it. I was not a happy camper this day. As I was at Bryant Park, and then somebody didn't show up to Union Square, so I had to go from not somebody not showing up at Bryant Park to somebody else who didn't show up at Union Square. And by the time I got there, I was like already like over it. Oh yeah, I was not having it. And I set up the whole entire thing, and then I look over, and you're just watching. And I'm like, you see me struggling over here, you don't even be like, yo, Chris, like there's a latch in the middle.

SPEAKER_02 17:23

Well, yeah, probably.

SPEAKER_01 17:27

Let's talk about that, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:31

Well, me and Richard met because you needed to borrow a hammer. Remember? Yes.

SPEAKER_01 17:36

Yes. And you probably said you didn't have one or something.

SPEAKER_02 17:40

I shared my hammer.

SPEAKER_00 17:42

I will borrow a lot of tools from the tools. I don't have to buy them.

SPEAKER_03 17:46

There is tools, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:48

There is a there's a vendor that has a has a a reputation, if you will, for not loaning anybody anything ever. Oh yeah. Oh yeah, and they they have they have that reputation, and everyone knows who they are, and everybody always like likes to comment on their inability to be helpful.

SPEAKER_02 18:08

That's not nice.

SPEAKER_01 18:09

Neighborly, neighborly to your other neighbors. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 18:11

I mean, we're all out there suffering in that weather. It's just like, why not be nice? Especially because like we're gonna be each other's neighbors. You're there for such a long time together. That's the thing. You're there for six weeks. What do you get out of it? Like, six weeks is a long time.

SPEAKER_01 18:25

Six weeks. Oh, in the cold.

SPEAKER_02 18:29

Oh no, Brian is like nine forever. Half a year.

SPEAKER_01 18:34

You might as well, yeah. Thank god. I know. I want it to last forever. Uh trying to just be year-round. It'd be nice.

SPEAKER_02 18:42

That'd be interesting. How do you think that would go?

SPEAKER_01 18:45

It'd probably be really well.

SPEAKER_02 18:46

Maybe, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:48

Well, I mean, they have they do have permanent kiosks that live there all year round. But as far as like a retail perspective, like I wonder how something like that would do in a place like that. But uh yeah. But I guess we'll never know. We'll never know. Oh god. Um you got started, you went into I'm gonna like butcher this every single time I try to say it, so I'm not even gonna try it. The E-word.

SPEAKER_02 19:13

Aesthetician.

SPEAKER_01 19:14

Esthetician.

SPEAKER_02 19:15

Right.

SPEAKER_01 19:16

Okay, and how then did you end up with a company that does markets?

SPEAKER_02 19:22

You know what's so funny about that.

SPEAKER_01 19:24

Like it's like very like, how do we get from point A to point B?

SPEAKER_02 19:26

Yeah, what's so funny about that? So, um, aesthetic school was just supposed to be a backup because that happened during COVID, and it was literally just kind of like, all right, I got laid off furlough as like everyone in the world.

SPEAKER_01 19:41

What does furloughed mean?

SPEAKER_02 19:43

Basically fired.

unknown 19:44

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:46

It's usually nobody knew what furloughed was, and then furloughed became a thing during the world.

SPEAKER_02 19:49

Yeah, so like everyone kind of got furloughed because everyone's companies, you know, nothing, the world was shut down, so they couldn't afford employees. Um, so I got furloughed, and then I was like, okay, what do I do?

SPEAKER_01 20:02

Did you get paid on furlough?

SPEAKER_02 20:03

No, you don't get paid on furlough. Nope, not a cent. So I decided to go to esthetician school. That was I did it um remotely for four months. Um and then graduated, and I was like, okay, this will be like a backup. So in case the world shuts down again, you know, like I have a second career or what may happen.

SPEAKER_01 20:27

And what do they teach you in esthetician?

SPEAKER_02 20:29

So you learn, say it, say what's that?

SPEAKER_01 20:33

That's just you go through different modules.

SPEAKER_02 20:39

So like first you start with makeup and then you go to like the biology of the skin, which is like the longest module, and you learn everything from like different facial muscles to like literally like facial diseases, skin diseases, like all sorts of things. And then after that, you go to the practical part and you have to learn um like like the practical, you know, massage movements and things like that, steps of a facial. So you learn the theory part of that first, and then you go through the pack the practical where you actually have to like do it.

SPEAKER_01 21:10

So you wanted to learn this during the pandemic in case it was another pandemic. Yes. Because you saw that if there was gonna be a pandemic, you're like, I need to let people at least feel good and look good. Because the world is ending, you gotta put your makeup on, right?

SPEAKER_02 21:24

Why not? Right? And then after you get through school, so you go through school to qualify, you have to go through a certain amount of hours. Once you get your hours, then you can sit for the boards. The boards is a two-part test, written and practical. You have to pass both before you can get your license. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 21:39

Do they teach you zombie makeup too?

SPEAKER_02 21:41

No, like you can learn all sorts of makeup, you can learn like all sorts of different makeup. It's actually really cool. Um, so did that, graduated, got my license, and um I had I was like posting the whole thing as I was going, because what else do you do? Right. People were like DMing me and they like listen once you start, like, let me know. So I was just like, okay. So when I posted that I graduated, I already had people that was like, Yeah, I want to come for like a fake show. So I'm like, okay. Nice. What do I do? So my living room. I have a huge living room. So I like partition it off and put like a bed there and put it by the window. So like, you know, because still COVID, so people don't feel like, you know, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 22:27

And they need air.

