We recently connected with Jade Parker-Dinkins and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jade, thanks for joining us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

I accidentally started ROJOrganics in 2013 in the bathtub writhing from complications of Sickle Cell Disease. This recessive and hereditary blood disorder I was born with causes anemia and excruciating pain in episodes commonly called “crises.” I was in an exciting first year as a full-time rehab nurse, but also having the worst crisis of my life that left me desperate for relief and healing. Over the course of a month of being disabled from work, I took a lot of baths to ease the pain in between pain meds that took none of the stress away from my body or mind. One night in the bathtub, I began to pray to God to heal & help me so that I could learn how to live without all the pain meds and suffering.

During that time of home research and development, I fell in love with developing holistic self-care plans while authentically learning how to take care of myself. I conducted evidenced based research on household body care products and found many were shockingly toxic to diverse skin types. Other remedies were inaccessible, expensive or required a professional for use. That’s where ROJOrganics started, with the idea that if I couldn’t find products that were therapeutic, then maybe I could learn how to formulate my own using natural science and self-care routines backed by nursing expertise. I got through my pain, suffering, and self-doubt to begin formulating our signature product–body butter–and with continued feedback & encouragement for refinement, we’ve sold over 500 units to date. It has since become our bestseller.

Jade, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Yes! I am Jade Parker-Dinkins, a sickle cell patient advocate, Registered Nurse, and creative born in Indianapolis, IN where my business is currently headquartered.  Growing up here in this city known for its rich historical culture immersed in love for the arts, jazz music, and excellent Black beauty, I strive in creating my own avenue in today’s health and beauty sector. I found my way into business through chronic illness and a career in healthcare where I’ve spent the last 11 years of my professional life.

In the corporate world, I have a background as a long term care implementation specialist and Certified Rehabilitation RN (CRRN), and am now encompassing a new level of advocacy and research based practice for populations I’ve witnessed are often left out, yet most vulnerable and deserving. Today, I serve as Founder/CEO of luxury skin and body care company, ROJOrganics which stands for River of Jordan Organics. Here, I’m driving expansion, sales, and operations as lead product developer.  It really is my joy in this space to help marginalized individuals with overworked bodies and diverse skin types discover their authentic beauty organically through health education, intimate community engagement, and resources for restorative self-care exploration.  Essentially, my experiences and expertise on both sides of the medical field brought me here to creating this company where we’re formulating skin and body care specifically for melanin-rich skin tones and those suffering from chronic illness.  To do this from a holistic approach, we’re using luxury ingredients backed by natural science, evidence based nursing, and self advocacy practices. The results offer experiences that unlock the Jordan River’s transformative atmosphere so healing flows where you need it most.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Now looking back as a seasoned nurse & patient advocate with a lifetime of practice and expertise, I see how I was misguided in many academic and healthcare settings to believe that ethical practice meant putting myself last, and that taking care of myself was selfish. The long 12+ hr shifts with little break time, and high running adrenaline and critical thinking throughout the day to solve other people’s issues often kept me from thinking about what I needed to get through the day, or how I felt. Although at the time I considered myself a highly educated professional in the corporate world and healthcare area, I realized embracing this kind of negligent and inhumane theory as a highly educated Black woman living with chronic illness costed me personal losses with chronic illness and that landed me in the middle of a medical emergency I began to think its complications would take my life from me and decided I had had enough, and was hopeful that others were looking for a way out and through, too.

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

The COVID-19 pandemic was a time I had to pivot two-fold in business and career. With nursing, I had to take my personal health history into consideration which led to remote work and solving new problems as an implementation specialist and consultant in long-term care. I learned to solve systemic issues on a larger scale with being out of the clinical setting. It almost felt the same with business in 2020. In-person vending at local farmers’ markets was out of the question, so the creativity had to flow in another direction. In 2021, ROJOrganics was selected as 1 of 20 small businesses nationwide to their CoCreate program, where we were partnered with BeCurious Studios headquartered in New York City to receive a complete digital facelift. We worked together to create a new site, look and overall luxury feel to the brand and began to learn new areas of connectivity with our brand’s online presence. Since then, we’ve created 3 new product lines expected to launch thru 2024. With this, we strive to continue redefining what self-care looks like for myself and the surrounding team as our capacity grows and scales. It’s exciting and challenging all at once handling unexpected changes, but the confidence to do so grows from each previous success and navigation process. Reviewing personal and business track records of proven success has had a tremendous impact on our forward thinking and movement. As the changes come, we’ll continue to transition and pivot with as much grace and as rested as possible, that’s really one of the biggest goals for our sustainability.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rojorganics.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/rojorganics
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/rojorganics
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/rojorganics
• Other: The ROJOrganics current bestseller, Luxe Starter Kit, is a 2-in-1 solution perfect for all skin types and starting your organic skincare journey. In celebration of Black Business Month this August, save 10% on all Luxe Starter Kit orders using code “BBM10” now thru 8/31/23. Discover your authentic beauty, organically at rojorganics.com!

Image Credits
Martina Jackson (headshot), Noire Mouliom (3 product photos), Jade Parker-Dinkins (action photo)