Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Billie Miller. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Billie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with 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.
In The Stars Wellness was inspired and created in memory of my late son RaeQuan Bascombe. With health, wellness, and natural products being of importance in our home for nearly a decade, he repeatedly encouraged me (mom) to create and curate my own products for everyone due to my love of herbal blends, and Essential Oils as well as mango and shea butters. I started creating recipes and formulas originally to assist us both with ADHD and other physical ailments almost a decade ago.
RaeQuan’s unforeseen passing on August 1, 2021 at the age of 25, revealed to me that the perfect time to do anything is NOW. The idea of this line was originally conceived in August of 2020 by RaeQuan and I at the beginning of our healing journey due to the sudden death of my father, his grandfather May 21, 2020, but was further nurtured and brought to fruition after the transition of Rae. In honoring his last tweet “Up There Like In The Stars”, In The Stars Wellness launched on December 9th (2021), which would have been RaeQuan’s 26th birthday.
We curate natural wellness, bath, body, and hair products for use by your entire family. Our best sellers are our wellness essential oil roller blends and we also love formulate custom blends as needed.
We use our wellness advocate and healthcare background of 27 years to also create and customize products to meet specific needs.
Billie, 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?
I started my healthcare career in January 1997. It was always important for me even as a young girl to assist in promoting the physical and mental wellbeing of others. My parents had servants hearts and I adopted that beautiful quality from them. You’d always find me helping out with the babies or senior citizens at the church. It made me feel good to serve.
After receiving a couple of mental and physical health diagnoses between 2015 and 2018, I began to study and research essential oils, and herbal and plant medicine to see how it could potentially benefit my son and I. I remember purchasing $700 worth of products in the hopes that they would do what I needed them to do, and here I am 8 years later using those same products and more not only for myself, but for others as well!
One of our mantras at In The Stars Wellness is “If there’s an issue, there’s an oil”! So these days you can catch me taking this Aromatherapy/Plant Medicine show on the road by hosting Wellness Workshops and WINEdowns, doing in home popups, and creating signature and customized blends for my clients based on their individual needs.
I am the Queen B of essential oil blends! I know my products work, I formulate them to do so, yet I am always in awe of the reviews and feedback that I receive from clients and customers. It lets me know I’m doing exactly what I need to be doing at this point in my life. I’m serving…in a different way, but serving nonetheless. I wake up daily thinking of what more I can create for an issue or ailment that I received an inquiry on more than twice. I love to help!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I think the story of how my business got started illustrates my resilience. When my son passed I was employed as a Director in Network Development for a government services health plan. I was doing well in my healthcare career. Had not a care in the world! I was living my best personal life (pre-covid), traveling the world, traveling for work, and excelling in all areas of life. The passing of my son rocked me to my core. Life as I knew was completely flipped on its head. After being out of work for 6 months I made the decision to turn my pain into purpose and passion and start the business RaeQuan always encouraged me to start. I could’ve allowed my grief to control me, but I eventually picked myself up off the floor and figured out a way to allow the memory of my son to live forever.
I am a bootstrapped business owner, In The Stars Wellness was started on my own dime, with no funding or donations from anyone, but it was important for me to do it when I did. It originally served as its own version of therapy for me; fingers crossed it will soon take care of me, as it currently allows me to do for others.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I think my reputation was built off of my glass half full outlook in spite of the cards dealt, as well as my honesty in the selling and promoting of my products.
I do a lot of popups and have been dubbed the “Mayor of the Markets”. Most of my popups are on Sundays, which is also the day that my son passed. I chose to do these popups to give me a reason to get out of bed, leave the house, and TURN ON for those in my community. My customers and friendors keep me going. Once they learn of my story they are shocked to see what I am doing and have accomplished; proud of how I am turning it around for myself.
When it comes to the promotion of my products, I realized that people are looking for me to tell them what they want when they approach my table, booth, space…and I refuse to tell them what they want to hear, I tell them what I feel is best. In today’s wellness world there are a lot of gimmicks and false promises being made about how a product will best help someone. I’m not going to do that, ever. I’ve learned over time that my customers appreciate my honesty, my direct NO, but also my willingness and desire to help them with what I feel would be best for them.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.inthestarshomeandbody.com
- Instagram: @inthestarswellness
- Facebook: @inthestarswellness
- Other: https://linktr.ee/InTheStarsLLC?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=27cd3a6c-6d21-4c50-81dd-7c2bf732eb5c
Image Credits
Empower Photos – only for the first photo