Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Latoria Gary. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Latoria, thanks for joining us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

Yes, everything I do is different from any other business. My labels are as plain as they could be while others might have a lot of color. Some might offer a more quality ingredient(s) than I do. Some are a little more pricer than mine but we all have to make a living. I’ve grown to stick with the saying either they’d pay it or not. I’ve always considered what others had to say about my brand or products but not any more.

Latoria, 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?

Hi! I’m Latoria. I’m a 31 year old natural skin care maker. I’m a full time micro entrepreneur.. also a full time mom of 3 boys. I got into my business when my dad died. We was looking for someone to make shirts and when we found them they really wasn’t what we wanted and I thought to myself maybe I should start my own tshirt company. A year rolled around and the same thing happened only difference was the shirt was for my birthday and the excuses rolled in. That following year I got a job at the chicken plant (Tyson’s Food) and saved up enough to get all the equipment I needed for making shirts. Khokolate Kreationz (2018) came about when I actually realized I didn’t wanna make another company rich when I could start my own. I started making all types of tshirts, tumblers, trays, you name it I was making it. Once Covid-19 formed I quit my job (2020) and started my business full time. It actually brought in a lot of money. 2021, I started adding skincare (body butters etc) and told myself that’s what I needed to do. Yes, business gets slow but I know I have children and they wants me home. When I started making body products, I didn’t realize how thrown together my business looked because I basically had everything you could name on that one website. The few years of making those products I have realized that they really do work. You know sometimes you’d get doubtful because your customers don’t leave those reviews like you’d ask but I know what my products are good for. What set my products aside from others I believe is the ingredients being used. Some say they offer natural but once you look up those ingredients, it’s not so natural no matter how much you add. The main thing I’m proud of is I didn’t give up. No matter how many times I didn’t get a sale, I kept going. I kept promoting. I kept producing. I kept my business up and running. 2 orders or 10 orders felt like 1000 orders to me. And to whomever this reach, don’t hesitate to ask any questions about my business. We are in the process of rebranding and we’ve took our time. Next year (2023) we will be back up and running with different and better quality products.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

Actually funding my business haven’t been so hard like I actually was thinking. Even with Covid-19 coming through, it really didn’t bother what I had going. It actually helped because I wasn’t about to risk being around it when I had children to take care of. The crafting of tumblers, tshirts, trays, wine glasses, etc was just right to be honest. Before I started any customization, they’d have to pay first so I wouldn’t be stuck with it and I’d use the money to get the supplies. My boyfriend often helped getting supplies too because we knew what it took and what we would receive back on the inside. I still craft from time to time but I’m now more so focused on my skins are business.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

Yes. I manufacture ALL my products myself. It started back in 2021. When I lost my child, I was needing to do something to keep my mind from wondering off and questioning God. I researched on google to see what all it would take and what the cost of goods would be. I started with 4 main butters and 4 main oils. I chose Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Mango Butter and Kokum Butter and Coconut Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Olive Oil, and Grapeseed Oil.. because I knew the vitamins and properties they held together. After a month maybe, I added a few essential oils and then fragrance oils. Before I started selling to the public, I gave a few away for free to get feedback on what I could do better but they was good to go the way they was. Only difference was the labels was all wrong and there was not enough product in those containers to be selling for what I had them priced at. I’ve learned along the way to not overwhelm myself and to not let others tell me what I should do/add because it kept me with a lot of unsold inventory. People don’t really know the nature nor reason for homemade body butters etc and it seems like I couldn’t get through them enough. Using homemade products changed my whole outlook on store brought products. I’m rocking homemade any day.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kparlor.com
• Facebook: Khokolate Beauty Parlor