I was born and raised in the Abaco Islands of The Bahamas. At age 16 I was fortunate to be recruited and awarded a track scholarship to pursue further studies in the state of Missouri in the United States of America. I did well in college and upon completion received great job offers to work in the areas of sales and marketing which was right up my alley having pursued a marketing degree.
I took advantage of a tuition reimbursement program that was offered to employees at the company where I worked and pursued post-graduate studies in management. At this point, I was working in colleges and helping students with their life path, career choices, and generally what they wanted to do post studies. In talking with them I too became inspired to start my own business. It took me a few more years to figure out what exactly I wanted to do having had a lot of ideas. After having my daughter and experiencing severe post-partum shedding (not the usual that other women experienced) with my hair falling out in clumps, I was inspired to begin my own research to solve my hair woes.
I joined a Facebook group for natural hair women. The conversations surrounded each other’s hair journey, the problems and the remedies; to include ways to help to reduce shedding which included herbal tea rinses. This is what piqued my interest. Having grown up on the islands, I was familiar with herbal teas, which were the remedy for almost everything and so I started looking at the benefits for hair. I stumbled upon a website that taught me how to infuse the teas if I wanted to create products and pretty much another light bulb went off. I used what I learned about infusing teas, used them for a while in my hair and experienced great results. Sometime in 2012, another idea came to me to use my previous ingredients along with Indian herbs to create my product line.
In 2012 there was nothing on the market that I found that focused on reducing shedding and strengthening the hair. The natural hair industry was pretty new and the effort was more on styling and moisture; I wanted to do something more advanced and breakthrough that took into account the different stages that women go through, primarily hormone changes that affect the hair. That became my motivation to start my line and I created my first two products at the end of 2012. I tested them out by selling to coworkers and family and friends. Once they confirmed their satisfaction and great experience with the products, I did an entire rebrand which is what you see today with Bask and Bloom Essentials. It was no longer a hobby. It became my business. The business I dreamed of having.
Fast forward 5 years later I had my second daughter and was laid off from my job. That was the answer I needed to go full time into building my business. At this point, I had already put in a lot of work setting a foundation for Bask and Bloom Essentials including branding. My focus became growing my brand. I taught myself every aspect of the business: marketing, public relations, advertising, sales, … pretty much everything because at the time I did not have the budget to hire anyone. What I did have was the time to read and research and that’s what I did. I became an expert, and so, even with hiring persons and giving them autonomy, I would still know what was going on and that was important to me.
In 2014, I took the leap fully and we have grown way beyond my expectations since then. We are now in different locations within the United States and in different countries, we are available on Amazon as well as our online store is doing exponentially well in sales. It has been pretty great but scary at times, I had to learn as I went along which I am grateful for because at the end of the day no one can take away the journey and the experiences that have brought me to where I am now.
I mentioned before that there was no monetary support. Everything that was done, was done out of pocket. So, when I teach or support young entrepreneurs, I say to them, you either have the time or the money. And if you have no money there are many resources to avail yourself of online etc. I let them know it is possible to move from 5 figures to 6 figures in 6 months, it is possible to continue scaling your business but you must put in the time and effort that it will take to get you there.
TBWM: I came across your ad on Facebook and it was an attention grabber. So much so that it prompted me to research the visionary behind the brand and here we are today. Your messages on social media in particular your IG page have all been consistent in echoing messages of positivity, is that something that you have developed or is that just who Candera is?
Candera: I think it’s just my life path. When I left home to go to college, I was 16. For most people that was pretty young to leave the Bahamas and go to the US alone. My parents encouraged the move knowing that it would be a good opportunity. And so that was how I developed the personality that says – “I am either going to sink or swim.” I needed to figure out which would it be because there was no one to come and save me. I knew things would go wrong and I knew my options yet I chose to be positive no matter what. Focusing on the positive of every situation has gotten me to many places. I do not dwell on the negative. Instead, I find every reason to pull through. And that’s a message I share; that your journey will include a lot of setbacks and you have to decide – is it worth me continuing to push through?
When I started my brand, I saw a very great thing. I saw myself pouring into women not just from a hair care perspective but uplifting them through beauty. That was especially important to me because we are usually the last to look at ourselves and say let me do this for myself. So, my message is: put yourself first, then you will be great for everyone else.
TBWM: How would you sum up yourself in one word?
Candera: Resilient – I could tell you many stories of setbacks but because I had the vision of what I wanted at the fore and that it has to work; regardless of any setbacks I am still pushing through. Like I said before, I do not dwell on what may happen but where are we going after we get through and that is why I would say resilience.
TBWM: You mentioned earlier the many struggles that you have gone through and, seeing that our focus is on women in business, I want you to share something significant that you believe you have gone through that another business-owning woman can grow from.
Candera: I would say it is important to be realistic. When you go into business, at every milestone there are challenges and you have to be very motivated. The biggest challenge for me was not having that mentor next to me to say hey, this is where you start, this is what you should focus on next. I spent a lot of time researching and trying to figure things through by myself and I would not want that for anyone who looks up to me. So, it took me a little longer to get to the point I am at today. So, for anyone who is starting out and can afford it, invest in a consultant or mentor who has proven themselves.
TBWM: You are a mother and wife and you mentioned how difficult it was for you, in the beginning, getting things off the ground with your children, what are your thoughts on balance?
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1 Thing Every Woman In Business Is Guilty Of.
written by Carla Williams Johnson The 1 Thing Every Woman In Business Is Guilty of…
