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

Hi Anne, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear your thoughts about family businesses.

A Family Business can be amazing, but only if everyone is on the same accord. One major key component is being able to have every person bringing something unique to the table. I usually see, that is when family businesses work best. Each person being able to highlight their unique skills brings value to any business. It also helps make each member feel important and own their position. You feel included when you can shine, but when forced to work a position you are not comfortable with or don’t understand, the unity won’t be there. Learn each family member and what their skill sets are. Doing this will help your family business be solid and help it grow. With communication and understanding a family business can run smoothly.

Anne, 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?

Hello everyone,

My name is Anne Morrison and I am the owner of It’z Suga Baby LLC. It’z Suga Baby is a Small Business where I specialize in creating handmade natural products. These products range from Body Scrubs, Soaps, Candles and More!

I didn’t start off wanting to be a business owner. I actually just enjoyed making body products for friends and family. It was more of a fun thing to do, to get away from my everyday job and routine. One day my very dear friend Aisha encouraged me to start selling my products. After exploring all the possibilities of being an Entrepreneur/Small Business Owner, I decided this was the right path for me, and that is how It’z Suga Baby began.

It has been a journey, to say the least. Reading about starting a business, easy peasy. Actually running a business! I have no idea what I’m doing. To be a business owner you have to be disciplined. Many business owners may not talk about it, but I promise you it is true. Who would have known that I would have to learn accounting, social media, photography, marketing, the list goes on and on. But, I got this! After crying about the things I did not know, researching and finding out how to do those things, I started to amplify my small victories. I started thinking, constantly thinking, and then boom! How can I incorporate these obstacles into my business? How can I turn my struggle into more of a success story?

After much debate, I finally got it. I am going to create products that make you feel good, smell good and remind you, that even after the struggle it’s going to be OK!! So why not create an at home spa? Get your body scrubs, body butters, light a candle and relax. That is a perfect ending to a long day. That is what It’z Suga Baby is about. All natural products, soft scents and Pure/Natural essential oils. Soy wax candles, shea butter and more. It’z Suga Baby is here to help take that stress away. Even if it’s just burning a candle, or exfoliating your skin. It feels good to let go and pamper yourself sometimes and forget about the rough day you just had.

All products are made to order, and can be customized for you personally if needed. The most popular items are It’z Suga Baby Candles. It’z Suga Baby Candles are new as of late 2020. I have named them, ” It’z A Candle Baby.” Each candle has a hand painted word or phrase. They are meant to remind you, inspire you and uplift you! Words such as “Black Love” “Black IS Beautiful” “Relax” “Success” Relax Release Repeat” “Dear Diary” “Courage” and many more, can be painted on you candle jar. I enjoy making these more than any other products I have. I love when customers ask for a specific phrase and scent to their candle. The personalization lets me know that my products will be loved and appreciated! These candles definitely stand out from the rest. It’s not your ordinary candle, It’z A Candle baby!

I am still growing and improving day by day. This journey is hard, but beautiful at the same time. If I can put a smile on someones face, if burning one of my candles takes a little bit of stress away, if I can inspire you! Then I have done my job and that is success.

Thank you for taking the time to read a little bit about me and my business.

Anne

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

A lesson I had to unlearn, hmmm I have a few. I would say the most important lesson I had to unlearn was thinking … Everyone was going to say, “Yes.” I thought everyone would say yes when I asked them to buy my product or support me. I was afraid of the word “NO” I had to learn not to be afraid of the word “No.”

I use to think that ok Im going to make this sugar scrub, soap and some body butter and everyone is going to buy it because I made it. WRONG. There is so much more to it than that. You made it, perfect, what’s next? The short answer would be ALOT.

There would be times that I would go to networking events and people would ask me, “What do you do?” I would tell them, I have a small business making all these amazing products and the conversation would stop. In my mind, I would think, I told you what I made now you have to tell me you want to buy it. Such the wrong way to think. I would get upset thinking no one wanted to support. When I would ask someone if they would like to purchase some of my products and they would say no, I would be crushed. Like how could you say no to me? You don’t see how amazing my product is? You don’t see the hard work and dedication I put into making this? You don’t see the value in what I have? You can’t say no!

But, they can. I had to realize, I say no to people all the time. People come to me asking to buy stuff and if I am not in the mood or just not interested, if it’s not the product for me, I say nope, no, no thank you. Who am I to think that people cannot do me the same way?

It took me not being able to sell products for a long time. Im talking months before I realized this. I was at home looking at all of my equipment and supplies that I haven’t touched in months, and I started to cry. Everyone I asked to support me, they didn’t. No one sharing my Facebook post or Instagram Post when I asked. Everyone around me said NO. I see other people posting getting shares and likes. I see people talking about their sales and how successful they are and Im over here crying.

That was because I had also said no to myself. I limited myself. I limited my possibilities with the way I was thinking. That next day after I had got done crying, I said I have to do something different. So I signed up for a vending event. Got back in my groove of making product and prepared myself for the event. When I got to the event a couple of weeks later, I said ok .. I got this everyone is going to tell you no today, but as long as you get one yes, you’ve won.

So with that in mind, I started my day. People would come to table, I would tell them about my product provided samples and encouraged them to shop. They would smile say how nice my product was but didn’t buy anything. This went on the entire event until the last hour and then I almost sold out of product.

I cried like a baby on my way home. I didn’t think I could do it, but finally accepting the word no helped me achieve so much more than I thought I could. It has helped me be more open, be more social and even be more approachable.

I love the word no now. I like to tell myself, they say No now but tomorrow they will say yes.

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

My best source for new clients are in person. I have found that I get new clients just by saying Hi. At the store, walking in the mall, when Im getting my nails done, everywhere.

When I first started building my business I was scared to talk to people. I would do vending events and just sit there and smile and nod. Let me tell you that did not work very well. I had to stop being scared and just get out there and say hi. In business you learn that people don’t buy your product because they think it’s a good product at first. They are buying and trusting you, then they use your product realize how amazing it is and come back.

So I now carry business cards. If I see people looking at candles in stores, I tell them I make candles and hand out a card. I leave business cards at businesses that allow it. When I meet new people I give them my business card and business number.

In random conversations I show people my Instagram and Facebook page and encourage them to follow me. I will give them my QDR code to pull up my website directly.

Doing these little things help people see your personality and you build that relationship. This helps bring in new customers and building relationships help to keep them a customer forever.

Let people see how amazing you are in person, it goes a long way.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.itzsugababy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itzsugababy
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itzsugababy
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/itzsugababy