Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal care but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Christine White, CEO of ButterSoft Essentials, LLC, located in Brooklyn, NY, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

ButterSoft Essentials is a purpose-filled, self-care lifestyle brand with the goal of elevating your vibe and confidence through Shower Therapy. Our ideal customers are lovers of all things self-care. Individuals who live for the smell and feel good yet prefer the budget-friendly way to invest in their personal forms of pampering outside of the constraints of daily routines.

Tell us about yourself

The ButterSoft Essentials brand wasn’t exactly intentional. So I guess we can say that the idea for my business stemmed from numerous inspirations. Growing up, I always preferred to use natural products. My personal journey began in elementary school—after a near-death experience. I almost drowned while on a school trip. This left me with a fear of water at just 9 years old. Throughout adulthood, I’ve learned to find comfort in taking showers which seemed ironic as they transformed my deepest insecurity into a place of healing. This led to the development of my concept, Shower Therapy™.

In April 2018, I enrolled in a local Soap Making class. This then sparked my interest in learning how to make my own natural body butters. Through trial and error, I developed a formulation I loved and began incorporating it into my daily routine. Eventually, I noticed how using my own products instantly boosted my confidence and mood as I intentionally took my time during my self-care moments. This realization propelled me to birth ButterSoft Bae™, inspiring me to want to provide that exact feeling to others. Using something I created eventually became a part of my daily lifestyle. So much so that I began to carry my body butter with me everywhere I went. I became the go-to person when friends/coworkers needed a moisturizer. They’d ask, “Do you have lotion?!” My response would be: ”No, but I have body butter!” (I reallyyy disliked it being confused with lotion, lol).

Whenever I would share my stash, people would ask, “How much do you sell that for?” I never had an answer because I never intended to start a business. One day, I woke up to a cash app notification from my coworker Tishin. Her note attachment read, “Bring me however much this can get me, but don’t come into work without my body butter!” At that very moment, I realized the value and quality of what I was creating. It had the potential to be sold. A few months later, in September 2019, ButterSoft Essentials was launched. What keeps me motivated daily is my genuine desire to help my customers view routined self-care and showers as more than ‘just another thing to do.’ By encouraging self-awareness and self-adoration through intentional cleansing + moisturizing, simply because I am a testimony of how much it has personally helped my mental health.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I would say that my biggest accomplishment so far as a business owner was, having the opportunity to sell my products at a Pop Up Market in the exact same building where I work at an International Airport! Just being able to sell what I’ve created in the SAME exact place where my brand all started to the traveling public truly felt like my wildest dream.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

One of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner is actually being the CEO! Although the title isn’t self-explanatory at first, you don’t really know what it means to be the CEO until the moment you realize you’re the one wearing all the hats. You get all the credit when everything goes right, but you must take accountability when anything goes wrong.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. You’ll NEVER feel 100% ready so JUST START! The more time you waste procrastinating, the further along in your journey you could have been.
  2. Fund your business out of pocket if you’re able, then use your profits to reinvest as you go. Discipline yourself not to believe that your earnings are your own but for the business only. This will keep you from overspending on inventory and such things. Then, as your business grows, take advantage of business credit, grants, and capital to help scale your business.
  3. Know WHEN is the right time to delegate and outsource. You may take pride in doing everything on your own at first. However, no successful business grows without a team. Work smarter, not harder.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.buttersoftessentials.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ButterSoftEssentials/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buttersoftessentials/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/buttersoftbae

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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