There is making lemonade out of lemons, and there is turning heartbreak into a growing beauty supply business. That’s what Rodnesha Ross did when she founded Pray Hustle Slay, which produces natural beauty products.
Her perseverance paid off. In April she landed a deal with a local beauty supply chain, Davison Coco Beauty Supplies, to add products from her brand to its location in Highland Park.
It has been a journey.
The story starts with Ross in a bad place after a relationship ended. She needed a way to deal with the negative emotions and focused her energy on starting a business she hoped would be helpful to people.
The company started as a T-Shirt and candle business that got its earliest start with help from a sorority sister from Gamma Phi Delta Inc. This organization is specifically designed to help improve the economic, social and political status of women.
The contact was in South Bend, Indiana, quite a drive from Detroit. It was on one of these long drives that Ross had a question that reshaped her business.
“I was wondering if people were getting tired of T-shirts,” says Ross.
From there she switched over to beauty supplies and switched her candles to aroma therapy.
Ross had a specific mindset – helping men and women take care of themselves, not just physically, but emotionally. This is something she felt not enough people do, especially the latter, which is why the candles stayed when the shirts didn’t.
Creating the beauty products became a family event as her children helped her develop and create the supplies.
“It’s important for my children to be a part of things I create,” she says. “I enjoy spending quality time with them along with seeing the excitement on their faces as we’re working alongside each other.”
Rosshas sold products across the country, but her biggest break was homegrown. While at a trade show in Atlanta, she got a phone call about adding her products to Davison Coco Beauty Supplies in Highland Park.
The first batch sold out in three days. The most popular has been the handcrafted body butter.
Now mass-produced, but still homemade, Ross has upped her output from two to six a week to 10-20. The kids are less involved now … partly because the fun part of creating is over … plus school and being kids.
That was far from the end. Ross continues to look for more locations and opportunities to sell her beauty supplies.
Further information about Pray Hustle Slay can be found by clicking here.
This small business feature is sponsored by Bank of America. To learn more about Bank of America’s many programs and resources for small business owners visit: https://www.bankofamerica.com/smallbusiness/business-financing.go.
Pray Hustle Slay continues growth, beauty products now sold at Davison Coco Beauty Supplies added by M Lapham on
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