We were lucky to catch up with Alyeshia Hutson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Alyeshia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Getting that first client is always an exciting milestone. Can you talk to us about how you got your first customer who wasn’t a friend, family, or acquaintance?

I was still working my full time job when I started my business. I thought it would be a great idea to pass out samples to my co-workers and friends before putting myself out there. I got really good feed back which gave me the confidence to go forward with my business. I now have several co-workers and friends who order from me regularly.

Alyeshia, 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?

The Heka Apothecary is an online shop, primarily providing natural bath and skin care products. The pandemic had hit all of us in some way so I wanted to create items that were good for the mind, body, and soul. I believe that soaking in a bathtub is not only relaxing but very healing and magical which is how I came up with the idea of naming my business (In ancient Egypt, Heka is the god of magic and medicine).

I had spent hours brainstorming, watching YouTube videos, and reading articles on how to start a business. After much research, planning, and testing products, I created my website. The one thing I regret not doing first is creating a Etsy account before starting my own website. Etsy is a great tool to start any business since they have such a huge platform especially if you don’t have a large following on social media.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

Since I was still working full time, I had put money aside every pay check to buy all my supplies. I even picked up extra shifts to cover costs. I made a list of everything I was going to need and how much each item was going to cost. All in all I spent $500 to get my business up and running. There are grant and loan programs out there for small businesses. I personally recommend staying away from getting a loan unless you’re confident enough that you will be able to pay that money back.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the biggest lessons I had to unlearn is what society has told us what success looks like. Since I was a little, I was always asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, what I wanted to do with my life. Like most people, I was taught that success mean’t you owned a house, had a great paying job, and had a family by the time you were 20. That wasn’t my case. I was 25 years old and stressing because I wasn’t married, didn’t have kids, and I was still renting. “I must be a failure” I thought. It wasn’t until I started my spiritual journey at 31 that everything I was taught or told was not true at all.

Success comes in all forms and we all have our own definition of what success looks like. It’s hard to break that negative way of thinking but it is possible and necessary in order to grow.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thehekaapothecary.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/the_heka_apothecary
• Facebook: facebook.com/thehekaapothecary