We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Erica King a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Erica thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

Going from an idea to execution can be mentally exhausting if you don’t have a solid plan in place. When I first started, I wrote down all my ideas. I followed Stephen Covey’s 4DX method. I began with the end in mind and created my W.O.W ( wildly important goal) then I created my X to Y, then for each goal, I created a LEAD measure, ( the bet) and I said, if I complete these three lead measures consistently, it will have an effect on my overall goal. So I followed that process over and over and I measured my success weekly. I also make my goals obtainable and realistic, which helps me with obtaining them easier.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My former career was in the hospitality industry. As a regional manager, I was responsible for the financial success of the hotels I managed. This gave me insight on how to manage a budget, how to become profitable by managing inventories & productivity. When I crossed over as an entrepreneur 2 years ago, I carried the same business practices I learned through the hospitality industry to my own business. From customer service, to financial acumen I was prepared to exceed my customer expectations. In the last two years, we have completed a lot from magazine publications, to TV appearances, a partnership with Macys and now we have partnered with Holiday Inn hotels with our make up wipes and condensed them to travel size for three select hotels in Houston.

We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.

My business partners are the most amazing people on the planet because they are my two daughters, Erian & Kayla as well as my life time partner in everything, My husband Fabian King. I believe it’s was my responsibility to bring my daughters along on this journey, they are the future. I get to teach them business fundamentals so when they take over the business or open their own business they will have the foundation.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I started my business I received and overwhelming response. So I decided to Quit my job. WRONG MOVE!! Lol. Even though I was getting sales, I wasn’t getting enough sales to supplement my income that I walked away with. So, I had to get back into the workforce so I can have supplemental income to support my growing business. My advice would be, don’t quit your day job unless you have enough money coming in from your business to replace that income.

Contact Info:

• Website: Keeessential.com
• Instagram: Kee_essential
• Facebook: KEE Essential Beauty
• Linkedin: KEE Essential Beauty
• Twitter: KeeEssential
• Youtube: KEE Essential Beauty

Image Credits
Models: Miles Modeling Agency Models: Keesha Kaylee Photographers : Micheal Pierino Photographer: Shirlita Boone MUA: Iris Marquez