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Name: Katy Jo Holton and Khi Washington
Business: Kainat Josephiné , natural beauty products
Industry: Health & Beauty
Location: Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
Reason for starting: Kainat Josephiné is an all natural body care and cosmetic company specializing in economical and eco-friendly products with a sophisticated urban twist. It started when Khi (my business partner) asked me to use some wax from my beehive to make a locking cream for her clients. She works with many different hair types and had trouble finding a cream that was suitable for the vast varieties of hair types that would help strengthen the hair instead of damage it. Like many ventures, it started for personal use, but soon grew.
Khi was enrolled in cosmetology school and was able to gain insight and test the product, while I was finishing my masters in leadership. This gave us both the opportunity to use our strengths to design and define what our goals were and what roll we saw the company playing in the world. Coming from different backgrounds, we knew we wanted to create a skin and hair line that accommodated a vast array of skin and hair types, rather than further boxing in racial and gender stereotypes. We also knew we wanted to make natural products that were efficient, long lasting and affordable for families. It was not long after the conception period that we realized not only did the company have a spirit and pull of its own, but that it would in turn help us grow as individuals while it developed. The reason we stared the company was to fill a niche and make an independent living for ourselves. The reason we keep going is to see where Kainat Josephiné can take us.
Related: Read about another Health & Beauty entrepreneur here.
How do you define success? To us, success is creating a goal and taking action towards achieving that goal. We know that goals are not always reached, but it is the process that changes us. Success can be a combination of achieving a goal and knowing when your goal and yourself need to change.
Biggest Success: To us, our biggest success truly has been starting the company and seeing it though. Neither of us had a back ground in business, nor did we have much access to rescources to get us started. We are proud of how far we have come and how resilient we have needed to be at times to get through. The moments when people see and experience our products and express how impressed they our, can turn a tough month into a great month. When we help just one person with our products it reminds us why we started, and we never would have been able to if we hadn’t made the leap to start the business in the first place.
Related: Plan It, Fund It, Launch It: Resources for Starting a Business
What is your top challenge and how have you addressed it? The biggest challenge is the time and energy it takes to truly get a business off the ground. We are still in that process. We have to constantly encourage ourselves, take time to express frustrations instead of ignoring them, and remind ourselves the growth that comes with the process. When a project gets slowed down or held up, we often find that there is a reason, so trusting this aspect of the process has been an ally and a teacher. It is definitely hard, not just sometimes, but most of the time. But when things get tough, the only thing you can really do is rise above.
Who is your most important role model? We are both spiritual people, so our biggest role model comes from our personal spiritual beliefs.
[box_light]Website www.KainatBeauty.com
Twitter @KainatJosephine
Facebook www.Facebook.com/KainatJosephineProductsLLC [/box_light]
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Edited by The Story Exchange