SPEAKER_02 22:29

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I only did um friends, family, referrals only. And I only did it on the weekends, and every single weekend I had client books, out of books. And then after that, I started getting um inquiries from strangers, so I had to find a place, so I decided to find a place, right? The products came in because every time I did a facial, I would burn a candle, and everyone would be like, What candle is that? And I'm like, Oh, it's from such a shot or whatever. And they're like, You should make your own, and I was like, No. I had no intentions. I was like, I don't want to, I'm not interested. Um work, right?

SPEAKER_01 23:09

And then spoiler alert, do you still do uh like facial video? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:15

I have I have an actual like professional studio in Sunset Park.

SPEAKER_01 23:19

Really? And how often do you do those?

SPEAKER_02 23:20

Every um I work like four days a week there.

SPEAKER_01 23:23

Oh, really? Oh good.

SPEAKER_02 23:26

Yeah, work like four days a week, yeah, yeah. So um I have a best friend that worked in like the spa culture, and she's like, no, you should really make like your own candles. It makes sense for your brand, like why not? And I was like, oh girl, no.

SPEAKER_01 23:41

I mean, it's a nice it's a nice tie-in. I mean like it's easy. You like what a lot of people I think have problems with. I mean, like, it's easy to just show up at Michael's, buy all the ingredients, you know, make the cat man make the sense, make the candle, but then they have nowhere to sell it. Right. You already have the location where you could sell it. So you've already created the avenue, the channel to be able to be, to have some sort of like revenue stream, even if even if it fucking tanks.

SPEAKER_02 24:07

Yeah, right, right. It doesn't matter.

SPEAKER_01 24:08

Like you already you can put it somewhere and it'll still sell eventually.

SPEAKER_02 24:12

Right. So I listened to her, I took her advice. Shout out to you, girl. And um I like found a supplier, and my supplier, like, you know, they had like all the candle stuff. So I spent like six months just like researching blogs, like joining different Facebook communities, reading, watching YouTube, like the whole nine, and um had like my first like little small collection, like figured out like the first four cents that I wanted coming from my merchandising background of just like don't make it feel so busy. Pick four core cents and that's it, and then everything else would be like seasonal. Yeah, so I did it that way, and um all my friends like brought everything, so I'm like, okay, you have good friends, yeah. Shout out to my friends, so they bought everything, and I told them to give me feedback, they gave me feedback. Um, and then I was like, okay, so where else can like I sell these outside of like friends and family? I literally went on Google and I was like markets in New York City, literally, that's how I did it. And then I found like um the market that I do uptown, Grand Bazaar, and I didn't know the history of it or anything like that. It's like the oldest market in the city. I had no idea. So um I applied, I got in, I went on vacation, came back, and I was like, I think like a client canceled on me or something, so I just like emailed them randomly. I'm like, oh, do you guys have space or something? And they're like, Yeah. It's like, okay. So I went there and I had like, you know, my little soaps, my little candle.

SPEAKER_01 25:45

What was your I went, I I okay, so from like one small business vendor to another, I need to know what your first ever setup looked like. Because if I told you what my first setup looked like, oh girl, oh my god. I look back at pictures and I'm like, no, I didn't. Why did I do that?

SPEAKER_02 26:02

It was literally, so my friend, she got me like this, like it looked like a beehive like thing, right? And it kind of worked, I guess, for the colors of my brand, which is like yellow and orange. So it was like a beehive thing, and then I had like these fake flowers, like kind of like taped to the back of it. So it gives it like a jungle feel, and then I had like the little products like in each pocket of like the beehive. Oh, and that was that was my first setup. So that's what I had, and I was like, okay, and then like for people to like smell things, I had like this little thing that you could like slide open, and I put like a couple drops of like the um oils in there so they could like slide it open and smell it or whatever, and that was that was it, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:47

So what did you use as a tablecloth?

SPEAKER_02 26:50

Um, I think I I ordered like from Amazon.

SPEAKER_01 26:53

Yeah. You mean bougie?

SPEAKER_02 26:55

Yeah. I ordered from Amazon.

SPEAKER_01 26:56

I was on the budget. I used the shower liner.

SPEAKER_02 27:01

I ordered from Amazon and I got like, you know, like the ones that are like super tight and the one who was trying to get you to look for the other day. Yeah. So I ordered from Amazon and I got that. So um when I went uptown to Grandma's R for the first time, I had no idea. I didn't know anyone, I didn't know what was going on. They placed me in like the middle of this aisle, and I just sat down and I was like, Oh, yeah, new here, because like you said, everyone knows everyone. I'm like, yeah, I am, I don't know what's going on. You might not act like you might not act like you're like, oh yeah, before yeah, just like so um I sat there, didn't know what to expect, and literally people were coming to me, they're like, we can smell your table from the end of the aisle. And I was like, okay. And then uh I think it was I made like $700.

SPEAKER_03 27:51

Yeah. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 27:53

But I was just like, okay, what's going on? So then I signed up for more dates and I did like my first holiday one there, and I made like a good amount of money, and I was like, okay. So then I dedicated the next year to doing every small market that I could around the city just to see where like my brand fits.

SPEAKER_01 28:11

That's I mean, yeah, we did we did things a little bit differently. I mean, when we came back to New York, I was like, I'm doing Bryant Park or none of them at all.

SPEAKER_02 28:20

And I applied, but here's the thing: I applied for Brian Park and I applied for Union Square, not knowing what I was getting myself into. I was like, okay, yeah, shoot my shot. I'm kind of happy that I didn't get in because I would have been a lost, lost, lost girl. I would I have no idea what else.

