We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Gabrielle Starkes. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Gabrielle below.

Gabrielle, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

The name of my company is GO! Bubbles. Since my business is skincare, I decided to relate it to soap, and soap makes bubbles! With the G.O., I decided to use my name. The G for Gabrielle, and the O for Olivia. Hence, GO! Bubbles. I thought kids would find the name fun and exciting, just like my products.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m Gabrielle O. Starkes. I’m a youth entrepreneur, author, and philanthropist from Orlando, FL. I’m the CEO and Creative Officer for GO! Bubbles.

In 2018, I was six years old. I saw my mom making skincare products for adults. I was inspired by this, and I wanted to make skincare products for kids. My mom and I researched what I could hand make for kids. We decided to make soaps for kids ages 3-13.

We started off with making 100% plant-based toy soaps. These soaps would help teach kids why it was important to wash their hands. If they washed their hands, they would eventually get a toy! We thought this was a good way to begin my business because other big companies didn’t make their soaps colorful and fun.

Kids like me used plain white bar soaps. Basically, soaps for grown-ups. I wanted to make my soap fun! So, we added fun fragrances like lemon pound cake, fruit loops, orange sherbet, etc., and bright coloring to the soaps. In doing so, kids would remember proper hygiene and want to wash their hands or take a bath. Kids would be clean and smell good! I like to call my products “smellicious”!

I believe in using plant-based and low chemical ingredients for better health and to relieve skin conditions, like eczema and dryness. Skin is the largest organ of our bodies and we must learn how to take care of it for better health. To do this, I’ve expanded my product line to include plant-based bubbly bath wash, vegan body cream, beeswax natural lip balm, and more.

I love giving back to my community. I understand the importance of giving back to those in need. At the age of seven, I collected over 450 individual items for children in the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian damaged a children’s home. I’ve made and donated back to school kits for kids at a family shelter. I also hosted a Facebook Live reading program where I read books to kids to help them overcome the pandemic. I also like to spend my time volunteering and donating to charitable organizations.

My passion for clean beauty through environmentally sustainable practices led me to author two best-selling books. I’m very proud of my books, “Gabrielle and the Magic Tree” and “Gabrielle and the Magic Tree Coloring and Activity Book”. I began writing my first book when I was seven years old and it was published in 2021. My second book was published in 2022.

My books discuss why trees are important for humans, animals, and our environment. Also, my books discuss what we can do to protect our ecosystem. One way is by using non-toxic and low chemical body care products. Toxic chemicals run off into the earth’s soil and sets off a chain reaction of harming our ecosystem. I want kids to understand that what they use on their skin may damage our earth.

When presenting to kids and adults about how I became a youth entrepreneur, I discuss how my products are plant-based and are less harmful to our environment than many other mass-produced skincare products. This becomes a teaching opportunity for me and a learning opportunity for my potential clients and followers. Depending on the venue, they sometimes have an opportunity to see and smell my products! This helps in gaining new and repeat customers.

My earth friendly products can be found on my website and my books can be found online at major retailers like Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Walmart, Books a Million, and more.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I’ve had many times when I had to transition with my business, but one of them was a life pivot with middle school. You see, I enjoy vending in my community. It gives me an opportunity to meet people and tell them about my plant-based products. I educate them on who I am, how I got started, and why they should buy my products. It can take up a lot of your time because you have to make products, pack up, go to the event, sell products, pack up again, and go home.

With being in middle school, I’ve had to learn to adjust my business, personal, and school schedule. I’m still working on it but I decided to cut down on vending during sixth grade because I needed to focus on this transition. I had to find out who I wanted to hang out with and who I could or couldn’t trust. I also had to transition from playing clarinet, to playing saxophone, participating in school musicals, and other things. It’s important to know when to refocus and pivot in business because it’s important for your personal growth.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media is very important to introduce yourself and grow your audience. I built my audience a lot during the pandemic. Everyone was online and sharing their experiences. I love to read. So, I began doing Facebook lives called “Books and Bubbles with Gabrielle”. I would introduce my business and read a story to kids. I was only eight years old, but I gained many followers.

If you want to grow your audience on social media, I’d suggest connecting with your audience through videos and branded content. People also like to see what you do in your personal life. It helps them relate to you more and you begin to build trust with your followers. Finally, be consistent with your posts. You’ll need to decide how often you want to post and on which days.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://gobubblessoap.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gobubblessoap/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GOBubblesSoap
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielleostarkes30

Image Credits
L. Michelle Woods-Starkes