iNSPIRE-ational!
Destini Young
Lakeside School District, Hot Springs
I've always dreamed of being my own boss. While in high school, I was fortunate to take an Entrepreneurship and Business Management class with Mrs. Cassie Harris*, which prepared me for starting my own business. Mrs. Harris showed videos about different entrepreneurs from the iNSPIRE series, including Madam C.J. Walker, who came from nothing and created generational wealth that shocked the community. Not only did Mrs. Harris provide resources to help me start a business, she taught me about self-management, how the supply chain works, creating business and marketing plans, brainstorming strategies for brand recognition, building relationships in business, and creating budgets. Many activities in Business Management made me the entrepreneur I am today. Mrs. Harris gave me valuable resources and strategies that helped me make decisions, and she continued to give guidance even after high school.
The first step I took on my entrepreneurial journey was research. I researched every night, took lots of notes and watched YouTube videos of small business owners to get advice. My research evolved from cosmetics to skincare products such as body butters and body oils. Laying across my Granny’s bed, we brainstormed names for my new business: Nurturing Esthetics. I took all of the money out of my savings account and started my business, which sells all-natural body butters, body oils, coffee scrubs, facial headbands and jumbo scrunchies. I began marketing my business on Snapchat and Instagram and made a business page to grow my audience. My soft launch occurred on October 29, 2021. I sold out of three of my main products and made $1,000 in just a few hours! My big launch will be online so people worldwide can shop. There have been many tears and times I've been down in the process but that has made me strong and humble. In the future, I hope to have a warehouse full of all my natural products and own many other businesses. I also would love to be an ultrasound tech in the future. I'm working on that, but I want to be where God guides me in life.
*Mrs. Harris is a Master Economics Teacher for Economics Arkansas.