SPEAKER_01 28:37

Park is a beast.

SPEAKER_02 28:38

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:39

I came, I went straight into Brian Park. I was like, don't give me anything else. I don't want anything else. I'm going, I only want Brian Park, that's it. Either we're doing the biggest one or we're not doing anything else. It's a beast.

SPEAKER_02 28:46

Yeah, and then well, now when when I got into Union Square, I cried. I cried.

SPEAKER_01 28:53

It's a moment. I mean, these are these are like, I mean, for those of you who don't know, it's like these are like iconic markets. Like when you're kind of like on your small business journey, you know, and like getting into one of those things, it's like it's really it can be life-changing in a lot of ways. I mean, Brian, when we first did Bryant Park, I remember like we were literally like, I had I had amassed so much debt at this point, like so much debt. And I was like, I literally like looked at my mom and dad and I was like, I have to do we have to do the biggest one because if we don't do the biggest one, if we don't do the one that lasts the longest period of time, like I don't think I have enough money to keep going after this.

SPEAKER_03 29:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:26

And she's like, okay, like let's go, let's do it. We rented an Airbnb. I lived in New York for three months, and then like it ended up being the most amazing thing that we could have ever done. Yeah. You know, ended up making like two and a half times like what we had made in three years in like 80 days. And it was like, that's it. It's like you don't you you don't even look back at that point. It's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 29:46

That's amazing. Yeah. When like when I seen, because Union Square, obviously, you know, new kid on the block, first time, everyone knows, right? And I'm just like, okay, I don't know what happened. I didn't hire, I don't think I hired anyone.

SPEAKER_01 30:02

And so I don't have some friends.

SPEAKER_02 30:05

I had some friends that helped.

SPEAKER_01 30:07

No, no, no, but you don't hire anybody that first you don't know what to expect.

SPEAKER_02 30:10

You have no expectation.

SPEAKER_01 30:10

Chances are you have no money. You don't have to do it. I'm gonna say what you don't want to say. You have no money.

SPEAKER_02 30:16

You're broke.

SPEAKER_01 30:17

You're broke. So guess what? You're gonna do, you're gonna work every single day.

SPEAKER_02 30:21

Every single day. I was never so tired in my life. I literally was just like Come Thanksgiving, you're like, fuck this. Thanksgiving. I told everyone, I said, I don't want to see you. I'm so sorry. I don't want to see you. I slept on Thanksgiving when you told me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I slept all day. I was just like, I don't want to see it.

SPEAKER_00 30:40

Well, because I think the union is open. I mean, close Thanksgiving. No, we're open in Brian Park. Brian Park is open Thanksgiving. I mean, like we, I mean.

SPEAKER_03 30:47

When does Brian Park close? It doesn't close when it ends.

SPEAKER_00 30:51

Yeah. When you die. We don't want it to close. You don't want it to close, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:56

I know, I know. I've heard such good things. I mean, I'm shooting my shot this year, it seemed like it end. I'm hoping it do. But um, yeah, like I feel like that's now that I talk to like other people that's like in the position of where they're trying to get in. I literally tell them, like, listen, for the next I round it off to like three months though, because it is six weeks, but like even afterwards, you you're going to need the time to just recover. Union square.

SPEAKER_01 31:22

Oh, well, I mean, Bryant Park is literally three months.

SPEAKER_02 31:24

Yeah. Yeah. And Union Square is six weeks, but it feels like forever.

SPEAKER_01 31:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:28

And I'm just like, listen, like, you're trying doing three of them at the same time. I know. But that's my goal though.

SPEAKER_01 31:35

There we go.

SPEAKER_02 31:37

My goal, my goal is to do three.

SPEAKER_01 31:40

Three? No, go go even bigger. Three.

SPEAKER_02 31:43

No, like three this year.

SPEAKER_01 31:44

We put in for oh three this year. We put in for five this year.

SPEAKER_02 31:46

Five? Yeah. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 31:48

Yeah, Tiara's going to Chicago. She doesn't even know. Sorry, we always we always like to get candy before we shoot. It's like a little guilty pleasure. Um and there's like a cute little candy shop right down the street from us. And they have just like some ancient candy that like you haven't probably seen in such a long time.

SPEAKER_02 32:08

Yeah, the Pop Rocks got it. Pop rocks, the warheads.

SPEAKER_01 32:11

You were getting your sour pouches or whatever you were cooking on.

SPEAKER_02 32:15

Sour powers.

SPEAKER_01 32:16

You put sour powers. I'm like, I don't think that's a thing.

SPEAKER_02 32:19

It's literally called sour punches. Sour powers.

unknown 32:22

Shop them out.

SPEAKER_01 32:24

So uh they are called Eugene?

SPEAKER_02 32:27

I think so. There's Eugene.

SPEAKER_01 32:28

There's a tag right around here from the Eugene. Eugene J. Yep. Eugene J. Candy. And Bushwick. And Bushwick. Thank you so much, Eugene J Candy and Bushwick. I don't know. For all the sweet treats and all the favorite pastime candy. It was actually really good. Oh, they even had like homemade uh Greese's peanut butter cups. And the Rice Krispie treats. It was all really, really good. I haven't tried it. Ever in Brooklyn. Deep in Brooklyn. Go to Eugene J Candy and get yourself some candy.

SPEAKER_02 32:58

That was really good.

