We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Annie Bee a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Annie, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
I have struggles with alopecia for years and went through countless treatments that just didn’t fulfil my desired results. At the time I decided to stop my steroid treatment and go natural I was taking nightly topical steroids along with 50 monthly injections. I was loosing hair so rapidly that even with this treatment I was still wearing wigs. In 2020 COVID took the world by storm and I learned how damaging the steroid treatment I was on could be. So, I stopped by treatment and began studying my own remedies for hair growth while my hair continued to fall out in patches. I studies natural oils, which compliment each other and work best together. Originally I had 7 different formulas to tackle shedding, dandruff, brittle hair, grays and improve shine, density, curls and length. I decided to combine these formulas to create a Miracle Hair Growth Oil that is a fix it all to any hair issue! Having the results and new growth for myself within weeks I put the formula to the test and started a trial. This formula has now helped men and women across the nation with hair loss due to Alopecia, lupus, chemo & radiation, menopause, hormone imbalance, postpartum hair loss, Loss after COVID-19 and more!
Having the knowledge of how beneficial the oils and other natural ingredients can be to us I have branched off to make lip care. Being allergic to Chapstick myself, I was happy to tackle this struggle. I also have body care. Face care and sell other products such as synthetic mink lashes.
My products are hand made and even the labels are designed and placed by me. Currently I am a one woman shop but I hope to expand and create jobs in the future.
It means a lot to me to make a difference. And I am happy to help others feel and be their own kind of beautiful, naturally.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Originally, I started my business at home, selling to friends and family. Now I have expanded to a location in downtown Phoenix where I craft and send all my items. I am proud of the fact that my products are Hand made. There is a lot of love poured and placed onto each item. Most of all I am proud of the results! In the beauty industry, we all know not all products is for every person. However, the results and satisfaction with Beauty by Annie Bee products have bee consistent across the board!
Another client favorite is my Boobie-Booty plumper. This is a cream that melts into an oil and is infused with natural exotic spices. It naturally mimics hormones, expanding the tissue under the skin and tightening the skin on top. It stimulates blood flow and helps with cellulite and stretchmarks. Customers say is smells like delicious! and yes, it is edible and non-toxic!
We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.
I do currently sell on Facebook, Etsy and my website, BeautybyAnnieBee.com. While I have been approved for Walmart.com, amazon and ebay, I have currently working out some kinks. I hope to get the product into Ulta and Sephora. Currently I am proving wholesale to local barbershops and salons. The Miracle Hair Growth Oils and Beard Balms have become popular locally and I am happy to provide other small companies with something that can generate more revenue for themselves.
How’d you meet your business partner?
I can tell you a little more about myself. I am born and raised in Phoenix, AZ. I grew up in a bit of poverty, raised by my Nana who provided us with everything we could need. She is strong, smart and has always been a hard worker. I have always admired her for that. I did also live with my mom for periods, she always had some kind of side hustle going on, which i probably why I resist having only one source of income. You always have to have some kind of back up plan. I have two children and do my best to balance family life, work and school. After over a decade of dropping out of college I finally went back and I just graduated. Though, education is one of those things I don’t think anyone could get enough of, I will continue my education is esthetics. What we put on our body is as important as what we put in it. And how we feel about ourselves effects our quality of life.
Contact Info:
- Website: beautybyanniebee.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/beautybyanniebee
- Facebook: facebook.com/beautybyanniebee
- Twitter: twitter.com/beautybyanniebee
- Youtube: youtube.com/beautybyanniebee
Image Credits
Photography by Matt Young