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

Nikkia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s easy to look at a business or industry as an outsider and assume it’s super profitable – but we’ve seen over and over again in our conversation with folks that most industries have factors that make profitability a challenge. What’s biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

The skin care industry is so saturated. There are so many products to choose from and so that makes it very competitive. I’ve vended at many events where there are 2 or 3 tables of body butters and oils and candles and it’s the luck of the draw to get customers to believe in my product in that moment. All I can do is continue to make my products with quality ingredients that I can stand behind and continue to deliver genuine customer service; I believe that makes a lot of difference.

Nikkia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a classically trained dancer and if you know anything about professional dance training, you know it is intense and it requires a lot of patience and discipline, but the beauty in the outcome of all that hard work is undeniable. I am also a perfectionist, to an extent, so I take meticulous pride in every detail of the creation process of every January Baby product. I would’nt want to purchase anything that does’nt meet luxurious standards, even if it isn’t at a luxurious price point and as a consumer, no matter how much an item costs, if it is of excellent quality it will draw costumers for the long hall. I keep my costumers at the forefront, always thinking what would make them happy and I create until they are more than satisfied.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Word of mouth. My loyal customers are always raving about how they love my body butters and those accolades go a long way.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Everyone is not happy for you. Some people will even parade around like they are your friends and wish for your demise. Be very careful who you allow in your business circle and be super careful with what you share.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.januarybaby18.com
• Instagram: @januarybaby_18