SPEAKER_01 32:58

Now that we're also doing uh endorsements and promotions and sponsorships. Thank you. Beat Act. Your amazing bead spinners. We use them all the time. They help us be more efficient with our feeding. If you're looking for a good feeding solution, go straight to beat act. You can find them on Amazon. Uh Amazon. Probably their website. Probably their website. Oh, just keep pushing it down. Keep pulling them down. Pull them off the. Just wanted to make sure that you always leave something on the double.

SPEAKER_03 33:39

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 33:40

Now you gotta fill up the rest of the thread.

SPEAKER_02 33:43

Alright, I'll get there. You will get there.

SPEAKER_01 33:47

And also uh thank you to Beatalon for your elasticity stretch cord. Elasticity stretch cord is very stretchy, but also very durable. Which is why it is our preferred cord that we use for our bracelet wraps, ensuring that they won't break and shatter into a million pieces all over the place. But if it has, we can probably tell you why it has, because he doesn't use the right stretch cord. But yes, we use beadalon elasticity stretch cord. And lastly, thank you, Miyuki, for providing us with some amazing beaded beads. We use Miyuki Glacier C beads for all of our bracelet wraps. We import them from Japan. Uh they are made with such precision and such accuracy, and like they're just like little E D beautiful beads. Like it's crazy to think that like that they can make something this small.

SPEAKER_02 34:49

In so many different colors.

SPEAKER_01 34:51

So many different colors. They have like over 25,000 different beads.

SPEAKER_02 34:54

I would love to see what that production looks like as well.

SPEAKER_01 34:57

Let's go. Let's go. I went to go to Japan. I went to their factory store. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:01

Oh, that's fun.

SPEAKER_01 35:02

Yes, and their main factory factory is actually in Hiroshima. I think that like something that we kind of touched upon beforehand was A, world domination with uh gratitude and candles and scents and fragrances. But two, it was uh this idea or this notion that like I think that I think that a lot of people in this day and age, well A, let's back up for a second. The United States is I don't even know what the percentage is, so I'm not even gonna throw to throw out a percentage, but I know that like the majority of people within the United States are actually small businesses. Small business owners. It makes up a huge portion of our economy. Uh and I think I want to say it's like a very, very high number, maybe even like 30, 40% of like Americans are small business owners or like run their own businesses in some way, shape, or form. Uh and that's like that's that's it's amazing because it means that like we're kind of a country just of like entrepreneurs, people of innovators, people like who are very self-motivated and want to like succeed and do good and like bring something to the table.

SPEAKER_02 36:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:09

And not just like you know, suck the system dry. But at the same time, you know, I'm sure that there are so many people who have problems or fears when it comes to making that first step. And like, what is something that like let's say you might have been afraid of, or how did you start? Like, I mean, I know how you started, but what did what was something that you were afraid of in the beginning?

SPEAKER_02 36:31

I mean, coming from being in corporate for so long, right? You get used to the monotony of it of like you go to work, you know you're gonna get a check. You know what I mean? You go to work, you get a check, you do good, you you know, you might get promoted, like whatever, right? But it's something in that where, and if the company's doing well, you could have a job for years, right? When you're an entrepreneur, you are at the mercy of what's going on in the world, really and truly. So if the economy sucks, guess what? The sales might look a little crazy, people might, you know, you know, um, right now, maybe self-care is not what people would want, or sometimes, you know, maybe self-care is what people will focus on. So it's so many different factors that play a part. There's competition, there's so many things to think about. Um I think being an entrepreneur, you need to have so much belief in yourself that people think that you are absolutely insane. Like people think that you're you're like crazy, like like absolutely insane. A little delusional. A little delusional, like a little drop of delulu in there.

SPEAKER_01 37:44

Yeah, are you saying I'm delusional?

SPEAKER_02 37:45

Maybe. A little drop of Delulu in there, right?

SPEAKER_01 37:50

Um I think I told David this the other day. I was like, I was like, I just don't understand why you're not up until four o'clock in the morning. Like I am every good work.

SPEAKER_02 37:58

Right? And I and it's like the delusion and the passion, but then also like when you when you know that, like, all right, this is what I am depending on to eat, you're gonna do what you have to do. You're gonna make it work. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:16

There's no there's no like there's no there's no there's no failure. Failure is not an option at this point. And it's like, how do you like here are my choices? It's like either A, succeed, yeah, or B, find a way. Yeah. That is it. There's no plan C. That is not an option.

SPEAKER_02 38:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:34

So either help me figure it out or get the fuck out of my way.

SPEAKER_02 38:38

Really? That's what it is. So, like in the beginning, that could be a little jarring because it's just kind of like, all right, well, if I don't you have to have that sense of determination, that's what I'm getting from this. Yeah, and it's like if I don't really figure it out, then either we're going back to corporate or we're gonna be in the poorhouse. But we do it. You know.

SPEAKER_01 38:55

So I feel that. I mean, like, and I think you and I were both in the same scenario in that like we both fell into our brands during the pandemic. Yeah. Yeah. B, like, we went into different industries that we had absolutely no background or experience in.

unknown 39:09

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:11

And and C, like, both of our roles encouraged us to do something that we hadn't done ever before in the sense of like creatively.

SPEAKER_02 39:23

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 39:23

Like, I never was a creative. I mean, I have a degree in finance and marketing. Marketing, maybe, but like, it's still a business degree, it's still very much run by a number, right? There's a there's a right answer, there's a wrong answer, there's not really that much gray. Like statistics. Hated statistics. Yeah, yeah. Why? Because there's a gray area in statistics. And I'm like, no, there's no gray area. Stop it with the gray area. I want black or white, that's it. Like, don't give me beige, like, no, no, no, no, no. Like, it doesn't work for me. I just need to know that that I'm either right or I'm wrong. And like, that's it. Um, and to go into something that was like all of a sudden, like, here, design a t-shirt. And I'm like, I'm like, what? Like, what kind of material do you want to use? I'm like, t-shirt fabric. Right.

SPEAKER_02 40:08

And then it's also kind of like, are other people going to like get it or like accept it?

SPEAKER_01 40:14

Is it my own inside joke and like no one else is gonna laugh with it?

SPEAKER_02 40:17

Right, because like, for instance, I do like seasonal scents, right? And I would uh, it takes a lot for me to develop like a new scent. I'll develop the scent, I'll get so excited about it, but then I'm just like, okay, no, you smell it. Tell me what you think, okay. You smell it. What do you think? And then it's just like it's like the first, I want to say, like, two to maybe like the first month of putting it out. I'm kind of like on pins and needles, because I'm like, okay, like how is it being accepted? Do people like it?

SPEAKER_01 40:43

Well, you take it personally. Oh, yeah. You try not to because you try not to.

SPEAKER_02 40:47

You do, but you can. You do. Yeah, but you try not to.

SPEAKER_01 40:52

Um that's why I had to stop working in the market so often because I was like, somebody'd be like, I don't really like the color. I'm like, well, fuck you. What do you mean you don't like stage like that?

SPEAKER_02 41:02

You don't get the vision.

SPEAKER_01 41:05

You obviously don't have taste.

SPEAKER_00 41:06

I think it's because we're working on the next collection, and this is the first time because Chris and I were on a cruise and we were walking through Mazadlan and coming up with ideas. Yeah. And this is the first time, no, he designed all of it. Yeah. This is the first time we've uh actually I've had some input. Yeah. A little bit more input than on other items. And it's going to be personal. Like if someone comes in and it's like, oh, I don't like that, I'm like, why? Yeah, why? What's wrong with it?

SPEAKER_03 41:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 41:37

Are you saying you don't like me? Yeah, well, look at your candy.

SPEAKER_01 41:40

You don't look at your can. It's like you got so much to say over here.

SPEAKER_00 41:43

Right. It's like there's like them, they're telling me they hate me.

SPEAKER_02 41:47

Right. So, like, you kind of like can't take it personal. I think, um, I think for me, because working in corporate, right, like you have to learn how to be like super, like, learn how to adapt. So, because there's so many changes, like, so many things happen. And like, there'll be times where I would merchandise an item and it'll get cut. And I'm just like, well, what the fuck?

unknown 42:09

You know?

SPEAKER_02 42:10

Um, but then after a while, you just get used to it, you know, and it's just like, all right, well, that's not gonna do well because you don't like stripes or whatever, you know.

SPEAKER_01 42:20

I want to know what is the name of a product or an item that you merchandise once that you get that ended up getting cut that you were offended by.

SPEAKER_03 42:27

I'm trying to think.

SPEAKER_01 42:29

That story came from somewhere, I know it's somebody.

SPEAKER_02 42:32

I'm trying to think.

SPEAKER_01 42:33

Um, just anything, anything that's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 42:36

Anything that got cut.

SPEAKER_01 42:37

You're already merchandised.

SPEAKER_02 42:39

Probably like, there was like these pairs of the like polar bear socks. We were doing like the um the winter collection. And there were these pairs of polar bear socks, and when you put it on, it stretched out the polar bear too much, so it didn't look like a polar bear anymore. Kind of like a fat, like rhinos. Right, so and it got cut, and I was just so upset about it. I remember talking to the designer. I'm like, girl, can we make the polar bear skinnier or something? But they were like, no, we can't. So yeah, but yeah, you just learn not to take it personal.

SPEAKER_01 43:14

I get it. I mean, like, you could especially like in the beginning when you're planning or designing like what a collection is gonna look like or what you're gonna make for a season. I mean, granted, I've only been doing it for like three or four seasons for holiday markets, yeah. But like you wanna make so many things, and then you start to see how much everything is gonna cost.

SPEAKER_02 43:32

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 43:32

And you're like, oh, well, maybe I don't need to do that.

SPEAKER_02 43:35

But then also the flip side though is outdoing a performer that you did the season prior. Like, I feel like that's pressure too. Like, I put on a scent, it's a bestseller. It's like, it's going. But now I have to like do better the next season. And I'm just like, all right, well, how am I gonna top this? Like, you know, my nose can only do so much.

unknown 43:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:57

Yeah, I stopped looking at numbers probably this season. I think I like I think I removed uh the Shopify app like off my phone. Really? Yeah, because it became uh it becomes for me at least it becomes a little uh obsessive.

SPEAKER_02 44:10

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:12

And it's not healthy because then I start to obsess over it morning, noon, and night. Yeah. And then for three months.

SPEAKER_02 44:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:18

And the month prior, like I'm just an asshole. Like I'm not not very fun to be around. Like I'm stressed out. Like, I mean in this case, this winter, I think this winter I get a free pass.

SPEAKER_02 44:29

But uh Yeah, because remember that's what we were talking about. I remember we were like comparing like last year's numbers to this year's numbers, and we just kept saying, alright, we can't look at last year because it's like completely different. Like we can't do it.

SPEAKER_01 44:39

Well, last year to this year was not that much of a difference. We ended up doing pretty much the same that we did the year before.

SPEAKER_02 44:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:44

But um, but I mean like this year we didn't have anything to sell.

SPEAKER_02 44:48

Oh we got to that point inventory problems. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:51

Our inventory was stuck on the ocean. Ah so that was that was a bit of a that was a bit of a nightmare predicament to be in, especially when you ran out of like all your mediums and your largest.

SPEAKER_02 45:01

Yeah, which are like your premier sizes.

SPEAKER_01 45:03

On like December 2nd. Like so that was not fun.

SPEAKER_02 45:07

Right.

SPEAKER_01 45:07

Um, but yeah, I mean like I think that I think that when it comes to just like starting your own business though, like, yeah, like you have to be determined because when things like that pop up and they will pop up, like you think you have everything planned out, you think that you're like, I know what color this is gonna be, and this the next thing you know, I was like, oh that was I I for instance the color that you're wearing, you're wearing like uh love. What would you call that? Like an olive, forest green type of thing.

SPEAKER_02 45:37

Forest screen, yeah. Yeah, forest green.

SPEAKER_01 45:39

Uh I haven't even said like evergreen outline.

SPEAKER_02 45:42

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:43

Um, if you look at the tags for those, uh huh, they all say olive.

SPEAKER_02 45:48

Oh really?

SPEAKER_01 45:50

Yeah, interesting.

SPEAKER_02 45:53

I got that right.

SPEAKER_01 45:54

Just goes to show that like sometimes things show up and they look a little different than what you may have planned. So, like, you know, it just it, I think it, and at that point, it was like we were already running behind on everything. We didn't have the time to be like, you know what, let's just change that and give it another shade of like another, another go of like brown or another go of like a of like a like a chestnut, hazel sort of. No, we have to go, keep going, keep going. Like, do we want to change the hang ties? It'll delay us by three days. And like, no, I'm like, just do it.

SPEAKER_02 46:26

Yeah, I don't think people realize because that even happened to me, like, with um the fragrance oils for the candle, my best seller, like the one that you love, the Sun Tow. They just stopped, it just ran out. They didn't have anymore. Oh wow, and I'm just like, well, why? Why don't you have any? It was literally, it was such a where did you find it? I what I had is what I had. So it was like once it sold out, it sold out.

SPEAKER_01 46:51

Like I couldn't you couldn't find the scent anywhere else.

SPEAKER_02 46:55

So it's like different suppliers, even though it might say the same scent, it performs differently. So it would have to be like a whole new like testing process and everything. And no one has time to do that during the holidays, honestly. No, no, like you have to do all that stuff before. So it sucked because it's just like, all right, I'm going into like the biggest season of the year for us, like you know, type of retail businesses, and you're telling me that you don't have one of my most popular scents.

SPEAKER_01 47:21

Like you start planning June. I guess you better start now. Yeah, you gotta make sure you have that sent time.

SPEAKER_02 47:27

I normally start planning in June.

SPEAKER_00 47:29

I think you should start planning yesterday.

SPEAKER_02 47:30

Yeah, I know.

SPEAKER_00 47:32

Especially if you want to try to do Brian as well.

SPEAKER_02 47:34

Yes, yes, I know.

SPEAKER_00 47:36

We started we started in February.

SPEAKER_02 47:38

You started in February?

SPEAKER_00 47:39

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 47:40

You started in February.

SPEAKER_01 47:41

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 47:42

Really?

SPEAKER_01 47:44

What do you think these bracelets are for?

SPEAKER_03 47:46

Me! No, I'm just joking.

SPEAKER_01 47:48

I'm just kidding. I'm not saying it's a start right now. Um I'm saying is that like I think I no, I think that like well yes, um, but I think it's interesting that the longer we've done, the longer, longer we do this, the need for I think I think this year was the reason why we were like, last season was the reason why we were like, we should start the moment that the market closes. Like when you don't get your inventory in time and your inventory shows up after the holiday season ends, you never want something like that to ever happen.

SPEAKER_03 48:19

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:19

Ever. And so you know, when they're talking about like lead times and things like that, I'm like, I'm like, I want this stuff, I want this stuff that we're ordering right now, I want it in our factory by I want it in our warehouse by August.

SPEAKER_02 48:29

I was just gonna say that you guys will need it in by August.

SPEAKER_01 48:31

Yeah, I'm like, I want it by August, so that way if if let's say three weeks gets delayed, whatever, we're still we're still falling into the middle of August. You know, let's say another like three weeks is delayed, we're just touching September, you know, another three weeks gets delayed, we're still in September. You know, like you could push the envelope so far at that point, we would still have it before the end of October. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:50

I think what a little bit different too, like just coming from like a clothing perspective, is like there's so many things that you have to worry about on the calendar, Chinese New Year, if we produce like on that end, um, holidays, factory holidays, or holidays of just like you know, their personal holidays. So you kind of, and then if the factory is vertical or not, if you're getting your if they have everything in house, then God bless you. If they don't, if they don't, and they have to go to the mill and get the buttons here and the fabric there and the zippers there, like that's a nightmare, and you have to track all of that stuff.

SPEAKER_01 49:28

So, like, yeah, so you that's why you need that you need like more than enough time. I mean even more than that. Yeah, because trims, trims will have you, like I mean what's we're what what I'm talking about really starting on though is like especially when it comes to the holiday season, like I'm talking about starting making bracelets. Yeah, I'm like, we need to be making at least you know X number of bracelets a week just so we can have a backstock of 500 by the time we get to the holidays. Because right now we're just producing basically what comes in for orders, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 49:53

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 49:54

So I mean, I don't think there's any there's never a better time to start than like immediately, just because it's like you never know what's gonna happen down the road, and like I the last thing I want us to ever run into is the position that we ran into this time and just end up with nothing.

SPEAKER_02 50:08

Yeah but like determination have a plan of like how how I do it is like I kind of have a plan, especially like how many scents I want to bring in, etc. etc. Test them early, and once I get that going, then it's just like all right, I can just sit and I could like just produce them, you know, and just have them on my shelf. The good thing, and even the good thing about your stuff is that um there's no shelf life, you have it, yeah, it's there, so it's good.

SPEAKER_01 50:33

So we touched on determination as like one thing that like you know you kind of give as like a daunting task to like you know, if you're gonna start a small business, be determined. Yeah, have faith in yourself, yeah. Right. For me, the one thing that I the two things that I always tell people whenever whenever they come to me telling me that they want to start a small business or they want me to like coach them on like like how to start a business, a clothing brand. And I'm like, okay, do you have a do you have a life? How many hours a week are you willing to put towards this? Right. And they're like, yeah, like 20, I'm like, times that by four.

SPEAKER_02 51:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 51:06

Uh but then I'm also like, I always tell people, I like to tell people, align yourself with a cause or a mission. So like we're not in a we're not in that like era anymore where it's like necessarily okay to just like do things to better serve yourself.

SPEAKER_03 51:24

Right?

SPEAKER_01 51:25

Like, so what is your why and who are you helping and why? So align yourself with something, right? Yeah, pick an organization, pick anything. Give like, you know, do you care about like single-use plastics or you know, the whales? Do you want like dogs to have a better life, the ASPCA? Like who do you want, who are you serving and why? And make sure that like your business or your organization like has some sort of give back to that.

SPEAKER_02 51:47

Right.

SPEAKER_01 51:48

Uh and then B, I always tell people, um, you don't need a million dollars to start a company. No, like, you don't even know if what you have isn't even a good idea. Like, don't think that you need like, you know, your mom, dad, cousins, nieces, brother, and everybody in between, all their life savings to put together in order for you to start your t-shirt brand called elasticity. It ain't gonna work, sweetie. Right, right. Try with 50 bucks and get a shirt and see if people even like it. Right. Yeah, and then you can go from there. You know, people think you need all this money, you need to do background testing and market testing and research. I'm like, your research is you setting up a stand at a farmer's market. Yes, and seeing somebody buy this or not.

SPEAKER_02 52:33

Seeing what people gravitate towards, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 52:35

Yeah, if they do, make the next thing. If they don't, move on.

SPEAKER_02 52:38

Yes, yes, yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 52:41

So don't don't spend your whole life savings on something. But at the same time, it's like we are a comp we are a company. We are a country who's like very much built on the idea, the premise, the notion of entrepreneurs, and like lean into that. Like I think that uh it's okay to like fear is an is a normal feeling, it's a normal emotion. And feel it, be a little afraid. It's just I mean, I think it's okay. It's okay to feel fear. I mean, that just means that like you actually care. Like if you didn't have that feeling of fear, then like I would be probably be worried for you. Like, why are you afraid? Like, why are you so confident? Like, your idea sucks, bro. But at the end of the day, you know, like it also it also doesn't even matter what I think. It doesn't matter what what Rachel thinks, it doesn't matter what Rachel thinks, what matters to who your customer is, and like is that customer out there? Are they gonna buy from you? I mean, like, I have sold bracelet colors that I thought were heinous, and I will not explain why or which ones. But I thought that they were ugly, and yet they would sell like crazy, and I'm like, what the fuck? Yeah, and then I realized very quickly, I was like, it doesn't matter what I like.

SPEAKER_03 53:59

Nope.

SPEAKER_01 53:59

It doesn't matter what I like. I'm not selling to myself, I'm not buying my own things. Other people are, you're right. And if it brings other people joy, that's what matters more than anything else. Do you have a scent that you don't like that you sell all the time?

SPEAKER_02 54:12

Yeah, there's been plenty of scents that I've made that I'm just like, ugh.

SPEAKER_01 54:16

And yet it sounds like crazy.

SPEAKER_02 54:18

And it sounds like crazy, it truly does.

SPEAKER_01 54:20

Is the centel one of them?

SPEAKER_02 54:21

Um, no, I love that scent.

SPEAKER_01 54:23

Um, I mean, like, I mean, I don't know, it could be considered that big that you know, the basic, the basic.

SPEAKER_02 54:28

No, it sells so well, but um, there was this, so like I am not someone that likes anything that's like too sweet. Like, I don't want like my house to smell like apples or anything. That's that's not me. But there's there's people that's just like, yeah, I want something that's cinnamon.

SPEAKER_00 54:44

Like you just baked up or something.

SPEAKER_02 54:47

Right.

SPEAKER_00 54:48

And then trying to be hungry at home.

SPEAKER_02 54:49

Right. So I made one that was called pumpkin, I don't even remember, pumpkin something.

SPEAKER_00 54:55

I do like a pumpkin.

SPEAKER_02 54:57

Oh well, so does everyone else. Okay. It it flew and to the point where like I've had I've it was seasonal, thank God.

SPEAKER_01 55:06

You're like people are still asking for it to make it.

SPEAKER_02 55:08

People were still asking for it.

SPEAKER_01 55:10

You know what you do? You keep making it.

SPEAKER_02 55:12

I I did special orders. I was just like, okay, I'll do a special order for you, et cetera, et cetera. But like, was it something that I wouldn't necessarily burn in my house? No. No, not at all. Um, so but in the same realm, I feel like for me, keeping true to like what my brand represents too, right?

SPEAKER_01 55:34

Um I mean, like you can still represent your brand, but it might not necessarily be something that you're like too particularly gun.

SPEAKER_02 55:40

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But I've always, you know, I've always, my whole thing is like, I'm not gonna, I can't make something that I hate. Yeah, like completely, completely hate. Like, I just can't. I can't do it. Um so would it be it might not be my first pick to be my first pick, but it's not something that I like despise, right? And for me, my brand represents confidence. So it's really like I created Ultra Ray for a space the skincare side, for a space to have women, men, it doesn't matter, but like a space of for black and brown women to receive luxury skincare services in an industry where we are otherwise ignored, right? There's so many um procedures, there's so many machines, there's so many things where like it's not even tested on darker skin. No at all, right? So we're we're left out of like an industry where we are literally, but like our community are probably the biggest consumers. So the spaces, where's where's the space for that? Where is that, right?

SPEAKER_01 56:52

And you create the loyalty there, and I mean like you've got yourself a winning combination, right?

SPEAKER_02 56:55

You know, like where's the space for that? And for me, but but for it to be professional too, because there's also like the reputation of like, oh, if it's black-owned, it might not be you know the utmost. So it's like, no, we're professional, we're confident, we are um comfortable. You could come in and if you want to take your wiggle off, you can take your wiggle, you know, and lay down on the table and have an amazing service, you know. And or and if you want to sleep, you can sleep. But if you want to tell me about what happened today at work, we can talk about it, right? So it's creating that space, and then the products come in where you could bring a piece of that space home with you. So you could continue on having that experience in a form of aromatherapy, right? Yeah. In a form of a body scrub, in the form of a candle, in the form of a body butter. But you take that piece of experience with you as well. So that's really what it was created for.

SPEAKER_01 57:48

Oh, I think it's amazing that you found a found like a loophole, if you will, or not a loophole, but like a need, you know, a space where you can provide these types of services for people of color and actually have like a physical location, you know, that you can call home.

SPEAKER_00 58:04

It's amazing. Congrats.

SPEAKER_02 58:06

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 58:07

And if people wanted to book your services, where could they go?

SPEAKER_02 58:11

Um, so they can go on my website ultrayluxuryspa.com. You could Google me. Um and you can book there. Also, um, my studio is located in Sunset Park in Brooklyn.

SPEAKER_01 58:30

So Yeah, for any of you, if you're ever coming to New York, if you are in New York, if you live in New York, but if you don't live in New York and you are coming to New York, you can always reach out to us or reach out to Rachel and we can get you guys in touch.

SPEAKER_02 58:42

Come by.

SPEAKER_01 58:43

So, Rachel, you've reached, it looks like very close to yes, the middle of your middle of your map. So go ahead and slide that bar charm on. Okay. As if it were a regular bead. There you go.

SPEAKER_02 58:55

All right.

SPEAKER_01 58:56

Slide it on. Now keep eating.

SPEAKER_02 59:00

Yay! It's so pretty. Look at that. Okay, I'm gonna keep eating. I feel like you can hire me now. As the beads like pop out of this thing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 59:15

How many uh how many stage bracelets do you got over there? Two. Two? Girl, you gotta catch up.

SPEAKER_02 59:21

How many bracelets do you have?

SPEAKER_01 59:22

I'm on number I'm about to start number four.

SPEAKER_02 59:25

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 59:26

I'm working on number three.

SPEAKER_00 59:28

You're on number three? Yeah. Wow, Richard, I'm so proud of you. I would have been halfway done with three, but I forgot to get another thread.

SPEAKER_01 59:38

It's not, I mean, like the thing is that it's one of those, it's one of those things that once you've done it enough times, you get really quick at it. Yeah. Very quickly. Yeah. Um, and I mean, I could do this like literally like with his eyes closed. Yeah, I don't even, I don't even really have to look at it that much anymore. I've I've done this in a room that's like completely pitch black. But the problem with that is that like uh you end up mixing beads that aren't supposed to be mixed together. Yeah, and then all of a sudden you're like, oh yeah, you know what? This could be a dead idea.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:06

This could be a different color, right? Inspiration.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:09

Yeah, inspo, yay. For the record, that is not how we came up with the From New York with Intention collection. It was definitely way more thought out than that.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:18

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:19

It was with way more intention and way more light. Uh on that note, uh, thank you so much for joining us today.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:28

Yeah, thank you for having me. Pleasure having you.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:31

And I hope that we get to see you soon.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:33

I'll be back.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:34

You'll be back. Apparently, we're gonna be at the Grand Bazaar. Oh, yeah. Hopefully, hopefully. If not, my mom is in Columbia, she can bring somebody back with her. Can take care of that quite easily. Solidify that position. Uh otherwise, yeah, you know, if you want to look, uh, if you want to hand off your handles to us, where can we find you?

SPEAKER_02 1:00:55

Um, so my Instagram is at ultra underscore luxury spa. Um, Google ultra luxury spa dot com. Those are probably like the two best ways to find me.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:09

Awesome. Yeah. And sure enough, I'm Chris from State of Gratitude, and this was another episode of Not Your Average Gratitude Podcast. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you. See you soon.